Just the facts. Only the facts. A retired Australian detective has done us all the favor of compiling all the official police narrative evidence of the "Tamam Shud" case into one handy volume and I am completely thankful for it. Yes, there is certainly a lack of engaging narrative, but Feltus sets that police procedure tone right off the bat and makes no apologies for it. Every so often he will slip into his own opinion, but he clearly states this in the text. One of the most solid and interesting moment for those who know the case, is when Feltus states that he believes the "nurse" knew the unknown man. That convinces me as well. One should know what they are getting into when reading this book, it is a small press and clearly for a niche group of readers, if not I am sure one would rate it lower. I however found the police procedure type approach to be refreshing and convincing. Great background on the point in post WW II history for Australia as well in regards to the world arena and uranium and other spy stuff. ( )

This is the best book you can get about the Tamam Shud case, aka the Somerton Man case. In a nutshell, On December 1, 1948, a dead guy is found on Somerton Beach in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. Nobody knows who he is. Rolled up in his fob pocket are the printed words "Tamam Shud," which means "the end," torn from a copy of Omar Khayyam's rubaiyat translated (sort of) by Edward FitzGerald. The book it is torn from was found later and has a mysterious grouping of letters that looks like a code and a phone number to a woman who everyone thinks is lying. More mysteries abound.

This book is written by an old Australian cop, Gerry Feltus, and it sure reads like it was written by an old cop. If you are looking for a rich, engaging narrative, this ain't it. It is a cold "just the facts, ma'am" recounting of the case, pulled from the case files, a lot of the times in a verbatim manner. At times it drags down the reader with a boring recounting of detail. But it does have pretty much all the information you need to sleuth things out yourself. The only wish you may have is that the images were larger and clearer. (You can find many online, so no worries.)

If you want to become an aficionado on this case, get this book. This is THE place to start. Then delve into the morass of material online (where weird theories abound). But the best book about the case has not yet been written (one which combines a good writer and the facts). (Why Derek Abbott hasn't tried his hand at writing a book on the subject, I don't know. No matter what you may think, good or bad, about Derek Abbott's approach to this case. Maybe because he is a physicist he just isn't a good writer? I don't know. But somebody should write a good book about this case.)

[This version is newly printed in 2017. Before this in the US one had to buy a copy from Feltus direct in Australia via his website. It was way too expensive. This printing seems to only be different in that it names the name of the nurse, which was originally hidden under a pseudonym in 2010.] ( )

The Taman Shud case, whereby a dead man is found on a beach with no identification and nearly seventy years later, he still doesn't have an identity or even a definite cause of death, is one of the most compelling mysteries in a world full of them. Until recently it's also been an obscure mystery, even in South Australia, so it has taken over 60 years before the first book has been released on the case.

Sadly, while "The Unknown Man" has been written by a police officer who worked on the case over the years, it's an underwhelming affair. The facts are there, with a few minor errors, and the uber baffling details and possibilities that keep leading to dead ends make this my "favourite" mystery of all time. I just hope someone writes a really gripping account of the case. ( )