Jack The Ripper - An Encyclopedia

Book excerpt: The gruesome, unsolved murders by the first media-sensationalized serial killer, Jack the Ripper, continue to fascinate after more than 100 years. However, from the beginning the truth has been obscured by a fog of half-truths and misinterpretations. This book aims to clear up the misinformation and myths surrounding Jack the Ripper. The author uses a critical review of the kind that is now used to scrutinize unsolved crimes. He re-checks, re-examines and re-evaluates the facts, conjectures, newspaper accounts, eyewitness reports and official pronouncements. The book includes: descriptions of the locations where the bodies were found; detailed histories of the victims; profiles of key police officials and examinations of police procedures, investigations, blunders and errors; details of prevailing myths about the case; an evaluation of all the chief suspects; comprehensive analyses of the existing literature; discussions of written communications ostensibly sent by the Ripper; and an argument identifying the most likely suspects.