- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (Jun 19 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0312306369
- ISBN-13: 978-0312306366
- Product Dimensions: 24 x 16.3 x 2.7 cm
- Shipping Weight: 549 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,770,173 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Robert Meeropol was six years old when his parents Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were executed for conspiracy to commit espionage in 1953. Though this was certainly a significant event in his life, it was not the single defining moment as one might assume. It is also not the central theme of his memoir, though it does play a strong supporting role. In fact, Meeropol has only vague memories of his parents. What he does remember are years spent in orphanages and foster homes before he and his brother were adopted by Abel and Anne Meeropol. While the event did cause some childhood trauma, he reflects that "I can't help feeling that I gained as much as I lost during those years." An Execution in the Family is hardly the work of a bitter man fuming at the establishment for the loss of his parents. Rather, it is the story of a thoughtful person and his struggle to find his purpose in the world. Reared on left-wing politics and social activism, he knew he wanted to help others, but he was unsure of the route to take, and his writes of his confusion and troubles with engaging frankness.
Part of his restlessness stemmed from his inability to come to terms with his past. Up into his early twenties, he never revealed who his biological parents were, even to his closest friends. Ultimately, however, events forced him to acknowledge his lineage and confront the facts, plunging him into his own in-depth investigation of the Rosenbergs' case. Eventually he was able to prove publicly that his parents' trial had been unfair and that critical testimony against them had been tainted. He also had to acknowledge that his parents' names would never be completely cleared. The process proved rewarding in many ways, notably because it served to reveal a greater purpose for him: In 1990 Meeropol started the Rosenberg Fund for Children to support children of political prisoners, beginning his life as an activist and offering him an opportunity to honor both his biological and adoptive parents in the process. "My parents’ resistance inspired a movement. That inspiration survived their execution," he writes. With this memoir, Meeropol hopes in turn to inspire others. --Shawn Carkonen
From Publishers Weekly
Bravery is rare. Tyranny is commonplace. Both define the life of Robert Meeropol, son of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. In his heart-wrenching, honest memoir, Meeropol recounts the emotional terrors of his childhood, the kindness of Abel and Anne Meeropol-who adopted him and his older brother after their parents' execution-his struggle to vindicate his parents, and his own political activism, culminating in the creation of the Rosenberg Fund for Children, which he now directs. His story, which is a story of postwar America, is compelling. He chronicles with vision and clarity his personal and political journeys and the lengthy battle to uncover the truth about his parents' case. "For as long as I could remember we'd suffered whatever was said about our parents in silence. We had never had the opportunity or the emotional freedom to give voice to our opinions about our parents' trial and execution." When Meeropol and his brother did, in the 1970s, the floodgates opened-and over the years, the case's full horror was exposed. The Rosenbergs were charged with "conspiracy to commit espionage," not with selling atomic secrets. According to Meeropol, the person who confessed to that crime, Ethel's brother, David Greenglass, was pressured to reveal co-conspirators in exchange for his wife's freedom. And he succumbed-mouthing the words an FBI agent later testified he supplied. New documents reveal the Rosenbergs were executed for a crime the government knew they did not commit. Their sons have battled valiantly to clear their names and to lead productive lives, and Meeropol's captivating memoir deserves a spot on American history bookshelves.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
I WAS SIX YEARS, ONE MONTH, AND ONE DAY OLD ON MONDAY, JUNE 15, 1953-four days before my parents' execution. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
I WAS SIX YEARS, ONE MONTH, AND ONE DAY OLD ON MONDAY, JUNE 15, 1953-four days before my parents' execution. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
gives insight to the mind of a liberal but SAD, SAD, SAD...,
By Rachel (Tarzana, CA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: An Execution in the Family: One Son's Journey (Hardcover)
This book is so much more than just a recounting of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. It is their son Robert's life journey which is directly a result of his parent's execution. Robert mentions that moral arguments are problematic because they are not necessarily rational. He is right, but that being said, all of his arguments against the "establishment" being wrong have no more credibility than his own opinion of being right. Robert's loyalty to the left and his concern with fighting the "them," who executed his parents almost 50 years ago, has blinded him. We see how the movement is like leaf that just blows in the wind according to the political current. He is so concerned with remaining on the "left," his parent's party, that his own ideologies evolve with the movement. He moves from communism to SDS, to progressive, etc. Robert has no absolute standard for right and wrong. Who can blame him? In a Godless world, there is no absolute standard. I can't even begin to articulate how this story saddened me though. It saddens me to admit that I had never heard of the Rosenbergs, although I went to an Ivy League University and was familiar with the McCarthy era. I learned about the Rosenbergs from an HBO documentary by Michael's daughter. I also hate to admit that most of my peers have never heard of the Rosenbergs. I was so upset to learn about of all of the Jews who were involved in the execution of Ethel and Julius. Although Robert's recount is very pragmatic, there is such an underlying pain and sadness between the words. What saddened me most is the torn Rosenberg/Greenglass family. As a Jew myself, I can honestly say, their pain is my pain. Family not taking them in; it is not Jewish! Where were those Jewish values and ethics? Robert's story confirms that those ethics and values, which are the religious platform of those founding fathers, which he staunchly tries to uphold, were absent. Ethel and Julius were typical secular Jews whose "ism" was communism not Judaism; as were my grandparents in NYC. The secularism of his parents explains their loyalty to communism which explains his currant loyalty to "Leftism." Robert is now years older than his parents and with age comes wisdom. Robert briefly mentions a "spiritual or even religious experience;" his foolishness was not exploring that! What Robert fails to see is what makes him like his parents is NOT his vehement loyalty to the left but his pursuit in making the world a better place.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Powerful and Inspiring,
By A Customer
This review is from: An Execution in the Family: One Son's Journey (Hardcover)
This book is an inspiring read that speaks to all of us. Not only has he given us a mvoing personal account of his own life, but Robert Meeropol challenges us all, as he challenges himself, to lead a life of purpose and humanity.As a child of his generation, I could not help but see bits of myself and the inner conflicts of my life throughout the book. I laughed and read passages aloud to my spouse, but also shed more than a few tears. But in the end, this is a story of triumph and struggle. Not to be missed.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Job,
This review is from: An Execution in the Family: One Son's Journey (Hardcover)
Robert Meeropol manages to write a book about what must be an intensely painful subject for him -- his parents' execution -- with few traces of bitterness or rancor. He also deals honestly with the anger he does have, most of which is reserved for his uncle, David Greenglass. His approach to the question of their guilt or innocence is remarkably evenhanded, which makes the book all the more credible. Although he and his brother have lived their lives in the shadow of their parents' executions, both seem to have carved out productive, happy lives for themselves, which gives a glimmer of hope to this tragic story, well told.
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