3 comments about Prisoner of Love (New York Review Books Classics).

1. If the reader is looking for easy explanations to the Palestinian refugees' war with the nation of Israel, Jean Genet's book is not the place to seek them. And I don't advise readers to pick through the text looking for the succinct sentences in which Genet clearly states why he's on the side of the Palestinians, or if he's anti-Israel, or anti-American. There is no proof of reviewer Tim Keane's conclusion that Genet "seethes with hatred of Israel"; there are no such violent emotions in Prisoner of Love. At 430 pages, be prepared to find subtleties of experience shaded by conflicting responses--nuances completely unavailable via print journalism or network news, CNN, or Al Jazeera. But the very fact that Genet wanted to observe life in the refugee camps shows that he had to make a choice. Nearly all the protagonists of his memoir, this textual "souvenirs," are Palestinians and generally Muslim. Indeed, the compelling force which drives the relatively plotless Prisoner of Love are the individuals to whom Jean attachments himself: the dynamic Lieutenant Mubarak, Dr. Mahjoub and the charismatic female doctor, Dr. Nabila, Khaled Abu Khaled and Abu Omar, and an accomplished woman friend, a blond Lebanese guide and translator, Nidal, and dozens of other people. Genet was particularly attached to Hamza and his mother, who he attempts to find again after his absence from Palestine for nearly 14 years. We cannot forget the common fedayee rebel, the fedayeen as a whole who fought to make the Palestinian plight known.
   
   When evaluating Prisoner of Love, it's important to remember that Genet is a writer. Throughout his work, Genet tells us how difficult it is to recount his experiences since he's not sure at times what he's seeing, and he must make his writing conform to the necessities of craft. And whatever writing craft decisions Jean made it is clear that the Palestinians "wrote" him as well; Jean was seldom in control of his experience. As I read, I realized that Genet is the ultimate refugee; he seeks to be with people who are like him. My conclusion is this: Palestine chose him.
   
   Only Genet could have written this book. He is a bruised romantic searching for a resting place that will caress both his homeless intellect and his orphaned body: "A little while ago I wrote that though I shall die, nothing else will. And I must make my meaning clear. Wonder at the sight of a corn-flower, at a rock, at the touch of a rough hand--all the millions of emotions of which I'm made--they won't disappear even though I shall. Other men will experience them, and they'll still be there because of them. More and more I believe I exist in order to be the terrain and proof which show other men that life consists in the uninterrupted emotions flowing through all creation" (361). As an orphan with prison experience, and disaffected from France, Genet was willing to try on other peoples' lives; I suspect that without the structure dictated by the craft of writing, and his talent coming to the attention of well-known writers, Genet would have disappeared into the French prison system.
   
   Another conclusion I came to: Genet shows us the difference between terrorism and Arab nationalism. Is there any hope that the U.S., of which I am a native-born citizen, will ever figure out this difference?
   
   Overwhelmingly, the single image I have of Prisoner of Love is that to read it is to travel the land that dwelled *in* Jean Genet, this traveler who was intelligent enough to let his emotions guide him. And only by reading can I share in living a life which speaks so eloquently of rebellion and blood, of life and death.



2. Genet allows you to feel the immediacy of the Palestinian situation with particles from lives,from ill-defined fragments of lives disrupted with no future,he stayed with a family in 1980 a half-day and a whole night where the young son,Hamza a fedayee went off at night to fight. Genet hearing gun fire in the distance inhabited his bed and was brought Turkish coffee and water in the night as a replacement for the young man,by his mother. Genet is a writer/poet,a political thinker,but never a man of politics, a deeply sensitive man,a virtuoso of the sensual image, as the starry-night reflected against the curtain in his room with the small blue table. "Of course it's understood that the words,nights,forests,septet,jubilation desertion and despair are the same words that I have to use to describe the goings on at dawn in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris when the drag queens depart after celebrating their mystery,doing their accounts and smoothing banknotes out of the dew."

   Genet was allowed with special permission to visit the massacre site at the camps at Sabra and Chantila,smelling the rotting flesh, "They happened I was affected by them. I talked about them. But while the act of writing came later, after a period of incubation,nevertheless in a moment like that or those when a single cell departs from its usual metabolism and the original link is created of a future,unsuspected cancer,or a piece of lace, so I decided to write this book."

   Genet has an intense need for passion of any dimension,scouring the vigours of whatever parts of fragments of the lifeworld's complexity presents itself to him. I once thought of this book as a romantic means of portrayel a betrayel of a political situation,one, the only one that excited Genet.It means something that only encounterings lives in struggle,bent into a repressive state that Genet finds the only life worth encountering,sensing and feeling about. This book was completed in 1986 after suffering from throat cancer, he died on the night of 14-15th of April,1986,while correcting proofs.




3. This book is absolutely essential to any understanding of the Palestinian situation. It is also the mostimportant work of Genet's entire career.

5 comments about Dillinger: The Untold Story Expanded Edition.

1. This is Dillinger, from early childhood through his notorious days. The book captures everything you'd expect from a biography and gives the gangster enthusiasts enough mouth-watering drama. I love the timelines! Being from the midwest, I recognized many of the towns he targeted so this is a must read for fellow midwesterners and highly recommended for everyone else!



2. In my opinion, one of the best and most underrated books written to date about John Dillinger. I picked up a copy by chance several years ago, not expecting much, and was soon totally engrossed. I feel that most of the contents are accurate (and certainly never before revealed in any published accounts I ever read) and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in the Dillinger saga.



3. The authors seem to have forgotten the basics behind Dillinger, the guy was a cold blooded killer and thief...okay granted, a colorful and charming killer and thief, but a lowlife just the same. Instead, what we seem to get a glowing reivew of Dillingers life in crime, killing innocent cops who were doing their jobs and taking hard earned cash away from people who worked long and hard to make it and save it....in the depression.



4. My 1st "Dillinger" book and boy...it was a good one. I enjoyed the book and especially all the little extra facts etc. located in in the back.
   I highly recommend!



5. I agree with the reviewer who recommends the Nash book.
   
   As shocking as it may seem...
   that book convinced me that the Feds killed a Dillinger imposter.
   
   The death photos clearly show a 'Dandy'... and not Dillinger.
   Lawrence liked to claim he was Dillinger...
   and the woman in red used that fact to get herself.. and Dillinger, off the hook.
   
   The thing that convinced me the most...
   was not anything that was pointed out in the book...
   but my own observation.
   Look at the photo of the old man who claims to be Dillinger.
   Yes, he looks quite different...
   but look at the ears.
   They are uniquely shaped... and they are identical to Dillinger's.
   
   This wasn't even pointed out in the book.
   Faces age... but ears retain their shape.

5 comments about A Mind for Murder: The Education of the Unabomber and the Origins of Modern Terrorism.

1. This book is useful as required reading for college students if the professor would like to help get the students past the trivial debates about whether Ted Kaczynski was a serial killer, ecoterrorist, or what. Far too often, attempts at criminological writing reduce to an essay on a "How crazy were they?" and this book helps correct that, making sense out of an episode in American history which frequently baffles explanation. For a taste of the author's writing, one should look for much of the same writing easily found on the web as a series of articles in The Atlantic.



2. A Mind for Murder is a compelling look into what contributed to the creation of the monster known as the Unabomber. It begins in the earlier years of Kaczynski and logs personal event and how these events contributed to his psyche as a murder when he grew. One of the most compelling insights in the book is how he is thought to be insane and a madman. Kaczynski Knew what he was doing and did not what to be declared as insane because his environmental/anti-technology cause would be thought a joke. He took a plea bargain in order to keep the defense from declaring him mentally unstable. I was a amazed at the book and the great insight and detail it portrayed. If you are interested in Domestic Terrorism this is a must read.



3. Mind for Murder is an excellent book by Alston Chase. This book has two main components to it. The first component deals with the life and demise of Ted Kaczynski. The author gives us descriptions of Ted's early years as a child, his high school years, and spends a great deal of time expounding on Ted's time spent at Harvard.
   
   In the author's description of Ted's early years we our shown Ted grew to despise his parents pressuring him to excel academically. His resentment was especially strong toward his father who seemed to remain aloof and somewhat nihilistic till he committed suicide. Ted also resented his mother Wanda because he felt she intentionally subjected him to psychological abuses as a child. These feelings seemed to stay with Ted and even grow as Ted embarked on his college career.
   
   The second component of this book is a cultural analysis that centers around the time period Ted would have been at Harvard and proffers reasons why Ted and others in our modern times have felt the need to resort to terrorism. The author explains how Universities like Harvard used to place a strong emphasis on liberal arts education. Education that was paired with moral virtue. This way of thinking is found in the thoughts of the ancient Greeks who thought reason had to be bound with moral virtue. However, in the 1950s with World War II just having ended and the Cold War looming the universities seemed to adopt the stance of logical positivism. The idea that if something isn't scientifically verifiable it has no meaning. In other words, moral judgments are just the cultural attitudes of the time. Ted would have encountered this line of nihilistic thinking at Harvard. Is it any wonder in later years he would adopt and expound his personal philosophy to mean any ends justified the means? This is especially poignant considering moral judgments to Ted seemed to be just a bunch of efforts at psychological control by the system.
   
   Chase later gives us insightful details of how Ted was used at Harvard by Henry Murray for a psychological experiment. Ted and some other Harvard students at the time were participants in an experiment to submit these persons to dreadful psychological interrogation experiments. The Govt. at this time was very concerned with finding out how to treat or even coerce political prisoners into doing what they wanted. Even going so far as to study and try to learn how to keep the masses under control. Chase gives us historical insight into the Govt. intentionally trying out "new" drugs like LSD on college students, prison inmates, and anyone else it so fancied because surely the Russians had a secret "mind control" drug like this to coerce confessions out of POWs. Ted resented his being tested (even if he was being paid for it) and came to view the techno-industrial system as guilty of imposing unnecessary suffering on the masses. Mind control, feeling like a cog in the machine, depression, irritability, lack of leisure, pollution, were all some of the things Ted blamed on the techno-industrial system. The only way to stop these unjust grievances was to lash out against the system. Even killing if necessary which is just what Ted did.
   
   This is a sad book in some ways but it's a more important work in many other ways. It tells what happens when value gets subjugated below reason. It tells how the culture suffers when ideas like deconstructionism, logical positivism, and structuralism so permeate our culture that nothing has any meaning. Until academics and the culture in general start accepting the fact that reason is only half the puzzle; there is always yin with yang, objectivity with subjectivity, and mind with matter in any accurate depiction of reality. Until we understand these principles and adopt a more holistic approach to reality we are perhaps bound to repeat these same mistakes-the devaluing of society to utter meaninglessness. Worst of all, the suffering of innocents by acts of terrorism and the dependence on antidepressants will continue to be a prominent part of life.



4. Though Chase does seem to suffer a need to attack what he views as the outcome of "value-free" education, I do not think the book suffers as much from this insistence as does the previous reviewer. In fact, there is much to be gained from such a study.

   Chase's book is an admirable study of both the Unabomber and the postwar currents that converged to contribute to the making of the Unabomber. Thankfully, Chase is wise enough not to offer excuses for Kaczynski's actions, but his research into what made Kaczynski "tick" provide a believable backdrop and a necessary antidote to the popular misconception of the Unabomber as a madman devoid of reason or motive.

   And rather than finding fault with Chase's attempt to tie the Unabomber's actions and theories to those of other "terrorist" groups, I found his arguments convincing, especially in regards to the pervasiveness of the positivistic, supremely rational curriculum of Western universities and the devaluing of the humanities.

   We need more thinkers and researchers like Chase who are willing to make us question our kneejerk reactions to men who make us as uncomfortable as Kaczynski.




5. This was a terribly disappointing book. Author Alston Chase's description of the psychological experiments which Kaczynski was subjected to at Harvard is disturbing, and he makes some interesting connections between the manipulation suffered by Kaczynski and his subsequent rage at 'systems of control'.

   But this potentially valuable insight gets lost in Chase's superficial and obsessive recounting of what he views as a social crisis bought on by 'value-free' education and philosphy. In the process, Chase condemns both academia and those who revolted against it, post-war society and those who pointed out it's failings, the US government and those who would try to move beyond a nation-state. By the end of the book, Chase has variously described Kaczynski as somehow representative of deep-ecologists, anti-globlization protestors, and even islamic fundamentalists (who, whatever their other problems, would not seem to be suffering from a 'value-free' education), all of whom (along with multiple other groups that the author doesn't like) are indiscriminately labelled 'terrorists'.

No comments about Mafia Marriage.

5 comments about Nicole Brown Simpson: The Private Diary of a Life Interrupted.

1. This book was well written. It was about a lifestyle very different from most people. It is Faye Resnicks perception of events surrounding Nicoles life. I thought it was very insightful and a good read.



2. People who thrash and despise this book fail to understand something--Faye Resnick wrote it in order to warn other women involved in violent and demoralizing relationships about what CAN happen to them if they remain in these tragic relationships. The stories about O.J.'s viciousness and cruelty toward Nicole and his ruthless manipulation of her family are (in retrospect) 100% true. I admire Ms. Resnick very much because of her courage and willingness to tell and talk about truths that many were not prepared to face or accept. This book is as real as can be and highly recommended for anyone wanting to know more about the painfully tragic relationship between Nicole and O.J. and the events that led up to this horrific double-murder.



3. I thought this book would be a chronical of Nicole and OJ's relationship from the get-go, and how things eventually devolved to the sad state they were in at the end, but instead, it focused more on Faye Resnick's scatterbrained rantings about restaurants, clubs, sexual partners, vacations, and utterly soulless, vapid "friendships"...all provided in non-chronological order! There was relatively little information about the relationship between the famous couple: strange in a book that purports to be about that very subject. I feel sorry for Faye and Nicole, because I come away from reading this disjointed, rambling, bizarre account of seemingly disconnected events with the impression that both of them were seriously emotionally damaged women. So at least that was conveyed well.



4. Poor Faye Resnick. I really feel sorry for this lady. It must be a hard life, being a Beaverly Hills socialite. At what restaurant do we eat? Who do we have affairs with? Can we go to Cabo San Lucos next week? Such are the mighty questions Faye asks in her book. All that stress must have forced the breakdown of her marriages and the cocaine and alcohol habits.
   As the previous reviewers have already noted, there is not much sympathy for this kind of lifestyle.

   I read this book for the simple fact of gaining some insight into Nicole's husband. O.J. is indeed a great actor. His facade has masked what he really is. In this, the book suceeds in giving some glimpses of a very troubled person. At the same time, it gives a poor view of the lifestyles of the rich and idle.




5. I read this book, from the librbay, and it is quite infuriating... Firstly, Resnik lists her occupation is "socialite"????? Give me a break!!!!!

   Her whole claim to fame is name dropping... (and,this is her only claim to fame...) When you read this book you realize how fake and pretnetious people like Bruce Jenner, Kris Jenner, Faye Resnik, and Nicole and O.J. Simpson really are/were. Its almost as though Resnik was more upset about Nicole's death because ahe lost her "link" to the "inner circle".

   I also think that the things she wrote about Nicole were SOOOO disrespectful, not only to Nicole, but especially to Nicole's childre, I cant imagine them reading such awful things about their murdered mother, Didnt they go through enough??.... There are extremely private things that Faye discusses about Nicole that are so cold and hurtful (if they are even true) I cant imagine that this was Nicole's best friend. If she cared anything for Nicole she would have kept her collagen-enhanced mouth shut.

   She is a brat, she has done NOTHING worthwhile for this country, her "best frined" or those poor children that she left behind.., I can not believe that the publishing co. allowed her to write such trash about a person that was brutally murdered. With a friend like this, who needs enemies?

   Believe me

5 comments about The Sixteenth Round: From Number 1 Contender To #45472.

1. LOOKED FOR THIS IN A HARDCOVER FOR YEARS. HAVEN'T READ THIS STORY IN YEARS.. VERY HAPPY TO HAVE FOUND THIS AGAIN.. GREAT SERVICE PRODUCT AS PROMISED..



2. This a great story.please "game of fools" by charles wooten the story of glenn summerford who is still in prison doing a 99 year sentence ffrom a case like hurricanes that consisted of predujuice and lies.



3. If you have seen "The Hurricane" motion picture, starring Denzel Washington (an amazing peformance), surely you'd think that you know everything there is to know about Rubin Carter. Unfortunately, that's incorrect. Furthermore, it's not even close.
   Don't get me wrong - the motion picture is fantastic and it surely includes all the important details, but regardless to what kind of movie it is - you should know, and I can tell you that for sure because I read this book, that there are A LOT of details that aren't mentioned in the movie.
   If you want to know the whole story I must implore you to take a long look at that book. But I should also tell you that there's a downside: The book can make you read even five pages in a row without any important or interesting thing coming up; it can also make your patience burst if you're expecting something to happen but it takes long pages, sometimes not even discribed so interestingly.
   Bottom line: if Rubin Carter and his amazing story interests you - I would suggest you read this book. It will make you see the big picture about this man.



4. I bought this book my sophomore year of high school and that was over 7 years ago. It has literally been my bible to life. Rubin and his book have changed my life more than anything else I have ever encountered. Too often than not we find false heroes in this world. People like Paris Hilton who some look up to as a hero or a role model, but the true heroes in this life are often over looked or never seen at all. Rubin Carter is a true hero, I have never even heard of such a troubled life an to come out on top both a champion of his sport and one in life. A wise man told me once that it is now how we live this life but what we do during it. If your looking for a uplifting book of a true hero an a book that will give you strength when all doubt you, this is the one.



5. Obviously no one can write his story better than Rubin himself. This story is both and inspiring story of a man who has never stopped fighting and a terrifying reality check into the American judicial system. This book is filled with an anger that is only kept in check by the author's own love and compassion.

   The reader whould of course keep in mind this is an autobiography and therefore is skewed to the writer's point of view and emotional state.

1 comments about Matar a Pablo Escobar (Killing Pablo) (Bolsillo).

1. Mark Bowden did an excellent job writting this book, he took care of many details described in the book with all his research and investigation good work Mark .

5 comments about The Life of John Wesley Hardin As Written by Himself.

1. 
   Many thanks for splendid item & price, and professional service. KN



2. How could I not give 5 stars to a crack-shot gunslinger who murdered numerous men then became a lawyer and actually wrote a book about his violent life?
   I've read the other reviews so I will try not to repeat anything you've already read. It's rumored John W. Hardin didn't write the book! Considering what I already said about becoming a lawyer I can't see how he wouldn't have been able to write it himself. I'm not sure when he started or how long it took him but he was able to pinpoint some of the dates so I'd have to say he kept some kind of a diary or guessed in order to appear more authentic.
   If/when you read the book maybe you'll notice his writing seems to get better as the book progresses. At the beginning some paragraphs last more than a couple pages with him changing the subject throughout. Well before the end, however, the writing improves greatly. But I believe it was all written by the same person because the style didn't really change. Maybe if he had lived longer he would have gone back and re-wrote the earlier part of the book to match the style of the later parts when he became more educated.
   I remember hearing how he "was so mean he once shot a man for snoring." Hardin never mentions this but I believe it was the part about killing the guy who tried to sneak into his room to take his pants and then fleeing in his underwear and running around trying to elude Wild Bill Hickok and his men. Seems if Hardin killed the guy for the reason he specified he wouldn't have needed to run away especially since he and Wild Bill shared a respect for one another.
   His point of view on all the events may have not have been 100% true but it tends to validate the type of person he was... And it's all in his own words.



3. Although this book is far from objective and the author tries to justify the many murders that he commited, this is still a good book for someone interested in western history or western gunfighters. John Wesley Hardin was possibly the most notorious and most prolific killer of the era.
   While this book is not the most objective it does give a good insight into the subject's thinking. It is also the only way to track Mr. Hardin through some periods of his life



4. The autobiography of John Wesley Hardin would be illuminating if it was not one long tedious, blow-by-blow account of the man's life. Even though there is a brawl, a gunfight, or a mad chase on nearly every page the book manages to be excruciatingly dull. The reason? Stilted, cumbersome, self-absorbed writing. It is hard to find value in this work even as primary source history because there is not really much history there.



5. Hardin begins his narrative by acknowledging that he is very much a product of a particular time and place, a particular culture. He does not see any reason why he should attempt to transcend that, let alone apologize for it. He accepts himself for what he is and expects everyone else to do the same. He is above all a man of violence, ready and able to resolve all conflicts with physical - if necessary, deadly - force. Raised in Reconstruction Texas, he finds plenty to fuel his resentment, including carpetbagger politicians from the north and newly emancipated slaves appointed as police officers (an unquestioning racialism was part of his heritage). Nor is it in his nature to run from a fight. When he hears that Wild Bill Hickok, then Marshall of Abilene, has threatened to kill him if he ever sets foot in the town, what does he do? Goes immediately to Abilene of course, to face him. I would have been inclined to go anywhere but.
   
   Tough, fearless, uncompromising and cunning (at one point, he pretends to cry, in order to throw his captors off-guard) with an uncontrollable temper, he became the most formidable gunfighter of the Old West. How many men he killed no one knows for sure. Not even he knew. It was at least 20, probably 40 or more.
   
   His life story has the strengths and weaknesses common to all autobiographies: it is the authentic voice, but it tells us a selective and heavily slanted story. It remains an invaluable primary source and should be required reading for anyone seriously interested in the history of the American West. Although not great literature, it is well written. The Western Frontier Library edition is good, with a useful introduction and postscript, but I would have liked a few footnotes, to save me having to go online for explanations of 'headright' and 'galluses', etc.

5 comments about Did Lizzie Borden Axe for It?.

1. 
   There are many unsolved murders in history, but few hold the public interest like the 1892 slayings of Andrew and Abby Borden in Fall River, Massachusetts. Lizzie, 32 years old at the time, was tried for the murders and found innocent but as David Rehak points out, her acquittal was never fully endorsed by public opinion. He proposes that the story lives on in part because the public sees Lizzie as either (a) having acted out their own fantasy of retribution, or else (b) as a symbol of gross suspicion and injustice. There was family disharmony, a large inheritance under dispute, a suspect of unblemished reputation, and a mountain of fact and speculation that defied integration into a sound case.
   
   Did Lizzie Borden Axe for It? is a compendium of Bordenia that is sure to enlighten all with an interest in this mystifying case. David Rehak, known for his works of fiction, developed an interest in the case and researched meticulously before presenting this book. The current edition has been amplified and re-issued, and there are a few editing flaws in this new version that could have been addressed to bump my rank up to five stars. In spite of this, I found it an absorbing and extremely thorough canvass of the facts and speculations about the case. There are many photographs included, some of them previously unpublished.
   
   Starting with a thorough chronology of the fateful day in August 1892, Rehak goes on to examine the sometimes-confusing facts from the public record. Next he covers the speculation and rumor that emerged in his research. The suggestion of a never-revealed diary, theories about Lizzie's relationships and sexuality, and stories from her later life are detailed fastidiously. The sites and "shrines" associated with Lizzie's life and the murders are covered--the house where the Bordens lived and died is now a bed-and-breakfast hotel.
   
   The final section of the book is the most unusual. Rehak discusses a number of articles in print that relate to the case. He details the non-disclosure of case-related documents held by Lizzie's trial attorney which are protected by legal privilege. There is a challenge to this status from a number of parties, with the argument being made that historical interest trumps privilege in this case, with all participants being long dead. Will we ever see the contents of the five file drawers secured in a law firm in Springfield, Massachusetts?
   
   As a final serving of Bordenia, the book finishes with some fictional writings featuring Lizzie and the case. Here the speculations are given free rein! It's an entertaining finish to a sad story. Our desire to know what actually happened to Andrew and Abby Borden may never be satisfied, but Did Lizzie Borden Axe for It? takes the discussion forward in a most entertaining fashion.
   
   Linda Bulger, 2008



2. I had the privilege of editing the first version of this book for author David Rehak. This is an excellent, updated version with a new cover that I find appropriate for the book's content.
   
   Did Lizzie Borden Axe For It? is Rehak's first nonfiction book, for which he did extensive research. Rehak discovered many new facts about Lizzie Borden, and to lighten the serious nature of the book, he also wrote some humorous skits. At first thought, one would tend to think humor wouldn't work in a book like this, but he pulls it off ... somehow. I found the break from gore to humor to be a welcome relief. (Well, it works in the best horror movies, doesn't it?)
   
   Even if you're not into "Bordenia," which I'm not, you will be intrigued by this book. It's different, to say the least. I learned new things about Lizzie Borden that haven't been brought to light before, and the previously unpublished photos add more mystery to the content.
   
   Someone once wrote of Rehak: "He dares to go where most authors fear to tread." And I agree: In his fictitious works, he writes about many taboo subjects. This nonfiction book about Lizzie Borden seems natural for his unique skills.
   
   Reviewed by: Betty Dravis, 2008
   Author of: Millennium Babe: The Prophecy



3. I recently finished reading David Rehak's book; "DID LIZZIE BORDEN AXE FOR IT?"
   As the "fly-sheet" indicates, this book on Lizzie Borden is a collection of facts and poses no theory or specific agenda regarding the murders.
   It would have been better if, Rehak had put a little more of himself and ideas into the book.
   
   Rehak delivers a "semi-truck" full of accumulated factual information and then...dumps the entire load onto the reader with little or, no mercy. Trying to dig oneself out from underneath this mountain of information to understand what is pertinent and what is not, seems a rather hopless task.
   
   The author also seems to simply by-pass some informational leads because "he" feels the story has nothing supporting it's validity. For instance; he mentions (on page65-66) an old nurse who, in 1984 claimed she had cared for Lizzie Borden in 1926 (the year before Lizzie's death). The nurse claimed Lizzie had confided in her that one of her "boyfriends" (if she ever had any),David Anthony had in fact, committed the crimes. This man, according to the author, was later identified (by whom?), but died in 1924. Mr. Rehak dismisses this entire story seemingly because suspect, David Anthony would have only been 22 years old at the time of the crime while Lizzie would have been 32.
   
   Despite all of this; David Rehak has published not a literary masterpiece, but a much better reference book for all of us "arm-chair" detectives to call upon when the trail gets even colder.
   
   Did Lizzie Axe for it? I think, she asked someone else "to Axe for her."



4. I am a great fan of Mr. Rehak. I have read all of his books, and he has not disappointed me yet. It is obvious from reading the book that Mr. Rehak did a considerable amount of research. But, what sets this book apart from the others that have been written about Lizzie is the "extra step" that Mr. Rehak takes in making the story all his with that glorious story telling that he weaves into all his books. He is a very talented writer with a wonderful sense of humor. I am looking forward to his next book. (Yes, I think Lizzie did it.)



5. I have both versions of this book. The first (original) one is well-written and well-edited without those editing eyesores that appear in this later version with 100 mores pages added. I can only assume they were too eager to get the book out in the latter edition and forgot to correct a few things. But even with the errors, this is a substantial and formidable work on Lizzie Borden with all that's in it and all it has to offer. If you can overlook the rough edges, and you have an interest in the subject of the book, you'll be much intrigued and entertained. Lots of food for thought.

3 comments about Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History.

1. This book has helped me allot in regards to a project I am working on. When one recognizes the significance between Jack the Ripper and the media, and it's part in ascending him from serial killer to Victorian icon, it is impossible to ignore this book. I highly recommend it.



2. I had to read this took for a Collage Class and have never enjoyed reading a "textbook" more.
   
   Paul Begg is a very entertaining author and gave alot of details concerning the Jack the Ripper Murders.
   
   At first he tells about the area of London called Whitechappel where it happened and then he talks about the Ripper Murders themselves.
   
   Not only does he give much detail about the Ripper Murders he talks about the Police investigation about it, as well as goes into detail about some of the people that historians and investigaters have claimed were Jack the Ripper.
   
   All in all a very comprehensive acount of the Jack the Ripper Murder case.



3. The book really is more about the context than the case itself, but Begg present solid research and writes very well. In terms of presenting the conditions of 1888 Whitechapel, it is probably the best book out there. For a history strictly of the JtR case, Sugden would be the way to go. However, Begg's new book, "Jack the Ripper: The Facts" (only available at amazon.co.uk now), which contains much of the research done in the past ten years, would be definitely worth getting from there. Still, this book is worth it for the Ripperologist.