An interesting but not especially compelling account of a monstrous villain who continues to fascinate.
As a detailed chronicle of the crimes attributed to one of history’s most infamous serial killers, this otherwise episodic account of Jack the Ripper is effective.
In a few months in 1888, the killer dubbed Jack the Ripper by the press preyed on women in the dark, foggy streets of London’s Whitechapel district, leaving no witnesses or clues to his identity. Sensational newspaper accounts of the gruesome murders and relentless speculations on the killer’s identity enthralled and terrorized Londoners. Burgan vividly recounts the crimes attributed to Jack the Ripper in grisly detail. He also discusses the many names put forward as suspects—some reasonable and some, such as Lewis Carroll and a grandson of Queen Victoria, quite outlandish. One curious detail Burgan reveals is the role anti-Semitism played in identifying possible perpetrators, a factor often missing from other accounts. Since Jack the Ripper was never caught or identified, he continues to fascinate, and his continuing prominence in popular culture is discussed, as is the work of “Ripperologists,” amateur detectives devoted to finding out the murderer’s true identity. Although full of fascinating information, the lack of a cohesive narrative can make for toilsome reading.
An interesting but not especially compelling account of a monstrous villain who continues to fascinate. (source notes, glossary, bibliography, further reading) (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7944-8
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Hot on the heels of the well-received Leonardo da Vinci (2005) comes another agreeably chatty entry in the Giants of Science series. Here the pioneering physicist is revealed as undeniably brilliant, but also cantankerous, mean-spirited, paranoid and possibly depressive. Newton’s youth and annus mirabilis receive respectful treatment, the solitude enforced by family estrangement and then the plague seen as critical to the development of his thoughtful, methodical approach. His subsequent squabbles with the rest of the scientific community—he refrained from publishing one treatise until his rival was dead—further support the image of Newton as a scientific lone wolf. Krull’s colloquial treatment sketches Newton’s advances in clearly understandable terms without bogging the text down with detailed explanations. A final chapter on “His Impact” places him squarely in the pantheon of great thinkers, arguing that both his insistence on the scientific method and his theories of physics have informed all subsequent scientific thought. A bibliography, web site and index round out the volume; the lack of detail on the use of sources is regrettable in an otherwise solid offering for middle-grade students. (Biography. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-670-05921-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2006
A standout among writing guides, valuable for its sage and friendly encouragement and for the sheer fun of hanging out with...
Advice on writing from one of the best writers around.
“I’m a writer and I’m on your side,” Gantos says, as if he’s putting an arm around a young writer’s shoulder and guiding them through a door to a new life. With a snappy voice, his own funny ink drawings, and expertise drawn from a career full of great books, he covers just about everything: where to find ideas and characters, how to structure a story, why to keep a journal, and even what to write with. Every step of the way he includes examples from his own writing. As humorous as he is, Gantos is authoritative and serious about his craft, careful to include every building block for constructing a good story—characters, setting, problem, action, crisis, resolution, and the need for a double ending (physical and emotional). Chapter 2 (“Getting Started”) ought to be read by all teachers and parents: it’s a manifesto on how to raise a reader (and writer) by reading aloud excellent picture books to young children and placing good books in the hands of children as they get older, and he offers a handy list of just what some of those books should be. While his list of picture books is not a particularly diverse one, the middle-grade titles suggested are nicely inclusive.
A standout among writing guides, valuable for its sage and friendly encouragement and for the sheer fun of hanging out with Jack. (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-374-30456-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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