20+ years ago a friend loaned me The Complete Jack the Ripper by Donald Rumbelow. I was captivated at the time when I read it but eventually forgot the details of the case.

All these years later I wish to be versed in the facts and theories so I looked online to find a copy to buy and re-read it. I found it easily but was overwhelmed by the number of other books written since or even before Rumbelows.

Well I'm happy to read plenty of books on the subject but I don't think I can read them all. So I wondered if anyone here had any favorite(s) they cared to share along with some brief words about the book and why you recommend it. I can't imagine there would be a better group than here in Spooky to ask about Jack.

Thanks in advance to anyone with a book to recommend.

-Alan

Hi, Alan. Before I jumped into the quagmire of printed reading material, I'd first look to the free info available online. For background/overview of JTR & the investigation, I'd start at http://www.jack-the-ripper.org/ or http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/index.html. Even Wikipedia.org may save you some time. If you find the plethora of online research too shallow, you can then consult the informative reader reviews at amazon.com to help point you toward a printed book that addresses your specific interests about the case.

That being said, my personal favorite is "Jack the Ripper: Letters from Hell." The authors of this book, reproduce, transcribe and examine all known examples of actual correspondence from Jack. You can find reviews of it here: http://www.amazon.com/Jack-Ripper-Stewar......e+ripper

Thanks Hugo. I appreciate your input.
-Alan

Jack, is a "Jill" !

I've heard of that speculation!

Letters from Hell is great. It's the only lit on Jack I've read, but it really gives you a personal look into him (or "her" hahaha).

I've studied the murders for the last 20 years. There is a lot of information out there, most of it very bad. With that, anything by Martin Fido, Donald Rumbelow, Keith Skinner, Paul Begg. Philip Sugden and Stewart Evans is gold. These guys are the experts of the crime.

As I said, I have a lot of books about the murders: but here are the must reads and what every serious student of the murders should have at the ready.

The Jack the Ripper A-Z Paull Begg, Martin Fido and Keith Skinner
The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Companion Stewart Evans and Keith Skinner
The Complete History of Jack the Ripper Philip Sugden

The book previously mentioned in another post, Jack the Ripper: Letters From Hell by Stewart and Skinner is a great book, but is just an "Add on" to the references listed above. Letters From Hell focuses on a certain aspect of the case not the entire case itself.

By far, the best of the experts is Stewart Evans, a former London police officer. I have met Stewart and shared a pint at the 10 Bells pub as we discussed the forensic aspects of the case, his wealth of information is as vast as the grains of sand on the sea shore. His research is meticulous.

Peace and Godspeed

If you are lookng for the more unusual take on this, ask KOTAH-

The Philip Sugden is a good read. The mammoth book of Jack the Ripper is a good compendium for bringing you up to date quickly on many views. Its usually available cheap too. The casebook is probably my favourite of the websites.

http://www.casebook.org/index.html

The casebook is a good website. It has a plethora of information.

Peace and Godspeed.

"Jack The Ripper: The Case Book" by Richard Jones features a large number of replica letters, postcards, etc. They can be scanned, printed, and aged. You can find it on the above-mentioned casebook.org site.

Yes kotah has a huge selection of ripper ideas thoughts and stories. He would definitely be up for sharing ideas with the brethren.

What he said! ^

While it is true, I have several avenues of thought on the subject of JTR.

Much is speculative. Ideas easily refuffed by die hard Ripperologists. Not unlike the way the idea of Sickert being the ripper was ridiculed, my theories and anagram based approaches may be as well. Was Jack a Jackie?

You tell me. After all this time, I find that I don't know Jack!



Kotah

Patricia Cornwell didn't know Jack either.

Peace and Godspeed

Thanks everyone for the recommended sources. With them in mind, I ordered 4 books* so far to add to my crime library.

I was impressed with the content on both jack-the-ripper.org and casebook.org. I should have figured those web resources existed but I didn't even check before starting to search out some books.

I just love sitting down with a nice heavy book. It's amazing how inexpensively one can find quality used books online nowadays. I'm quite addicted actually.

Anyone want to share an opinion of The Hand of a Woman? Not asking for any opinion of the theory, just what you thought of the book and if it is a worthwhile read, though perhaps supplementary to the core reading Dreadnought suggested.

Thanks again Spookys.

-Alan


*If anyone cares to know, these are the books I ordered:

The Complete Jack the Ripper by Donald Rumbelow
The Jack the Ripper A-Z Paull Begg, Martin Fido and Keith Skinner
The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Companion Stewart Evans and Keith Skinner
Letters From Hell, Skinner & Evans

For a bit of fun, I'd recommend Dan Simmons' Drood. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

99p for kindle, can't grumble at that.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-History......Z0WBVT91

If you wanna be sick, the 10 Bells is now a trendy "bistro"... shame on them...