Clintonville Books welcomes Jeffrey Smalldon

Join us for a discussion and signing with retired forensic psychologist and author of That Beast Was Not Me, Jeffrey Smalldon.

In 1975, after Manson Family member Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme’s attempt to K*ll President Gerald Ford, the FBI found a cache of letters in the would-be assassin’s Sacramento apartment. The return address belonged to future forensic psychologist Jeffrey Smalldon, then a young undergraduate. A decade later, after the shocking murders of two co-workers, Smalldon’s quest to understand the twisted minds and motivations of killers became personal in a way it never had been before. THAT BEAST WAS NOT ME documents five decades of conversations with murderers like John Wayne Gacy, Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, serial sniper Thomas Lee Dillon, and Donald Harvey—then thought to be the most prolific serial killer in American history. Through letters, Pr*son visits, and interviews, Smalldon gives readers a terrifying look into the darkest recesses of the human psyche.

Jeffrey Smalldon, retired forensic psychologist and author of That Beast Was Not Me: One Forensic Psychologist, Five Decades of Conversations with Killers, spent over 25 years consulting on high-profile criminal cases, including more than 300 death penalty cases in both state and federal court. A former vice president at Riverside Methodist Hospital, he left his job there and began work toward his PhD in psychology after a brutal double homicide that occurred in a hospital department for which he had administrative responsibility. Over a period of five decades, he corresponded with or visited or evaluated some of America's most notorious killers - including Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, and Donald Harvey. He's appeared as an expert on many nationally televised programs, among them 60 Minutes II, Larry King Live, 48 Hours, Dateline, and Good Morning America. His memoir reflects on a lifetime spent examining the darkest corners of the human mind.

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