Trials Books

J. Blaine Lewis, Jr. was fired in 1989 from his post of Connecticut state lottery chief. This is the story of his ten year legal battle against the state in which we gain an insight into the politics of lottery management, the courage and integrity of a man in a David and Goliath scenario, and the failure of the legal system to provide justice. It is also a love story of a devoted wife, who in memorium, is driven to vindicate her husband. The message conveyed deserves national attention. What a great story for TV or the large screen.

This book is an inside look at the politics of state run funtions and the effects on honest employees. A must read book!

This book is the story of a man with principles, written by the wife who loved him to the end, and loves him still. It is the factual account of a man who was ordered to lie by his bosses and refused, and was then hounded out of his job by men more concerned with kickbacks than doing what was right. The author backs every word up with transcripts and documents-not a word of it is unsubstantiated. In this little book is a magnified look at the workings of government. Read it and weep.

What is it about Tina Lewis's "Justice Denied" that so fascinated me? I couldn't put it down. I had to know the outcome of a man's decision to remain true to himself and to tell the truth-no matter the consequences. Blaine Lewis was that man and he accepted the disastrous results of that decision. His principles, however, remained in tact. Blaine Lewis could live comfortably with himself. Tina Lewis's book lovingly chronicles his life and their lives during that period. Great and fascinating factual reading.

J. Blaine Lewis, Jr. was fired in 1989 from his post of Connecticut state lottery chief. This is the story of his ten year legal battle against the state in which we gain an insight into the politics of lottery management, the courage and integrity of a man in a David and Goliath scenario, and the failure of the legal system to provide justice. It is also a love story of a devoted wife, who in memorium, is driven to vindicate her husband. The message conveyed deserves national attention. What a great story for TV or the large screen.

"THE MAN TO SEE" was a great book. Since I'm going to be attending law school this fall (of 2007), I thought it wouldn't hurt to read books by and about lawyers; man, am I glad I included Evan Thomas's "THE MAN TO SEE" because this is without a doubt one of the best biographies I have read in ages. Page by page, you feel caught up in a drama without end. The characters, adventures, and funny stories add so much luster to a larger-than-life figure. By the end of the book, I was sorry to see it all end; I felt like I actually new Mr. Williams! If you're interested in a good biography check out "THE MAN TO SEE." You won't be disappointed.

This is one of the best biographies ever written. A wonderful piece about an interesting man.

I have never been more absorbed by a book than by this one. Admittedly my interest was heightened by the fact that Williams was my criminal law teacher at law school, but I found this a fantastic book. Evan Thomas (did you know he is Norman Thomas' grandson?) paints Williams warts and all, and I found it a searing read. The account of Williams' deathly fight with cancer is most poignant. Anyone at all interested in law should read this book, and anyone interested in an amazing life will be enthralled by this account.

This is one of the best biographies I have ever read. It is a great story about a great man. I read a lot of biographies and I can tell when the author is fauning over his subject - just read some of Robert Slater's books on Jack Welch. Thomas book did none of that. Thomas made you feel that he was giving an accurate and true account of Williams life. Of couse Thomas was helped by selecting a subject that was larger than life, a one of a kind person both in legal talent and raw personality. This book is right up there with "Vince", Michael O'Brien's biography of Vince Lombardi. Interestingly, Lomardi and Williams were very much alike - both very religious yet profane, and above the rest of their competitors in their chosen fields. They were also both like to drink, were emotional and quick to say exactly what they thought or felt about something. I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read biographies about great men.

Take a fascinating subject-- Edward Bennett Williams. Add a highly-skilled author with remarkably deep interviewing and archival research skills-- Evan Thomas. Put in a lot of hard work. And presto-- you have Thomas' "The Man To See," one of the most thorough biographies ever written (I have read many hundreds).

Edward Bennett Williams was one of the most dynamic men of the 20th Century-- a great figure of destiny whose life would have seemed emptier had not Evan Thomas been his biographer. EBW was a self-made man in the days where one could still achieve that accolade. He was no spoiled yuppie of family money. Bright, hard-working, forward-thinking, compassionate and disciplined-- and a wonderful rogue!-- this was Edward Bennett Williams. Warts and all, Evan Thomas presents the larger-than-life lawyer who pioneered criminal law practice in postwar America, bringing the constitution into the 20th Century. He sought power for the purpose of doing good, after doing well. Thomas interviewed practically every living person with whom EBW had a conversation or situation.

I am re-reading "The Man to See" for the fourth time in ten years. It remains fresh and fun. What a brilliant book!

Jay Pollard for some reason is one of only a handful of spies that most Americans heard of. Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen being the others. Pollard was given a life with parole sentence. But at that time, no American who ever spied for an ally was given more than 8 years. People who had spied for the Soviets have been paroled from prison. There seems to be a double standard. Apparently, the US was upset that close friend like Israel was using a mole in Naval Intelligence. It seems they punished Jay Pollard to punish Israel. The ironic part is that there are Israelis serving time for spying for the CIA. Pollard was wrong in what he did. It's true that US Intelligence was withholding intelligence information that it had promised to give Israel. Pollard felt this wromg and gave the informtion to Israel himself. He should have gone to the Naval Inspector instead. Pollard it was shown had a lousy lawyer. Pollard agreed to a plea bargain as recommended by his lawyer. The problem was the plea did not set a determinate sentence. It was open ended. He could have gotten as little as a year or as much as life. This was the lawyers fault. What kind of lawyer plea bargains for an open ended sentence? The worst is that his appeal in which his new lawyer said that Pollard had his rights violated was rejected because it was filed late. Pollard was wrong in what he did. He deserved to go to prison. He does not deserve to be labled Americas worst spy. There are least 15 Americans who gave secrets to the Soviets who deserve that honor.

MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE
VS. "INFINITE JUSTICE"

The bitter irony of the life of Jonathan Jay Pollard, U.S. Navy spy for Israel, is the haunting, tragic message of Miscarriage of Justice: The Jonathan Pollard Story (Paragon House, c. 2001) by Mark Shaw. This former criminal defense attorney thoroughly captures the countless flaws in the judicial maze that has left the entire Pollard family distraught and millions of Pollard supporters worldwide desperate for justice.

More than any other human being, Jonathan Pollard is responsible for attempting to avert the current American war that was initially called "Infinite Justice." During 1984-85, Jonathan alerted American and Israeli military authorities to the looming threat of biochemical terrorism by militant Arab and Islamic factions. Years before the Iraqis used poison gas air raids in murdering and disabling over 10,000 Kurds, Jonathan brought the issue to the military leadership of the U.S., to no avail. He was told that the Jews were overly sensitive about matters involving poison gas, so he decided to save as many human lives as possible by providing Israel with U.S. intelligence on chemical weapons factories in Arab countries and plans for Arab terrorist attacks.

Jonathan Pollard potentially and intentionally saved millions of human beings in the Middle East and worldwide from excruciating deaths and painful lifelong physical disabilities. Although he never had a trial and was never convicted of a crime, he is the only person in U.S. history to receive a life sentence for friendly-nation espionage, a common practice of allies.

Jonathan's remarkable story begins with his extraordinary family, especially his devoted Jewish mother, Mollie, and his prominent father, Morris, a renowned international leader in prostate cancer research. Morris had sometimes assisted American intelligence agencies and has devoted his life to serving America as a preeminent scientist at Notre Dame University. As a boy growing up in an anti-Semitic town, Jonathan was the daily target of verbal and physical assaults, which made him resolute in his commitment to protect Jews everywhere, and especially in the Jewish homeland, Israel.

For decades, Jonathan's grotesque mistreatments in prison after prison have only served to highlight the malicious, malignant miscarriages of justice against the man who saved human lives en masse, at the expense of his own safety and personal health. For most of nearly 17 years behind bars, Jonathan has been locked up in solitary confinement, suffering countless and pointless "cruel and unusual" mental and physical punishments in prison cells two stories underground, with temperatures ranging from 30 degrees to 107.

At the hands of Iran-contra figures like Caspar Weinberger, the Secretary of Defense who was indicted on five felony counts, Jonathan's life sentence was a direct retaliation for his efforts to expose Arab threats to the world, while American officials were secretly engaged in supplying arms and chemicals to militant Arab and Islamic nations. Weinberger still insisted for years after Jonathan's life sentence had begun that Jonathan should be shot.

The essential question that Miscarriage of Justice answers is how much punishment is enough, no matter where you stand on the Pollard case. The book boldly concludes that "Enough is enough"; and when the judicial, political, and penal systems inflict gross mistreatments, the American conscience must intervene to demand restoration of the constitutional guarantee against "cruel and unusual punishment."

The aftermath of this miscarriage of justice is the needless deaths of thousands of Americans through merciless terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers, Pentagon, postal stations, media, and more because of heedless American leadership. The final image of Miscarriage of Justice is the pitiful mental picture of Jonathan wasting away in prison, as a political pawn of the Reagan-Bush administrations, which busily conducted the covert, illegal Iran-Contra operations with terrorists, and of the Clinton presidency, which bestowed a presidential pardon on billionaire financier Marc Rich instead of poor, penniless Pollard.

The bitter irony of the life of Jonathan Jay Pollard, U.S. Navy spy for Israel, is the haunting, tragic message of Miscarriage of Justice: The Jonathan Pollard Story (Paragon House, c. 2001) by attorney Mark Shaw. This former criminal defense attorney thoroughly captures the countless flaws in the judicial maze that has left the entire Pollard family distraught and desperate for justice.

More than any other human being, Jonathan Pollard is responsible for attempting to avert the current American war that was initially called "Infinite Justice." During 1984-85, Jonathan alerted American and Israeli military authorities to the looming threat of biochemical terrorism by militant Arab and Islamic factions. Years before the Iraqis used poison gas air raids in murdering and disabling over 10,000 Kurds, Jonathan brought the issue to the military leadership of the U.S., to no avail. He was told that the Jews were overly sensitive about matters involving poison gas, so he provided Israel with U.S. intelligence on chemical weapons factories in Arab countries and plans for Arab terrorist attacks.

Jonathan Pollard potentially saved millions of lives in the Middle East and worldwide. Although he never had a trial and was never convicted of a crime, he is the only person in U.S. history to receive a life sentence for friendly-nation espionage, a common practice of allies.

Jonathan's remarkable story begins with his extraordinary family, especially his devoted Jewish mother and his prominent father, a world leader in prostate cancer research. As a boy growing up in an anti-Semitic town, Jonathan as the target of daily verbal and physical assaults, which made him resolute in his commitment to protect Jews everywhere, and especially the Jewish homeland, Israel.

For decades, Jonathan's grotesque mistreatments in prison after prison have only served to highlight the malicious, malignant miscarriages of justice against the man who saved human lives en masse at the expense of his own safety and personal health. At the hands of Iran-contra figures like Caspar Weinberger, the Secretary of Defense who was indicted on five felony counts, Jonathan's life sentence was a direct retaliation for his efforts to expose Arab threats to the world, while American officials were secretly engaged in supplying arms and chemicals to militant Arab nations. Weinberger still insisted for years after Jonathan's life sentence began that Jonathan should be shot.

The essential question that Miscarriage of Justice answers is how much punishment is enough, no matter what you believe about the Pollard case. The book boldly concludes that "enough is enough"; and when the judicial, political, and penal systems inflict gross mistreatments, the American conscience must intervene and demand restoration of the constitutional guarantee against "cruel and unusual punishment."

The aftermath of this miscarriage of justice is the needles deaths of thousands of Americans through merciless attacks on the Twin Towers, pentagon, postal stations, media, and more because of heedless American leadership. The final image of Miscarriage of Justice is the mental picture of Jonathan wasting away in prison, as a political, pawn of the Reagan-Bush administrations, which busily conducted the covert, illegal Iran-contra operations with terrorists, and of the Clinton presidency, which bestowed a presidential pardon on billionaire financier Marc Rich instead of penniless Pollard.

Well, I really don't have much to say about the book. However, this Jonathan Pollard has caused me a great deal of embarassment over the years. I will be grateful when he is forgotten. When the news media distributed stories of his capture, an erstwhile friend of mine who was living in London at the time called my mother and expressed shock at my arrest. My mom was a bit shocked by the news, too, considering that we had just had lunch the previous day and I hadn't mentioned any big news - such as imminent arrest! Good riddance to Jonathan Jay Pollard!

The bitter irony of the life of Jonathan Jay Pollard, U.S. Navy spy for Israel, is the haunting, tragic message of Miscarriage of Justice: The Jonathan Pollard Story by Mark Shaw. This former criminal defense attorney thoroughly captures the countless flaws in the judicial maze that has left the entire Pollard family distraught and millions of Pollard supporters worldwide desperate forn justice.

More than any other human being, Jonathan Pollard is responsible for attempting to avert the current American war that was initially called "Infinite Justice." During 1984-85, Jonathan alerted American and Israeli military authorities to the looming threat of biochemical terrorism by militant Arab and Islamic factions. Years before the Iraqis used poison gas air raids in murdering and debilitating over 10,000 Kurds, Jonathan brought the issue to the military leadership of the U.S., to no avail. He was told that the Jews were overly sensitive about matters involving poison gas, so he decided that he must provide Israel with U.S. intelligence on chemical weapons fasctories in Arab countries and plans for Arab terrorist attacks.

Jonathan Pollard potentially and intentionally saved millions of human beings in the Middle East and worldwide from excruciating deaths and life-long physical disabilities. Although he never had a trial and was never convicted of a crime, he is the only person in U.S. history to receive a life sentence for friendly-nation espionage, a common practice of allies.

Jonathan's remarkable story begins with his extraordinary family, especially his devoted Jewish mother, Mollie, and his prominent father, Morris, a renowned international leader in prostate cancer research. As a boy growing up in an anti-Semitic town, Jonathan was the daily target of verbal and physical assaults, which made him resolute in his commitment to protect Jews everywhere, and especially in the Jewish homeland, Israel.

For decades, Jonathan's grotesque mistreatments in [prison after prison have only served to highlight the malicious and malignant miscarriages of justice against the man who saved lives en masse, at the expense of his own safety and personal health. For most of nearly 17 years behind bars, Jonathan has been locked in solitary confinement. He has suffered countless and pointless "cruel and unusual" mental and physical deprivations in cells two stories underground, with temperature ranges from 30 degrees to 107.

At the hands of Iran-Contra figures like Caspar Weinberger, the Secretary of Defense who was indicted on five felony counts, Jonathan's life sentence was a direct retaliation for his efforts to expose Arab threats to the world, while American officials were secretly engaged in supplying arms and chemicals to militant Islamic nations. Weinberger still insisted for years after Jonathan's life sentence had already begun that Jonathan should be shot.

The essential question that Miscarriage of Justice answers is how much punishment is enough, no matter where you stand on the Pollard case. The book boldly concludes that "Enough is enough"; and when the judicial, political, and penal systems inflic gross mistreatments, the American conscience must intervene and demand restoration of the constitutional guarantee against "cruel and unusual punishment."

The aftermath of this miscarriagew of justice is the needless deaths of thousands of Americans through merciless attacks on the Twin Towers, Pentagon, postal stations, media, and more because of heedless American leadership. The final image of Miscarriage of Justice is the mental picture of Jonathan wasting away in prison, as a political pawn of the Reagan-Bush administrations, which busily conducted the covert, illegal Iran-Contra operations with terrorists, and of the Clinton presidency, which bestowed a presidential pardon on billionaire financier Marc Rich instead of penniless Pollard.

After reading this play, I must question why there has not been an attempt to bring this work into the mainstream theatre or even movies. Despite Logan's modesty, this is a compelling and well written work about one of the most shocking crimes in history.

Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb were teenage millionaires that had everything. Both men were highly intelligent college students with a lot of potential. They believed they were such "Ubermensch" or supermen that they could get away with anything, even murder. In the end, they realize that they are not superman, but flawed individuals.

Throughout the development of this play we see the shift in the power of their relationship which is based on a "Homosexual Pact". While Loeb originally is dominant in the relationship, Leopold seems to take the lead once they are on trial. Perhaps this is due to Loeb coming to the realization that he is not a superman. This "love story" is based on fact and gives us some insight into how these young minds that went sour. However, we will never know the full story.

Clarence Darrow is documented in the writting. His character's beliefs are a reflection of what history has recorded about Darrow. He was a fiesty and wise lawyer that opposed the death penalty. Truly, he is a role model for contemporary lawyers.

This book is an excellent read for a short car trip or plane flight. It is short, but very entertaining and gets to the point.

"Never the Sinner" is possibly one of the most historically accurate plays of today. It tells the true story of Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb and their quest to become ubermensch, or "supermen", as described by renowned philosopher, Nietsche. It offers the audience a journey through the early 1920's through the eyes the two young men. Their strange relationship and above normal intelligence find way to extremes beyond their own imaginations. John Logan has investigated this "crime of the century" and created a theatrical masterpiece. I have been fortunate enough to perform in a production of "Never the Sinner" in Buffalo, NY and, as Nathan Leopold, I conducted extensive research myself - this play is, without a doubt, extremely accurate and hauntingly so. It won various achievement awards and has been nominated, with pleasant outcome, as Best Play. If you're looking for a suspenseful, romantic, mysterious play - one that has been prestigeously acclaimed throughout the world, "Never the Sinner" will not only keep you on the edge of your nerves by bringing historical and frightfully realistic visions to the forefront of your mind, but a keen understanding of what power, determination, and Hollywood ideals of the 1920's could produce to the criminal minds of Leopold and Loeb.

"Never the Sinner" is a well-written play that examines the notorious crime of Leopold and Loeb. John Logan masterfully examines the mindset of these two 'supermen' who try to commit the perfect crime, merely because they can. His play also portrays Clarence Darrow, the man who defended them in court.

Leopold and Loeb tried to commit the perfect murder, simply because they could. They were young, rich and intelligent, and had no motive for killing an innocent cousin than for sheer experimentary entertainment. Logan examines the friendship between the two teenagers, which strayed into homosexuality, and the slip-up that brought about their capture. Clarence Darrow, as their defender, doesn't try to deny their actions - he can not do so because they readily admit to their guilt and lack of motive - but he still argues strongly and persuasively to prevent their deaths.

John Logan's "Never the Sinner" is a brilliant look at two fascinating characters. It's surprising that little has been done with Leopold and Loeb on the screen (despite Hitchcock's similar story "The Rope"). It is a fascinating and entertaining story that transcends the years.

John Logan contructs a masterful picture of the times and people involved in the first "crime of the century." This is a dazzling piece of work that could only exist on the stage. Suspenseful, involing, emotive, compassionate and above all amazingly theatrical, this work stands not only as a terrific documentary play of an important time, but as an engrossing example of how powerful a medium the theatre can be.

In John Logan's moving yet horrifying "Never the Sinner" we meet two infamous killers, and the mystic, mythic figure that chose to defend these two.

Set in the 1920s, Logan spins the story of Leopold and Loeb, two rich, handsome teenagers that, due to the mixing of their personalities and dangerous philosophies (Nietzche gone bad) decide to kill someone for the experience of it. After this henious act, Clarence Darrow rides in, not to wipe the guilt from their souls, but merely defend them from going to the gallows.

There are several moving aspects to this play which Logan has brilliantly captured in small scenes. The courtship and love between Leopold and Loeb is explored fully. Some ficiton and non-fiction written about these two shy away from the possible homosexual connection, but not Logan. Their actions are horrendous, their self-centered thinking abhorrant, but the relationship between the two powers this play and is intriguing. You want the union of these two not to result in murder, but in love.

The other passionate part of the play comes with the introduction of Clarence Darrow in the second act. He rides in and becomes a fierce adversary of the death penalty, and brilliant argues against the ultimate punishment. However, his courtroom bravado is tempered by scenes with the boys, when he tries desparately to understand the actions of these two. And due to his efforts, Leopold and Loeb begin to struggle with the consequences of their actions, and become more human (which, upon my understanding of the actual story, never really happened).

John Logan has given us a play that reads very well, is very passionate and compelling, and a true classic of theater today.

I have this item at my desk at work, and I find myself constantly pulling this down, and taking a few minutes to read it whenever I feel down. Almost without failure, it brightens my day. I followed this OJ trial to from the beginning to the end, and it was awesome! I bought at least 20 different books on the crime and the trial, over the past 10 years, most within the 2 or 3 years after the crime.

My mother bought me this notepad, and it is without a doubt, the best book I read on this topic.

I highly recommend it, for its humor and its lasting impression.

OJ was a real scumbag, and this notepad is constant reminder of that fact, and of the fact that we can't bring back Ronald Goldman or Nicole Brown Simpson!

MC White said: Check it out!!!

I found a Xeroxed copy of entire book (shame on someone) in a box from an auction. I've held onto it for years because it's so smart, clever, amusing and imaginative. I watched the trial on tv and wondered many times "what the heck is he writing?" Now I know! Beard and Boswell are demented to be sure, but I've always preferred black humor (don't even go there) and only someone with jumbled brain cells could come up with a book like this one. Buy it..it's priceless!

Here it is, four years after I first spent a summer reading and re-reading it with my friends (one of whom must still have it!). I've got to read it again. Maybe e-bay?

without a doubt, the funniest collection of drawings and text on the o.j. situation. a comical view into the demented mind of a lunatic!

OK, if the humor of the title of this review evades you, this is not the "book" for you. If you think the whole situation is funny, then get this book.

Page after page of doodles and notes that blow political correctness out of the water, and made me laugh out loud. This product is fall down funny.

Again, a classic that is out of print. Shame, shame, shame.

The author, a direct descendant of Samuel Sewall, provides a much-needed full assessment of the life of her notorious ancestor. The most important fact in this book is provided in the frontispiece illustration--a portrait of Sewell's apology before his congregation for his role in the witch trials and executions, known by few, if any, readers outside Massachusetts' students of history. Sewell was the only judge to apologize for his role in this horrific episode in American history.
More fascinating, though, are the other extraordinary acts of repentance enacted by the judge over his long life. And his writings are nothing less than astounding--including examinations of experiences of various groups and even a piece on women - making him an equalitarian of the first order centuries ahead of his time. At the least, official historical accounts of what happened at Salem need to include information about Sewall's apology and repentance.

Eve LaPlante's book on Samuel Sewell, one of the judges in the Salem Witch Trials (and her distant ancestor) is extraordinarily well researched, and her prose is easy to follow. Those not intimately familiar with the history of the time will appreciate her care in explaining details that many have now forgotten.

Ms. LaPlante's style is worthy of comparison to Claire Tomalin's (the author of the great biography of Sewell's contemporary, Samuel Pepys). She well explains the beliefs and folkways of the times, i.e., Massachusetts in the last half of the 17th century. She reminds us of the extraordinary "dangers, toils and snares" (to quote a later hymn) that the New England colonies had gone through after the first, pleasant, and peaceful foundation of the colonies at Boston and Plymouth, exacerbated by the sudden war with France that followed the accession of William and Mary in 1688. All these people could do was to ascribe to witchcraft the disasters that in reality were the inevitable result of our ancestor's struggle to make their homes in a world that had finally become hostile to them.

Remarkably, Sewell was semi-ostracized by his pastor, who came to feel the witch trials were unjust, and in response, he made a public confession of the sinfulness of his Court's proceedings -- the only judge to do so.

The book should be read along with the great book about the era, "Manitou and Providence", with the sermons of Cotton Mather and his father, Increase (some of them, at least) and of course with Arthur Miller's play, "The Crucible", which takes some license with historical fact, in the service of a very good story.

Author Eve LaPlante, who is a descendant of witchcraft judge Samuel Sewall, covers her subject well in this book. Life was difficult in Puritan New England with death being a common visitor to families with many children lucky to live beyond the age of five. Puritans came to America for land and religious freedom, but were not accepting to those whose beliefs differed from their own. People often questioned their salvation and figured that hard times such as diseases and death among family members was due to having angered God in some way. Prayer was the most accepted method of dealing with a sick individual. A vaccination for smallpox was viewed by many as unacceptable. Surprisingly enough, Cotton Mather was open to the idea. Women certainly took a back seat in Puritan New England with their job being the bearing of children. Puritans even questioned whether or not women would be in God's heavenly kingdom. Approximately half of the book deals with the witchcraft craze of 1692, a belief they brought over from Europe. The question of whether or not the girls believed they were afflicted will never be settled. If they did it to spice up their otherwise humdrum lives they could be charged with murder. Judge Samuel Sewall had the courage to own up to his mistake while the other judges did not. Author Nathaniel Hawthorne added a "w" to his last name to disassociate himself from his ancestor John Hathorne who was an unrepentant judge at the trials. It seems difficult to believe that judges could convict people based on spectral evidence whereby you could prove where you were at a certain time, but you couldn't prove where your "shape" was. The final section of the book relates the latter part of Judge Samuel Sewall's life and others who were influential during this time period. The author also provides us with directions to visit sites mentioned in the book. I have done previous reading on this subject during my college days, and this is one of the best sources I have come across.

This fascinating account of an early American leader's
public and private life is the story of a good man who
was guilty of a terrible mistake. Seeing he did wrong,
Samuel Sewall had the courage to say so, and repent.
Eve LaPlante paints a vivid portrait of life in early
New England, especially the world of the educated
elite. Religion and the Bible were the dominant
intellectual features of a world ruled by fears and
disagreements only too comprehensible to us now.
Sewall and his peers worried about foreign relations
and governmental debt, and lived in constant fear of
attacks by Indians, pirates, and the French. "Salem
Witch Judge" offers an intriguing journey into a world
as far away as colonial America, yet at the same time
as close as the human heart.

The note I wrote on the inside page of this book reads as follows:"Absolutely fascinating!" How come? Because Ms. LaPlante presents us with a character who lived as a giant in his own time. But more, she offers a clear picture of the potent religious world view and powerful lens of faith through which citizens of Puritan New England perceived the world and their place in it. The reader will find this approach not only interesting but, as the author describes Sewall's engagement with life and with his God, both existentially and theologcally terrifying. The witch trials arise from the nexus of life's uncertainty in 17th century Massachusetts and a fierce and unpredictable God through whom the likes of Samuel Sewall try to discern the "realities" of good and evil. He,his neighbors and colleagues can discern wrongly . . . as Sewall himself confessed some five years after the trials he oversaw as judge.
But enough of this. Ms LaPlante mines Sewall's diaries and public writings for - yes - romance! In addition, she finds him a humane and civil defender of Native Americans amid local, social contempt.Sewall wrote the first Anti-slavery tract in North America, a touching and compassionate piece. He testified from a vivid Biblical perspective in behalf of gender equality when such thinking brought widespread disdain. His personal and public presence as described by the author represent a monumental figure in early American history. You will find the book clearly written and every effort made to explain to ignorant moderns 17th century language and cultural nuances. The title tags Sewall as "Witch Judge." OK. But really, so much more. Indeed, absolutely fascinating!

Does "Scottsboro: A Tragedy of the American South" need any more 5-star reviews to convince readers that it may just be the best historical account of an American tragedy ever written? More than seventy years have passed since nine blacks were wrongfully accused of raping two white women on board an Alabama freight train and the event still rings in the ears as if it happened yesterday. Professor Dan T. Carter has remained the preeminent expert on the Scottsboro case for more than thirty years and his extensive research is evident in this book. Never dry or dull, Professor Carter guides the reader through a harrowing story that must be read to be believed. If you're not familiar with the Scottsboro case and its important role in American and more essentially pre-Civil Rights history, this should be the first book on your list. I also recommend James Goodman's superbly written "Stories of Scottsboro" and Quentin Reynolds' "Courtroom," the biography of Scottsboro defense attorney Samuel S. Leibowitz.

Too often books come and go, getting barely a mention, then fading into obscurity. Others, such as University of South Carolina Professor Dan Carter's 'Scottsboro', make reading both a blessing and a curse. To elaborate, this is not the sort of book one can read and not bite your tongue at the profound tragedy that marked the Scottboro trials and their legacies. You will shake your head in disbelief, want to argue, and, ultimately feel your blood pressure rise on more than a few occasions.

Carter's prose is excellent, well reasoned, masterful. His sources are tremendous, though one needs to consult his dissertation (UNC-Chapel Hill) for the complete listing. In the revised edition an interesting conclusion to the final proceedings is included, lacking none of the dramatics and eccentricities of the original trials decades before.

'Scottsboro' cannot be recommended highly enough. This is history written the way it was should be.

It is hard to imagine that such an terrible injustice could have occured in a country that prides itself on "justice for all." Dan Carter does a meticulous job in presenting us with one of the most engaging and informative books on the Scottsboro case I have ever read. As a pre-law and African-American history student I was thoroughly impressed and I recommend it to anyone regardless of their interests.

I love reading history books, especially when they read like a novel. Carter has produced a detailed account of this nearly forgotten episode in American History and he has done it with so much energy that one can not help but be swept up in his telling of the story. He traces the episode from its hobo origins. A freight train that carried two women and several black young men was stopped. The women, when taken from the train accused all the black men of rape and from here the stories of these rail riders takes off. Working with facinating material, the segregation of the deep South, the idea of a woman's honor, the Communist and NAACP rivalry over the case, the Jewish NYer who comes to represent the boys, the racist judges and the status quo governor and the one judge who martyrs his carreer to stand up for what he believes is right,Carter shows that the tale of Scottsboro is stranger than fiction. Not only is the story itself excellent, but Carter also brings the story up to date. For anyone interested in this time period, this is a must read!

Dan Carter has done a superb job in this study of the miscarriage of justice that took place in the Alabama of the 1930's. His picture is so complete and enlightening and he has attacked all the issues from all sides. If you want to get a very different picture of the atrocities capable in the U.S. of the 20th Century, read this book. I could say so much more.....

ANOTHER DISGUSTING STORY OF UN KNOWN american HISTORY, ABOUT AFRICANS BEING DENIED JUSTICE BASED ON THE WORD OF white TRASH. NO, ALL PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY ARENOT BIGOTED IDIOTS, BUT UNFORTUNEATELY, ITS THESE MALCONTENCTS THAT CREATE AND INJUSTICE SYSTEM THAT MANY WOULDN
T WANT TO MAKE WAVES. ANOTHER BOOK FOR SCHOOLS TO HAVE AS REQUIRED READING.

I read Scottsboro until the small hours of the morning, then woke early to finish it. The novel is a stunning achievement. It is so very real: I felt myself in Manhattan in the 1930's in newspaper offices and then in the jails and streets and courthouses of Alabama, and in Mrs. Roosevelt's private rooms in the White House. I felt the characters with visceral intensity as if they were brushing my sleeve.

The novel is told from the points of view of two utterly different women beginning in the Great Depression of 1931: Alice, the young upper class reporter living modestly on her trust fund who "has outrage to spare" for the nine black young men called the Scottsboro boys who are wrongfully accused of raping two white, semi-prostitute girls; and Ruby, one of the girls, terrified, living in the worse squalor, suspicious of everyone, almost willing to sell her soul for a pair of nice shoes. This former mill worker vacillates back and forth between lying in terror that she was raped; then rising as a semi-educated, flaunting heroine dressed gorgeously by supporters and speaking all over the country in defense of the boys, and then cravenly lying again in her old age, desperate for approval and money. It is the clash and sympathy and odd relationship between the woman reporter who has beautiful shoes and this beaten-down mill girl who holds the fate of the nine young men in her hands that is the remarkable center of this remarkable novel.

Outside of this, a large cast of judges, lawyers, reporters, the poor, social reformers, jailors and the condemned make a fascinating and complex story of miscarried justice which played out over thirty years of the last century.

A great book! Buy it and read it!

I had heard of the Scottsboro Boys and the tragedy that surrounded them when they were accused of assaulting two white women in 1920s Alabama. I was excited when Scottsboro: A Novel by Ellen Feldman was chosen as my local book club selection for June. It became apparent however, that this story had a different slant, that of the lives of the two women who accused the men of rape; what drove them and what motivated their lives. Feldman took literary license by adding a fictional character, Alice, a journalist, while all other characters in the book were real life figures.

Ruby Bates and Victoria Price were two women riding the trains dressed as men. When a brawl between young black and white men broke out, afraid of the possibility of going to jail, the two women committed an act of deceit and lies that would forever alter the lives of, not only the nine young black men, but their own, forever. Ruby and Victoria were what was known as "poor white trash." Poor, ignorant, uneducated and mired down by hard living, this was an opportunity for them to get some respect. They were revered as the pure and desirable white women that needed to be protected from the dangers of the feared black man.

The nation was thrown into a tailspin by a crime that never occurred and the ILD, a Communist organization took up the cause, besting out the NAACP whose members' middle and upper middle class backgrounds caused class differences and therefore a distance from the poverty-stricken, country, unlearned Scottsboro defendants and their families. This case, that went before the Supreme Court, became a battle between the backwoods, uncultured, racist Southerners against the charismatic, Jewish attorney, Samuel Leibowitz and arrogant, pseudo liberal "Yankee" Northerners who defied and defiled Southern customs and traditions-- traditions that could hang a black man for the smallest infraction.

Feldman, the author of at least two other fictionalized accounts of real events, Lucy and The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank depicted the "Scottsboro Women" as victims of societal ills, such as poverty and lack of opportunities, not unlike the Scottsboro Boys. Although Victoria held unto her lie of being wronged until her death, Ruby, under Alice's tutelage, recanted and reaffirmed her story over and over which brought about appeals to save the men's lives. Although this was a hard read for most of my book club members; we wanted to know why was it important for Feldman to write the story from the point of view of the accusers, we however, came away appreciative of the intricacies and complexities of this tragedy that has gone down in American history. This infamous case charted new legal statutes, one being, defendants are entitled to proper legal counsel. I recommend this book to those who enjoy reading fiction against a backdrop of historical events and figures.

Dera R. Williams
Marcus Book Club(Oakland)
APOOO BookClub

Thirty years ago I saw the TV production "Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys": this made a strong impression on me. So when 10 days ago I was browsing E. Bukowsky's reviews and saw this book I went out and grabbed a copy. What you get is a powerfully-told tale that will stick with you long after you've finished the book. It's a story of courage, cowardice, political expediency, prejudice, hypocrisy, and a truly evil perversion of justice. The time and place may seem remote now, but it's only true that a few things have changed: legal lynchings still exist, and too many people are happy to sacrifice others for political gain.

The two storytellers are Alice Whittier (fictional), a reporter from New York, and Ruby Bates (real), one of the two women who claimed that they had been raped. Other characters include the twelve victims (those falsely accused of rape), prosecutors, judges of various stripes, Sam Lebowitz, and Communist Party members. Interests were decidedly mixed. At several points in the story, some of the people from New York ask each other "Would it be better for the Cause if the 12 are saved or executed?" The prosecutor wants to ride the case to the Governorship of Alabama. Judge Horton (at the first retrial) is a man of integrity. One of the doctors who examined the women tells Judge Horton that the women were not raped, but if he testifies his career as a doctor will be finished: he never testifies, and there's a fascinating question of whether we should judge him as courageous for telling the judge (which few at the time would have done) or cowardly for not testifying, even at the cost of his career. We are also left to ponder a situation where the Alabama Supreme Court rules, consistently with almost all of the white establishment in the state, that the word of a white woman--even a part-time prostitute--is sufficient evidence in and by itself to execute a dozen black men.

One of the courageous people is Alice Whittier. Not only did the courts of Alabama not let women on juries, in cases like this they were not even permitted in the court itself: an exception had to be made in the case of a female reporter. Whittier is spat on, threatened with lynching, and even arrested and hauled off to another town for intimidation. But Whittier is fictional: this leads to the question of whether there were any women reporters actually present. There are moments in the book that seem surreal. After the first two trials (as I recall) the prosecutor approaches Leibowitz with an offer of a deal: he's willing to let about half of the accused go free if he can execute the rest. Ponder that for a bit. This seems to suggest that the prosecutor doesn't believe that the accused are actually guilty--but that to say so would mean that he didn't believe a white woman, and he would commit political suicide: he needs some executions. Also, if you feel that the book is about bygone times, and we've gone way beyond such things now, you'd be kidding yourself--we still have ambitious politicians who are willing to ride executions to higher office, and we still have executions where the only evidence is the word of a single person. Political courage seemed rare back then, and it often seems as rare now. So you get a powerful story here, compellingly told, and still relevant today.

The case of the Scottsboro boys is well documented. On March 25, 1931, nine black youths were riding the Alabama Great Southern freight train when they got into an altercation with a group of white men. After the nine "Negroes" (some of whom were in their early teens) got off the train, they were summarily arrested for raping two white women. In her semi-fictionalized account of this incident and its aftermath, Ellen Feldman provides the shocking details of a shameful episode in our nation's history, putting the events into their political, cultural, and economic context. She demonstrates the noxious effects of anti-Semitism, misogyny, and racial prejudice in the Deep South, and incorporates the stories of some of the individuals who played key roles in what would ultimately become a cause célèbre.

There are two first person narrators. One, Alice Whittier, is a product of Feldman's imagination. Whittier is a tough and ambitious journalist, as well as a feminist with leftist leanings. Her reporter's unerring instincts lead her to believe that her work on the Scottsboro story might boost her career. As Clarence Norris, one of the defendants, said, "For lots of folks, us boys was nothing more than rungs on a ladder." He made a good point, since lawyers, judges, "do-gooders," Communist party members, and other hangers-on shamelessly exploited the defendants and their accusers for their own ends. Meanwhile, for years to come, the nine men would suffer both emotional and physical torment.

The other narrator is Ruby Bates, a pitifully poor seventeen-year-old mill worker who is functionally illiterate. Ruby's close friend, Victoria Price, persuades her to give false testimony. In the Jim Crow south, all-white male juries ignored the glaring inconsistencies in Ruby's and Veronica's statements. The first trial and subsequent retrials occurred against the backdrop of the Great Depression, a time of crushing poverty when sixteen million Americans were unemployed and two hundred thousand young people under twenty-one wandered from place to place like hoboes. For the downtrodden Ruby and Victoria, sudden fame transformed them into overnight celebrities. Strangers bought them new clothes and showered them with attention. For the first time in their lives, they felt important. Victoria was the more hardened of the two (she "had a mean streak a mile wide") and never did recant her statements. Ruby, on the other hand, came to regret her lies; she worried that because of her sins, her eternal soul would "go to torment" in the hereafter.

"Scottsboro" is a beautifully realized portrait of an era when lower class white people were so browbeaten that they vented their frustrations on those who could not fight back. "Scotsboro" is a tragic account of a terrible miscarriage of justice. It is also an engrossing tale about a principled journalist who dares to expose the truth, no matter how unpopular it makes her. There are a few lighter moments when Alice takes time out from her hectic schedule to pursue her romantic interests. In addition, Feldman adds color to the narrative by vividly describing FDR's ascension to the presidency at a time when Hoovervilles dotted the landscape. The country gained two leaders when FDR took office; his wife, Eleanor, became a driving force for equality in her own right.

Ellen Feldman consistently enlightens and entertains us. She also forces us to take a hard look at ourselves. If during a period of intense racial hatred, we had been on a jury judging the Scottsboro boys, would we have had the courage to acquit them? Or would we have yielded to the pressure from our local community and taken the path of least resistance? Feldman's evocative dialogue (written partly in southern dialect), absorbing plot, and touching depiction of the plight of the most vulnerable members of our society make this an unforgettable work of historical fiction.

I LOVE this author. I could not put it down once I started. I definitely recommend her book(s).

In her author's notes, Nancy Moser quotes a phrase that embodies the recurring theme in this inspirational story: Characters live to be noticed; people with character notice how they live. As the tale unfolds, her characters become people of character who graciously hold up a mirror for us to reflect on our own foibles. Revealing the masks we wear and the roles we play in order to protect ourselves from the judgment of others often keep us from being the real person we were created to be.

Patti McCoy, a naïve resort worker, is on trial, accused of killing her boyfriend, Brett Lerner, an arrogant opportunist who had his share of dark secrets. As Patti proclaims her innocence, a jury is empanelled, and we are introduced to four of them, each with a unique interest in the case and each with a lesson to learn about his or her own character. Each one has flaws that many of us struggle with. Among the demons of Ken Doolittle, a former golf pro, are pride, lust and fear. Deidre Kelly, the wife of a prominent pediatric surgeon, wears the mask of a perfect society wife and mother while living in fear that her past will be discovered. Abigail Buchanan is a lovely actress who, at age 77, still longs for fame and fortune. And Bobby Mann, a father of two who works three jobs to provide for his family, is filled with self-doubt and fear, and refuses to accept the faith that his wife holds out to him.

The author deftly moves among these characters and their stories while providing interaction during the jury deliberations. Each one is clearly defined and easy to follow in short, fast-moving chapters. As the secrets and character flaws of each are revealed, the themes of hope and redemption recur, sometimes offered by friends and relatives, and sometimes by the testimony of wise pastors. The mother-in-law who provides love and stability, the wife whose faith encourages and never waivers, the soft, still voice of God whispering words of hope, the son with AIDS who has been changed by God's love, all hold up the mirror to the characters and to us. Though the Biblical message of salvation is clear, it is never contrived nor does it distract from the story.

It is exciting to discover yet another "Faithful Writer" who is talented, timely and witty without resorting to the more graphic and gritty style of fiction. I am eager to read Nancy Moser's Sister Circle series, three books about a widow who is forced to open her Victorian home to boarders. Sounds like it will be full of possibilities!

--- Reviewed by Maggie Harding

You just never know what will happen in a novel by Nancy Moser...and that's a very good thing!

Patti McCoy is on trial for her life. She's accused of killing her boyfriend, Brett Lerner. Did she do it? Or did she just show up at the worst time ever?

The jurors listen to all of the evidence, and then begin to deliberate. Among the twelve, we get up close and personal with several of them...and discover that this story is about far more than just Patti's trial...

Ken, the washed up golf pro, has a choice of reuniting with his estranged son or living the life he pretends he wants. We also meet Abigail, a starlet in her time...now trying out for roles that really shouldn't be hers--question is, what will she do about it?

Bobby works three jobs and is supporting a wife and three kids...and hiding from a past that makes him hang his head in shame. Can he overcome the obstacles in his way and succeed in life, or will he hang onto what is known, even if it's destructive?

Finally, we meet Deidre, wife of famous surgeoun Sigmund Kelly...striving to have the perfect life she's always wanted and has finally earned...right? What lengths will Deidre go to in order to keep her family whole and complete?

What we thought was about a murder trial turns out to be so much more...and that's just like Nancy Moser! A muli-layered author who always surprises with so much more, you just can't go wrong with her novels.

I'm giving "Solemnly Swear" five out of five bookmarks with a gavel as a charm...and an order to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth...I loved this book, and I think you will as well!

Happy Reading!

Deena from A Peek At My Bookshelf

If you're considering giving Nancy Moser's latest novel a read, allow me to Solemnly Swear to my belief that you'll throughly enjoy it.

From the prologue (which I found entirely engrossing) on, Moser had me spellbound. Seldom have I wondered about the personal backgrounds, life experiences, and motivations of jurors, but in Solemnly Swear we get a glimpse into the lives of four such people. And we end up realizing how one misconception, one slight, one lie, and one missed purpose could unite to condemn (or possibly free) the accused.

If you've ever thought you might have what it takes to be an impartial and fair jury member, read this gripping tale. And then if you get called to jury duty, remember it....

Brett Lerner was a blackmailer who was waiting in his hot tub for the mark to arrive and give him his payoff money. Instead, the blackmailer hits Brett over the head. Brett is later found by his pregnant girlfriend Patti McCoy who starts screaming and then runs away when the police come. They find her and arrest her and put her in jail until the trial date arrives.

The members of the jury are a mixed group from a famous actress to a man who works three minimum wage jobs because he doesn't believe in his own talent. Also in the group are a former golf chairman and the wife of a doctor who operates on children for free. One of the members of the jury is pushing his/her spouse to sway the jury for a guilty verdict and though that person agrees to do so, the price paid is enormous.

Nancy Moser is a fantastic storyteller who lets her audience see into the hearts of the characters. There is nobody evil in this book, just lost misguided people making awful, not to say illegal decisions. SOLEMNLY SWEAR shows how one fabrication can spiral into many more lies and hurt other people, especially loved ones; as Sir Walter Scott proclaimed: "Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." Some of the jurors learn from their experience and try to turn their lives around to become better people; none of them will be like they were before the jurisprudence experience.

Harriet Klausner

At the Tehran Conference in 1943, Stalin toasted the summary executions of 50,000 German officers, Churchill privately proposed a number of some 100 major war criminals, Roosevelt kept silent, swayed alternately by Hans Morgenthau, Jr., who proposed some 2500 summary executions, and Henry Stimson, who preferred trials. That Stimson should ultimately prevail in the debate owes as much to accidents of history as to any profound historical moment culminating in Nuremberg. How Nuremberg ultimately played out, and the subsequent notion of holding leaders personally responsible for war crimes, is a tale well worth reading.

Gary Jonathan Bass's book, Stay the Hand of Vengeance, debunks several of the myths that grow from such moments. Still, in reviving the story of Leipzig (trials of German officers after World War I) and Constantinople/Malta (trials of Ottoman officers after World War I), Bass has presented not just a useful set of anecdotes on trials that failed and one that succeeded beyond expectation or intention, but a careful history of what drove efforts to hold such trials in the first place, of the limited political will behind them, the complexity and likelihood of failure.

Bass offers two principle insights: first, liberal states have a tendency to support individual accountability through trials for leaders responsible for war crimes that is unique (illiberal states prefer summary executions without second thought). Second, the tendency for liberal states to desire individual accountability and punishment ("legalism," as Bass uses the term) varies directly with the quantity of suffering experienced by that state: France loses 14 times as many men as America in World War I, and Britain 10 times as many men, and both are far more interested in war crimes trials. America, on the other hand, supported prosecutions for those responsible for unrestricted submarine warfare. The first goal of liberal states is to punish those who have harmed their own citizens. The second goal is to do so without risking their own troops. Bass calls this "selfishness."

The principle defect with Bass's amazingly rich work (and apparently, his first academic work following the Let's Go Guide to Egypt and Israel) is that it was published before 9-11, before Guantanamo, the trial of Saddam, the death of Slobodan Milosevic in The Hague, the ongoing efforts in Arusha and Rwanda, and the preliminary flickerings of prosecutions before the International Criminal Court for offenses in Darfur, Sudan, and Uganda. An update is urgently needed.

Vainly, one hopes Bass's insights into war crimes trials and the politics behind them will prove unnecessary. Those who anticipate that new monstrous figures will arise in this century may be well-served by a careful read of Bass's work, in that the prospects and pitfalls of trials as a means of addressing global villainy deserve this sort of well-researched, attentively reasoned, albeit somewhat disheartening, treatment.

"In the last analysis," Bass concludes, "the two international war crimes tribunals in The Hague and Arusha stand largely as testaments to the failure of America and the West."

Indeed: a bit more willpower at the right time, and gross atrocities might have been averted. The thing is, this indictment applies not only to these grand tribunals, but to all criminal courts generally: but for a bit more will, courage, restraint, honor, or whatever other moral virtue proved lacking, nearly all crime might be averted. Hence, the issue is not whether courts reduce criminality, but what to do with the folks guilty of the worst order thereof. And at the least, Bass's work provides some suggestions on when they will likely fail, or prove worse than failures, and how to limit total risks of prosecuting the worst villains of history.

Gary Jonathan Bass's book is a riveting, thoughtful read into what has been a long-neglected chapter of history. Piecing it all together wasn't easy. Mr. Bass takes sound scholarship, adds good reporting, and weaves a tale that I, frankly, could not put down. Read it. You won't regret it.

The man has courage to deal with these issues read the book

If you care even a little bit about international justice, you have to read this groundbreaking book. The research is incredibly painstaking--there's unbelievable stuff about the war crimes tribunal after the Napoleonic Wars, and a riveting reconstruction of the failed tribunal after the Armenian genocide. But there's also great journalism about the search for justice in the Balkans. It looks like international tribunals are going to be the next big thing; this is the definitive history, and the definitive analysis.

This book is thoroughly researched and footnoted and very well written. It culminates in a balanced account of the development of the International War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and exposes the role of Western nations in supporting- and in some cases, obstructing the tribunal's work. Bass' thesis is that Western nations value human rights and the rule of law,- but not more than the lives of their own soldiers - thus accounting for the sporadic Western support for War Crimes tribunals. This is provocative book which has many insights into the complexities of international organizations, human rights, and diplomacy.