THE #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR AND CHIEL PSYCHOLOGIST EXPLORES A DISTURBING AND INCREASINGLY COMMON TREND: CHILDREN WHO KILL. As the recent tragedies in Oregon, Arkansas, and Colorado Have shown, children as young as eight years old are capable of murder and violence. No community is safe from this tragic phenomenon, and experts ranging from law enforcement officials to guidance counselors are confused and conflicted about how to approach it. Now bestselling novelist Jonathan Kellerman returns to his roots as a scientist and child psychologist to dissect a problem that is attacking the core of our society: dangerous children who, in all likelihood, will grow up to be dangerous adults. Kellerman explores the "nature v. nurture" theory, discusses the legal and psychological ramification of treating such children as adult criminals, and tackles, with surprising results, the popular idea that violence in the media is to blame. More than a crash course in understanding the "Hows" and "whys" of this issue, SAVAGE SPAWN is a controversial study that will engender much needed discussion.

Trained as a child psychologist, JONATHAN KELLERMAN is the author of three volumes of psychology, two books for children, and fourteen consecutive bestselling novels, the latest of which is Billy Straight, as well as scores of research studies and essays published in scientific and popular journals. Dr. Kellerman was the founding director of the Psychosocial Program, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, and is currently Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, and Clinical Professor of Psychology at USC's College of Arts and Sciences. He and his wife, bestselling novelist Faye Kellerman, have four children.