Great American Trials

by Edward W. Knappman

An extraordinary introduction for anyone contemplating a legal career; for the rest of us it is a fine reference and a delight to read. – Chicago Tribune. Two hundred historically significant, legally important, and notorious trials (and the occasional court martial) that have been sources of continuing entertainment, public ritual, and real-life drama are recalled through lively text and captivating photos. Included are brief and accurate summaries of such trials as Dred Scott, Lizzy Borden, Leopold and Loeb, Teapot Dome, Brown v. Board of Education, Mapplethorpe, Charles Manson, Roe v. Wade, Jim Bakker, Mike Tyson, Ted Bundy, William Calley, William Kennedy Smith, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Ernesto Miranda, and Oliver North. Here you'll find the major players, name, place, and date of each trial, crime charged or claim made, and the verdict and sentence followed by a discussion of the significance and impact of the trial (with suggestions for further reading). Of interest to crime and mystery readers, history devotees, teachers, jury members, court followers, students, legal professionals, journalists, and prison inmates, Great American Trials is a masterful collection of great courtroom dramas.

Genres: Nonfiction, Law, History, True Crime

928 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1993

Reviews

[Jeremy Perron · Rating 4 out of 5]

My parents got me this book as a present one Christmas in the late 1990s. At the time I was thinking about what I might want to do with my life and it crossed my mind I might want to be a prosecutor—that didn’t happen. Nevertheless, my parents bought me this book which is a fascinating piece of American history. Great American Trials spans the trials of Anne Hutchinson and O.J. Simpson. In this book several prominent Americans are featured here as defendants such as Aaron Burr, John Brown, Andrew Johnson, and Al Capone. The famed lawyer Clarence Darrow makes several appearances in the book. The book is full of criminals, victims, the guilty who were brought to justice, the guilty who escaped justice, the wrongly accused who were exonerated, and the wrongly accused who were condemned.

Each case is divided into three sections. They begin with a historical summery about the defendant and the world that they lived. The second section goes into the case itself, describing how the court, prosecutors and defense attorneys’ actions all affected the outcome of the trial. The final section of the case talks about the aftermath. What happened to the defendant and how that case affected the nation’s culture and judicial system are discussed when needed.

In the end, Great American Trails presents over 360 years of history and 200 trials into a book just over 900 pages long. It nevertheless is a quick read, because you are presented with one fascinating case after another.

[Online Footprint · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most interesting trials in America's history!