In 1992, a former scrap-metal dealer in Liverpool discovered a Victorian scrapbook in his attic. This scrapbook contained what is now thought to possibly be the diary of James Maybrick AKA Jack The Ripper. Now eight years later, it is still uncertain if the so-called confessions of James Maybrick are authentic. Many good points have been brought up to support the authenticity of the diary, but there are also many points that discredit it. Yet, despite all the compelling evidence saying the diary is genuine, there are several reasons that do not allow my wishful thinking to take a single step further towards believing the diary to be authentic. Lets first review all the diagnoses and findings that were made by the experts that examined the diary.First there is the historical evidence. Historians were hired to see if all the dates and events mentioned in the diary checked out. From an historical point of view, the diary seemed to have checked out. All the dates and events did indeed match historically.Second of all, forensic tests were done with the diary to see if the ink and the paper were from the late 1800s. Again, this also checked out. The findings of Nicholas Eastaugh and David Baxendale were somewhat uncertain, showing that the diary "could" be real. Another expert, Philip Sugden, explained that apparently, it is really easy to fake the age of ink and paper.Third, there was also a psychiatric evaluation done on the diary . After the psychiatrist read the diary, he diagnosed that the author could possibly be a serial killer. Yet, I have a real problem seeing how this diagnosis really means anything. I also read this other book about Jack The Ripper. This one was called "The Mammoth Book Of Jack The Ripper" by Maxim Jakubowski. This book is a composition. It contains all the ideas and many theories from the leading experts on Jack The Ripper from around the world. When I finished this book, I thought abo...
