Must-have book on JTR?

[Harmonica]

First post: I've had a long-running interest in JTR but I'm nowhere near as clued up on the finer details of the case as I'd like to be. What's the must-have/definitive book on Jack the Ripper?

Also wanted to say how much I've enjoyed reading Casebook over the years (albeit without an account)... I dread to think of the amount of time I've spent here, to be honest!

[Harry D]

• Jack the Ripper: The Facts (Paul Begg)
• The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper (Maxim Jakubowski)

...would be a good start.

[Wickerman]

The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook, Evans & Skinner, 2000.

http://www.casebook.org/ripper_media/bookstore/index.html

The most complete work on the Ripper case ever, contains: the entire contents of the Scotland Yard files covering the full series of murders; extensive press reports; witness statements and extracts from police notebooks; documents missing from the official files and many rare photographs.

My bookcase is almost full of Ripper related books, but the above is the only one I keep beside the computer. This and of course the Casebook link to the Press Reports section, they are both invaluable.

[Ozzy]

I don't think there's any one must have book. The Sourcebook and the A-Z are great reference books for those that are familiar with the case already.
For somebody new to the case I'd go with Philip Sudgen's book or Paul Begg's Facts.
But then again it doesn't sound like you're new to the case Harmonica.

[Scott Nelson]

I'm armed with my Terrance Sharkey...ready to take on the world of Ripperology.

[gnote]

For a single book i would naturally think one would want something very comprehensive. The Complete History of Jack the Ripper by Philip Sugden can't go without a mention.

[GUT]

Complete History

A-Z

or Sourcebook

Would be the First must have for anyone wanting to get seriously into the subject [then the next two], I suspect for most their first would have been a "suspect" book that got them interested.

[Cogidubnus]

The Sugden book is excellent...but for something perhaps a little less weighty you could do a lot worse than "CSI Whitechapel" - It's a first rate introduction to the case without being either too lightweight or too weighty...and the wealth of illustration, maps and artwork are to die for...

A next move might be "Jack the Ripper: Scotland Yard Investigates" to see the case from a more specific police point of view.

I'd put the A-Z and Sourcebook down as essential works of reference you need to pick up somewhere along the way...depends how much you've read already after that...

All the best

Dave

[Dane_F]

When I was a teen in high school I checked Mr. Sugden's book out of the state library. It was my first JTR book and it took me a year to read. I was afraid to look at the MJK picture.

I now own a paper copy and the kindle edition (it is dirt cheap and so worth it). I am still kind of afraid to look at the MJK picture.

Thanks for the suggestions I am currently working my way through the Sourcebook and I'm trying to decide on my first suspect book to get. W.H. Bury seems interesting but I don't know if unmasked is worth it.

[Robert]

Dane, did you post here briefly about 10 years ago?

[Dane_F]

Dane, did you post here briefly about 10 years ago?

I'll be honest. I don't remember. I know for sure that I knew of this website well over 10 years ago. I found it after the movie From Hell came out, which is what got me interested in JTR, and knowing my personality I very well could have posted. If I did it would have been under a different username which I couldn't remember when I tried to come back here all these years later.

Edit: The more I think about it the more likely I think the chances are very high that I did post for a short while. This would have been around 2002-2003. I lost touch with JTR until I somehow stumbled onto Tom's book last year. I know at the time I came back I assumed I had a log-in for the forum. But I am under the impression there was a forum crash and my typical user names yield no results for posts from that long ago.

[gnote]

Thanks for the suggestions I am currently working my way through the Sourcebook and I'm trying to decide on my first suspect book to get. W.H. Bury seems interesting but I don't know if unmasked is worth it.

It would help a lot to know why you are looking for a suspect book.

[Tom_Wescott]

Hi gnote. Suspect books are the most fun when you're first delving into literature. Don't you remember those heady days when behind each new cover potentially lay the solution you've been seeking? Nobody should be deprived that.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Tom_Wescott]

When I was a teen in high school I checked Mr. Sugden's book out of the state library. It was my first JTR book and it took me a year to read. I was afraid to look at the MJK picture.

I now own a paper copy and the kindle edition (it is dirt cheap and so worth it). I am still kind of afraid to look at the MJK picture.

Thanks for the suggestions I am currently working my way through the Sourcebook and I'm trying to decide on my first suspect book to get. W.H. Bury seems interesting but I don't know if unmasked is worth it.

There's a better Bury book by Euan McPherson.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Dane_F]

It would help a lot to know why you are looking for a suspect book.

Well. Mainly because I have never read one. I have read the Complete JTR, Tom's Book, and I'm currently reading the Sourcebook. Basically I've read deep factual books that cover a wide scope and are super dense with information so I'm not looking to read another one of those just yet.

The other reason is I have no suspect that I favor. I'm interested in multiple ones (such as Bury and James Kelly) but I'm not tied to anyone as my go to. I suppose it doesn't have to be a casebook. I'd also be willing to get another lighter read as well.