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nuska's review against another edition
3.0
"Jack was born just as the popular press was finding its feet and they helped each other inmeasurably. He gave them murders to boost their circulation and they, in turn, made him into a legend. No detail was too titillating or unpleasant to be left unreported or undistorted" (9).
"The only character who doesn't seem to have tracked the Ripper [in Sherlock Holmes] is Mrs. Hudson". (82).
"He [the Ripper] has met Doctor Who's Doctor on at least two occasions: 'The Pit' (1993) and 'Matrix' (1998)". (82).
This book is a good compilation of all important things related with Jack the Ripper's case. I'm not much into true crime stories but, as part of popular knowledge, I find the Ripper particulary interesting. There are a lot of things written about this case but this book is useful to have a quite complete overview.
"The only character who doesn't seem to have tracked the Ripper [in Sherlock Holmes] is Mrs. Hudson". (82).
"He [the Ripper] has met Doctor Who's Doctor on at least two occasions: 'The Pit' (1993) and 'Matrix' (1998)". (82).
This book is a good compilation of all important things related with Jack the Ripper's case. I'm not much into true crime stories but, as part of popular knowledge, I find the Ripper particulary interesting. There are a lot of things written about this case but this book is useful to have a quite complete overview.
vulveeta's review against another edition
3.0
i wasn't really into this until i got to the hilariously irascible end where jack's media presence was discussed. why did no one else like this??
who knew i could find comedy gold in a book about jack the ripper? i kept snickering to myself at the gym, tbqh
If you’ve ever wondered what a horror movie made by a bunch of goths would look like, then I Am the Ripper (2004) might give you an idea. An amateur French cast get killed, come back to life, and get killed again by a hooded figure who may be Death or possibly Skeletor. Exactly how Jack fits into the story may be just the result of an opportunistic retitling for this incomprehensible mess. At one point someone does appear wearing a top hat and a cape but by then our brains had shut down our retinas as a precautionary measure and we knew no more.
The increasingly cadaverous Jurgen Prochnow appears as a red herring. Not literally, you understand.
His romance with Heather Graham’s Mary Kelly (apparently voiced by Dick Van Dyke) leads up to one of the most jaw-droppingly cynical deus ex machina ever foisted on the movie-going public.
who knew i could find comedy gold in a book about jack the ripper? i kept snickering to myself at the gym, tbqh
wai's review
dark
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
3.25
A good introductory text on Jack the Ripper, with surprising detail given its short length. This doesn't offer any explanation but does lay out the most prominent suspects and theories. It also makes mention of Ripper mentions in pop culture, however due to it being published in 2006 this list feels incomplete reading now in 2020.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Blood, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Ableism, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, and Medical content
Minor: Infertility and Suicide
This book does go into explicit detail of Jack the Ripper's brutal murders. I also labeled ableism for the occasional comment about mental illness that is insensitive, especially on the part of "Ripperologist" theories (as in, a lot of "some people suspect this person because he was deemed mentally ill" type theorizing).
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