Customer Reviews

The Many Faces of Jack the Ripper

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
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For a book that touted the fact it would be full of interesting pictures, the promised photos weren't that prominent! Don't get me wrong--there are a lot of interesting images--but I expected them to be larger, with more direct commentary ... a focus on the images, the photos, and their connection to the history.

Instead, the book reads like a typical JtR book, with a lot more illustrations. Trow makes a few good points, though, and the last chapter is really, really interesting. Worth reading, but don't expect too much on the picture front.

Trow, M.J. The Many Faces of Jack the Ripper. Summersdale, dist. by Seven Hills. Jun. 1998. c.192p. bibliog. index. photogs. ISBN 1-84024-016-4. $25.95. TRUE CRIME

Originally published in England in 1997, this is the most heavily illustrated title on the Whitechapel murders and features both vintage and contemporary photos. Rather than unfurl the case chronologically beginning with the first murder, Trow instead presents a more sociological analysis of the grisly events of 1888, quoting repeatedly from Jack London's People of the Abyss and other works that shattered the story-book image of London and revealed it to be an open sewer. As compared to previous volumes, Trow's is a tad light on detail but gains points for boldly insisting that the murder of Liz Stride was a coincidental killing not committed by Saucy Jack. Another plus is the inclusion of a modern forensic profile of some noted serial killers that is helpful to armchair investigators. Trow, however, goofs when drawing the illogical conclusion that the killer was a local Irish cockney and not a foreigner because "There is nothing in the behavior of the immigrants of the 1880s to suggest violence of this type," which implies that any cockney was capable of these singularly horrific acts! A minor blunder that does not mar an otherwise acceptable volume. Recommended.-Michael Rogers, "Library Journal

I liked the photos, some of the murder sites no longer exist today, so it was neat to see the sites of the murders. The text was interesting, but the high point of this book for me was the photographs.

Jack the Ripper continues to taunt us over 100 years after his murder spree. Theories come and go, but if you're looking for THE reference book on the Ripper, order Philip Sudgens book.

Informative with a lot of interesting pictures, This is the first book for me about "Jack the Ripper" and I will really recommend this book. Great and easy reading,

Informative with a lot of interesting pictures,