Welcome to an overlooked chapter in American history. Combining the details of a compelling story and the significance of precedent-setting Supreme Court decisions provides the ingredients for a terrific book. Dallas Morning News journalist Curriden and attorney Phillips deliver just that, presenting a reconstructed version of events that could be mistaken for a blockbuster movie if not for the un-Hollywood-like ending. When a white woman is assaulted and raped in Chattanooga, Tenn., in 1906, it doesn’t take long before a black man is accused. The racial dynamics of the community, the characters of the sheriff and judge, and the obviously flawed conviction of the accused, Ed Johnson, would be rejected as unimaginative plagiarism if this were a work of fiction. When two local black lawyers decide to appeal, however, events take a very unfamiliar twist as they end up in front of Supreme Court Justice John M. Harlan requesting a stay of execution. Even more surprising is their success, for at this time, no precedent establishing the authority of the US Supreme Court to intervene in state criminal matters existed. Upon hearing the news from Washington, the local mob lynches Johnson with nearly overt cooperation from the sheriff. To the amazement of local officials, the incident doesn—t end there, for the members of the Supreme Court are considerably agitated by this affront to their authority. Federal investigations ensue and lead to contempt of court charges against the sheriff. These unprecedented charges lead to an equally unprecedented conviction, and the position of the Supreme Court as the ultimate court of appeal is established. Of course, the sentences are light and the prejudice that killed Ed Johnson remains more vigorous than the faint hope for justice that inspired his lawyers. Nevertheless, in a century that ultimately saw the Supreme Court take the lead in fighting institutionalized racism, this case was a watershed and deserves our attention.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-571-19952-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Faber & Faber/Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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