Born or Bred? Martin Bryant: The Making Of A Mass Murderer
Australian History Social History Biography True Crime Investigative Journalism Criminal Psychology Mass Shooting Studies
Born or Bred? Martin Bryant: The Making of a Mass Murderer is the definitive investigative biography of the man behind Australia’s 1996 Port Arthur massacre. Veteran journalists Robert Wainwright and Paola Totaro go beyond the headlines to trace Bryant’s unsettling path—from a lonely, academically struggling child on Hobart’s fringes to the perpetrator of the country’s deadliest mass shooting. Drawing on exclusive interviews, court transcripts, psychiatric reports and never-before-published photographs, the authors reconstruct how a perfect storm of social isolation, intellectual disability, family denial and systemic gaps produced one of the world’s most notorious killers. At 288 illustrated pages, this 2009 paperback remains the most complete, sensitively written account available to true-crime readers, students of criminal psychology and anyone trying to understand how such atrocities can emerge in a peaceful nation.
What sets this copy apart is its scarcity in collectible condition. The book has been out of print for years and is seldom found with clean, tightly-bound internals; this one shows only light foxing on the closed fore-edge and the first two leaves, leaving the remainder of the pages crisp and unmarked—ideal for highlighting, note-taking or resale. No previous owner’s name, ex-libris plate or inscription mars the book, making it a clean “reader’s copy” that still looks sharp on the shelf. For researchers, Tasmanian-history buffs or true-crime collectors, securing a well-preserved Australian first edition can be difficult; this copy offers that rarity without the premium price of a pristine mint example.
Beyond collectibility, Born or Bred? is praised by criminologists and book clubs alike for refusing to sensationalise its subject. Wainwright and Totaro place Bryant within a broader discourse on gun-law reform, mental-health services and media ethics, turning a dark chapter into a thought-provoking study that still fuels policy debate today. If you want the full, meticulously sourced narrative that television documentaries only skim, this affordable, gently read paperback is the smartest addition to your Australian true-crime library.
Refer to our eBay listing for a full condition report and many more high-quality pictures of this item.
Buy Now