Lumpy, Semi-Dorky, Slouchy, Smarmy 
John Lanchester
- Author Unknown: On the Trail of Anonymous by Don Foster
In January 1957 the New York Police Department arrested a man called George Metesky, whose activities over the previous 16 and a bit years had earned him the sobriquet ‘the Mad Bomber’. The Bomber had planted more than thirty explosive devices, favouring public places such as cinemas, train stations, libraries and phone booths. He hadn’t killed anyone but his bombs were becoming bigger and the injuries they were inflicting were growing worse. In their desperation the cops had in December consulted a New York psychiatrist called James Brussel, described by John Douglas as ‘the father of behavioural profiling’. Douglas is the FBI man who inspired Thomas Harris to invent the character Jack Crawford in the Hannibal Lecter novels, so he should know. This is the psychological portrait Brussel came up with of the Mad Bomber:
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John Lanchester has been given this year’s E.M. Forster Award by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His memoir, Family Romance, is out in paperback.
Other articles by this contributor:
Online Goodies · Intellectual Property
The Price of Pickles · Planet Wal-Mart
Diary · Blogswarms
Not My Fault · New Labour’s Terrible Memoirs
Bravo l’artiste · What is Murdoch after?
Mao meets Oakeshott · Britain’s new class divide
Unbelievable Blair · John Lanchester falls out with New Labour
Slapping the Clammy Flab · Hannibal by Thomas Harris
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