Extreme Killing: Understanding Serial and Mass Murder

Jack Levin is the Irving and Betty Brudnick Professor of Sociology and Criminology at Northeastern University, where he co-directs its Center on Violence and Conflict and teaches courses in the sociology of violence and hate. He has authored or co-authored 30 books, most recently Serial Killers and Sadistic Murderers-Up Close and Personal and The Violence of Hate. Levin has also published more than 100 articles in professional journals and books and more than 150 columns in major newspapers, such as The New York Times, The Sunday London Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, and USA Today. In 2009, he received a major award from the American Sociological Association for his contributions to the public understanding of sociology. Also in 2009, he received the Apple Award from the New England Sociological Association for his contributions to teaching. Levin has spoken to a wide variety of community, academic, and professional groups, including the White House Conference on Hate Crimes, the National Organization of Hostage Negotiators, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

James Alan Fox is the Lipman Family Professor of Criminology, Law, and Public Policy at Northeastern University. He has written 18 books, including his newest, Violence and Security on Campus: From Preschool Through College. He has published dozens of journal and magazine articles, as well as hundreds of freelance columns in newspapers around the country, primarily in the areas of multiple murder, youth crime, school and campus violence, workplace violence, and capital punishment. He also writes an online column for the Boston Globe’s website. Fox often gives keynote talks and testimony before Congress and in court. He has briefed various leaders here and abroad, including President Clinton, Attorney General Reno, and Princess Anne of Great Britain. He has worked on criminal investigations surrounding serial and mass murder cases and served as a visiting fellow with the Bureau of Justice Statistics focusing on homicide patterns and trends. Finally, Fox was honored in 2007 by the Massachusetts Committee against the Death Penalty with the Hugo Adam Bedau Award for excellence in capital punishment scholarship and by Northeastern University with the 2008 Klein Lectureship.