The Violence Project

How to Stop a Mass Shooting Epidemic

By: Jillian Peterson, James Densley

Narrated by: Laurel Lefkow

Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Violence Project is about an examination of the phenomenon of mass shootings in America and an urgent call to implement evidence-based strategies to stop these tragedies.

Using first-person accounts from the perpetrators themselves, along with data from the writers’ groundbreaking research on mass shooters, The Violence Project charts new pathways to prevention and innovative ways to stop the social contagion of violence. 

Two years ago, frustrated by reactionary policy conversations that never seemed to convert into meaningful action, special investigator and psychologist Jill Peterson and sociologist James Densley started building The Violence Project, the first comprehensive database of mass shooters. Their goal was to establish the root causes of mass shootings and figure out how to stop them. With funding from the United States Department of Justice, they have coded hundreds of data points in the life histories of more than 150 mass shooters - from their childhood and adolescence to their mental health and motives. They’ve also interviewed seven living perpetrators, along with families, friends, teachers, social workers, victims and leading experts.

©2021 Jillian Peterson and James Densley (P)2021 Bolinda Publishing

Very insightful, apolitical, and well written

If you care about this issue... read this book. If you're pro-gun, read this book; if you're anti-gun, read this book. If you think you "know everything" on the topic of mass shootings/mental health, read this book. They use interviews with parents of shooters, and interviews with some who are incarcerated for this type of violence as a way to show you how/where the media and society go wrong in speaking about and combatting this issue. Great book - hopefully it makes its way to both CNN and Fox for people to begin to de-politicize the issue

Very partisan

It is a shame this book has to slam the listener with their political beliefs at every turn. I tried staying with it to hear their research and conclusions. As the book continues the politics become extremely annoying. Returning it.

Good Example Of What The Current Issue Is

Important summary of our nations state with Mass Shootings and everything with mental health situations that contribute to them. the problem is mostly with mental health, sounds like. we need to provide more information, funds, ideas, and power to all of these programs and people suffering with these demons. I just don't know if we can do that anymore. Our nation is crippled and torn apart by religion, politics, and greed (money). It will take a major undertaking to solve this problem, and even then there is no guarantees of the occasional shooting. We all need to have hope of something and something to live for that means something personal to us all. This will prevent a lot of this hate and evil from happening. God be with us all.

Fantastic

This book is a well-researched gold mine of information. I am so impressed with their presentation of the information in an evidence-based, nonpartisan manner. The authors did a great job of humanizing the perpetrators without making excuses for them, telling as much of the full story as anyone could. As stated in the book, the path to violence is very windy with many potential off-ramps. The recognition of these off-ramps by the masses is our only hope at curbing this type of violence, and for this reason, this book is a must read for all of us in my opinion.

another woke masterpiece

it's too bad, because this book could have been something that actually helped create a decrease in shootings. instead they use dumb opinions to base their reasoning.

significant liberal bias

if the author had stuck to just the numbers and her research, this would have been a better book. there was some good insight and good information but the authors significant liberal bias was very apparent. the author took information about mass shootings and then applied it to all situations where guns might be inappropriate and forgets many other circumstances where guns save lives. some of the authors recommendations for steps going forward are decent but the author really should have gotten some opposing perspective

Massive Political Bias

I bought this book because I heard Jill interviewed on one of my favorite podcasts. I was promised a non-political fact-based database analysis. That’s not what this was. This was a wish list of Democrat policies (universal healthcare, gun control, free higher education) and if I had a dollar for ever time this book blamed mass shootings on Donald Trump. There were also lots of contradictions like the black man is over-represented statically in mass shooters than the general population, but their conclusion is that mass shooters are white men who are angry at the loss of their white privilege. This is a very biased book full of liberal buzz words like Latinx. If that’s what you’re looking for, enjoy.

It's Biased, but it's worth a Listen

This book was recommended in a couple of places as a well researched, non-biased look at mass shootings. It is neither.
The authors, both university teachers, mistake anecdotes and interviews for scientific research. Most chapters have a list of facts thrown into the middle. These facts are not the results the authors' research, but were gathered from other sources and then used as a springboard for the authors' opinions. The opinions then expressed are supported by stories taken from interviews with family and friends of the victims and letters from two of the shooters who are in prison. This is the sum of their research. I cannot distinguish their research from the sensationalist journalism that they rail loudly against.
I am not to saying that the book is a waste of time. It offers glimpses into the minds of shooters and a few good facts. I am not going to dispute the "facts," that are thrown into most chapters like an editor's afterthought. I am saying that this book reads like a liberal platform speech. The book is clearly anti-male, anti-social media company, anti-gun, and anti-media. The only things I can say for sure the authors want more of are federal government oversight and federal government provided mental health counselors in every school in every state.
Two more things. To make the whole package just a bit more grating, the narration of the entire book sounds like a computer reading text on a Tik-tok video. They gave credit to a narrator, but I'm convinced the person named is the voice behind a computer reader and we'll see more of her, ugh.
And lastly, When two authors write a book together you hope that you won't be able to tell where one ends and the other begins, and that the better author did most of the writing. In this book, at the end of a few chapters, a clearly superior writer with a much more logical argument will show up like a breath of fresh air through an open window. Then the window gets slammed shut and you are left in a stuffy room with a computer reading liberal newspeek.

Eye opening information

If you are interested in discovering aspects of mass shootings and look into the minds of those who commit them, this book is for you. It seems well researched, and definitely will cause you to examine your beliefs. No matter what your viewpoint regarding firearms is, this book will make you think. It may not change your mind, but if you analyze the information, you will find ways to help reduce these events.

Excellent clear eyed look at awful ongoing problem

I grit my teeth and plunged ahead into this incredible book. Discovering the book during news reports on the latest Texas school massacre, once I began listening it truly helped me understand the full complexity and proven solutions, This is a helpful hopeful book in the midst of gut wrenching ultimately preventable tragedy. Thanks for writing this book.

Brilliant and heartbreaking

While the subject of this book is a heavy and intense topic, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to everyone to listen to. It’s highly compelling and informative.

Must listen/read

I was introduced to this book via the Real Crime Profile podcast when the authors were interviewed.
It's a thoroughly in-depth look into the issues of mass shootings in the US, and viewing the problem at multiple levels.
Even as a Brit, it's well worth a listen, to understand the inherent problem and solutions available. Because it also takes a critical look at the role politicians, media and the lack of welfare have had in amplifying the problem.