About this title: In his first work of nonfiction, #1 "New York Times" bestselling author John Grisham pens an exploration of small-town justice gone terribly awry, in a book that reads like one of his fictional, page-turning legal thrillers. A gritty, harrowing true-crime story.--"Time."
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Doubleday Books
Date Published: 10/2006
ISBN-13:9780385517232ISBN:0385517238
Description: Good in good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 368 p. Contains: Illustrations. Ex-Library expected imperfections. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Doubleday Books
Date Published: 10/2006
ISBN-13:9780385517232ISBN:0385517238
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 368 p. Contains: Illustrations. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Doubleday Books
Date Published: 10/2006
ISBN-13:9780385517232ISBN:0385517238
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 368 p. Contains: Illustrations. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Doubleday Books
Date Published: 10/2006
ISBN-13:9780385517232ISBN:0385517238
Description: Good in good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 368 p. Contains: Illustrations. Ex-Library expected imperfections. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Doubleday Books
Date Published: 10/2006
ISBN-13:9780385517232ISBN:0385517238
Description: Good in good dust jacket. Good, In good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 368 p. Contains: Illustrations. Ex-Library expected imperfections. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Doubleday Books
Date Published: 10/2006
ISBN-13:9780385517232ISBN:0385517238
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 368 p. Contains: Illustrations. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Doubleday Books
Date Published: 10/2006
ISBN-13:9780385517232ISBN:0385517238
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 368 p. Contains: Illustrations. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Doubleday Books
Date Published: 10/2006
ISBN-13:9780385517232ISBN:0385517238
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 368 p. Contains: Illustrations. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Doubleday Books
Date Published: 10/2006
ISBN-13:9780385517232ISBN:0385517238
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 368 p. Contains: Illustrations. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Doubleday Books
Date Published: 10/2006
ISBN-13:9780385517232ISBN:0385517238
Description: Good in good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 368 p. Contains: Illustrations. Ex-Library expected imperfections. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Doubleday Books
Date Published: 10/2006
ISBN-13:9780385517232ISBN:0385517238
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 368 p. Contains: Illustrations. read more
"John Grisham's first nonfiction work was conceived when Grisham read Ron Williamson's obituary in the New York Times. A few phone calls to Williamson's sisters were followed by 18 months of extensive travel and research. This book was difficult to put down, unsettling me in the same way I am disturbed anytime I hear about someone's release from prison due to DNA evidence. It is hard to imagine the agony and suffering of the innocent in being tried, convicted, and punished. I suspect most readers will find themselves examining their feelings about capital punishment, an outcome Grisham clearly hopes for.
Grisham tackles a complex case involving two supposed perpetrators and also spends much time on a second case also tried in Ada, OK with many similarities to the primary concern. The amount of detail slowed the book at times and I would like to have seen at least 30 pages edited out. The facts are not in dispute--2 innocent men were convicted of a heinous crime and lost many years of their lives to fighting the charges and to incarceration for the crime. The emotional, mental, and physical toll on Williamson and Fritz cannot be measured. For the sake of fairness in understanding the process of investigation, conviction, and release in this case, I would suggest readers check out www.billpetersondistrictattorney.com."
By now, there is no excuse for starting to read this book believing that it is written to Grisham's usual formula. This is not a brilliantly written legal thriller. It is an excellent piece of investigative journalism, and it is very clear that John Grisham has invested a huge amount of effort into his investigations.
He tells the true story of several wrongful convictions, concentrating mainly on the central character, Ron Williamson, who spends a considerable proportion of his life on death row and in other detention centres.
Grisham exposes the flaws in the American justice system, which is under constant pressure from the conviction-hungry public who will not allow the truth to stand in the way of their passionate pursuit of somebody to blame for any heinous crime, who, whether innocent or guilty, will receive the heavy punishment that such a terrible criminal would deserve. This leads to deliberate, and institutional, incompetence amongst the investigators and the lawyers.
For me, the book is far too long. I think that Grisham could have condensed the results of his rigorous investigations into about half the pages that he has filled. It is clear, from early on, what the outcomes would be. However, it is a valuable exposé, and I hope that US citizens will use it as the basis for successful campaigns against injustice in The Land of the Free."
"Who done it in this true story is almost beside the point. The mystery is how could the small town cops and district attorney be so dense as to not understand that they're sending an innocent man to prison. But this is mystery enough to make the story well worth reading."
"The pull of this story is the fact that it is not fiction. The book was tagged as something every American should read.....but this is not happening only across the USA. It is a very sad fact that applies globally. After I've read this, I am left with a couple of thoughts about law enforcement personnel who would go to extreme measures to solve a case even at the expense of prosecuting the non-guilty - can they really be that bad to the core, or are they just so much in a hurry to resolve a case, that even a half-baked investigation will do? These questions I ask are not only for the ones doing the investigation; it transcends to the prosecution, to the highest court, and even to the defense lawyers as well - it's the whole system. In the end, Ron got to really rest, and I pray that he was really able to do just that...For Dennis Fritz, I am glad that he was able to bounce back."
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