The Sleep of Reason

I found this to be an excellent piece of research which addresses a harrowing, heartbreaking event from 1993, the abduction, torture and murder of an almost 3 year old by two 10 year olds.At the time James Bulger was murdered, my own child was the same age, and I was a school teacher working with children with challenging behaviour, so I was torn in two trying to understand the WHY along with the who, and how can we stop anything like this ever happening again?After the current uproar (2019) of a short film about the interrogation of the two boys, it returned to my thoughts as it has with many others.This book provided for me all the background information to the people involved in any way and the details of the investigation and trial, along with consideration of the extreme poverty, in Liverpool particularly, over a few generations.It is well written, not sensational at all, but that makes it no less harrowing.

This book offers an interesting insight into the killers of James Bulger. It includes in depth interviews with both Thompson and Venables from the police investigation way back in 1993. Heartbreaking and tough reading, for obvious reasons. Not recommended for the squeamish or those not prepared to have their heart broken at reading such detail about such a sad case. James Bulger and his family deserve all our sympathy and respect. A very sad read.

I purchased this to get a different viewpoint of this case and it really made me think.I’m not going to go into detail out of respect for little James and his family. This book didn’t change my opinion of his killers but it did change how I viewed their treatment from their families and the media and helps to explain how something so awful could have happened.While one of James’s killers has gone on to reoffend several times and poses a real danger to children the other has quietly slipped away and is said to be settled with a family of his own. This book highlights how our upbringing and personal circumstances can collide to bring about awful acts of violence. It also shows how the media impacts high profile cases such as this and how they can manipulate the general public and professionals alike.

Such a heartbreaking story, which I remember hearing of when I was a young girl (I'm now in my 30s!) and no matter how many books I read or documentaries I watch on this case, it still makes me shiver.An in depth account on the stuff we didn't hear about behind closed doors, such as some of the interview questions and answers given and what happened in court I found fascinating, and learning of the background of Thompson and Venables.Only dislike is the ending and the authors 'justifications' and/or opinion for why (in his eyes) the crime may have been committed. There seemed to be a sympathy for Robert and Jon which and I did not share the same view, but again that is my personal opinion.Maybe the authors view has changed in recent years given the reoffending? None the less, a very detailed and engaging read.

This book will challenge you to think which is good, as what happened to James Bulger was awful. But the precise non-judgemental writing makes you consider the impact on all the families, the community and society.

The authour provides a detailed and interesting account of a very disturbing incident in recent British history. It is some kind of antidote to the bombardment of media coverage we all experienced at the time. It is not for the faint-hearted but lays bare the facts of the case to open scrutiny by those seeking some kind of understanding and personal closure.

One of the most informative books about the killing of James Bulger that I have read. Its one story that will never be forgotten. My heart goes out to his parents. Now knowing that John Venables is still offending by downloading child porn it makes me wonder if he was the more guilty party.

It's a very factual book with lots of details about the case and how everything unfolded. It's definitely hard to read at times because of poor James and his family. It also gives you lots of background about the killers and their childhood, detectives involved in the case and witnesses.