So, I just finished reading Dr. Edward's book, and I thought I'd share my immediate thoughts on it. I am sure there will be much more to discuss later on.
First, the book is a masterpiece. If Bruce Smith's book is the "bible" of DB Cooper, then Dr. Edward's book is the writings of St. Augustine or Martin Luther. It strips away all personal narratives, suspect discussion, and conspiracy theories and creates an exhaustively researched book on the facts and data points of the DB Cooper case. It is unlike any book on Cooper. I am in academia, so I enjoyed the dense and evidence-based nature of the book. While some of the math in the book caused my eyes to glaze over, the rest of the book was a fascinating, unbiased recitation of the truths of DB Cooper.
That said, this book is not without hypotheses of its own. These conclusions will likely not sit well with a large number of occupants within the Vortex. I hope Dr. Edwards is prepared to vociferously defend his book because there are people who will view it as a frontal attack on the theories and ideas that they desperately cling to. I know this because I share many of Dr. Edward's theories and have shared them within the Vortex. I myself have been roundly criticized by some for these iconoclastic ideas. Truth is, this book I would have written about DB Cooper if I was capable of doing so. Bravo to Dr. Edwards for actually doing it.
For example, I have stated that I believe the "oscillations" and "pressure bump" are two different, but related things, and that the FBI along with many private researchers have confused and conflated these terms for decades. Dr. Edwards agrees. Dr. Edwards believes that the jump time is wrong and as a result, the drop zone was too far north. I storngly agree. Dr. Edwards believes that the timing of the flight path is off by four or five minutes. I hypothesized this same thing, and emailed Shutter about this idea earlier in the year. Unfortunately, I was unable to make it work. Dr. Edwards does, and he provides compelling evidence to support his assertion. I wish I had spoken to Dr. Edwards prior to the publication of his book because we are very like-minded in regards to DB Cooper. The difference is that Dr. Edwards has put in the time and effort to back up his conclusions with evidence directly from the FBI files along with science and mathematics.
As with any publication, it is not without its flaws and holes. For one, I think that Dr. Edwards could have provided a better explanation for contradicting the times associated with the plots on the FBI map. I also think his suggestion that the airstairs were locked in a down position is incorrect, and his hypothesis that Cooper raised and lowered the stairs manually rather than them "floating" is also lacking in convincing evidence. Also, despite citing Tom Kaye extensively, Dr. Edwards' scenarios for the jump result in Cooper ending up in the Columbia that night - something that the diatom research makes highly improbable.
There are other smaller errors such as confusing Minneapolis and Minnesota - something that could be easily explained by him not being a native of the United States.
There is also a rather MASSIVE blockbuster revelation that I believe requires further explanation from all parties involved. In his discussion of the tie particles, Dr. Edwards states:
"The Citizen Sleuths website describes the source as titanium metal; however, our communications with Mr. Kaye indicate that the particles were titanium oxide, a widely used component of food coloring, paints and pigments, and sunscreen."
"Titanium, which at one time suggested an exposure of the tie to an environment within the aerospace industry, eventually appeared to be no more than a marker for, most probably, paints and pigments."
Does this mean that Tom Kaye had now disregarded the commercially pure titanium? Is that entire line of inquiry now DOA? Inquiring minds want to know.
So, the bottom line is that this is a marvelous book that everyone interested in DB Cooper should read. Dr. Edwards should be very proud of himself while also girding himself for the slings and arrows that come with challenging many of the long-held beliefs of the Vortex.
Well done, and good luck.
