Book Recommendations

[barnflatwyngarde]

I have to say the new release by Michael Butterfield entitled The Zodiac Killer is probably the most accurate and informative book on the Zodiak murders I've ever read. I highly recommend it.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

Hi Tom, It has been a major frustration of mine that there is a dearth of good, accurate, non-sensational books on the Zodiac case.
The first two books by Mark Hewitt were good, but in his third book of the trilogy he, to my mind, spoils it by going for an unlikely suspect.

Anyway, on your recommendation, I have ordered the Butterfield book, it arrives tomorrow.

[Abby Normal]

I may have Monster of Florence on Kindle! I need to check. As for Zodiac, I was surprised to learn in the book that Donna Lass' (proposed by Robert Graysmith to be a Zodiac victim) body was found in 1986 but not identified by DNA until 2024. She's no longer supposed to be a Zodiac victim, though it's not clear to me why.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

thanks tom. Ive read graysmith and always thought the lass murder was iffy for the zodiac. whats not a stretch is the domigas/edwards murder a few years earlier. same mo as the later murders...young lovers together in a secluded spot, bound and as they tried to escape shot and killed. same ammo. police thought probably linked.

imho probably zodiacs first or at least early attack.

[Tom_Wescott]

thanks for the rec Tom, i will check it out. After tje ripper, the zodiac is probably my favorite unsolved case.

another great one Is the Monster of Florence, a whacky unbelievable unsolved serial killer case from Italy, in which at one point tje Author was arrested for suspicion in the case. just a crazy tangled web.

I may have Monster of Florence on Kindle! I need to check. As for Zodiac, I was surprised to learn in the book that Donna Lass' (proposed by Robert Graysmith to be a Zodiac victim) body was found in 1986 but not identified by DNA until 2024. She's no longer supposed to be a Zodiac victim, though it's not clear to me why.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[c.d.]

Yeah, I read Monster of Florence. It was good. The Italian police took incompetence to a new level.

c.d.

[Abby Normal]

I have to say the new release by Michael Butterfield entitled The Zodiac Killer is probably the most accurate and informative book on the Zodiak murders I've ever read. I highly recommend it.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

thanks for the rec Tom, i will check it out. After tje ripper, the zodiac is probably my favorite unsolved case.

another great one Is the Monster of Florence, a whacky unbelievable unsolved serial killer case from Italy, in which at one point tje Author was arrested for suspicion in the case. just a crazy tangled web.

[c.d.]

And another famous poem by Robert Service that probably every Boy Scout has heard recited around the camp fire.

The Cremation of Sam McGee:

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poe...n-of-sam-mcgee

c.d.

[c.d.]

A good collection of photos from that era:

https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/klondike-gold-rush

c.d.

[c.d.]

Thanks c.d.

If I'm honest I've never really considered books on the Gold Rush to be my bag.

It's just not a part of history I've felt compelled to read up on.

That is likely just because I know nothing about it!

I might just give it a go to see if it changes my mind though.

I am absolutely fascinated with the Yukon Gold Rush. Young men seeking fortune flocked there in droves. They had no idea what awaited them. Just getting to the gold fields took a lot of lives. Fortunes made and lost. Hardships. Prices for basic supplies skyrocketing driven by supply and demand. Towns springing up over night. Saloons and brothels everywhere. It was quite an era and the book I recommended really captures it. I am sure you would enjoy it.

c.d.

[Abby Normal]

Two of my favorite photographs from that era which I have on my walls:

https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/imlsmohai/id/7145

https://www.muralsyourway.com/soapy-smith-s-saloon-bar-at-skagway-alaska/p?srsltid=AfmBOopHvAet2xvb7ykGL2FW_SJ6IgIi_EV69fyn O2edW_rwmQ-jZgKz

c.d.

cool pics! and great poem. never heard of him before but will check him out.

[c.d.]

Those are great images!

I feel like I've seen them before.

Did we discuss this previously years ago, or am I having a deja vu moment?

I think your sanity is intact, Ms. Diddles. I probably posted them before.

Re the first one -- the ascent of the Chilkoot pass took four or five trips and you had to basically schlepp a hundred pounds or so each time. It was said the trail was littered with personal items that the packers discarded to lighten their load.

c.d.

[Tom_Wescott]

I have to say the new release by Michael Butterfield entitled The Zodiac Killer is probably the most accurate and informative book on the Zodiak murders I've ever read. I highly recommend it.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Ms Diddles]

Two of my favorite photographs from that era which I have on my walls:

https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/imlsmohai/id/7145

https://www.muralsyourway.com/soapy-smith-s-saloon-bar-at-skagway-alaska/p?srsltid=AfmBOopHvAet2xvb7ykGL2FW_SJ6IgIi_EV69fynO2edW_rwmQ-jZgKz

c.d.

Those are great images!

I feel like I've seen them before.

Did we discuss this previously years ago, or am I having a deja vu moment?

[Ms Diddles]

Glad to hear it, Ms. Diddles.

Let me see if I can continue my streak of good recommendations. I really enjoyed this book on the 1897 Klondike Gold Rush. One of my favorite eras. A true story, a page turner and what I would call just a good rip roarin' yarn as they say.

https://www.amazon.com/Floor-Heaven-...s%2C186&sr=8-1

c.d.

Thanks c.d.

If I'm honest I've never really considered books on the Gold Rush to be my bag.

It's just not a part of history I've felt compelled to read up on.

That is likely just because I know nothing about it!

I might just give it a go to see if it changes my mind though.

[c.d.]

And finally, one of my most favorite Robert Service poems The Shooting of Dan McGrew

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poe...-of-dan-mcgrew

c.d.

[c.d.]

And if you have an interest in the Gold Rush era, I highly recommend the poems of Robert Service the bard of the Yukon. His meter and rhyme are atrocious but his poems are just so damn cool. You really feel like you are there. Just the thing for a cold winter's night.

https://www.amazon.com/Best-Robert-S...s%2C333&sr=8-2

c.d.