Reviews (26)

Another Christian Lumper
Ms. Crier shows her lack of understanding of the intracacies of Christianity and puts forth a brutish view. For example on page five she refers to it as "Born again Christianity". That may seem like a knitpick on something that isn't a big deal, but it absolutely is a big deal. If you only have a shallow understanding of the person you are talking about, how much of what you say about them is going to be accurate? It's similar to how the majority of Americans of WW2 believed the stereotypes about the Japanese as being the mindless badguys, not that the Japanese were a sophisticated deep thinking people themselves, but there were many wrong assumptions about them that certainly did not help in dealing with them, for example, dropping atomic bombs on them.
Important Wake Up Call About The Right Wing Extremists Seeking To Take Over Our Judicial System
In "Contempt" Crier does an outstanding job of exposing the danger being posed by right-wingers, especially the Religious Right, in their attempt to take over the court system in America. She discusses the absurd statements and actions of well known evangelical nut cases such as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. But she also talks about lesser known religious extremists who are using their power to influence the political process. For example, James Kennedy, who would like to turn America into a Christian theocracy just as Muslim extremists, in countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia, have created oppressive societies based on Shar'ia law. I believe that our strong American tradition of freedom and civil liberties, based on the Constitution and Bill of Rights, will prevent these religious fanatics from ever taking over. Yet no potential American future is more frightening to me than a so-called "Christian Nation" being run by fundamentalist demagogues.
Thought Provoking
After reading this book, I did additional research on many of the organizations and think-tanks mentioned (a real eye-opener, make no mistake).
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Subjects:  1. Government - Federal    2. Government - Judicial Branch    3. History    4. History: World    5. Judges    6. Legal Reference / Law Profession    7. Political questions and judicial power    8. Religious right    9. Selection and appointment    10. Social History    11. United States    12. Current Events / Law   

Subjects:  1. Abortion (Sociological Aspects)    2. Cases    3. Children    4. Constitutional    5. Constitutional Law    6. Courts - Supreme Court    7. Education    8. Educational    9. Educational law and legislatio    10. Educational law and legislation    11. General    12. Law    13. Legal Reference / Law Profession    14. Legal status, laws, etc.    15. Supreme Court    16. United States   

Editorial Review

In 1995, a watchful patron alerted a librarian at Johns Hopkins University that another patron, a middle-aged and well-dressed man, was behaving suspiciously. The librarian called the police, who discovered that the man, a Floridian named Gilbert Bland, had cut four maps from a set of rare books. On investigation, the police were able to attribute dozens of similar thefts to Bland, thefts that had taken place at a score of the country's best-regarded--and, presumably, best-protected--scholarly institutions.Read more

Reviews (81)

A wandering tale which doesn't lead where you think......
This is an interesting tale of a writer getting lost.The author embarked on a mission to find the story of a thief who stole valuable maps from right under the noses of unprepared rare book collections.While he was well on the journey, he found his subject to be uncooperative and not particularly interesting.Nonetheless, the writing flows, and the book gives a brief but interesting look into cartographic history, the antique map-dealing subculture, and the gentle madness of map collectors.The book does seem a bit stretched, and it is more the story of the author's quest to write the book than the nature of cartographic crime, but I liked the diversions, and the writer does an excellent job of making a foriegn topic accessible.The book is both engaging and meandering, and doesn't go where you think it is going.

A memorable tale
Explores a whole different world....that of the rare map collector and those who become a bit too much obsessed with possessing them.
Island of Lost Marbles
Author Miles Harvey describes the bizarre world of map thieves (including explorers, cartographers, collectors and vandals) as "deliciously offbeat," and so it is. Perhaps a fascinating narrative on cartographic crime could be culled from these 350 pages. Sadly, Harveystructured his book around Gilbert Bland, a petty crook whose life is remarkable only for its sheer dullness. With all the build-up in the introduction, the reader hopes for more.
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Criminology    3. Current Affairs    4. General    5. History    6. Law    7. Libraries    8. Map thefts    9. Maps    10. Politics/International Relations    11. Sociology    12. Special collections    13. United States    14. Current Events / General   

Editorial Review

In Read more

Reviews (34)

Academic flavor, but great for general reader
Rhodes' focus is on the work of Criminologist L. Athens... and his professional and personal struggles.Some of the most interesting writing is quoted verbatim from Athens' research--case studies & conversations w/ convicts themselves. Better than any crime novel... extremely scary.

Brilliant but such a huge question unanswered!
It is not clear why the state of completed violentization is consolidated to the degree of no return?! The author(s) claim that a cataclysmic experiences or long-term significant events lead to fragmentization. That should apply also to violent criminals otherwise the theory of transition through fragmentation is NOT a theory... I was very disappointed in the end of the book, almost like a European movie... it ends without a finish... and it would not matter much if it wasn't for the grave implications of acting on the idea that violent criminals are irreversibly violentized and that another "cataclysmic experience" "or significant series of events" would not open an opportunity for a transformation leading away from violence.
Criminology with Psychology
I've met more than a few criminologists at the University where I learned and taught psychology (and where, interestingly, Athens spent a good chunk of his early career), and I was always struck by how little psychology I found in the writings and the lectures of most criminologists. I don't mean complex theories of motivation or conversion or what have you; I mean simple notions of learning that we teach freshman students. Read more

Subjects:  1. Case studies    2. Criminal behavior    3. Criminal psychology    4. Criminology    5. Criminology Theory    6. General    7. Law    8. Methodology    9. Research    10. Social Science    11. Sociology    12. Violent crimes    13. Crime & criminology    14. Current Events / Law   

Reviews (5)

A Bible For Young Lawyers Like Me
As a new lawyer, this book really helped me realize so many things as to what a lawyer should do before, during, and after the trial. Thought provoking wonderful narrative
Bobby Delaughter was a prosecutor of the right timbre, morals, and courage at the right time to help bring justice in a 30-year old murder case.This riveting book tells how, in the face of extreme odds, his faith was brought to the forefront, to show that God really does care and uses people such as Delaughter to produce what He desires most - justice.In this book, we see not only a story of Mississippi's catharsis in turning from a place of race-baiting politicians and of organized Ku Klux Klanism to a place where justice can truly be done, but also a story of the touching emotional struggle of the victims and prosecutors alike. As prosecutors face great opposition from not only racists and self-seeking politicians, but also from well-meaning but skeptical black and white citizens and even an arrogant FBI, they rise above the ordinary at great personal and political cost.As an attorney, I coined the phrase, "sometimes truth is very hard to come by."This story embodies that principle.The efforts of Mr. Delaughter and his D.A. boss should be applauded and lauded as a great triumph, not just for the machinery and tools of this great country's ever-grinding legal system, for they are but lifeless concepts apart from the souls that man their stations, but also for those with virtue and conscience, who are the fuel and oil without which there would be no production of justice.

Justice delayed but thankfully not denied.
I had been interested by the story of Medgar Evers and the difficulty the state had in prosecuting his alleged killer for some time.When the State of Mississippi reopened the case for a potential third attempt at prosecution I was hopeful that some sense of justice might be achieved but not at all convinced thatthe then alleged killer would be found guilty of Medgar Evers' murder.Bobby De Laughter has written an insightful, thoughtful and intriguing book. As I read his account of the various threads of the story, the leads the DA's office had to develop to prosecute this case after so many years and the elements of good fortune that allowed this case to be pursued successfully I could not help but feel the presence of Medgar Evers.The goodness of the man and his persistent quest for justice is echoed in the actions of Mr. De Laughter, Ms. Myrlie Evers, the many dogged investigators and committed professionals who played their part in making the third trial come together.Read more

Subjects:  1. Assassination    2. Beckwith, Byron de la    3. Criminal Law    4. Criminal Law - General    5. Jackson    6. Legal History    7. Legal Reference / Law Profession    8. Mississippi    9. Politics/International Relations    10. Trials (Murder)    11. Trials, litigation, etc    12. United States - State & Local - General    13. Current Events / Law    14. True crime    15. USA   

Editorial Review

The Unabomber case both captivated and worried Americans, prodded by extensive media coverage of his 17-year-long spree of terrorist "anti-technology" attacks. Few of us were prepared to deal with the likes of a Ted Kaczynski--who he was, what he did, what he believed in and stood for. When Kaczynski emerged from hiding in his absurd shack in the mountains with his piles of anti-technology literature, the image of the unruly bearded man in a bright orange jumpsuit burned into our collective unconscious. We haven't yet been able to shake the sight. Such is Michael Mello's thesis, which he elaborates in this masterful account of the legal side of the Unabomber story. Mello, both an accomplished journalist and a notorious defense attorney (he represented serial killer Ted Bundy), actually spent time as an advisor to the Kaczynski defense team during pretrial proceedings; his perceptions are, he freely admits, skewed toward the defense in this case, particularly in matters of procedure. Yet the book never reads like propaganda. Instead, Mello opens up new lines of inquiry into the manner in which the United States government handled its prosecution of the case. With a biting, trenchant approach, he unfolds layer upon layer of the fascinating case and opens it to public view. He also constructs an eerie parallel between Kaczynski's case and abolitionist John Brown, who was executed by the government in the 19th century after his raid on Harpers Ferry. Is it fair, Mello asks, that we should remember Brown as a civil rights martyr and Kaczynski as a comical, albeit defanged, monster? This is fascinating reading, regardless of whether or not you agree with Mello's take on the case. Read more

Reviews (15)

Redundant Beyond Belief
I certainly agree with the reviewer,Dr.Alan A.Abrams, on his review of this book,especially in the area of editing.Although a few of the points in this book were,I feel correct,and well accepted such as the judges refusal to allow Kaczynski to defend himself even though the possibility of recieving the death penalty was being persued by the prosecution, the judges refusal to allow Kaczynski to proceed with the trial and defend himself with no clear sanity/insanity diagnoses determined was flawed. I don't know of anyone who doesn't believe in a defendants right to his day in court.I feel Kaczynski should have been allowed to defend himself not having been definitely diagnosed insane by the doctors and/or the court even though it was obvious that Kaczynski knew what was at stake and was taking advantage of every legal opportunity available to manipulate and delay the inevitable trial.The main point of this book was just that,the denial by the judge of due process, Kaczynski's right to represent himself.I believe most people agree with that even though Kaczynski accepted the plea bargain.This gets us back to this book,the main point of which has been stated above.After laborously enduring hundreds of pages of redundant text,hoping for a few new facts,I finally got to the end and was totally disappointed.There were few new facts in this book that hadn't been already in the news.As Dr.Abrams stated in his review,this book was in dire need of editing.I believe that the complete book could have been reduced to one or two chapters at most and still cover the main points brought out in this book.Definitely not recommended for anyone without a very,very long attention span who is also able to endure endless redundant text.

Contending Egos
The author appears so involved in his own axes to grind with other public defenders, and his own self-promotion, that the book never tells us anything of interest about Kaczynski, Kaczynski's mental states, the accuracy of media reporting or the delicate balances in the legal system. There is an interesting conflict in our legal system around the issue of self representation since the Supreme Court decided Faretta v. California in 1975. The case of Colin Ferguson in New York (the man who shot the passengesrs on the LIRR) exemplified this - a marginally sane defendant, allowed to represent himself, who uses the trial as a forum for his paranoid ravings. The question - can a barely competent defendant not only waive their right to an attorney, but also their right to a meaningful or fair trial? Should a barely competent defendant who is seriously mentally ill be allowed to refuse to present evidence of their mental illness because they believe that their delusions are true? The book doesn't begin to explore the frequent problems of conflicts, miscommunications, and deceit that pass both ways in many criminal (and civil) litigation. The author appears only interested in portraying Kaczynski's attorneys as rigid ideologues ( as opposed to himself). The author's critique of modern psychiatry is as superficial as his exploration and pseudo-psychology of Theodore Kaczynski. (The author nowhere fills in the gap between Kaczynski being teased as a child to deciding upon killing strangers). The author's premise that Kaczynski was a normal person who was cheated out of his day in court is fatally weakened by this lack of explanation of Kaczynski's psychology. The author's style is in desperate need of editing (the same sentences appear repeatedly). The author's self righteousness makes this an even more difficult read.

Embracing Unpopularity
This book is an antidote to the kind of pop psychology in which people live in a loving society in which each one strives to obtain as much popularity as possible by pleasing everyone.Instead, this is the work ofan expert in the law's use of the death penalty, a measure which ought tobe reserved for those cases in which something evil needs to be eradicated,as the Unabomber seemed to be successful on a few occasions in which hepicked his own targets and used our customary methods of communication todeliver his bombs.What is most offensive to me is a presumption thatthere is any innocence here, a legal fiction which is often used as aprofessional matter to keep anyone who has formed an opinion from speakingabout things which are obvious to those who are not engaged in the dramawhich conswists mainly of pretending that no one knows what is going on. There is still a little doubt in my mind that Ted was absolutely sincere inpleading guilty to what he did, but after he managed that bit ofconfession, it is great that a law professor like Michael Mello could writethis book to show how the attempt to defend him was even crazier than hewas. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American    2. Courts    3. Criminal Procedure    4. Criminology    5. Current Affairs    6. Defense (Criminal procedure)    7. Forensic psychiatry    8. Infamous Crimes And Criminals    9. Law    10. Legal System    11. Politics / Current Events    12. Psychology    13. Serial murderers    14. United States   

Subjects:  1. Bible - Commentaries - General    2. Current Affairs    3. Religion    4. Current Events / Law    5. Raddai Raikhlin   

Editorial Review

Historian D. Graham Burnett writes about his experience as the foreman of the jury in a murder trial in New York City, what he calls "the most intense sixty-six hours of my life." There was nothing especially spectacular about the case; it was not a famous one, and while Read more

Reviews (43)

eloquent defense of the jury system, warts and all
In a two hour film (e.g., "Twelve Angry Men"), an audience can't empathize with some crucial aspects of a jury trial: the tedium, the ridiculous density of certain jurors, the uncertainty and fear, the perilous duty.
Honest Portrayal of Jury Life, but Lacks Courtroom Tension
D. Graham Burnett, an assistant Princeton history professor, brings us a lively, honest look at the inner world of juries in the slim volume entitled, A Trial by Jury.Burnett's writing style is casual and easily accessible in describing the jury he joyfully found himself leading.
We the jury
Judges have become too powerful; they tell juries what evidence is admissible and which pieces of evidence must be discarded; judges instruct juries on the meaning and intepretation of the law; juries attempt to appease the judges by closely following the instructions and intrepretations in finding a verdict, their civic duty; the more constrainted the rules of law and admissible evidence the more influence the judge has over the outcome of the verdict;juries don't receive great threatment or financial compensation for their time and can be forced to remain silent, feed mediocre food, forced too appear in court with little regard too their personal considerations, and sequestered by confinement too a hotel.Read more

Subjects:  1. Criminal Law - General    2. Current Affairs    3. Law    4. Legal System    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Law / Jury   

Editorial Review

George Washington University law professor Jeffrey Rosen offers a vigorous defense of privacy in this book inspired by "the constitutional, legal, and political drama that culminated in the impeachment and acquittal of President Bill Clinton." He is particularly piqued at Ken Starr's investigation of Monica Lewinsky's private life, including her book-buying habits and the love letters she stored on her computer but never sent. "Privacy protects us from being misdefined and judged out of context in a world of short attention spans, a world in which information can easily be confused with knowledge," writes Rosen, who is also a legal affairs writer for Read more

Reviews (14)

Good Topic, Mediocre Effort
I bought this looking for some insight into the increasingly popular privacy movement.I got what I was looking for, but it wasn't a GREAT book, just a good book.

Dry and distant...
I bought this book expecting something more than opinion on database policy, and was never able to force myself to finish it.I found no evidence that the author has ever realized that coercive, devastating assaults on our privacy can be conducted by our neighbors, friends, and co-workers using radio technology and other covert surveillance devices. Privacy under siege in a modern day "Panopticon"
Let me get my two main criticisms of Rosen's book out of the way first:1) I am not a legal scholar (or a lawyer), and found the book to be a little too technical, even somewhat tedious at times, although it is basically well written and even impassioned; and 2) I also thought the book focused somewhat obsessively on one particular privacy-related issue("sexual harassment"), and specifically the argument that much of what we classify as sexual harassment would be better dealt with as "invasion of privacy."I felt like this could have been summarized in a few pages and not have taken up half the book!Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer security    2. Constitutional    3. Current Affairs    4. Data protection    5. Law    6. Law and legislation    7. Legal Reference / Law Profession    8. Politics/International Relations    9. Privacy, Right of    10. United States    11. Law / General   

Reviews (12)

Needed Inspiration
I bought this book in a shop in the mall of the World Trade Center; four days later 23 NYPD officers died in and around the those towers. As I prepared to read this book, I grumbled, "There better be no cop-bashing in here." And at the first sign of negative criticism of the force, I put the book down and didn't start again until two years later. I'm glad I did: I might not have given it a fair reading or review back in 2001. WHY?
NYPD is a history of New York City and its police department.It does not relate the story of either very well. The specific weaknesses of NYPD are several: It's hard to follow. While presented in a decade by decade format, the chronology is still confusing. Accounts of various incidents end abruptly, or merely tail off to no conclusion. Characters appear, disappear and like magic appear once again. Too much attention is given to past riots and disorders. NYPD also concentrates far too many pages to corruption.This subject is way too old and common to rate the space the authors have devoted to it. Honest cops by comparison are downplayed. We are rarely placed in the street with the cops on the beat. The reader gets virtually no sense of tradition, honor, or bravery that many, if not all, policemen routinely display. Also conspicuous by it's absence is HUMOR! Cops must encounter howlingly funny situations all the time, yet the authors ignore this obvious subject. A final objection to the tale is the extreme tediousness of the portrayal of the department up until the great Depression years.The tone of NYPD improves after that but not enough to save itself.Non-NYC residents will receive no feel, no local flavor. It fails on that score too. The recommendation from this reviewer is to "search" elsewhere for superior political AND better police portrayals.Surely, amazon has them. It's depressing that a lifelong NYC native has to present such negative review.The answer to the question at the top is not why buy NYPD but why was it written in the first place?

A GREAT READ
NYPD is great storytelling and a great read of the history of theRead more

Subjects:  1. Current Affairs    2. General    3. Law    4. Politics / Current Events    5. Politics/International Relations    6. United States - State & Local - General    7. History / United States / 20th Century   

Reviews (1)

Informative and thought provoking
I thought that this book was very informative and thought provoking. It examines the difficulties of understanding and applying the second amendment in our modern day world. Although the second amendment is often used by the pro-gun lobby to justify its opposition to gun-control, no second amendment challenge to a gun control law has ever been successful in the federal court system. In fact, gun control laws have been around for over 200 years so apparently the founding fathers didn't see the second amendment as a barrier to such laws. Examples of early gun control laws are the forbidding of carrying concealed weapons and disarming anyone who would not swear loyalty to the state they lived in. The first article in a law journaladvocating an individual right to bear arms was published in the 1960's. Before that, the consensus had been in law journals that such a right was exercised only in connection with a well regulated militia. Just what is the well regulated militia of the presented day? Federal law and the Supreme Court have defined it as the National Guard. The second part of the second amendment speaks of the people. What did the founders mean when they referred to the people? Some would like to think that they meant each adult individual. However, this understanding is not consistent with the way the word is used in other parts of the constitution. In the preamble of the Constitution, the founders refer to themselves as "We the People." Obviously not each adult individual in America was involved in writing the Constitution. The first amendment speaks of "the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." The word "assemble" lets us know that such a right is exercised by the people collectively and not by an individual person. The term "bear arms" usually referred military service at the time of the writing of the second amendment. This is evident from the first draft of the second amendment in which James Madison states, "no person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms shall be compelled to render military service in person." Although the pro-gun lobby likes to equate "bearing arms" with carrying a gun, to James Madison the term meant "to render military service." Lastly, what arms were they founders referring to? Muskets, not machine guns, semi-automatic assault rifles nor Uzis. Obviously, using the second amendment to oppose laws regulating such weapons is highly questionably. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 2nd Amendment    2. American    3. Constitution    4. Constitution.    5. Constitutional    6. Constitutional Law    7. Current Affairs    8. Essays    9. Firearms    10. History    11. Law    12. Law and legislation    13. Legal History    14. Legal Reference / Law Profession    15. Politics/International Relations    16. Social Situations And Conditions    17. United States    18. United States.   

Reviews (3)

Putting a Face on a Faceless Industry
The tobacco industry is one of the most evil industries allowed to operate in America. From child labor to seductive advertising to distribution of a deadly product and ending in mountains of money in political bribes, The US Tobacco Industry has just about every imaginable negative attribute of corporate America, all rolled into one, neat package.

Best Political Science Book of the Year
I could hardly put this book down.The battle being fought is truly a life and death matter, alliances and strategies evolve on both sides, and the Tobacco Industry uses their multi-million war chests to mislead thepublic over and over and over again.Even when you think you can relaxafter a victory by the anti-tobacco forces, in the next chapter the TobaccoIndustry is lurking behind yet another door with a butcher's cleaver, whichends up being wielded by tobacco funded politicians and the CaliforniaMedical Association to cut tobacco education funds and to weaken theanti-tobacco media campaign.Really this book is about much more thanCalifornia and its battle with the tobacco industry.It is the best bookI've ever read about why we need campaign finance reform and effectivesunshine laws.You are shown all the nitty-gritty details, the back roomdeals, the closed-door bargaining.You'll emerge from this bookwell-prepared to detect lies in future wars, and to read between-the-linesin daily newspaper coverage. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Agriculture - General    2. California    3. Government & Business    4. Government - State & Provincial    5. Government - U.S. Government    6. Law    7. Law and legislation    8. Political aspects    9. Politics / Current Events    10. Politics/International Relations    11. Public Affairs & Administration    12. Technology    13. Tobacco    14. Tobacco industry    15. History / Americas (North, Central, South, West Indies)    16. Political activism    17. Public health & preventive medicine    18. c 1970 to c 1980    19. c 1980 to c 1990    20. c 1990 to c 2000   

Subjects:  1. Government - U.S. Government    2. Law    3. Politics / Current Events    4. Politics/International Relations    5. Public    6. Public Policy - General   

Reviews (3)

Legal Vengeance
I bought this book with a somewhat self serving hope that the senior Jackson's very entertaining oratory style would be peppered through the text.Regardless of whether I agree or disagree with him, I have always found his public speaking to be entertaining and far livelier then most politicians or activists.With this being said I was disappointed to find out that Jesse Sr. really only was present in the forward and those few pages were very restrained.Not one three subject list, not a rhyme to be found, no fire and brimstone, just a smooth and calm forward to a book that explains a thought out position on capital punishment.This calm tone was held through the book, even in areas that most people start to get a bit excited about, religion, racism etc, the authors kept a level course.Of course to be taken seriously they had to, plus there is the celebrity factor of Jesse Sr. that probably hurts as much as it helps in making the book credible.
A guidebook for future generations
Anybody with any viewpoint whatsoever on the subject of the death penalty will want, and need, to review the hard anecdotes that are interspersed within this brief but wide-ranging overview.For those of you who oppose the death penalty on moral grounds, you will fine augmentation for the foundations of your feelings.For those who aren't sure but who are afraid that innocent people might be executed under an imperfect system, the authors provide you with frightening evidence that you're right.And for those looking toward a legislative reconsideration of the entire subject, the appendix is invaluable.

Kudos to the editors
This book is outstanding in its analysis of this important issue.Particularly insightful is the work of editors (ghost writers?) Denis Gaynor and John McFarlane.Mssrs. Gaynor and McFarlane outline in glorious, living detail the horrors of a death penalty culture. Highly recommended.Read more

Subjects:  1. Capital punishment    2. Constitutional    3. Current Affairs    4. Discrimination in capital puni    5. Discrimination in capital punishment    6. Government - U.S. Government    7. Law    8. Politics / Current Events    9. Politics/International Relations    10. Public Policy - General    11. United States    12. Law / Civil Rights   

Reviews (9)

He IS a murderer!!
Anyone who believes that this murderer is anything but a con-man and killer is deluded!He cold-bloodedly shot and killed a police officer who was just doing his job.Daniel Faulkner was brutally struck down by a man who flaunts it in society's face every day he draws breath.Celebrities and blind fools believe the fiction he continues to spew into the US and the world.Wake up people...HE IS GUILTY OF MURDER and Daniel Failkner died at his hands!!

Not what it says, Not objective AT ALL
Despite Mr. Williams' constant claims that he provides an objective, un-biased account of this case, he fails to provide that. Being a lawyer siding with Mumia Abdul Jamal for eight years, his opinions are guided more towards the defense, and leave several holes in his arguement which may not be apparent to the common reader. One major problem with Mr. Williams' arguement is he claims the city of Philadelphia is an extremely racist city, which has constantly been oppressing blacks. He claims this all culminates in 1984 with the bombing of the MOVE house in West Philadelphia. He fails to point out, however, that the mayor of the city who authorized the bombing was Wilson Good, a BLACK man. How could a city be lead with racial discrimenation when its' own mayor is a black man? Mr. Williams obviously leaves this fact out because it is damaging to his argument, which is quite obviously in favor of the defense. He also quotes the prosecutor and defense attorney in this case almost word for word throughout Mumia's original trial, but how could Mr Williams know what was said in private discussions in Judge Sabo's chambers? There are no reporters or court stenographers in these rooms, and only Judge Sabo, McGill, and Jackson would know what was said. How, twenty years after the case, could Mr. Williams recount every sentence, and how the sentences are expressed, when there is no existing record of these statements. He couldn't. He was not a witness to these events, and records of what was said in the courtroom do not display emotions, only mere text. He portrays these conversations in the courtroom to make Jamal look more like a victim, completely destroying any credibility of this book being un-biased and objective. This book is a completely biased, open statement in favor of Jamal, and should not be taken as a statement of facts, but merely an argument in favor of Mumia Abdul Jamal. The majority of Williams' book has no substantial edvidence to support his "accounts" inside the courtroom, much like Jamal has no substantial evidence at all to support his innocence.

Insightful into each faction's thinking
Well written; good insight into the "Scheme Team" and their ridiculous assertions.Read more

Subjects:  1. Current Affairs    2. Law    3. Legal System    4. Minority Studies - Race Relations    5. Pennsylvania    6. Philadelphia    7. Police murders    8. Politics / Current Events    9. Public Policy - General&nbs