Judging criminal suspects by their books.

(From Guardian Unlimited)

One photograph struck me during the parade of grotesquely fascinating information trickling out of the home of Philip Garrido last week. Among the images of the sheds and outbuildings where Garrido was said to have kept kidnapped girl Jaycee Lee Dugard captive for 18 years was an almost random shot of Garrido's bookshelf .

Almost random, but not quite. Because while a picture of Garrido's fridge or medicine cabinet or tool rack might have had as much relevance to anyone wanting as full a picture as possible of a man capable of such a deed, nothing appeals to the amateur psychologist as much as a good nosey at a criminal's bookshelf.

It happens so often in reports of major or bizarre crimes that it's barely …