Given that 2020 is shaping up to be another 1968, this is an invaluable—and timely—historical document.
Thoughtfully assembled chronicle of the trial of seven anti-war activists in 1969 and 1970.
As Aaron Sorkin writes in the introduction to this new version, originally published in 1970 as The Tales of Hoffman, the real instigators of the riots in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic Convention were the police, who sent hundreds of protestors to the hospital with serious injuries, “many of them to the skull.” Still, the government decided to make a law-and-order lesson of eight radicals; Bobby Seale, the co-founder of the Black Panthers, was eventually given a separate trial, whence the Chicago 7. The judge, Julius Hoffman, was clearly not sympathetic to the accused, who, it is to be admitted from these transcripts, were bent on turning the trial into street theater, with a take-no-prisoners defense attorney in William Kunstler, who said, “the defense will show that the real conspiracy in this case is…the conspiracy to curtail and prevent the demonstrations against the war in Vietnam and related issues.” The exchanges between judge and defense (and defendants) were often testy. Said Hoffman (no relation to Abbie, he hastened to observe) to Kunstler, “You know Mr. Mies van der Rohe designed that lectern for the use of counsel and I wish you would stay behind it, sir,” to which Kunstler replied, “Your Honor, sometimes for a free spirit, it is quite confining, so I move a little, and I am sorry.” Only two of the seven defendants were called to speak, but all of them had their moments, which earned plenty of jail time on contempt charges above and beyond the government’s charges against them. So did courtroom observers, such as the anonymous voice that warned the judge, “they will dance on your grave, Julie, and the graves of the pig empire.” The transcript, edited by three lawyers, gives a nearly blow-by-blow account of the principal moments in the proceedings, which are both entertaining and sobering.
Given that 2020 is shaping up to be another 1968, this is an invaluable—and timely—historical document.Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-982155-08-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.
Greed, depravity, and serial murder in 1920s Oklahoma.
During that time, enrolled members of the Osage Indian nation were among the wealthiest people per capita in the world. The rich oil fields beneath their reservation brought millions of dollars into the tribe annually, distributed to tribal members holding "headrights" that could not be bought or sold but only inherited. This vast wealth attracted the attention of unscrupulous whites who found ways to divert it to themselves by marrying Osage women or by having Osage declared legally incompetent so the whites could fleece them through the administration of their estates. For some, however, these deceptive tactics were not enough, and a plague of violent death—by shooting, poison, orchestrated automobile accident, and bombing—began to decimate the Osage in what they came to call the "Reign of Terror." Corrupt and incompetent law enforcement and judicial systems ensured that the perpetrators were never found or punished until the young J. Edgar Hoover saw cracking these cases as a means of burnishing the reputation of the newly professionalized FBI. Bestselling New Yorker staff writer Grann (The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession, 2010, etc.) follows Special Agent Tom White and his assistants as they track the killers of one extended Osage family through a closed local culture of greed, bigotry, and lies in pursuit of protection for the survivors and justice for the dead. But he doesn't stop there; relying almost entirely on primary and unpublished sources, the author goes on to expose a web of conspiracy and corruption that extended far wider than even the FBI ever suspected. This page-turner surges forward with the pacing of a true-crime thriller, elevated by Grann's crisp and evocative prose and enhanced by dozens of period photographs.
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.Pub Date: April 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-385-53424-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.
Documenting perilous times.
In his most recent behind-the-scenes account of political power and how it is wielded, Woodward synthesizes several narrative strands, from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel to the 2024 presidential campaign. Woodward’s clear, gripping storytelling benefits from his legendary access to prominent figures and a structure of propulsive chapters. The run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is tense (if occasionally repetitive), as a cast of geopolitical insiders try to divine Vladimir Putin’s intent: “Doubt among allies, the public and among Ukrainians meant valuable time and space for Putin to maneuver.” Against this backdrop, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham implores Donald Trump to run again, notwithstanding the former president’s denial of his 2020 defeat. This provides unwelcome distraction for President Biden, portrayed as a thoughtful, compassionate lifetime politico who could not outrace time, as demonstrated in the June 2024 debate. Throughout, Trump’s prevarications and his supporters’ cynicism provide an unsettling counterpoint to warnings provided by everyone from former Joint Chief of Staff Mark Milley to Vice President Kamala Harris, who calls a second Trump term a likely “death knell for American democracy.” The author’s ambitious scope shows him at the top of his capabilities. He concludes with these unsettling words: “Based on my reporting, Trump’s language and conduct has at times presented risks to national security—both during his presidency and afterward.”
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668052273
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
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