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Product Description
Product Description
In the crammed and dizzying space of two years, from June 1924 to June 1926, America was transfixed by three contrasting courtroom trials. Each was described as a 'Trial of the Century' and featured Clarence Darrow, America's most charismatic but troubled defence lawyer, as he tried to overcome public outrage and his own private struggle to keep faith in the justice system. They also served as his own route to redemption - for Darrow was in the midst of trying to restore his reputation after he had twice been put on trial for attempting to bribe a jury. Although he had been acquitted Darrow, in his late sixties, was desperate to wipe the stain from his name. At the same time, and in one of the book's dramatic new revelations, Darrow rekindled an old affair with a passionate writer and activist, Mary Field, who was the secret love of his life. More than eighty years later, the public themes which Darrow confronted still resonate powerfully in contemporary society. Sex and murder, celebrity and race, religion and science, politics and justice, the media and the law, love and deception, belief and terror rise up as vividly today as they did in the Roaring Twenties.The world remains just as fractured and uncertain as that which Darrow surveyed in the three final iconic cases of his life.
About the Author
Donald McRae is the award-winning author of six non-fiction books, including Every Second Counts, In Black & White and Dark Trade. He is the only two-time winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year. He also writes for the Guardian and lives just outside London with his family.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I loved this book. I heard the BBC Radio 4 play on the 'Scopes Monkey Trial' and became interested in this case as a result. The other two cases which are featured in the book are equally absorbing, for different reasons. The Sweet case provided a insightful account of Southern race prejudice while the description of Leopold and Loeb's murder trial reminded me of the disturbed young men whom Capote wrote about in 'In Cold Blood'.
I am not sure how much the coverage of Darrow's realtionship with Mary Field added to the narrative, but I'm sure it not detract from the interest the book generated for me.
A highly readable piece of modern history.
I am not sure how much the coverage of Darrow's realtionship with Mary Field added to the narrative, but I'm sure it not detract from the interest the book generated for me.
A highly readable piece of modern history.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Unlike the two previous reviewers, I enjoyed this book immensely. The coverage of the three cases themselves were riveting and the 'novelesque' approach of the author added some colour to what could be a quite dull read if it had followed traditional biographical styles.
Such was the interest that this book developed in Clarence Darrow, I immediately read 'Honor Killing' - not Clarence Darrow's finest hour, but a great read just the same.
Well done Donald McRae!
Such was the interest that this book developed in Clarence Darrow, I immediately read 'Honor Killing' - not Clarence Darrow's finest hour, but a great read just the same.
Well done Donald McRae!
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book revolves around the three last big cases Darrow was involved in & when it gets to them, finally, its rather good. But to get there you have to wade through Mills & Boon mush such as "She and Darrow remained silent as the elevator struggled upward. But, somewhere between the third and fifth floors, thier eyes met in a gaze that needed no words." The book has some good points but the style of writing is not to my realistic taste. Buy this for an intelligent maiden Aunt who remembers the great Spencer Tracey film.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A must have
A good piece of work, the case of snow brothers was very touching and sad. US version of Barrister Marshal Hall
Published 7 months ago by Mr. Umer Akbar
Catching up on Monkey Business
I saw the newly made film "Inherit the Wind" in 1961 while working in
Jersey, CI, in the summer of that year. I was 17 and it made a huge
impression on me. Read more
Jersey, CI, in the summer of that year. I was 17 and it made a huge
impression on me. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Póló
Great reading
Great book marvelously written. But the delivery by Super SAving by Amazon went dreadfully wrong. Book was received more than a month after purchase.
Published 22 months ago by EM
Portrait of a flawed hero
Not so much a biography as a portrait of Darrow viewed through the prism of three of his landmark trials - his defence of Leopold and Loeb, the "Scopes Monkey trial" and his... Read more
Published on 23 April 2010 by Aidan J. McQuade
Well told but shallow
This is a fine story but disappointingly told.
It's about Clarence Darrow, probably best known now as the character played by Spencer Tracy in the film, "Inherit the... Read more
It's about Clarence Darrow, probably best known now as the character played by Spencer Tracy in the film, "Inherit the... Read more
Published on 1 Jan 2010 by Mr. S. Ryan
How not to write a Biography
This is one of the worst biographies that it has ever been my misfortune to read. Instead of being an incisive insight into a giant among lawyers the author clearly preferred to... Read more
Published on 4 Aug 2009 by Francis J. Kieran
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