The Sleep of Reason: The James Bulger Case Paperback – November 3, 2011

This book offers a detailed account of the day of the Bulger child's murder as well as the backgrounds of the victim and the two boys who killed him. At the time of the toddler's death I was too disturbed to read any details but never forgot the questions I had about how two ten year old boys could lead a little boy to his death. This beautifully researched and written book revisits the trial, the public reactions to the crime and how the legal system, in choosing to treat the boys as adult offenders, played out in their lives long after their crime. Riveting and balanced.

I have been following this case for years and yearned for answers to the difficult questions: Why did they do it? How do you prosecute children humanely for an inhumane act? What life lessons are there in this case? The author does an amazing job of showing the many sides with dignity and precision. It is a well written and engrossing read start to finish.

Very interesting book that was a page turner. It gave an extensive account of what happened, the two killers, and the crimes aftermath. A lot of first hand information, facts, history, and sound logical interpretations. I would recommend this book.

If you're interested in the Bulger murder, this is a good, complete account that details not only the crime itself, but covers the prior lives of the killers, and the trial and investigation. Don't be put off by the lacklustre cover, which looks like a college text. This is an immediate, lively telling, which concentrates on relating the facts of the case. The author notes up front that there is no speculation, invented dialogue, etc. The nightmarish casualness of the killers comes through well in the narrative.The book was originally published in 1994, only a year after the murder. This edition is an updated one, from 2011. It includes a final chapter about developments in the case from 1994 to 2011. The author has also decided to share his clearly-labelled speculations about unresolved aspects of the case, including motive, in the new edition. It is, I think, a wise addition. There's also an active table of contents, always helpful, but no index or footnotes.The book could have been improved by photos and (especially) maps. Everyone (I think) knows what the boys looked like, and a map isn't strictly necessary for following along with the narrative, but it does help. I kept going to Google as I read. In looking online at pictures of the murder site, I was shocked by how open and visible it was - not at all closed in and hidden as I'd imagined. Pictures like that would have helped in visualizing the scene, I think.In the end, four stars. Well-written, packed with facts, but needed an index and at least a few pictures of the crime scene.

Great writing style with numerous facts unknown to the public. Though written some years ago, this author provides current information on the perpetrators. A sad story all the way around.

Lazy writing. Nothing but regurgitated transcripts in the worst format I have ever seen published. It became obvious that the author has done nothing but thrown newspaper articles and transcripts in one messy hodgepile. It isn't worth a cent much less the 8 bucks.

A beautifully written, sober account of the James Bulger case and the miscarriage of justice that attended it. I read it straight through, although it was a difficult read - this was a case that sickened and depressed most British people and it's taken me 20 years to be able to even look at exactly what happened. A good piece of journalism.

Good book

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.

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.

I don't have to go into why this is a horrific subject. We will never know how or why it happened. People can come up with their own conclusions. The author makes some valid points with his personal views on the case. In my opinion its clear one of the boys was rotten to the core. Some people are born wrong, wired up badly, if you like. Both were victims of society and born into perfect storms of crap, and this was the end result.

Like the majority of people I am familiar with the terrible wrong committed by the two boys at the centre this awful crime. At the time I, like the rest of the nation watched in horror at the unfolding story of the abduction and murder of the poor innocent baby, James Bulger.The wickedness of the two ten year olds who committed these acts of barbarity is almost beyond comprehension, there are lots of children who suffer the spectrum of abuse and neglect at home who go on to lead reasonably normal lives even though they may be scarred physically and emotionally by their early childhood experiences.What struck me about the early part of the book was the number of people who had seen these boys dragging or carrying this baby, one person describing one of the boys kicking James in the side, and after only the most cursory of conversations were happy to allow the boys to move on even though most of them noted that James was quiet, distressed and clearly injured.I was astounded at the sheer number of passers by who spoke to the boys and questioned who they and James were, even more astonishing were the folk who failed to intervene when the boys admitted that they did not have any connection with James and did not even know his name but were nevertheless content to allow them to leave without question. At times it seemed to me that the boys admission was a way of trying to get an adult to take the decision to take James from them as they were bored and fed up with their little prisoner.It seems to me that some of these people bear some measure of responisiblity for failing to act appropriately especially the ones who knew that the boys and James were strangers to each other. Indeed the boys readily admitted to a number of people that they did not know James and were unable to explain why they had taken him so far from where they had 'found him'.Why did not one of these responsible adults take James or even go into a local shop with all three boys and call the police,? it is hardly rocket science. I seems to me that normal life and demands including the needs of dogs took precedence over the life of a tiny boy. I am from Liverpool and feel ashamed that such a heinous crime was committed in my city and that opportunities to intervene were missed for lack of care of interest members the public.My feelings at the end of this was that the killing of James was at a point where his two murderers had become bored and wanted to be rid of him as it was dark and cold and they wanted to go home. The failure to explain their actions to the police or legions of psychologists and legal representatives could have been that given their age they lacked the intellectual or reasoning to explain their decision to murder this poor child.The book is a very difficult read and I was only able to read a couple of chapters at a time, I have been left with feelings of anger at the boys and their families but also at the members of the public who also failed James in his time of need.