Zodiac by Robert Graysmith
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Book Reviews of Zodiac
Book Review: Absolute BEST in true crime, 5 stars!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
My professor assigned this book in my class (the orginal had a yellow cover, this one has the new movie poster as the cover!). I had read it many times in the past but it was great to read again. This book, ZODIAC, is memorable, frightening, well written and intensely researched. Robert Graysmith certainly put in the time to write and research this book. You will be scared by the descriptions of the crimes and the taunting letters the killer leaves behind. This book is hard to put down and is a MUST READ for true crime lovers. This was the first of it's kind when it came out. It includes all the photos and text of the letters. Graysmith does a wonderful job telling the story with his writing, making you feel like you're there watching this mystery unfold. You feel that the events are taking place right then as you read because of the formatting of this book. It's like you're reading a police file with the date stamps and exact location and times of each scene and event. If you're a fan of true crime books, this will be one of your favorites because of the amazing detail the author provides and the mystery surrounding the case. You won't regret taking the time to read this book. It's very chilling and it's very hard to put down, the best of it's kind that I've read.. It's a must read if you are new to the Zodiac case.
The book details the case of the "Zodiac" killer that was active in San Francisco in the 1960's. This is an account of one man's personal involvement in this case. The author worked at the San Francisco Chronicle at the time and took 10 years to write this book. He was there. This book describes the author's own investigations. It's a frustrating case for many reasons. I can't imagine a more detailed account of these crimes and since Graysmith was right there during the action, his opinions are absolutely valid. The author provides a tremendous amount of details about the police investigation and the letters.
I have to laugh at some of the reviews posted about the orignal yellow Zodiac book and the author. There are obviously a few people who believe the killer is someone different then the one stated in this book. There also are a lot of fanatics that have their own theories or competing books or websites (or whatever!) that obsess on every little detail as you will notice when you read the reviews for the original book. Most believe this book is dead on, myself included. I guess this is a genre that unfortunately occasionally attracts some rather odd/obsessed people. Most people just enjoy a good mystery or are intrigued but some take it too far. Mostly everyone loves this book but beware of the fanatics who want to be responsible for solving this crime and will spread lies about anyone else who makes a valid attempt. Such as this author and others who have written books about this case. If you don't like the book or agree with the main suspect, fine, but have real reasons.
I believe this to be the best account available of these crimes. This book is a classic and wouldn't be in its 37th printing and being made into a movie this year if wasn't thought of highly by many. So the best advice is that you read it and see for yourself, form your own opinions instead of letting someone else make them for you.
Book Review: Scary people out there!
Summary: 5 Stars
I really couldn't put down this book. It reads like a first rate fiction book. It is horrifying to think that all the events in this book actually took place, and more terrifying still that the serial killer is still at large after over 30 years of evading the police.
The killings are gruesome, with some victims repeatedly stabbed to death, while others shot at close range with a hand gun. None of the victims are sexually molested, and they are not robbed of their personal belongings. The killer derives pleasure from killing his victims. As he later tells police in letters sent to newspapers, he kills in order to collect his victims as slaves for the next life!
There was one instant where the killer might have been caught. After the Zodiac (as the killer calls himself) shoots a taxi driver, a police car is called to the scene after the gun shot is heard. However, witnesses mistakenly reported a black man at the scene. The Zodiac is a chubby white man. When the police arrive near the scene, they see the Zodiac walking, and stop by him to ask him if he had seen a black man in the area. He says yes and points to the direction he allegedly saw a black man with a gun running. If the police would have stopped and interviewed the Zodiac more carefully, they would have seen his bloody hands. There is no telling what would have happened then. The police could have been shot dead, or maybe it could have been the other way around (there were two policemen in the car.) The Zodiac also called the police after committing some of the crimes - from phone booths adjacent to police stations!
Another chilling instant was when the Zodiac stopped a pregnant woman and her child on a road claiming that her back tire was wobbling. He volunteered to fix the tire, and while the woman watched from her side view mirror, he appeared to do just that. However, as soon as she drove off, the back tire completely came off and she had to stop. She was then kidnapped by the Zodiac and driven around for almost an hour, as if the Zodiac was looking for an ideal place to kill his victim. However, the woman together with her child manage to jump out of the car, and escape death!
Not all of Zodiac's victims died. Although some victims were repeatedly stabbed, some survived! In all, it is believed that the Zodiac might have killed about 37 people. He is still at large!
It was quite amazing how an amateur code breaker was able to break the coded letter of the Zodiac within a day and night. After the coded letter was published in a newspaper, neither the FBI nor the police were able to decipher the letter. However, an amateur man did! The FBI should have hired him!
This book will keep you reading throughout the night. It includes photos of the letters sent by the Zodiac that will send a chill up your spine. I just couldn't put this book down.
Book Review: Response to Monty
Summary: 5 Stars
First I would like to respond to the first review... I have read the book and I am very excited about the movie based on Mr. Graysmith's book, Zodiac Unmasked!! As odd as the case is, I do know that the projector theory you mentioned is not at all true... Graysmith CLEARLY states in Zodiac Unmasked that the oddest part about the case being unsolved/cold is that he believed the killer was in front of their eyes and Arthur Leigh Allen. In the book he unmistakingly states that Leigh (which if you read the book, you would not need to use pages to identify numbers the memory of information would stand alone) is what he prefered to be called, was AMBIDEXTROUS! He used his LEFT had in every day writing and his RIGHT hand to write the letters. That is if he was indeed 100% the Zodiac killer. Just to clarify things for you, this was Leigh's genius... he was indeed a mastermind at making certain he would not get caught. The reason why they went to get a handwritng sample was NOT to get a sample of his every day handwriting, it was to get a sample of his RIGHT HAND! They needed Sherwood to check his RIGHT HAND because that would have been the hand they would need to test the letters....
i hope i was able to clear some things up for you... i loved this book and i too, LOVED this case. Back then, there wasn't much geographic profiling as there is now and not to mention, DNA testing... there was only saliva testing. If you want to pass judgement on a case you should have probably bought a fictional novel however going into this you should have known with the title being ZODIAC UNMASKED... it is a cold case and has yet to be solved... hopefully, one day, the victims' families will be able to put closer on thier losses. With that being said, my condolences go out to the families that lost their loved ones to this killer.
sincerely,
chloe25
Book Review: One of the most fascinating crime sprees in history
Summary: 5 Stars
Long intrigued by true crime and cold cases, I've always been interested in the case of the mysterious serial killer who plagued southern California in the 1960s.
Graysmith's book encompasses everything readers might want to know about the cases -- profiles on each of the victims, reproductions of the cryptic coded letters the Zodiac mailed to area newspapers, interviews with survivors, victims' families and law enforcement, information about the men most suspected to be the Zodiac. He skillfully combines a level of intense detail with a flowing narrative, immediately pulling readers into the mystery.
Of course, there is some element of "fiction" -- Graysmith can't know what exactly was going through the minds of victims in their final moments, or even exactly what they were doing in their last hours. Yet taking known information and taking the liberty of putting it into a more anecdotal format only serves to make the book work better.
Additionally, Graysmith provides a handy appendix with all known Zodiac facts -- timelines, victim information, etc. -- in case readers want an easy-to-access point of reference for their own research.
Book Review: Hello.I think..
Summary: 5 Stars
It's so important to read and rate these things.They keep the memories of certain people alive.Dead family members.Darlene Ferrin is someone my Father's related too.Wonderful to see the name alive.True crime is not just thrillers and suspense my friends.It's family,Love,Hope,keeping names and people and the hope that life will go on,and crimes will be solved,alive.I have so much love for my family.I enjoyed Mr.Gyllenhaal's performance.Dave Toschi must have been a wonderful man and detective,truly it's wonderful that someone cares.I hope family members contact me. I hope you all read this book.I seem to remember it being wonderful.Chapter titles after the victims names,don't rule out Kathleen John's as a zodiac suspect.Or others though,based on the movie.Kathleen got a letter from the Zodiac she says.She died of Natural causes folks,let's hope it happens that way for everybody.Love yourselves,and others.Enjoy life.Love.Thanks for your time,VanesSa.