Product Description

Updated and expanded edition of the fullest ever collective investigation into Jack the Ripper and the Whitechapel Murders. This volume collects not just all the key factual evidence but also 20 different arguments as to the identity of Jack the Ripper, such as that advanced by Patricia Cornwell. Contributions are from the world’s leading Ripperologists, including William Beadle, Melvyn Fairclough, Martin Fido, Shirley Harrison, James Tully and Colin Wilson. The identity of Jack the Ripper has plagued professional historians, criminologists, writers and amateur enthusiasts. The many suspects include Montague John Druitt, Walter Sickert, Aaron Kosminski, Michael Ostrog, William Henry Bury, Dr Tumblety and James Maybrick. The only certainty is that Ripperologist have not found an invididual on whom they can all agree. The essays are supported by a detailed chronology, extensive bibliography and filmography.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22609 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-24
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Even for those disturbed by the phenomenon, it is impossible to deny the continuing fascination of Jack the Ripper. And we are not just interested in the historical Jack (whoever he was): as a source a grisly inspiration for writers, this most famous of serial killers has had a healthy afterlife. Legions of criminologists, professional historians and amateur investigators have produced a variety of fascinating solutions to the unsolved mystery of "Saucy Jack". Some of the proposed wielders of the knife have been bizarre choices--from the painter Sickert to even more blue-blooded candidates. But the 16 compelling arguments contained in this volume (one of whose editors is the crime specialist Maxim Jakubowski) could be said to close the book on Jack as comprehensively as possible. This hefty read, as gripping as anything by Thomas Harris and the like, is fascinating not least for the wildly contradictory theories put forward by such writers as Colin Wilson and Peter Turnbull. We are also, of course, given the historical facts in the first 100 pages and as well as ensuring that the reader will be firmly engrossed, Jakubowski and Braund allow us to make up our own minds. Perhaps the continuing interest in Jack is a result of the fact that we will probably never know his identity for sure. --Barry Forshaw

Review
"'Closes the book on Jack as comprehensively as possible' - Crime Time"

About the Author
Maxim Jakubowski is the editor of The Mammoth Book of Best British Mysteries, The Mammoth Book of Vintage Whodunnits, and the bestselling Mammoth Book of Erotica series, now into its seventh volume. A columnist for The Guardian, novelist and broadcaster, he lives in London where he owns the world-famous Murder One bookshop.

Customer Reviews

Excellent Introduction to Ripperology
This is an excellent introduction to Ripperology for the uninitiated; likewise, it is very useful for someone, like myself, who has read about Jack the Ripper fairly extensively in the past and just needed a good brush-up before taking up the mantle of amateur detective again. Don't worry--I'm not going to name a suspect here in this review (partly because I certainly do not know the true identity of Jack the Ripper). I leave the theorizing to the writers who contributed to this book. These contributors come from different walks of life, and their proffered theories range from the ludicrous to the seemingly substantive. Thankfully, no chapters are given to Stephen Knight's wild "royal conspiracy," although it is mentioned on occasion for the purpose of repeating how ridiculous such ideas are. The subject of the Maybrick diary is broached, with a good balance of positive and negative reactions to it (personally, I think it is a fake). There is one chapter that did annoy me somewhat, even though I can understand the point of it. Basically, and I won't identify him here, the contributor argues that X was the Ripper, presents evidence (circumstantial, of course, which is really the best that any theorist can offer in this case) of why this person was the Ripper, then ends the section with a Gotcha!. See how easy it is to build a case around any "suspect," he says--while that is a valid point, anyone who has read anything about this case knows the fragility and circumstantial nature of virtually every piece of evidence extant in the field, and I for one would not have chosen to waste my time reading a chapter that, in the end, was essentially nonsense.

The first section of the book , I should point out, consists of a very useful timeline and summation of the events and evidence, what the editors call the "undisputed facts." While no single piece of evidence is truly "undisputed" among Ripperologists, this section does provide an objective look at the subject matter. It is followed by sections specifically addressing the witness statements (many of which are of course contradictory and/or unreliable, which the editors point out), autopsy reports, the controversial "Ripper letters," police views, and disputed texts. Anyone who reads through that introductory session will have a useful foundation of knowledge to draw upon when interpreting the competing theories that make up the bulk of the book. That being said, any reader would really benefit from having another source of an encyclopedic nature handy (and there are such books out there) because it can be confusing to keep all of the names straight when there are so many suspects that the contributors ask us to consider.

All in all, this is an excellent source of information on Jack the Ripper. The background information provided by the editors is quite objective and fact-oriented, which is a rare find in books on this subject. In most cases, someone decides who the Ripper surely was and then goes about finding "facts" to fit his/her theory. That is certainly what some of the contributors to this book have done. The editors, commendably, have not done that; they do not even offer any "views" on the individual theories presented here. Their "just the facts, ma'am" approach is much appreciated and welcome. While this is not the "best" book on the subject, it may well be the best introduction available to the history and myth of the Whitechapel murderer.

The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper
This detailed and fascinating book contains all the information you will ever need to know about 'Jack the Ripper.' A useful resource for all 'Ripperologists', it examines all the theories and evidence including the recently discovered '17 September' letter, the 'Diary of Jack the Ripper', Walter Sickert et al. Highly recommended.

A TRULY BRILLIANT BOOK OF THE JACK THE RIPPER
FROM THE OUTSET OF THIS BOOK. YOU KNOW IT SETS THE STANDARDS OF ALL JACK THE RIPPER BOOKS I HAVE READ. IN EVERY CHAPTER THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE YOU NEVER KNEW. EACH ONE YOU ARE CONVINCED YOU KNOW JACK. UNTIL THE NEXT YOU ARE CONVINCED ITS SOMEBODY ELSE. BUY THIS BOOK NOW IT WILL KEEP YOU ON EDGE UNTIL THE LAST PAGE THIS BOOK HAS NO PHOTOS. IT DOESNT MATTER- THE BOOK IS THAT GOOD!