Jack London Books

An addiction to Ripperology and other infamous cases of true crime originally drew me to this book. A warning: THIS IS NOT AN ITEM FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. Even with the various Ripper related books I've read over the years, parts of the prose had me cringing in horror.

The most compelling prose in the various selections lies in the exploration of the six most common Ripper suspects (The Butcher, The Priest, The Poet, The Physician, The Psychic and The Prince). Even a casual reading can turn into a marathon reading session.

The language used is graphic and the images presented can be quite disturbing. Small details from the real Ripper case files such as the contents of victim Catherine Eddowes' pockets are woven in the narrative, adding that extra bit of realism to draw you into the insular world of Whitechapel during the murders.

Ripper! is not another volume in the endless flow of armchair detective volumes that litter the true crime section of your local bookseller. You will not come away with a definitive answer to who committed these crimes. Buchanan does not force his opinions or wild theories about the Ripper's true identity on the reader unlike most Ripperology selections. Instead the reader is offered a look into what visions may have filled the mind and compelled the person behind the Ripper murders.

Good collection of stories from the road. London delivers. Don't expect Call of the Wild or White Fang, the subject is different. Mainly stories from life as a "hobo".

Great Jack London work. A nice departure from the Yukon. Very well written characters and progression through the tale.

Most people who have read Jack London know him through the enforced reading of "Call of the Wild" during middle or high school. But he was a writer of such breadth of interest that a young person who is put off by these massive novels should still find him interesting here.

Jack London was of the period of Teddy Roosevelt, the Wright Brothers, the Panama Canal, and the great explorers of the late 1800s and early 1900s. As such, he reflects in his writings of this sense of adventure and unconquerable spirit.

While this book does have a few short stories that I have only read the once, and haven't turned back to. It does possess some real gems that you'll read over and over throughout your life, and suggest to others interested in London. My personal favorites in here are "The Mexican". A great story of a man fighting for more than money. "A Piece of Steak", a story that has you cheering and crying for the hero of the tale. And, "A Gobbotto Night", is a great little number that speaks volumes about human nature.

While I'm writing this, the book is currently out of print, but if you can find a copy -- please purchase it. You'll enjoy it for years to come, and most certainly pass it on to others!

This is a good book! It will appeal to anyone that is a fan of fishing, or sailing or the San Francisco Bay area for that matter.In the early 1900's, young Jack pursues poachers in several short storys that are often funny and sometimes hair-raising! The characters are colorful and full of mischief. Without motors on their boats and the power of the sail only, it's easy to get caught up in the early day version of the car chase as Jack chases one criminal after another. Great adventure!

London's literary work has been sliced and diced into so many "greatest hits" collections; it's always great when a publisher rereleases a volume of his stories in their original collected form. This gives the reader a glimpse into a particular stage of London's career, and also provides the opportunity to discover "lost" stories that don't make it into the many editions of "The Call of the Wild and Other Stories". This collection was originally published in 1911, about the middle of London's career, when he was branching out from his tried and true Klondike subject matter, and experimenting with new settings and new literary techniques. The stories take place in San Francisco, Tahiti, Korea, Australia, and the open seas. The pieces range quite a bit in terms of quality. Three of these stories, "The Apostate", "The Chinago", and "A Piece of Steak" are among London's best, masterpieces that alone are worth the price of the book. On the other hand, "A Wicked Woman" may be the worst London story I've ever read, and there are a couple others in this book that could vie for that title. A real discovery for me was "A Curious Fragment", a futuristic socialist tale, reminiscent of London's fascinating novel The Iron Heel. All of London's stories are available for free on the internet, but if you want to read a good, solid collection of his stories in printed form, with typesetting that's easy on the eyes, this inexpensive book is a good purchase.

"Northland Wild," a region
in the arctic. The characters, Bill and Henry, are heading for Fort
, which the wolf pack is traveling. The Indian Camp is located
nearby. The she-wolf has her litter above a stream that flows into
the Mackenzie in the summer.

. White Fang meets the Indians in
the woods, and from there he goes with them to their camp. They
go down the valley until they come to a point where the stream
runs into the Mackenzie River. This is where the Indians make

their camp.
Gray Beaver takes White Fang on a journey up the Mackenzie.
They make a stop at the Great Slave Lake.
. They arrive at Fort Yukon, where Gray
Beaver decides to trade at the Hudson Bay Company.
White Fang accompanies Beauty Smith up the Yukon to Dawson,
where he later meets Weedon Scott; Scott lives a few miles away from San
Francisco. Sierra Vista, the residence of Scott and his family, is
White Fang's home for a long time. Scott reaches Sierra Vista and is killed

there.

Pamela West's "Yours Truly Jack the Ripper" is supposedly based on files opened 100 years late....It carries the reader through the investigations and suppositions of police "et al" ,,also anologies of the handwriting of "Jack the Ripper" to the assumption when the atrocieties ended that Jack the Ripper was really from"the Royal House of Clarence" ,whose vendetta was based on blaming ""veneral disease he supposedly gottened due to his solicitation of prostitutes" was caused by "a prostitue" The book claims that this madman from the House of Clarence" was put "to sleep" by the royal family's physican ,once they found out[through confidential sources] that "the Ripper" was he ,thinking that he was being given a sedative so that he could be at his best for the wedding ceremony the following day to "one of his own class".

this book goes on and on about how this diary by jack the ripper is for real and not a fake.that parts ok ftom a real life history point of view,but what really makes the book is the part at the end where ,for sanitys sake,the write out the diary in its original form.all the gut-wrenching late night antics of a arsenic addicted whore slasher are brought brutaly to life.unless youre the kind of desensitized gore loving maniac that gets into this stuff,id steer clear.this makes csi:LAS VEGAS look like mary freakin poppins.very gory.

I first read Shirley Harrisons 'The Diary of Jack the Ripper' in 1993 and was completely intrigued. Here for the first time was something concrete against someone thought to have been the Whitechapel murderer. Evidence that seemed to be more than circumstantial and to my utter surprise everyone seemed to revolt against the very idea. Instead of reading what the book had to tell with an open mind, people automatically claimed it to be a hoax, bashing everything the author implied. Then recently I read the 1998 updated version of the same book, which included new evidence and more information that had come to light during further investigations. To date, Shirley Harrison and Paul Feldman have spent many years trying to solve the mystery of this elusive diary and subsequently, the watch. Its been the most expensive Ripper investigation to date. And still today, no one has conclusively been able to prove that the diary or the watch is fake. People jumped on the band wagon when Michael Barrett 'confessed' to having supposedly forged the diary. Anyone with half a brain have since realised (as the author did) that this could not possibly have been true. All the evidence he gave to support his 'confession' has been disproved.

Why people are so vehemently against the idea that James Maybrick could have been The Ripper I dont know. It seems strange that many would rather accuse men with a lot less evidence stacked against them, than seriously consider a man who could clearly have been guilty.

However, I do admit that the 1993 version of the 'The Diary of Jack the Ripper' is a lot less detailed than the updated 1998 version. This makes sense as Shirley Harrison didnt have much time to research everything in depth prior to going to print. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, intrigued by the life of the man who may or may not have been the Whitechapel killer.

Diary aside, the life of James and Florence Maybrick was intriguing enough to warrant this book as worthy of reading. I would however recommend that you read the '98 updated version for a more comprehensive view.

"The Diary of Jack the Ripper" has the unenviable position of being one of the more recent entries into the "final solution" books on the Victorian serial killer. In all fairness to this book, I think nearly any book hitting this saturated genre is to be expected to be faced with criticism and skepticism.
What makes this book different from earlier books and books published since this one is this book purports to be the actual diary of James Maybrick, a cotton merchant and, according to this book, the most debated and elusive serial killer of all time.
Without debating on the authenticity of the diary or the book itself, which could be an entire tome in and of itself, I found the book to be an interesting read. Did I take every sentence as gospel truth? No. Reading it with a grain of salt was the best way to read it. Yes, it seemed like the book was written to work around the facts laid out in the diary - - but it was still an interesting twist on a century old mystery. And the story of James Maybrick, killer or not, was certainly interesting. Did he eventually overmedicate himself to death with arsenic? Did his wife Florie murder him? Or did she do as he asked, per the diary, and put him out of the misery of his life? Definitely a worthy story itself.
Will we ever truly know who the mysterious and depraved Jack the Ripper was? At this late date, probably not - - and so there is no way to say absolutely with certainty that any suspect put forth is undeniably a killer or undeniably innocent. But it keeps the mystery alive and keeps the Jack the Ripper market ripe for yet another worthy suspect . . .
Recommended for the true crime buff or Ripperologist.

I will be brief for Dr O aka James OBlivion gives in a verbose manner plenty of material for us to not be taken in by Harrison's enthusiasm for the maybrick/ripper theory. I bought and read the hardcover before barret's (the diary owner) confession-retraction and retraction of the retraction that the diary was a hoax. Then that it was not a hoax but that he was mad that his wife ran off with the publisher. (frankly I lost track of where he is in the cycle now) The Story in the book is GREAT regardless of wether or not it is true. People geat really worked up over the whole thing but the truth is Nobody can prove who did the ripping now and this book was written about one theory. HOWEVER, the true worth of the book lies in the sad tale of a drug addict obssesed with his wife's possible infidelity. Whats Ironic is that If Barret told the truth that he had his wife write the diary in words he came up with for Maybrick, he was tragically predicting his future state. "My thoughts will remain intact, for a reminder to all how love does destroy".

Okay, say the name on the tip of your tongue - The Diary of Jack the Ripper - and watch as the dollar signs flicker before your eyes. It was bound to happen sooner or later. The reason why the Diary is still popular today is because a few Ripperologists attached their name to it and few have had the guts to actually say that they where wrong and walk away from it. The Diary is essentially a mini-volume of notes allegedly written by James Maybrick, around the time of the Whitechapel murders, that sign at the end as "Jack the Ripper". So how does it read? Well it is reasonably fair to say that it is very creative reading and does keep you entertained, but then again that is exactly what it is meant to do. What we know today is that it is undoubtedly a forgery because the owner of the book Michael Barrett simply admitted to forging it himself. End of story, really. So you might enjoy this book but remember that it is only fiction and the case is still far from solved.

What one must remember is that James Maybrick is still a Ripper suspect and was a Ripper suspect long before the advent of the Ripper Diary so don't discount this suspect just on the bases of this book being a forgery.

Click on the authors name and have a good look around. I am sure you will be impressed and the message will finally sink home. Shame about the Ripperologists who went pair-shaped hooking up with this book as the Real McCoy. There have been a few causalities because of it.

Wheather or not the book is true or not is, for me, besides the point. What Stephen Knight DID achieve was a classic of modern horror tale, ranking with 'Frankienstien', 'Dracula', 'Dr Jekkle & Mister Hyde' etc. The thought of 3 fiends, like those in his book, roaming the streets of victorian London, non-chalantley stalking their prey one at a time untill they got the ultimate target, unsettles my stomach, it even angers me. The absolute arrogance they had, the lack of feeling they must have had for these women, is disturbing itself. What is equally frightning is the thought of police & high-level participation, even guidance. I mean, would William Gull be the mastermind, or was he only a un-hinged weapon in the hands of a conspiracy of power that had absolutely no respect for the lives or feelings of the people they were supposed to care for? I know one thing though, if they actually HAD been so callouss, this wouldnt have been the ONLY time they had done something so horrible, it would have taken practice. I 1st became aware of this book in 1988, when Stephen Knight appeared in an austraillian TV special on the book which was shown on PBS in the USA. It has since become a popular graphic novel & film, 'From Hell'

First of all, a confession: I have not read this book. I would love to, but quite frankly I can't afford the price being asked for on the used book circuit. I can only hope that some publisher will some day put this book back in print. But I'm not holding my breath.

I have read the Amazon.com reviews of this work, as well as several other reviews over the years, and it does sound like an interesting book. (The 5 Stars are for the reviews I've read ... I could not complete my own review without doing a rating.)

Obviously I cannot accurately comment on the evidence presented in Mr. Knight's book. I wonder though, is the movie From Hell based in any way on this author's theory? After seeing that movie, and reading some reviews of Knight's book, I could see some similarities.

As for the Masonic connection aspects, I'm not sure that the Masons are part of a worldwide conspiracy, but also I don't believe that every Freemason in the world is an honest, God-fearing, mentally stable person. Is it so impossible that Jack the Ripper, whoever he was, was a member of the Freemasons? And would it be unthinkable that some of his fellow Masons might try to help their brother by covering up his tracks? Surely no Freemason would argue that members of their fraternity are just human and as imperfect as the rest of us ... would they?

I read a library copy of this book and enjoyed it so much, that I've just purchased my own copy, which I should be receiving, soon. Mr. Knight did a wonderful job in spelling out his theory and backing up this theory. Some may find this to be the implausible solution, however, when reading this book one thing should be kept in mind: the era in which these events had taken place. In Victorian England, society and how people were judged within this society were far different from what they are, today. Looking at this and the theories of others, pieces of the puzzle do seem to fall into place, when reading this book. I recommend this book, highly, for anyone with an interest in the Ripper case.

Knight has exceeded the amateur sleuth -- and Scotland Yard detectives for that matter. The book gets first hand evidence from a son of one of the ripper murderers (yes, the ripper was not a single individual acting alone). In proving his case, Knight refutes the opposing theories. The paintings of Walter Sickert, his son's confession and a host of other direct evidence reveals that the ripper slayings were Freemasonic ritual murderers. The "technique", if you will, of throwing the guts over the shoulder and the disciplined manner of mutilation all reflect Freemasonic origin. Knight goes through these details and more. Knight himself was eventually murdered by the Freemasons for revealing these secret truths.

It's a shame that Knight let his bigotry against the Masons influence his thinking so much. It's even more of a shame that he then tried to blame the Jack the Ripper killings on a conspiracy of Masons. Worst of all, some people actually take the book seriously.

Any other reference on the subject (try books by Sugden or Evans, or the Jack the Ripper casebook at www.casebook.org) will point out the numerous factual errors in this book. For one, "Juwes" was never a term in Masonry and the grafitti that contained the term not only obviously referred to Jews (who lived in the building) but also may not have had anything to do with the murder. For two, Knight's supposed Ripper was an old man who could barely walk, not someone with the strength necessary to do the murders. And for errors number three through three hundred, just see any other ripperology reference.