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Four Trials
Raised in a small town by parents employed in the local mills, John Edwards worked in those mills himself -- and then went on to become one of America's most successful and respected attorneys. He built a national reputation representing people whose lives had been shattered by corporate recklessness and grievous medical negligence. In landmark cases, Edwards helped people from all walks of life stand up for themselves against tremendous odds. Four Trials provides an electrifying account of four of his cases as it tells the story of the courageous and unmistakably decent people Edwards was privileged to represent in times of tragedy, great loss, and often great joy. And in a deeply moving account, Four Trials also speaks of the tragedies and joys that Senator Edwards has known in his own life -- and how today life and justice are more precious to him than ever.
256 pages, Paperback
First published August 17, 2003
7 people are currently reading
89 people want to read
About the author
John Reid Edwards
2 books3 followersJohnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician who served one term as U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination through the January primaries.
He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in North Carolina's 1998 Senate election and toward the end of his six-year term sought the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2004 presidential election.
He eventually became the 2004 Democratic candidate for Vice President, the running mate of presidential nominee Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. After Edwards and Kerry lost the election to incumbents George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, Edwards began working full time at the One America Committee, a political action committee he established in 2001, and was appointed director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law. He was also a consultant for Fortress Investment Group LLC.
He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in North Carolina's 1998 Senate election and toward the end of his six-year term sought the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2004 presidential election.
He eventually became the 2004 Democratic candidate for Vice President, the running mate of presidential nominee Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. After Edwards and Kerry lost the election to incumbents George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, Edwards began working full time at the One America Committee, a political action committee he established in 2001, and was appointed director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law. He was also a consultant for Fortress Investment Group LLC.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 6, 2019
At the turn of the 21st century, John Edwards was on the cusp of being the most powerful elected official in the world. Then, he was on the cusp of being the second-most-powerful elected official in the world. A few years later, he had an outside shot of maybe getting a cabinet appointment from Democratic frontrunner Barack Obama, though this was dashed when he preemptively asserted that he was only interested in being top dog. Today, even in a time of decaying morals, John Edwards is one of the most universally disliked public figures in the United States. So much so that I will not again refer to him as a public figure.
To take a dig at a guy who faded from public life five years ago, you have to undertake extraordinary tasks, like reading the book written at his career's apex. Make no mistake. John Edwards, with help from a credible DC ghostwriter, wrote something notable. As far as presidential-cusp books go.
Of course, the book's words, which, even in the last chapter, emphasize "decency," are hollow now. But, a lot of the other words, including most of those detailing his career as a lawyer with a blue-collar southern upbringing, are pleasurable to read.
The four trials in Four Trials are significant court cases that helped shape Edwards' early career and padded his grandchildren's trust funds. All of them are emotionally-charged injury/negligence type cases with blockbuster verdicts. Any lawyer can justify the types of cases which might be distilled to "ambulance chasing" by mentioning the innocent victims, but Edwards cannot be categorized as an opportunist, citing real policy changes that his cases ushered. It's really, really hard to consume this book in a vacuum and conclude that John Edwards was anything but presidential.
There is a wealth of information you can learn about the United States legal system inside this book. To that point, I wish it was longer. I wish the trials were more drawn out. I wish there were more trials. Intermingled with the trials are details about John Edwards' personal life. His own struggles, triumphs, his attempt to walk on to the varsity football team at Clemson, and, most of all, his family.
It's ironic, if not abjectly heartbreaking, to read the sweet things John Edwards wrote about his wife here in 2003. Over the next few years, he'd be caught in a web of lies, the fibers of which still clung to his image following his wife's death from cancer in 2010. If you don't know, John Edwards had a younger, but not that much younger, mistress with whom he fathered a child. He then tried everything he could, a lot of which was quite indecent, to wrangle out of the whole thing. In the process, he ruined his name and, in my eyes, gravely disrespected his wife, who was accomplished in her own right.
The story gets weirder--as most of these stories do--because in the one interview the mistress provided, she claimed that John Edwards was chronically abused by his wife. Other than that, she seemed to find solace in her having helped "free" him from his "geeky" image and connecting with "Johnny" (which apparently is his birth name) on a "spiritual" level. All of this leads my line of thinking down a precarious road, and that's that, after 2004, John Edwards was simply tired of being John Edwards. At the end of a book that pitted Davids against Goliaths and everyman innocence versus corporate indifference, I'm left with thinking that evil didn't overcome good; maybe being good was the downfall of being good. And so the story of John Edwards will end with nothing other than a hung jury.
To take a dig at a guy who faded from public life five years ago, you have to undertake extraordinary tasks, like reading the book written at his career's apex. Make no mistake. John Edwards, with help from a credible DC ghostwriter, wrote something notable. As far as presidential-cusp books go.
Of course, the book's words, which, even in the last chapter, emphasize "decency," are hollow now. But, a lot of the other words, including most of those detailing his career as a lawyer with a blue-collar southern upbringing, are pleasurable to read.
The four trials in Four Trials are significant court cases that helped shape Edwards' early career and padded his grandchildren's trust funds. All of them are emotionally-charged injury/negligence type cases with blockbuster verdicts. Any lawyer can justify the types of cases which might be distilled to "ambulance chasing" by mentioning the innocent victims, but Edwards cannot be categorized as an opportunist, citing real policy changes that his cases ushered. It's really, really hard to consume this book in a vacuum and conclude that John Edwards was anything but presidential.
There is a wealth of information you can learn about the United States legal system inside this book. To that point, I wish it was longer. I wish the trials were more drawn out. I wish there were more trials. Intermingled with the trials are details about John Edwards' personal life. His own struggles, triumphs, his attempt to walk on to the varsity football team at Clemson, and, most of all, his family.
It's ironic, if not abjectly heartbreaking, to read the sweet things John Edwards wrote about his wife here in 2003. Over the next few years, he'd be caught in a web of lies, the fibers of which still clung to his image following his wife's death from cancer in 2010. If you don't know, John Edwards had a younger, but not that much younger, mistress with whom he fathered a child. He then tried everything he could, a lot of which was quite indecent, to wrangle out of the whole thing. In the process, he ruined his name and, in my eyes, gravely disrespected his wife, who was accomplished in her own right.
The story gets weirder--as most of these stories do--because in the one interview the mistress provided, she claimed that John Edwards was chronically abused by his wife. Other than that, she seemed to find solace in her having helped "free" him from his "geeky" image and connecting with "Johnny" (which apparently is his birth name) on a "spiritual" level. All of this leads my line of thinking down a precarious road, and that's that, after 2004, John Edwards was simply tired of being John Edwards. At the end of a book that pitted Davids against Goliaths and everyman innocence versus corporate indifference, I'm left with thinking that evil didn't overcome good; maybe being good was the downfall of being good. And so the story of John Edwards will end with nothing other than a hung jury.
January 10, 2024
This book was interesting! The first three trials were engaging reads, but the wildest trial was about a poorly designed and improperly installed pool drain. My dad read this book about 20 years ago and always cautioned my siblings and me to stay away from swimming pool drains because Valerie Lakey (among many others) got suctioned down and disemboweled by a swimming pool drain. Now that I've read about this trial for myself I'm even less likely to get close to a pool drain. (I'm sure pools are much safer now because of this trial, but I'll still keep my distance)
April 28, 2008
I always wondered why Edwards kept letting the right and Bush/Chaney hit him for being a trial lawyer because his plaintiff work was really on behalf of folks who were small, everyday folks fighting these conglomerates who would not take the initiative to do the right thing if it hit them square in the face.
March 28, 2022
I got this book because I had recently learned that John Edwards represented the Estate of Greg Howard in a wrongful death action, and that Mr. Edwards had written a book about his representation. Edwards did not disappoint. He described perfectly the man, Greg Howard, whom I had known as a child when I was growing up in Wilmington. Greg became a United Methodist minister and a camp director. Tragically, Greg and his wife, Jane, were killed in a horrible automobile accident, and Mr. Edwards had the monumental task of suing the Collins & Aikman company for wrongful death and corporate negligence. Edwards' words about Greg Howard brought me to tears. I'm so glad that I read this book!
April 17, 2016
Worth reading for the trials, the book unfortunately falters at its autobiographical passages, which often feel a bit superficial.
Nevertheless, it's worth reading from cover to cover. The four trials Edwards discusses are good reminders of the importance of our having equal access to the civil justice system. The clients Mr. Edwards represented were real people who suffered greatly. Their stories give lie to the big-business propagated slander of "jackpot justice." And the trial narratives are gripping.
Nevertheless, it's worth reading from cover to cover. The four trials Edwards discusses are good reminders of the importance of our having equal access to the civil justice system. The clients Mr. Edwards represented were real people who suffered greatly. Their stories give lie to the big-business propagated slander of "jackpot justice." And the trial narratives are gripping.
March 8, 2025
Compelling and informative.
This book shows how a lawyer can be selective in choosing his cases, do the right thing, and make a lot of money.
This book sold me on John Edwards. Too soon we found out that we all have feet of clay.
Edwards’ disgrace and fall does not diminish this book, but will surely send it to oblivion.
This book shows how a lawyer can be selective in choosing his cases, do the right thing, and make a lot of money.
This book sold me on John Edwards. Too soon we found out that we all have feet of clay.
Edwards’ disgrace and fall does not diminish this book, but will surely send it to oblivion.
August 13, 2007
I'm not his biggest fan but I still enjoyed it.
June 19, 2021
A hard one to review
I read this book back in 2004 when Edwards was running with Kerry in the US presidential election. This book gives heartfelt stories about the good Edwards does in fighting for the people. It almost reads like something out of a John Grisham novel. Though seeing everything that has come out against Edwards several years after this book came out, it's hard to say whether any of it is actually true. I will say the writing style is good. Maybe he has a ghostwriter, I don't know.
I read this book back in 2004 when Edwards was running with Kerry in the US presidential election. This book gives heartfelt stories about the good Edwards does in fighting for the people. It almost reads like something out of a John Grisham novel. Though seeing everything that has come out against Edwards several years after this book came out, it's hard to say whether any of it is actually true. I will say the writing style is good. Maybe he has a ghostwriter, I don't know.
October 17, 2024
For some reason, he doesn't understand that the trials he writes about are about negligence. Everyone he sues is "evil." Some parties certainly make mistakes and others could have taken further precautions but he makes it sound as if people who installed a pool drain wanted to maim children. Just because a party caused an injury does not make them evil.
Also, I love it when he talks about how great his marriage is. oh wait he did what https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/john-...
Also, I love it when he talks about how great his marriage is. oh wait he did what https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/john-...
March 23, 2020
Every young lawyer should have to read this!
January 26, 2009
I originally got this book for Mike because I thought he was a "fan" of John Edwards but it turns out that he is not a "fan" anymore since learning John Edwards cheated on his wife! So, I read it and really enjoyed it. I was kind of surprised by alot of stuff in his life, like the fact that he did NOT come from a wealthy family at all and he speaks of his own tragedy that happened to his family. The people he helps in this book are all everyday normal people who experience a horrible injustice that could have been prevented. I found the book to be very moving and I told Mike that he might actually like John Edwards again if he would read it!!
April 14, 2008
I know I'm a dork for reading this book, but I wanted to learn more about John Edwards (seeing that he's a fellow North Carolinian!) This book is a great insight of what made him, in two words, very rich. Hopefully, reading this book, and seeing the compassion he felt for his clients, will make me a better trial lawyer.
Even for people that are not lawyers, I suggest reading this book.
Even for people that are not lawyers, I suggest reading this book.
August 4, 2009
Be surprised by how good and interesting this book is. I was obsessed with John Edwards at the time I read it, so that may have had something to do with it. That was, of course, before everyone found out he cheated on his wife who had cancer, and just before a presidential race. Scum. But not in this book!
July 30, 2011
Whatever you think of his politics (and I personally like him), this is a really good read. Great case studies of corporations attempting to avoid responsibility for wrongdoing. The sad part is that you can't help but wonder how often similar stories happen, except that the people affected don't have or can't afford an attorney of Edwards' ability.
April 20, 2014
John Edwards fell from grace in a very public and very shameful way, but before that, and before becoming a senator, he was a great trial lawyer. A guy like me could learn a lot from him about how to try a case, and I definitely learned a couple of things from this book. Fun, quick read about some important trials.
April 8, 2008
John Edwards, a great trial lawyer. Not for president though!
June 22, 2008
Considering where I work, I needed to eventually read Edwards' book...
July 9, 2008
This is a really great book.
February 12, 2009
Very descriptive, innovated, and truthful
December 23, 2012
Really value this book because of the information I learned about the dangers of pool drains!!! Was written quite well too.
July 12, 2013
This book was a great account of the emotions involved in defending medical malpractice cases. Despite your opinion of John Edwards, this was a great book and very interesting.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews