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loulud21's review against another edition
2.0
When I looked over the library shelves for a book on JtR this was the one that appealed to me the most. I don't know why that was, but I got it anyway and read about 50 pages of it, then flicked through to parts that interested me. I'm a little annoyed with myself for not reading the entire book but the buildings etc of JtR's time just doesn't interest me whatsoever.
dorothy_1900's review
3.0
Well, it's definitely most complete account of social, historical and cultural context in Jack the Ripper killings. Truly fascinating!
And most scientific approach to the topic that really is impressive if you take into account how many people are still looking at Ripper's case for sensationalism.
And most scientific approach to the topic that really is impressive if you take into account how many people are still looking at Ripper's case for sensationalism.
casualblasphemy's review
2.0
I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I guess this delivers exactly what the title says it will: an almost painfully detailed history of the Ripper slayings and every socio-economic, political and historic tidbit that can be even vaguely appended to them. The author provides a history of London's East End back to the Early Medieval era, contending that that piece of geography had always had a troubled history.I was hoping for some sort of new or alternate theories but none were forthcoming.
kaylor_guitar's review against another edition
3.0
The premise of the book was interesting. The idea that there were other victims of Jack the Ripper than the "canonical five" (as referred to in the book)-Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly-seemed almost too fantastical to believe. Then again, to believe a serial killer would voluntarily stop killing after only five victims is also too fantastical.
Each chapter of the book covered a different potential victim (and a couple of chapters touched upon victims that didn't even exist) and went in depth as much as possible to make each victim become a real person. The only fault I have with the book is I wish the authors had included a chart or timeline of some sort in the beginning of the book for referencing. It would have been tremendously helpful, especially since some of the potential victims were killed around the same time as the "canonical five" victims, so the authors would make reference to the "Ripper" victims and it did get a bit confusing at times.
Each chapter of the book covered a different potential victim (and a couple of chapters touched upon victims that didn't even exist) and went in depth as much as possible to make each victim become a real person. The only fault I have with the book is I wish the authors had included a chart or timeline of some sort in the beginning of the book for referencing. It would have been tremendously helpful, especially since some of the potential victims were killed around the same time as the "canonical five" victims, so the authors would make reference to the "Ripper" victims and it did get a bit confusing at times.
samcarlin's review
1.0
Too many descriptions of the streets and the area where the murders occurred and not enough focus on the murders themselves. I got bored and gave up.
acardattack's review against another edition
3.0
An okay book. There is a lot of filler information which may be interesting to some, such as talking about the background of these victims and just what London was like at the time. It didn't do anything for me, I enjoyed most of the deaths, though most were pretty clearly not Ripper victims and I had to skip around
beastcoastmac's review against another edition
3.0
the afterword was really good i have really mixed feelings?
the_graylien's review against another edition
3.0
This, my second foray into the facts of Jack the Ripper, was not as readable as the first.
Don't get me wrong, the book had to have been meticulously researched and contained a wealth of ALL MANNER of knowledge from and about Whitechapel in the 1880s. But I think that was just it. I think the book strayed too far from the topic of the actual Ripper murders to hold someone's attention who is just getting into the whole subject and wants examinations of the cold facts.
Bottom line: This book is great at examining a lot of social, political, and cultural aspects of the time period and the area of the Ripper murders, but bogs down the person just looking for an examination of said murders.
Don't get me wrong, the book had to have been meticulously researched and contained a wealth of ALL MANNER of knowledge from and about Whitechapel in the 1880s. But I think that was just it. I think the book strayed too far from the topic of the actual Ripper murders to hold someone's attention who is just getting into the whole subject and wants examinations of the cold facts.
Bottom line: This book is great at examining a lot of social, political, and cultural aspects of the time period and the area of the Ripper murders, but bogs down the person just looking for an examination of said murders.
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