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Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Grisham's first work of nonfiction focuses on the tragedy of Ron Williamson, a baseball hero from a small town in Oklahoma who winds up a dissolute, mentally unstable Major League washout railroaded onto death row for a hometown rape and murder he did not commit. Judging by this author-approved abridgment, Grisham has chosen to present Williamson's painful story (and that of his equally innocent "co-conspirator," Dennis Fritz) as straightforward journalism, eschewing the more familiar "nonfiction novel" approach with its reconstructed dialogues and other adjustments for dramatic purpose. This has resulted in a book that, while it includes such intriguing elements as murder, rape, detection and judicial injustice, consists primarily of objective reportage, albeit shaded by the now-proven fact of Williamson's innocence. The absence of dialogue or character point of view could make for a rather bland audio. Boutsikaris avoids that by reverting to what might be called old-fashioned round-the-campfire storytelling, treating the lengthy exposition to vocal interpretations, subtle and substantial. He narrates the events leading up to the 1982 rape and murder of a young cocktail waitress with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity, moving on to astonishment at the prosecution's use of deceit and false testimony to convict Williamson and Fritz and, eventually, elation at the exoneration of the two innocent men. Throughout, he maintains an appealing conversational tone, an effect made all the more remarkable by the book's nearly total absence of conversation.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
“A gritty, harrowing, true-crime story.” —Time
“A triumph.” —Seattle Times
“Grisham has crafted a legal thriller every bit as suspenseful and fast-paced as his best-selling fiction.” —Boston Globe
“A triumph.” —Seattle Times
“Grisham has crafted a legal thriller every bit as suspenseful and fast-paced as his best-selling fiction.” —Boston Globe
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Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Innocents abroad,
By Cha-cha lady of Montreal (Land of snow) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town (Hardcover)
Normally one to stick with a current craze or bestseller such as "The Time Traveler's Wife," or McCrae's "Katzenjammer" I instead opted for Grisham's latest. This was a nice change of pace. Summoning upon his past successes, Grisham crafts a part thriller, part atmospheric literary classic, and part law firm book, throwing in some baseball and a host of believable and interesting characters. The end result is a fantastic read that I could recommend for those of all ages.This is Grisham's first non fiction book, and I really didn't know what to expect. It is a true story, based on Ron Williamson's experiences, and it exposes the underbelly of crime, corruption, and police antics. In some ways a muckracking novel, the way Sinclair Lewis's books are. Also recommended MIDDLESEX by Jeffrey Eugenides.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Justice Denied,
By
This review is from: The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town (Hardcover)
This book cries out for a heartless editor's blue pencil. Mr. Grisham is a wonderful author, but I think he got so frustrated and infuriated by what he saw in the Williamson case that he wrote it as he felt it - not a journalistic attribute for what purports to be a journalistic exercise. Mr. Grisham takes his velvet-wrapped hammer and pounds us on the head with one example after another of legal boondogglery, skulduggery and plain old railroading - the point was very clear after 50 pages, but he felt we needed more. I have some questions, though, concerniing the prosecution in the trials Mr. Grisham wrote about. The DA is still in office in Ada, OK, in spite of what amounts to repeated and outright acts of deception before the court - how come? Why were the police officers involved not charged with perjury? Why were some of those witnesses not charged with perjury? Why are the first two judges in the case still allowed to practice after such obvious and prejudiced conduct of the trial - e.g. allowing the former police chief to sit on the jury???? How can there be justice with no truth? And how could the citizens of Ada allow themselves to be so badly duped? Terrible story, told well if a little too heavily.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A story that needs to be told,
By
This review is from: The Innocent Man (Mass Market Paperback)
I'm currently reading The Innocent Man, about two thirds done, loving every page and feel compelled to comment. It's amusing at times, but more so frustrating and upsetting to see how the main character was treated by the police, the judges, lawyers and jury. Yes I agree the book is a little slanted against the police, but it has every right to be. Ron Williamson had his problems, but no one deserved to be treated as he was, and I commend John Grisham for shedding light on his story. Great book.
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