I have received a copy of a photo taken at my book signing in New Orleans. Very Happy on the first day of the book release and signing. Progress has been fantastic. Our destribution has been very successful. We are moving forward with the 2nd printing of the book as well as the screenplay. Very exciting!

Today, on Radio BBC, I heard Dr Arenberg describe Vincent’s death as “an honour killing”, presumably referring to the possible intention or request from Vincent to marry the Gachet’s daughter Marguerite. Very intriguing, but that is not part of the old story I learned. One of the strangest aspects of the story of van Gogh’s mysterious death as we all knew it, was that there was never any suggestion of Vincent being upset with his doctor or his son, or of any special feelings for Marguerite. But of course, the false narrative came from Dr Gachet and his son and Johanna van Gogh-Bonger. All had their own reasons to spin the story away from the truth. I am very curious to know if Dr. Arenberg will pursue the French authorities to allow a forensic research team access to Vincent’s grave sight to use modern technology to determine if there is still a bullet in Vincent. That would prove he was shot and eliminate the knife hypothesis, answering some of the unanswered questions about his death. Looking forward to being able to finally close the book on this unsolved homicide. ~Jeremy Hornibrook , Christchurch, New Zealand

Killing Vincent: The Man, The Myth, and The Murder disproves a common myth about the “mad artist”, Vincent van Gogh, and his “suicide”, making a case for a far different scenario surrounding his death. It’s a combination of true crime, and an unsolved romantic murder mystery. It is a psychological probe into history that is a ‘must’ for any reader interested in Vincent’s life and death. Dr. Arenberg maintains that Vincent wasn’t a depressed and insane individual who shot himself in a wheat field. Instead, he was not “mad”. Yet, Vincent stumbled to his accommodations, bleeding from an abdominal wound that killed him. Who created that fatal injury? Did Vincent shoot himself? A modern forensic analysis confirms that the wound was not self-inflicted; therefore, not suicide, but murder. Modern forensic science is applied to history in an intriguing manner, offering not just detailed insights on van Gogh’s death, but on the process of verifying historical facts and tackling long-cold cases of murder, suicide, or mysterious death. One should be forewarned that this is no casual inspection. For example, research into and photographs of letters in Vincent’s own hand, documenting his ‘vertige’ attacks, show how differences in translation approach and generic terms may have contributed to differences of interpretation that alter diagnoses, perspectives, and medical viewpoints. Dr. Arenberg’s medical background is invaluable as he pursues an analysis that includes his opinion about Vincent’s attacks, his health, medical diagnosis, and the impacts of his recurrent disorder on his art. However, Dr. Arenberg maintains that Vincent’s medical issues did not impact his death. Dr. Arenberg pulls no punches in giving his opinion of popular and possibly erroneous conclusions of the past: “In contrast to being remotely suicidal, you have alternately to accept that this genius’s primary need was to create and capture all the beauty in the world that he saw so clearly. This unbelievable creative drive and process that generated one or two masterpieces a day would not willingly be snuffed out in any moment of despair.” From an in-depth probe into the artist’s psyche, a new diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome emerged. In addition to progressive, investigative steps into physical evidence, such as the murder weapon, Dr. Arenberg leaves no stone unturned; whether it be forensic reenactments of the murder and discussions of the crime scene or examinations of motives and likely perps. Color drawings throughout, created by artist Darrell Anderson specifically for the Killing Vincent Project, accompany the author’s location photos and images from new forensic studies. The result is simply an unparalleled ‘must’, recommended not just for art enthusiasts, but for true crime and history readers interested in the process of re-examining a homicide cold case and its impact on modern-day audiences. ~ Diane Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

I first fell in love with the art of Vincent van Gogh during my first fine-art class. His paintings captured my imagination and his drawings were my tutors. Years later, my husband surprised me with a trip to the Vincent van Gogh museum in the Netherlands and the genius of the artist surrounded me and cemented my love of his artwork. When I studied the life of Vincent, all literature of the time pointed to Vincent as a creative madman who took his own life. When I was offered the book, “Killing Vincent”, to review, I immediately said yes. Hearing that Vincent may have not taken his own life was an interesting concept to me. “Killing Vincent” takes you into the last part of Vincent’s life and explores the evidence that suggests the murder of the talented artist. If you are an art history buff or find cold murder cases fascinating, check out this book today. Carol Heppner, Posted on Twitter feed with over 108,000 followers on November 26, 2018

This was the first book reviewed I have recieved and wanted to post it. “This book [Killing Vincent] should be in your library. If you have even a passing interest in van Gogh, you’ll re-think everything you’ve heard before. You’ll learn more about his personal relationships as well as the evidence of his murder. Excellent historical account of the life and death of a fascinating man.” ~ Margene McCollough, Sarasota, Florida, November 18, 2018

“And when no hope was left inside on that starry, starry night, you took your life as lovers often do.” So goes the line from Don Mclean’s hit song “Vincent (Starry Starry Night)” about the life and death of Vincent van Gogh, painter par excellence, and known as the art world’s “tortured soul.” Dr. Arenberg, a retired ear surgeon and a van Gogh fanatic, begs to disagree. The final sentence of his preface resounds, “He was murdered.” Thirty years of studying Vincent’s short life of 37 years led Dr. Arenberg to that conclusion. His book presents his arguments to support this allegation; he explores the why, where, and how of the murder of this revered icon. He uses both the available historical evidence and the tools provided by modern forensic technology. Then he proposes a who! If you love art, know van Gogh, or enjoy forensics, this book will keep you hugely entertained. While I waited for this book to download, I was worrying that there was an error because it was taking so long. Finally, I had this huge PDF file of 70MB. Killing Vincent: The Man, the Myth, and the Murder is a fascinating book on many counts. The file is so large as it contains a lot of pictures; it’s a virtual art gallery of Vincent’s works. He is known to have produced around 900 oil paintings during his painting years (only ten years); the book has around seventy of them. Awesome! The author recounts Vincent’s life, focusing on his last three days. He is said to have shot himself in a field, walked a mile back to his quarters, and died 30 hours later. I got to know the people contemporaneous to Vincent well, as if I were there watching them as they interacted. Vincent and beloved brother Theo, friend Paul Gauguin, doctor Paul Gachet and son Paul Jr., and model Adeline all come alive in the pages. Heaps of evidence debunking the suicide theory are in the book. The author definitely convinced me. I was almost moved to curse those scheming hypocrites who killed Vincent! The book is arranged methodically; one can easily navigate the pages and reread portions desired. Most chapters end with a helpful summary. The author’s unreserved admiration for Vincent shines through; it doesn’t hurt that I am a Vincent fan myself. I so want to give this book a perfect rating. But I can’t. While the book is heavily researched, the editing leaves much to be desired. There are various grammatical errors, including wrong verbs, inconsistent spellings and misspellings, faulty sentences, and bad punctuation. There are various sentences, even whole paragraphs, that are repeated for no apparent reason. We find at least 300 figures (photos, paintings, or diagrams) in the book; there are times when these are incorrectly referenced. Two sets of figures are numbered 80 to 93, adding to the confusion. I support Dr. Arenberg’s dogged pursuit of the truth surrounding Vincent’s demise. He perseveres in clearing Vincent’s name of the stigma of suicide, although many in the art world think it “blasphemous” to say Vincent did not kill himself. Will any of the rich art collectors finance the further investigation of Vincent van Gogh’s death in 1890, so the truth can be told? I certainly hope so. In the meantime, I urge Dr. Arenberg to polish his book, so it can be a masterpiece worthy of the master he “pays homage to.” Right now, the book gets 3 out of 4 stars. P.S. Van Gogh’s paintings gained fame only after he died. He sold only one painting during his lifetime; it earned 400 Belgian francs in 1889 (equivalent to US $2000 today). He died a pauper. In contrast, his most expensive painting sold for US$82.5 million in 1990. His most famous work, “The Starry Night” (referred to in the song), is speculated to fetch US$300 million if ever it will be auctioned. Whatever way he died, one truth remains: Vincent’s star will shine forever. ~Miriam Molina, OnlinebookClub.org, Nov, 17 2018  

IRV ARENBERG, '63, MD '67 Authored "Killing Vincent: The Man, The Myth, and The Murder". The book explores the possibility and evidence that Van Gogh's death was not the result of a self-inflicted wound. Irv, a retired ear surgeon, hails from Centennial, CO. Go Blue!