A review by leslielu67
Who Killed Jane Stanford?: A Gilded Age Tale of Murder, Deceit, Spirits and the Birth of a University by Richard White

2.0

A book not for the general public, because - who would care? And the evidence is presented in such a convoluted manner that who could follow it? White totally lost me when he was tracing the Chinese societies and their links to each other and to corrupt SF politicians, as well as the he-said/she-said of the Ross Affair and the later Affair whose name I cannot recall. What is proven: Jane Stanford was a nut with plenty of enemies and was definitely murdered via poison, and David Starr Jordan was a self-preserving bastard and liar (and noted - not closeted - eugenicist!). That Jordan's name was on a university building for almost 100 years should be embarrassing to the school. Crothers appears as the only stand-up guy in this tale - he should warrant more than a cinder block dorm named after him.