THE GREAT TRIALS OF THE TWENTIES

Historians Grant (Framingham Coll.) and Katz (Long Island Univ.) Offer objective but dramatically narrated accounts of ten major trials that reflected the fierce crosswinds of change in the US in the tumultuous “20s. For instance, the Sacco-Vanzetti case, in which two Italian immigrants were found guilty of murder on seemingly slender evidence, reflected fear and anger at the increasing number of foreigners settling in the US. The national pastime, baseball, was tainted in the Chicago “Black Sox” scandal. The case of comic actor Fatty Arbuckle, who after two hung juries was finally acquitted of manslaughter charges ensuing from a wild party, represented public outrage against the hedonistic morals of Hollywood in a still puritanical America. Teapot Dome, the Scopes trial, and the case of Leopold and Loeb are among the other cases ably recounted by the authors. (16 pages illustrations, not seen)