And the Dead Shall Rise: The Murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank [Hardcover]

This book is the best of the best. Oney puts you on the streets and in the buildings of Atlanta at the turn of the last century. He introduces you to the characters and makes you aware of the shifting intrigue and alliances. This is more than a book about little Mary Phagan and Leo Frank - it is a small glimpse of the times. You see the affects of child labor, workweeks of 66+ hours, wealth, poverty, and class warfare.

Both sides of the issue are fully laid out. Before reading this book, I had no doubt that Frank was innocent and Connelly was guilty. Now I'm only sure of one thing - the crowd that took law into its own hands robbed us of ever having a chance to find the whole truth.

Everyone seemed to play a part in this travesty - the "keystone" cops, attorneys, judges, newspapers, and everyday citizens. The only true innocent is poor Mary Phagan.

Great book - a must read for anyone interested in the history of the industrial revolution coming of age in the new south.

On April 26, 1913, the thirty ninth anniversary of the end of the civil war, 13 year old Mary Phagan went to collect her $1.20 in wages from Superintendent Leo M. Frank where she worked at the National Pencil factory on Forsyth Street- but she never came back. Frank who was Northern and Jewish was charged of the crime the very next day. Anti-Semitism was an ever present yet rarely spoken of theme in the two year long world famous trial. Nearly everyone involved in the case (Dorsey, Smith, Watson, Rosser, Lanford, Black, Hearst and more) seems to have a political agenda. The guilt or innocence of Leo Frank matters only to many in terms of their political careers. In many ways the authorities were after Frank from the very beginning. When Jim Conley was finally arrested, and and extremely large amount of evidence pointed towards him as the murderer, Dorsey and the Atlanta police department bent their backs to make it look like Conley was only an accomplice to the murder and Leo Frank actually committed the crime. Countless incidents show politicians hunger for power and political agendas. Not to mention the three Atlanta newspapers: the Journal, the Constitution, and the Georgian (run by William Randolph Hearst) who were all trying to make as much money as possible paying little to no heed to who they were accusing or defending. Frank was convicted for the Murder of Mary Phagan and was sentenced to death. Governor Slaton, who knew about more evidence than the public did, shortly before leaving office commuted the sentence to life imprisonment. Anti-Semitism in Georgia sky-rocketed, and Frank was dragged from his prison cell by a lynch mob and hanged in Marietta. The real breakthrough of Oney's book, however, is that it was a state crime. It had to be. Frank was one of the most famous prisoners in America, and the lynch mob literally came into the heavily guarded prison and within minutes snatched Frank and left. One of the ringleaders of the lynching was former governor Joe Brown, whose statue resides today at the Georgia State capitol building. Oney produces a thoroughly researched list of names of the lynchers and organizers of the lynching of Leo Frank
The lynching of Leo Frank is a story which embodies America's fear and power and serves as an exemplar of southern hatred towards northerners and Jews.

After establishing himself as a journalist, having written articles for Esquire, GQ, and the New Yorker, Oney wrote an article about the murder of Mary Phagan for Esquire Magazine. So enthralled in the subject, he felt he had to pursue it. "And the Dead Shall Rise" is a product of seventeen years, longer than Mary Phagan lived, of extreme research. Oney, not a Jew, tried to take the most objective standpoint as possible. When starting the book he erased all previous preconceptions about the case. He dug up all of the old newspapers, affidavits, and detective work to present in the book. He interviewed many of the remaining relatives of people involved in the case, obtaining valuable information. Also, the book is filled with historical events from Atlanta and Georgia history that help the reader understand the events of the trial, providing readers not only with information about Leo Frank but about the history of Atlanta's Black and Jewish communities. The book is presented as facts, and he is able to keep the prose captivating without giving too many of his own opinions, letting readers decide. Oney remarked that he believed Frank was "Ninety-Five percent innocent" (a remark which I scoffed at due to my preconceptions of the case as a Jew) leaving the door a little bit ajar and revealing his true objectivity. Oney takes advantage of his skills as a journalist and as a historian, which is for the best unless you are opposed to stuffy writing. All in all, Oney does an incredible job with this book, establishing himself among the great historians.

"And the Dead Shall Rise" needed to be written. Our generation, and the generations to come, needs to be informed about these darker sides of history. Oney provides an extremely detailed account of an incident that may very well have been forgotten. Enthralling and informing readers, Oney has produced an astounding historical work filled with rich detail. Anyone who wants to learn more about the darker side of Georgia's (and America's) past must read this book.