| Zodiac | |
|---|---|
Book cover |
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| Author(s) | Robert Graysmith |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Non-Fiction Crime Novel |
| Publisher | St. Martin's Press |
| Publication date | 1986 |
| ISBN | 0-312-89895-9 |
| OCLC Number | 12133242 |
| Dewey Decimal | 364.1/523/0979461 19 |
| LC Classification | HV6534.S3 G7 1986 |
Zodiac is a non-fiction book written by Robert Graysmith about the unsolved serial murders committed by the "Zodiac Killer" in San Francisco in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Since its initial release in 1986, Zodiac has sold 4 million copies worldwide.[1] Graysmith was a cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle and later also wrote Zodiac Unmasked.
Contents |
This book gives the history of the Zodiac killer who was active in the 1960s and 70s in California. It describes the investigations of the many law enforcement branches that worked on the case and other murders that might have been committed by Zodiac, including the 1966 Cherie Jo Bates stabbing. Later chapters deal with Graysmith's many theories on the case, and the book eventually cites two possible suspects (who are given pseudonyms) and details some of the circumstantial evidence against them. Graysmith received assistance from police departments that fell within the jurisdictions of the murders, especially from Inspector Dave Toschi from the San Francisco Police Department, who had worked the Zodiac case.[2]
Robert Graysmith was a cartoonist working for The San Francisco Chronicle in the 1960s when the Zodiac murders started. The Zodiac sent letters to The Chronicle which he wanted published in the paper. The letters included evidence that he was in fact the Zodiac. Graysmith saw the letters arriving at The Chronicle and became intrigued. For years the cartoonist kept his own scrapbook of evidence, from which he independently attempted to determine the Zodiac's identity. When asked why he began working on the book, Graysmith replied, "I saw it going into obscurity. Nobody is sharing all the different jurisdictions, and all this information. What if I as a private citizen went around and got all this information?" This led to a 10-year period to collect information, and eventually the book was published in 1986 after a number of delays.[3]
The 2007 adaptation Zodiac is roughly based on Graysmith's books, Zodiac and Zodiac Unmasked. The film follows the work of Graysmith from being a cartoonist in 1969 to several years after the publication of the first Zodiac book in the early 1990's.
In the film the woman in the car with her baby who had claimed to be picked up by Zodiac was depicted as realizing what was going on very quickly; they are shown passing a service station almost immediately and the woman starts to get fearful as the man does not stop. The man actually took her to a service station but it was closed; he then drove her around for hours passing station after station until she jumped from the car because he would not stop.
Graysmith's meeting with Arthur Leigh Allen in the end of the movie is also slightly different. Graysmith was following Allen around until he parked outside of the hardware store where he, Allen, worked. As Graysmith was parked Allen pulled up next to his car "so close I couldn't open the door" Graysmith claimed, and "Allen gave me a look like you wouldn't believe." In the movie it shows Graysmith going into the hardware store and seeing Allen working when Allen turns around and asks Graysmith if he can help him.[2]
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