Book Review: Programmed to Kill

Programmed to Kill is probably the most disturbing book I have ever read. It takes up the issues of serial killers, pedophilia, snuff films and satanic cults and exposes things which, in a sense, one is better off not knowing, such is the feeling of revulsion and black emotions that rise in you as you read the book. It's been about a day since I finished it, and I don't know for how long the loss of faith in the goodness of humanity will last (case in point: there have been [and probably still are] snuff films involving infants as young as two months; one cannot even begin to imagine the depravity of people who would do things like that).

The book is meticulously researched, with something like 500 references. McGowan analyses the various scandals like the busting of pedophile rings and how serial killers operated and were apprehended, and shows that the official story is woefully inadequate in explaining the facts, and mostly involved sham trials and coverups aimed at protecting pretty important government figures. He also lays the blame on secret government-sponsored mind control projects , which he claims are the reason why many of the serial killers turned out the way they did.

OK, now for the negative stuff: after a while, reading about the more or less identical life histories of serial killers becomes quite monotonous. Also, the book doesn't move towards any sort of denouement and ends on a slightly flat note. In fact, the first few chapters are IMO the best part of the book. There also could have been more coverage of the mind control stuff. But having said this, the book is still eminently unputdownable and is well worth your time and money.