The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper

[Cap'n Jack]

Get outta 'ere, Robert, it's Steak kebabs with Vo0DoO sauce; and king prawns with giant green mussels in a reggae reggae sauce; and shark cutters.
I gotta feed 15,000 folk.
Fish and bread, and then walk on water.

[Roy Corduroy]

Hi folks,

In the U.S. this is the JtR Comprehensive A -Z. Jakubowski and Braund.

I thoroughly enjoyed the 16 essays. Each author gives a synopsis of their suspect or theory. Where do I begin? Can't really, there are too many. Yes there's a Barnardo take in there. And one with all the pentograms, etc. Colin Wilson's essay was a fun read. A sounding board for many ideas, right in the thick of it. In the end he comes out for - Maybrick!

Roy

[DVV]

Hi Roy,
I agree that the subjective part can be funny or pleasant to read. I find particularly of interest the two contributions about Barnett. Same suspect, but one is far more convincing than the other...
But the first part, dealing with so-called facts, is often biaised. See, as an example, how categorically Martha Tabram is dismissed...
Anyway, it was the first book written in English I read about the case. I was then much impressed by AP and Tully's writings, and I still "like" them as JTR.
Not a bad book, at last, but nothing to compare with AZ (though I believe AZ to be also biaised sometimes).

Amitiés,
DVV (broken-English poster)

[Ron Beckett]

I too enjoyed the Mammoth book of JTR. I read it after I had gained an overview of the main theories and I found it refreshing to have many different points of view in one book. About the reference to wayne Williams being innocent I think this theory was presented in a movie where the blame was placed on a cell of racist southern militia who were known to the local police.The movie is Who Killed Atlanta's Children, with James Belushi and Gregory Hines. I found the theory plausible, but I'm a bit prejudiced as when I was a young lad of 10 or 11 I asked my dad about a local murder case and he told me that everyone knew that the lady killed had been having an affair with a local bent cop. Fifteen or twenty years later the husband was released and pardoned for the murder of his wife which he had always denied.
I realised at an early age that innocent people do get convicted of murder.

[Jeff Leahy]

Hello Play mates

While some of you have been putting up with the english weather all weekend I've been laying on a beach in Ibiza, soaking up the sun relaxing and generally over eating and drinking...

However after my deoderent as ceased at customs i had to shoot to 'boots' when I noticed a book in WH SMITH...thought i should read something on the plane and the Mamouth Jack the Ripper, was to hard to resists..

Besides esays by Evans and Fido looked worth the purchase.

I think I've gotten through the first part of the book which covers the basics fairly well. Couple of mistakes stood out but i didnt have a pen to mark them all..off the top of my head Cathrine Eddows was described as spending several months hop picking (only six weeks) and the wounds to her face discribed as Sametrical, which I understand they were not?

But thats rather nit picky, I guess its always the bits they leave out that stand out rather than the stuff it contains..and I guess edits have to be made somewhere...the cronology seemed a waste of space, as it didnt really cover enough..to make it justified..I loved some the section on disputed texts...witness in church passage I hadnt read in full before..and you dont get to look at these so often.

Anyway didnt have time to finish it..far to busy ejoying myself, although I think I am now to old to enjoy clubs like Pashsa

Will do another post when I've finished the essays but on the whole it was an excellent recap over the basics. The killers MO was well covered I thought, I'd like to have seen more analysis....perhaps 'Mammouth' try's to do to much..wood for the tree's..etc

Anyway I'd better now catch up on some work and try and save the fishtank which went rather cloudy over the weekend..

Pirate

[steje73]

Bung snails in.

[Mike Covell]

Bung snails in.

The fishtank, not the Mammoth book!

I am still picking out shell from several chapters!

[Jeff Leahy]

Cheers for the advice Steve 73

I've been at it for two hours now and its still cloudy..

I think the main filters will have to come apart....

Perhaps get back to the book later..what did you ,make of it Mike?

Pirate

[Christine1932]

Informative to newbie like me, but theories section... oh dear! Worst candidates: JK Stephen, Sir William Gull with English Parliament or something (mind boggles) and Dr Barnardo - writer clearly hated Barnardo and liked to write smut about him, telling lot about himself..