Naming Jack the Ripper
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Naming Jack the Ripper Hardcover – September 9, 2014
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About the Author
Russell Edwards has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Middlesex University and a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration from Westminster University. He is currently managing director of Alexander Grace (Land Assets) Ltd in the UK, a company which he founded in 2009. It enables underprivileged youths to train in modern agriculture techniques and to develop initiative and creativity. His personal interests include cinema, theatre, fitness, architecture and interior design ̶ and London history, which is how he came to research Victorian London’s East End and the crimes of Jack the Ripper. He lives with his wife Sally and their two children in Hadley Wood, North London.
Dr. Jari Louhelainen is a Senior Lecturer in Molecular Biology at Liverpool John Moores University in the UK, as well as Associate Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Helsinki. He has two major lines of research at Liverpool: mammalian/medical genetics, working with their sports science department of the university; and forensics, working with the forensics department. In his resume on the Liverpool John Moores University website, his expertise in the forensic area includes ‘determination of age of forensic samples’, ‘new methods for forensic imaging applications of Next Generation sequencing for forensics’ and ‘human identification using novel genetic methods’.
Dr. Jari Louhelainen is a Senior Lecturer in Molecular Biology at Liverpool John Moores University in the UK, as well as Associate Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Helsinki. He has two major lines of research at Liverpool: mammalian/medical genetics, working with their sports science department of the university; and forensics, working with the forensics department. In his resume on the Liverpool John Moores University website, his expertise in the forensic area includes ‘determination of age of forensic samples’, ‘new methods for forensic imaging applications of Next Generation sequencing for forensics’ and ‘human identification using novel genetic methods’.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
56 of 61 people found the following review helpful
By
Dr Mike Sutton
on September 9, 2014
Format: Hardcover
16 Comments
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I pre-ordered this book on my Kindle and read it cover to cover today inside seven hours.
`Naming Jack the Ripper' is over 300 pages in length and fairly well trips along with background details of the Ripper's killings, the times he murdered in and the unfortunate social circumstances of his victims. At face value, I very much like the book and I like the author's voice. Its well written and will undoubtedly sell well.
The story in this book is essentially that the author - Russell Edwards, who is a businessman - obtained a shawl at the reserve price after it failed to sell at auction. The scarf was blood-stained, supposedly with the blood of the Ripper's victim Catherine Eddowes. To cut to the chase, DNA analysis of the scarf purportedly found that stains on it matched the DNA of Ripper suspect Aaron Kosminski and one of his victims named Catherine Eddowes.
However, there are some big problems with this book. Those problems all stem from the fact that many key scientific protocols seem to have been non-existent in the handling of the scarf and the modern DNA samples used to establish the provenance of supposedly old 19th century DNA on it. In this respect I am reminded of what led scientists astray in the case of the Piltdown Man fraud.
The author, Edwards, frequently has the entire shawl in his lone and sole possession along with modern DNA samples that are used to match allegedly old DNA samples on the shawl. Surely, with the shawl, being in two pieces, he should have begun from the start by securing one piece away with a trustworthy independent third party (such as a highly notable and entirely independent solicitor at the very least, but an independent and esteemed academic body at best).Read more ›
`Naming Jack the Ripper' is over 300 pages in length and fairly well trips along with background details of the Ripper's killings, the times he murdered in and the unfortunate social circumstances of his victims. At face value, I very much like the book and I like the author's voice. Its well written and will undoubtedly sell well.
The story in this book is essentially that the author - Russell Edwards, who is a businessman - obtained a shawl at the reserve price after it failed to sell at auction. The scarf was blood-stained, supposedly with the blood of the Ripper's victim Catherine Eddowes. To cut to the chase, DNA analysis of the scarf purportedly found that stains on it matched the DNA of Ripper suspect Aaron Kosminski and one of his victims named Catherine Eddowes.
However, there are some big problems with this book. Those problems all stem from the fact that many key scientific protocols seem to have been non-existent in the handling of the scarf and the modern DNA samples used to establish the provenance of supposedly old 19th century DNA on it. In this respect I am reminded of what led scientists astray in the case of the Piltdown Man fraud.
The author, Edwards, frequently has the entire shawl in his lone and sole possession along with modern DNA samples that are used to match allegedly old DNA samples on the shawl. Surely, with the shawl, being in two pieces, he should have begun from the start by securing one piece away with a trustworthy independent third party (such as a highly notable and entirely independent solicitor at the very least, but an independent and esteemed academic body at best).Read more ›
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By
boblawblogger
on September 18, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
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If you are a fan of true crime or forensic science or a Jack the Ripper aficionado, read this book. I enjoyed it but it has some significant shortcomings. I'm giving this book 3-stars for three reasons:
1. The author's choice of subject ...that is to say, himself. The author spends too much time, in my opinion, talking about himself. Topics covered include his childhood, his business affairs, his marriage status, his wife's difficulty conceiving, his obsession with the East End, a series of coincidences that he imbues with too much meaning, and even several references to having a favorite curry shop. In short, if he isn't Aaron Kosminski I don't want to hear it...or at least that much of it.
2. His lack of detail on Jack the Ripper. The author goes into some detail on the history and the deaths of the Ripper's victims but spends very little time discussing why Kosminski is a real suspect, or even the preferred suspect. It's okay if we don't really know the London police's reasoning for homing in on Kosminksi but if there isn't much to go on, just say so. I can believe that the DNA shows that he was in the presence of the shawl and perhaps Catherine Eddows but why did anyone look at him to begin with? Why is he such a contentious character?
3. The author leaves out any kind of argument against Kosminski's guilt. He entertains no real opposite views. Absent any reason why Kosminksi was believed to be the killer by the police at the time we are left with three pieces of evidence...a shawl which may have been made in Russia, maybe-semen DNA on the shawl, and the fact that Kosminski was committed to an asylum for life. Nothing ties Kosminski to the shawl except for place of origin. Its hardly a stretch to say Kosminski may have visited Eddows for sex.Read more ›
1. The author's choice of subject ...that is to say, himself. The author spends too much time, in my opinion, talking about himself. Topics covered include his childhood, his business affairs, his marriage status, his wife's difficulty conceiving, his obsession with the East End, a series of coincidences that he imbues with too much meaning, and even several references to having a favorite curry shop. In short, if he isn't Aaron Kosminski I don't want to hear it...or at least that much of it.
2. His lack of detail on Jack the Ripper. The author goes into some detail on the history and the deaths of the Ripper's victims but spends very little time discussing why Kosminski is a real suspect, or even the preferred suspect. It's okay if we don't really know the London police's reasoning for homing in on Kosminksi but if there isn't much to go on, just say so. I can believe that the DNA shows that he was in the presence of the shawl and perhaps Catherine Eddows but why did anyone look at him to begin with? Why is he such a contentious character?
3. The author leaves out any kind of argument against Kosminski's guilt. He entertains no real opposite views. Absent any reason why Kosminksi was believed to be the killer by the police at the time we are left with three pieces of evidence...a shawl which may have been made in Russia, maybe-semen DNA on the shawl, and the fact that Kosminski was committed to an asylum for life. Nothing ties Kosminski to the shawl except for place of origin. Its hardly a stretch to say Kosminski may have visited Eddows for sex.Read more ›
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By
Love To Read
on September 18, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
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Overall this is a good read. The premise put by the author, Russell Edwards, is that Jack The Ripper was non other than Aaron Kosminski based principally on a shawl he bought at an auction said to have belonged to or at least found at the scene of the murder of Catherine Eddowes. The book moves along rather quickly, but, touches upon the relevant facts that Mr. Edwards deems important in enough detail to keep the reader reading.
The explanation of DNA and its extraction from the shawl are not tedious, but the average layman or true crime aficionado will most probably do one of two things, gloss over the procedure with a simple understanding of a complicated structure and its testing, or, has already read about it in so many other books, that, it becomes mundane.
Mr. Edwards does try very hard to make the case that Mr. Kosminski is the Ripper, and that the shawl found at the scene of the murder is his and not Ms. Eddowes, but, there is a fatal flaw in his reasoning. How do we know that Mr. Kosminski did not simply give the shawl to Ms. Eddowes on a previous occasion, when he used her particular brand of service? Or, can we be sure that Ms. Eddowes did not just pinch the shawl from Kosminski on her many trawls about the city looking for anything that she could later sell for payment of her nights logging?
Assuming that both blood DNA of Ms. Eddowes and seminal fluid DNA of Mr. Kosminski’s is allegedly found on the shawl, Mr. Edwards makes the argument that since Mr. Kosminski was an alleged known self gratifying sociopathic sexual deviant he must have, like all sociopaths, taken some sort of sexual gratification from the murder and ejaculated at the scene.Read more ›
The explanation of DNA and its extraction from the shawl are not tedious, but the average layman or true crime aficionado will most probably do one of two things, gloss over the procedure with a simple understanding of a complicated structure and its testing, or, has already read about it in so many other books, that, it becomes mundane.
Mr. Edwards does try very hard to make the case that Mr. Kosminski is the Ripper, and that the shawl found at the scene of the murder is his and not Ms. Eddowes, but, there is a fatal flaw in his reasoning. How do we know that Mr. Kosminski did not simply give the shawl to Ms. Eddowes on a previous occasion, when he used her particular brand of service? Or, can we be sure that Ms. Eddowes did not just pinch the shawl from Kosminski on her many trawls about the city looking for anything that she could later sell for payment of her nights logging?
Assuming that both blood DNA of Ms. Eddowes and seminal fluid DNA of Mr. Kosminski’s is allegedly found on the shawl, Mr. Edwards makes the argument that since Mr. Kosminski was an alleged known self gratifying sociopathic sexual deviant he must have, like all sociopaths, taken some sort of sexual gratification from the murder and ejaculated at the scene.Read more ›
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