A Father's Story
by Lionel Dahmer
★ Top 25 book of 1994 · #12 on Best Books of 1994
Chemist Lionel Dahmer recounts learning in 1991 that his son Jeffrey was a murderer. The book follows his path from denial to painful acceptance, focusing on a father's reckoning rather than the killer himself.
Best for: Readers interested in true crime told through a parent's painful search for understanding
A Father's Story is #12 on BookWard's Best Books of 1994, out of 42 1994 books that cleared our data bar.
What A Father's Story is about
In July 1991, Lionel Dahmer, a research chemist in Milwaukee, learned that police were investigating a homicide involving his son Jeffrey. He assumed Jeffrey was a victim. This memoir tells what followed, moving in order from Jeffrey's birth to his arrest and imprisonment. Lionel examines every possible cause for his son's crimes, beginning with himself, and judges that he was a distant, inadequate father. He wonders whether his own shyness, his fascination with bombs and his fear of abandonment passed something monstrous down to his son. He also describes his long denial, before he could accept the truth. Somber and anguished, it speaks to anyone who has wrestled with family guilt, or with the question of how much a parent is responsible for what a child becomes.
A Father's Story on the Best Books of 1994
A Father's Story came out in 1994. Of the 42 books first published in 1994 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #12 on our Best Books of 1994 list.
Why it made the list: 340 readers have shelved it on Open Library; 20 are reading it right now. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 1994 list
- The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success Deepak Chopra, #10
- One for the Money Janet Evanovich, #11
- Good Night Gorilla Peggy Rathmann, #13
- Lord of Chaos Robert Jordan, #14
See all Best Books of 1994 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 1993 Best Books of 1995.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 309 want to read it, 20 are reading it now and 11 have read it, according to Open Library.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 69 | 55% |
| Reader love | 67 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 71 | 20% |
Questions about A Father's Story
When was A Father's Story published?
A Father's Story by Lionel Dahmer was first published in 1994.
Was A Father's Story one of the best books of 1994?
A Father's Story is #12 on BookWard's Best Books of 1994, out of 42 1994 books that cleared our data bar. 340 readers have shelved it on Open Library; 20 are reading it right now.
Why is A Father's Story on the Best Books of 1994 list?
340 readers have shelved it on Open Library; 20 are reading it right now.
More of the best books of 1994
- Guess How Much I Love You Sam McBratney, #1
- Artificial Intelligence Stuart J. Russell, #2
- The Six Pillars of Self-esteem Nathaniel Branden, #3
- Long Walk to Freedom Nelson Mandela, #4
- Mercury and Me Jim Hutton, #5
- Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus John Gray, #6
See the full Best Books of 1994, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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