The Killer's Shadow

In October 1977, worshippers leaving a synagogue in the Midwest after Sabbath services had no idea that a skilled rifleman, a self-declared racist and Klan member, was waiting about a hundred yards away. That attack opened a three-year campaign of violence across the United States, and John Douglas, the FBI's first full-time criminal profiler, was assigned to track the gunman, Joseph Paul Franklin. Franklin's Nazi-influenced ideology drove him to target Black Americans, Jews and interracial couples. He also bombed the home of Jewish leader Morris Amitay, shot and paralyzed Hustler publisher Larry Flynt, and gravely wounded civil rights leader Vernon Jordan. To fund his travels, he robbed banks in five states, from Georgia to Ohio.

Co-written with Mark Olshaker, the book returns to the case, which reached the top levels of the Bureau. Agents worried that Franklin might become a presidential assassin, and the investigation stayed with Douglas for years as copycat domestic terrorism became a growing reality. The authors describe the persistent hunt, which combined profiling, psychological analysis and detailed detective work. They also explain why the case was a decisive test for the behavioral science unit, then still experimental, and how it exposed a new kind of serial killer: determined, driven by a cause, and motivated by nothing but hate.

The book examines how extremist rhetoric can escalate into lethal violence when hatred of people defined as "other" goes unchecked. It is intended for readers interested in true crime, extremism and the psychology of violent offenders. A section of eight color photographs is included in the edition.