What do you think?
Rate this book
The Most Hated Man in America - Jerry Sandusky and the Rush to Judgment
Everyone knows the story of Jerry Sandusky, the serial pedophile, the Monster. But what if that story is wrong? What if the former Penn State football coach and founder of the Second Mile is an innocent man convicted in the midst of a moral panic fed by the sensationalistic media, police trawling, and memory-warping psychotherapy? The Most Hated Man in America reads like a true crime psychological thriller and is required reading for everyone from criminologists to sports fans.
- GenresTrue CrimeHistoryCrime
400 pages, Paperback
Published November 15, 2017
46 people are currently reading
236 people want to read
About the author
Mark Pendergrast
27 books88 followersMark Pendergrast was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, the fourth of seven children in a family that valued civil rights, the environment, sailing, reading, and games of chase and charades. He earned a B.A. in English literature from Harvard, taught high school and elementary school, then went back to Simmons College for a masters in library science and worked as an academic librarian—all the while writing freelance articles for newspapers and magazines. In 1991, he began writing books full time, which allows him to follow his rather eclectic interests.
Pendergrast’s books have been published in 15 languages. For God, Country & Coca-Cola was named a notable book of the year by the New York Times, and Discover Magazine chose Mirror Mirror as one of the top science books of the year. Pendergrast has given speeches to professional groups, business associations, and college audiences in the United States, Canada, the U.K., and Germany. He has appeared on dozens of television shows, including the Today Show, CBS This Morning, and CNN, and has been interviewed on over 100 radio programs, including All Things Considered, Marketplace, Morning Edition, and many other public radio shows. He lives in Colchester, Vermont.
Pendergrast’s books have been published in 15 languages. For God, Country & Coca-Cola was named a notable book of the year by the New York Times, and Discover Magazine chose Mirror Mirror as one of the top science books of the year. Pendergrast has given speeches to professional groups, business associations, and college audiences in the United States, Canada, the U.K., and Germany. He has appeared on dozens of television shows, including the Today Show, CBS This Morning, and CNN, and has been interviewed on over 100 radio programs, including All Things Considered, Marketplace, Morning Edition, and many other public radio shows. He lives in Colchester, Vermont.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 4, 2025
I read this book after I listened to the podcast “With the Benefit of Hindsight” by John Ziegler (with Liz Habib). It was the podcast that really got me interested in the subject, then I read Pendergrast's book to confirm Ziegler's assertions.
Both Ziegler and Pendergrast make a detailed and convincing argument that Jerry Sandusky is innocent.
You might be thinking, that’s crazy. He was convicted on 45 counts of child sexual abuse and will spend the rest of his life in prison. There are so many different accusers – 8 that testified at the criminal trial and 32 that would eventually receive a payment from Penn State. He was supposedly caught in the act at a shower at a Penn State facility. No one really thinks he is innocent, right?
That was my reaction going into it. But I’m convinced that it’s likely he’s innocent. It’s possible I’m missing something. I’d like to see someone who disagrees with this take seriously the evidence and arguments that Ziegler and Pendergrast have brought forth. But I haven’t seen anyone do that.
General Comments on the Book and Podcast
Ziegler and Pendergrast did their work independently. They don’t even really like each other.
Ziegler is bombastic and argumentative. He’s also very entertaining. The podcast is addictive. The format is that Liz and John talk through the case, often getting very worked up and emotional.
Pendergrast is calmer, more laser-focused on the evidence, and less quick to make sweeping judgments about other people’s competence and honesty. But he is still very blunt about the lack of evidence, the incompetence of Sandusky’s attorney, and the “travesty” (his word) of justice that was his trial.
Ziegler’s interest in the case originated from an instinct that this was a moral panic and a rush to judgment, though his focus was originally limited to how he felt Joe Paterno was unfairly “cancelled”. Only later in his investigations did he conclude that Sandusky himself was innocent.
Pendergrast’s interest in the case originated from him learning that repressed memories were being used. Pendergrast has done a lot of research and written a book about how repressed memories are discredited.
If you have limited time, I’d recommend starting with the podcast, because it is way more entertaining. But the book is very good too. The book and the podcast made basically the same arguments. There are more hours on the podcast, so Ziegler gets into more detail (and more emotional rants, which I enjoyed but YMMV). I will say the podcast grew a little tiresome by the end. There is one episode that is literally five and a half hours long of Ziegler complaining about the media. I didn’t make it through the whole podcast, but everything up until this “media” episode (Episode 13) was excellent.
The Argument
My memory is fuzzy on what exactly Ziegler vs Pendergrast brought up, so I won’t try to distinguish. In general, they made the same arguments so there is a good chance both of them brought up the arguments I’ll mention below.
The first question might be “what about all those accusers”? Well, at first there was one accuser, Aaron Fisher. No one else came forward claiming sexual abuse before it was known there was a case (and the possibility of a payout). So it would be incorrect to think of these different accusations as being independent from each other.
There are many things about the various accusers’ stories that make them lack credibility. None of them confided to any friends or family about any molestation (or even any “creepy behavior”) at the times they allege it happened. None of them have any physical evidence – like knowledge of Sandusky’s genitalia (which did have a distinctive feature) or incriminating texts, emails, letters, or phone messages. Their stories are often wildly inconsistent over time – changing in ways that would make a big payout more likely (like by increasing the severity of what happened or changing the date of an incident to be years later). Some of the stories just seem ludicrous – like Sandusky plying the kids with alcohol (Sandusky was a lifelong abstainer of alcohol), or one accuser’s story of being trapped like a dog in the Sandusky's basement for days at a time, while he screamed away to no avail (he also claims Sandusky's wife was an accomplice in this torture). Interviews Ziegler did with friends and family of some of the accusers show that they have a history of deceit and criminal behavior. Some of these friends and family heard the accusers brag about how much money they were going to get.
The accusers would often maintain close relationships with Sandusky and his family years after the alleged abuse – not just being cordial with each other but very warm relations where the accuser treated Sandusky like a father.
When Sandusky’s home was searched, there was no evidence of child pornography. This is very unusual in these cases. There is also no evidence of Sandusky ever having any sexual relationship with anyone besides his wife. Sandusky was also diagnosed with having very low testosterone, which would make it impossible to have sexual acts at the frequency he was accused of. Not to mention that while he was coaching, he was extraordinarily busy, but for all the accusations to be true, being a sexual molester would practically have to have been his full-time job.
What about the notable incident where coach Mike McQueary claims he saw Sandusky in a sexual act with a boy? Ziegler and Pendergrast go through the statements and their conclusion is this:
McQueary didn’t see a sexual act. He saw Sandusky and a teenager in the shower (through a mirror) engaged in some sort of horseplay (Sandusky, and the teenager, would later explain that they were snapping towels and pretend boxing with each other). He thought it was weird. Later, he explained what he saw to his father and a family friend. The family friend testified that McQueary made it crystal clear that he did not see a sexual act (the family friend asked him repeatedly to confirm). His father and the family friend encouraged him to tell Coach Paterno. McQueary, 6 weeks later, eventually does mention something to Paterno, in a very quick conversation. Paterno, thinking it involves some sort of horseplay that might be inappropriate, reports the incident to the athletic director (Tim Curley) and the Vice President (Gary Schultz). Curley and Schultz talk to McQueary. In both Curley’s and Shultz’s recollection of their discussions with McQueary, McQueary does not claim there was a anything of a sexual nature going on, but rather “horsing around”. When Curley talks to Sandusky, Sandusky explains there was some horsing around but nothing else. Sandusky also tells Curley the name of the teenager and offers his contact information, if they want to confirm his story. Curley decides not to contact the boy. Instead, Curley and Schultz close the incident by telling Sandusky he can’t bring boys onto the main campus anymore (but they do continue to allow him to bring boys to their satellite campus).
McQueary would later change his story, claiming he heard noises and saw actions that were likely sexual. It should be noted that (1) this change in story came after attempts by prosecutors to pressure him into saying something more about the incident, letting him know that there were other “victims” and he would really be helping out if he could remember something different, (2) McQueary’s final version of the story helped him win a huge lawsuit from Penn State for being the victim in a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit of $12M, and (3) Ziegler brings up some things about McQueary that cast doubt on his character.
The teenager, Allan Myers, when originally questioned, would clearly state that Sandusky never abused him, and in fact said something to the effect of “I’ll never say anything bad about Jerry Sandusky”. He confirmed Sandusky's account that what happened in the shower was just mild horseplay. Myers also wrote letters to newspapers, in his own name, supporting Sandusky against the accusations and praising him for his help and support. When Myers got married, he asked Sandusky to stand in at the ceremony for his Dad. Later, when other accusers came forward, he changed his story, turning himself into a victim, which resulted in him getting a multi-million dollar settlement from Penn State.
Why Did this Happen to Sandusky?
You still might be wondering, where there is smoke there is fire right? Or is Sandusky just the most unlucky person in America to have all these false accusations hurled at him?
Ziegler offers a good explanation for why it isn’t surprising that Sandusky would eventually face accusations: Over the course of decades, Sandusky worked with hundreds, maybe thousands, of “at-risk” youth – kids who came from some of the worst backgrounds you could imagine. From families and communities where criminal behavior was common. From a culture where resentment against the system was common.
Combine that with how he was kind of touchy-feely and very trusting, willing to have these kids in their homes and for sleepovers. This created opportunities where a hug or a locker room shower could, years later, be re-imagined, sometimes with the help of repressed memory therapy, as something worse. Especially when there are financial incentives involved. And even more especially when aggressive prosecutors and lawyers are continually pushing them with leading questions, encouraging them to tell the stories they desperately want to hear.
I don’t think it is surprising that of the hundreds and hundreds of kids Sandusky worked with, there were some that would be responsive to the financial incentive of making an accusation, particularly after the first accusation, when there is a known case that they could piggy-back onto.
Unfortunately, I don’t have time to discuss the incredible, frustrating, and unbelievable incompetence of Sandusky’s defense attorney. Or some of the questionable decisions made by the judge during the trial. Or the particular ridiculousness of one of the accusations: the “janitor” story. I hope you’ll read the book or listen to the podcast and share your thoughts.
Both Ziegler and Pendergrast make a detailed and convincing argument that Jerry Sandusky is innocent.
You might be thinking, that’s crazy. He was convicted on 45 counts of child sexual abuse and will spend the rest of his life in prison. There are so many different accusers – 8 that testified at the criminal trial and 32 that would eventually receive a payment from Penn State. He was supposedly caught in the act at a shower at a Penn State facility. No one really thinks he is innocent, right?
That was my reaction going into it. But I’m convinced that it’s likely he’s innocent. It’s possible I’m missing something. I’d like to see someone who disagrees with this take seriously the evidence and arguments that Ziegler and Pendergrast have brought forth. But I haven’t seen anyone do that.
General Comments on the Book and Podcast
Ziegler and Pendergrast did their work independently. They don’t even really like each other.
Ziegler is bombastic and argumentative. He’s also very entertaining. The podcast is addictive. The format is that Liz and John talk through the case, often getting very worked up and emotional.
Pendergrast is calmer, more laser-focused on the evidence, and less quick to make sweeping judgments about other people’s competence and honesty. But he is still very blunt about the lack of evidence, the incompetence of Sandusky’s attorney, and the “travesty” (his word) of justice that was his trial.
Ziegler’s interest in the case originated from an instinct that this was a moral panic and a rush to judgment, though his focus was originally limited to how he felt Joe Paterno was unfairly “cancelled”. Only later in his investigations did he conclude that Sandusky himself was innocent.
Pendergrast’s interest in the case originated from him learning that repressed memories were being used. Pendergrast has done a lot of research and written a book about how repressed memories are discredited.
If you have limited time, I’d recommend starting with the podcast, because it is way more entertaining. But the book is very good too. The book and the podcast made basically the same arguments. There are more hours on the podcast, so Ziegler gets into more detail (and more emotional rants, which I enjoyed but YMMV). I will say the podcast grew a little tiresome by the end. There is one episode that is literally five and a half hours long of Ziegler complaining about the media. I didn’t make it through the whole podcast, but everything up until this “media” episode (Episode 13) was excellent.
The Argument
My memory is fuzzy on what exactly Ziegler vs Pendergrast brought up, so I won’t try to distinguish. In general, they made the same arguments so there is a good chance both of them brought up the arguments I’ll mention below.
The first question might be “what about all those accusers”? Well, at first there was one accuser, Aaron Fisher. No one else came forward claiming sexual abuse before it was known there was a case (and the possibility of a payout). So it would be incorrect to think of these different accusations as being independent from each other.
There are many things about the various accusers’ stories that make them lack credibility. None of them confided to any friends or family about any molestation (or even any “creepy behavior”) at the times they allege it happened. None of them have any physical evidence – like knowledge of Sandusky’s genitalia (which did have a distinctive feature) or incriminating texts, emails, letters, or phone messages. Their stories are often wildly inconsistent over time – changing in ways that would make a big payout more likely (like by increasing the severity of what happened or changing the date of an incident to be years later). Some of the stories just seem ludicrous – like Sandusky plying the kids with alcohol (Sandusky was a lifelong abstainer of alcohol), or one accuser’s story of being trapped like a dog in the Sandusky's basement for days at a time, while he screamed away to no avail (he also claims Sandusky's wife was an accomplice in this torture). Interviews Ziegler did with friends and family of some of the accusers show that they have a history of deceit and criminal behavior. Some of these friends and family heard the accusers brag about how much money they were going to get.
The accusers would often maintain close relationships with Sandusky and his family years after the alleged abuse – not just being cordial with each other but very warm relations where the accuser treated Sandusky like a father.
When Sandusky’s home was searched, there was no evidence of child pornography. This is very unusual in these cases. There is also no evidence of Sandusky ever having any sexual relationship with anyone besides his wife. Sandusky was also diagnosed with having very low testosterone, which would make it impossible to have sexual acts at the frequency he was accused of. Not to mention that while he was coaching, he was extraordinarily busy, but for all the accusations to be true, being a sexual molester would practically have to have been his full-time job.
What about the notable incident where coach Mike McQueary claims he saw Sandusky in a sexual act with a boy? Ziegler and Pendergrast go through the statements and their conclusion is this:
McQueary didn’t see a sexual act. He saw Sandusky and a teenager in the shower (through a mirror) engaged in some sort of horseplay (Sandusky, and the teenager, would later explain that they were snapping towels and pretend boxing with each other). He thought it was weird. Later, he explained what he saw to his father and a family friend. The family friend testified that McQueary made it crystal clear that he did not see a sexual act (the family friend asked him repeatedly to confirm). His father and the family friend encouraged him to tell Coach Paterno. McQueary, 6 weeks later, eventually does mention something to Paterno, in a very quick conversation. Paterno, thinking it involves some sort of horseplay that might be inappropriate, reports the incident to the athletic director (Tim Curley) and the Vice President (Gary Schultz). Curley and Schultz talk to McQueary. In both Curley’s and Shultz’s recollection of their discussions with McQueary, McQueary does not claim there was a anything of a sexual nature going on, but rather “horsing around”. When Curley talks to Sandusky, Sandusky explains there was some horsing around but nothing else. Sandusky also tells Curley the name of the teenager and offers his contact information, if they want to confirm his story. Curley decides not to contact the boy. Instead, Curley and Schultz close the incident by telling Sandusky he can’t bring boys onto the main campus anymore (but they do continue to allow him to bring boys to their satellite campus).
McQueary would later change his story, claiming he heard noises and saw actions that were likely sexual. It should be noted that (1) this change in story came after attempts by prosecutors to pressure him into saying something more about the incident, letting him know that there were other “victims” and he would really be helping out if he could remember something different, (2) McQueary’s final version of the story helped him win a huge lawsuit from Penn State for being the victim in a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit of $12M, and (3) Ziegler brings up some things about McQueary that cast doubt on his character.
The teenager, Allan Myers, when originally questioned, would clearly state that Sandusky never abused him, and in fact said something to the effect of “I’ll never say anything bad about Jerry Sandusky”. He confirmed Sandusky's account that what happened in the shower was just mild horseplay. Myers also wrote letters to newspapers, in his own name, supporting Sandusky against the accusations and praising him for his help and support. When Myers got married, he asked Sandusky to stand in at the ceremony for his Dad. Later, when other accusers came forward, he changed his story, turning himself into a victim, which resulted in him getting a multi-million dollar settlement from Penn State.
Why Did this Happen to Sandusky?
You still might be wondering, where there is smoke there is fire right? Or is Sandusky just the most unlucky person in America to have all these false accusations hurled at him?
Ziegler offers a good explanation for why it isn’t surprising that Sandusky would eventually face accusations: Over the course of decades, Sandusky worked with hundreds, maybe thousands, of “at-risk” youth – kids who came from some of the worst backgrounds you could imagine. From families and communities where criminal behavior was common. From a culture where resentment against the system was common.
Combine that with how he was kind of touchy-feely and very trusting, willing to have these kids in their homes and for sleepovers. This created opportunities where a hug or a locker room shower could, years later, be re-imagined, sometimes with the help of repressed memory therapy, as something worse. Especially when there are financial incentives involved. And even more especially when aggressive prosecutors and lawyers are continually pushing them with leading questions, encouraging them to tell the stories they desperately want to hear.
I don’t think it is surprising that of the hundreds and hundreds of kids Sandusky worked with, there were some that would be responsive to the financial incentive of making an accusation, particularly after the first accusation, when there is a known case that they could piggy-back onto.
Unfortunately, I don’t have time to discuss the incredible, frustrating, and unbelievable incompetence of Sandusky’s defense attorney. Or some of the questionable decisions made by the judge during the trial. Or the particular ridiculousness of one of the accusations: the “janitor” story. I hope you’ll read the book or listen to the podcast and share your thoughts.
December 18, 2017
Emily
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Must Read!
November 15, 2017
Format: Kindle Edition
|
Verified Purchase
This is a must read for anyone who believes that every individual deserves a just and fair trial. The rush to judgement in this case was paramount, deeply disturbing, and the exact opposite of what the media would want you to believe. Admittedly, I have questioned this case from almost the beginning, but Pendergrast does an excellent job of laying out a narrative that is readable and compelling for those not familiar with the details of the case. If you believe in justice, you need to read this book.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Must Read!
November 15, 2017
Format: Kindle Edition
|
Verified Purchase
This is a must read for anyone who believes that every individual deserves a just and fair trial. The rush to judgement in this case was paramount, deeply disturbing, and the exact opposite of what the media would want you to believe. Admittedly, I have questioned this case from almost the beginning, but Pendergrast does an excellent job of laying out a narrative that is readable and compelling for those not familiar with the details of the case. If you believe in justice, you need to read this book.
February 7, 2018
The Most Hated Man is a non-fictional book written about Jerry Sandusky who is a serial pedophile and was the Penn State Football coach and founder of the Second Mile. The book discusses the fact that it was possible for this man to be innocent. It suggests that memory warping psychotherapy, police probing, and the social media had an influence on the verdict and it could have all been a fabrication.
The author is very brave to challenge one of the most hated men in America’s judgment. He approaches all of Jerry’s memories and retrieved thoughts in therapy and analyses how they all could have been not true. After reading the author’s other book titled “Memory Warp,” I finally could understand how he could connect this book to his other researched work.
The literature was easy to follow and the work presented was well organized and investigated. The author’s intentions were clear, and I admired his attempt to introduce repressed memory therapy and use this case as an example of the problem we may be facing in determining what is real and what is not.
I recommend this book to people who are into psychology, repressed memories, science readers and anyone in the field of medicine.
The author is very brave to challenge one of the most hated men in America’s judgment. He approaches all of Jerry’s memories and retrieved thoughts in therapy and analyses how they all could have been not true. After reading the author’s other book titled “Memory Warp,” I finally could understand how he could connect this book to his other researched work.
The literature was easy to follow and the work presented was well organized and investigated. The author’s intentions were clear, and I admired his attempt to introduce repressed memory therapy and use this case as an example of the problem we may be facing in determining what is real and what is not.
I recommend this book to people who are into psychology, repressed memories, science readers and anyone in the field of medicine.
August 1, 2018
Mark Pendergrast IS a brave man. Everyone should read this book because everyone thinks Jerry Sandusky is a rabid paedo. The FACTS show that is not even close and he got caught up in a perfect storm of people *thinking* they were doing the right thing, but they just weren't. Throw in a lot of greed and some scheming, too. But without dogged Journalist John Ziegler, there wouldn't be such a book and he is the bravest (and most tenacious!) soul of them all.
Be a Mark Pendergrast and John Ziegler. Don't act like you know what happened and become hostile (and indifferent) to the REAL facts. You don't know the truth and it's your job to face the facts in lieu of being comfortable with a fugazi media narrative. "Media Tried, Justice Denied".
This book is well researched. It really tackles the use of the debunked (but utilized!) "recovered memories" junk psychology. Recovered memories has been long debunked. There would be NO PTSD if humans were able to forget trauma. It would be a gift for most not to remember trauma. Trouble is, we have trouble FORGETTING trauma. Along with showing how quacks like Mike Gillum used recovered memories therapy to extract the reluctant fairy tales of "Victim" #1 (Aaron Fisher), the author maps out how other "victims'" stories lack credibility and smell of a fast-cash bandwagon jump. Aaron Fisher's own farce of a book ("Silent No More") stands as a strong exhibit to prove Pendergrast (and Ziegler!) right (I have also reviewed that book, separately).
This book is very thorough. We see the duplicity of the Attorney General's investigation, the leaking of the grand jury presentment, the lack of cohesion in the ever-changing "victim's" stories, the fact that none of the victims ever told of their abuse (and even denied abuse when initially asked) BEFORE fraud Sara Ganim's explosive 2011 story (she received a Pulitzer and THAT needs to be taken from her!), the farce of a trial where not only was ample time NOT given for the defense to prepare but also how inept Jerry Sandusky's lawyer (Joe Amendola) was. We even discover that physically, Jerry Sandusky COULDN'T have medically and physically been a crazed paedophile.
I liked the book more than I had anticipated. The author did take a strong stand on how this was a travesty of justice...more so than I expected. That is brave because it is likely YOU will not want to believe him but FACTS are stubborn things.
Since the book has been published, John Ziegler has uncovered the REAL date of the infamous Penn State shower, and that the date given was wrong even at the trial (Sandusky was declared NOT GUILTY of that charge as well...it was just a shower and NOT an act of child rape!)...it was on 12/29/2000 NOT 2/9/2001 (or even the first incorrect date of 3/1/2002). Mike McQueary couldn't even remember the correct date 10 years after...and he didn't alert Joe Paterno RE: the incident 'til 2/10/2001...over 40 days AFTER the so-called "alarming" incident. Everything you know about this case is wrong and Pendergrast uses facts to map that out. (Another fact of the case is ZERO porn was found in Jerry Sandusky's possession...he wasn't a pervo and didn't utilize ANY porn in his life (Pendergrast illustrates in the book what the REAL Jerry Sandusky is/was like...not the monster everyone *thinks* he is) but we find out the PROSECUTION team DID have & share porn on their computers and Ziegler has uncovered selfie porn pics that Mike McQueary would send to women. You don't know that because the press doesn't want the REAL facts known in this case.
This is a brave, well-written, well-researched book. The author is a brave man. The truth is hard to find in the modern age. We all participated in this travesty of justice. Don't stay on that road, read this book, fact-check for yourself and TRY to help get the truth out. If it can happen to Jerry Sandusky, it can happen to ANY of us. This is not America and this railroad job MUST be reversed. Don't think you know the facts here because we all were fooled and tricked. Don't believe the hype!
We need more Mark Pendergrast's (and John Ziegler's!) in this world. Thank goodness for brave men like that AND the TRUTH! Anyone who reads this book and declares they don't know the truth doesn't WANT to know the truth. They are comfortable with the FAKE media narrative and that reflects poorly on THEM and not the reality.
Be a Mark Pendergrast and John Ziegler. Don't act like you know what happened and become hostile (and indifferent) to the REAL facts. You don't know the truth and it's your job to face the facts in lieu of being comfortable with a fugazi media narrative. "Media Tried, Justice Denied".
This book is well researched. It really tackles the use of the debunked (but utilized!) "recovered memories" junk psychology. Recovered memories has been long debunked. There would be NO PTSD if humans were able to forget trauma. It would be a gift for most not to remember trauma. Trouble is, we have trouble FORGETTING trauma. Along with showing how quacks like Mike Gillum used recovered memories therapy to extract the reluctant fairy tales of "Victim" #1 (Aaron Fisher), the author maps out how other "victims'" stories lack credibility and smell of a fast-cash bandwagon jump. Aaron Fisher's own farce of a book ("Silent No More") stands as a strong exhibit to prove Pendergrast (and Ziegler!) right (I have also reviewed that book, separately).
This book is very thorough. We see the duplicity of the Attorney General's investigation, the leaking of the grand jury presentment, the lack of cohesion in the ever-changing "victim's" stories, the fact that none of the victims ever told of their abuse (and even denied abuse when initially asked) BEFORE fraud Sara Ganim's explosive 2011 story (she received a Pulitzer and THAT needs to be taken from her!), the farce of a trial where not only was ample time NOT given for the defense to prepare but also how inept Jerry Sandusky's lawyer (Joe Amendola) was. We even discover that physically, Jerry Sandusky COULDN'T have medically and physically been a crazed paedophile.
I liked the book more than I had anticipated. The author did take a strong stand on how this was a travesty of justice...more so than I expected. That is brave because it is likely YOU will not want to believe him but FACTS are stubborn things.
Since the book has been published, John Ziegler has uncovered the REAL date of the infamous Penn State shower, and that the date given was wrong even at the trial (Sandusky was declared NOT GUILTY of that charge as well...it was just a shower and NOT an act of child rape!)...it was on 12/29/2000 NOT 2/9/2001 (or even the first incorrect date of 3/1/2002). Mike McQueary couldn't even remember the correct date 10 years after...and he didn't alert Joe Paterno RE: the incident 'til 2/10/2001...over 40 days AFTER the so-called "alarming" incident. Everything you know about this case is wrong and Pendergrast uses facts to map that out. (Another fact of the case is ZERO porn was found in Jerry Sandusky's possession...he wasn't a pervo and didn't utilize ANY porn in his life (Pendergrast illustrates in the book what the REAL Jerry Sandusky is/was like...not the monster everyone *thinks* he is) but we find out the PROSECUTION team DID have & share porn on their computers and Ziegler has uncovered selfie porn pics that Mike McQueary would send to women. You don't know that because the press doesn't want the REAL facts known in this case.
This is a brave, well-written, well-researched book. The author is a brave man. The truth is hard to find in the modern age. We all participated in this travesty of justice. Don't stay on that road, read this book, fact-check for yourself and TRY to help get the truth out. If it can happen to Jerry Sandusky, it can happen to ANY of us. This is not America and this railroad job MUST be reversed. Don't think you know the facts here because we all were fooled and tricked. Don't believe the hype!
We need more Mark Pendergrast's (and John Ziegler's!) in this world. Thank goodness for brave men like that AND the TRUTH! Anyone who reads this book and declares they don't know the truth doesn't WANT to know the truth. They are comfortable with the FAKE media narrative and that reflects poorly on THEM and not the reality.
February 1, 2018
Review: The Most-Hated Man in America by Mark Pendergrast, Sunbury Press, 2017
“Jerry Sandusky is a monster pedophile!” is so deeply entrenched in the American psyche that it is virtually impossible to mention another view without arousing contempt or condescending pity. The only way to a fresh start would be a work by someone detached from all things Pennsylvania, a credentialed, disinterested investigator with a flair for thorough, balanced research, with an established track record of even-tempered integrity.
Mark Pendergrast has achieved that niche, and The Most Hated Man in America probably the most even-handed, thoroughly-documented volume on the topic, is that work.
While much rhetoric and probing of the last 6 years took sides on the guilt or innocence of the PSU football program vis a vis Sandusky’s antics, nearly all presumed his guilt. Pendergrast’s central focus is on the integrity of the case itself. A few who have studied it have allowed that the 2000-2001 shower episode was grossly embellished by the grand jury presentment’s author, and that the 1998 episode was investigated and found devoid of sexual accusations. Pendergrast’s work boldly goes where almost no one has gone before—to suggest the fundamental innocence of Sandusky in the entire case.
Unlike Louis Freeh, who presumed the guilt of both Sandusky and the PSU athletic staff—and was toasted and paid over $6 million by the university trustees for his conclusions favoring their previous firings of two PSU leaders—Pendergrast takes us into adventurous territory at financial and reputational risk. Having read scores of work on “both” sides of the issue, I find no one who has better prepared his case. Accept or reject his thesis, but do not take it lightly. He has done meticulous background work on every major player in the unfolding drama. And he provides material background for answering any question one may pose to him.
In addition to debunking the common perceptions about 2001 and 1998, the work reveals conclusive evidence that the janitor episode of 2000 witnessed a perpetrator who was not Sandusky. It also details the internal contradictions in the testimony of the adult men (not boys!) who testified in a case devoid of any physical evidence.
If Pendergrast has a “dog in the fight”, it is his rejection of repressed memory therapy, whose techniques, along with manipulative and misleading interview strategies by police, were used extensively in the counselling of several of the designated victims. This is his area of expertise; and when its use is in doubt in particular instances, he volunteers that truth. He concedes the sincerity of several of the witnesses, while questioning the veracity of their claims.
The final chapters offer rarely-published perspectives from Sandusky himself on the case, and his personal experiences and conclusions from it.
A rebuttal of the book’s points and thesis will not be successful on a pedestrian level—the only level that has so far emerged. It should be required reading for courses in ethics and jurisprudence in every law school in America. In revealing the truth in the case, it may be well ahead of its time.
And as a cautionary word about societal prejudgment (see Richard Jewell, Duke Lacrosse, McMartin Day Care and Lindy Chamberlain cases), it is an urgent appeal to sustain the underpracticed principle of innocent until proven guilty.
Joseph R. Stains
jrstains1@gmail.com
January 17, 2018
“Jerry Sandusky is a monster pedophile!” is so deeply entrenched in the American psyche that it is virtually impossible to mention another view without arousing contempt or condescending pity. The only way to a fresh start would be a work by someone detached from all things Pennsylvania, a credentialed, disinterested investigator with a flair for thorough, balanced research, with an established track record of even-tempered integrity.
Mark Pendergrast has achieved that niche, and The Most Hated Man in America probably the most even-handed, thoroughly-documented volume on the topic, is that work.
While much rhetoric and probing of the last 6 years took sides on the guilt or innocence of the PSU football program vis a vis Sandusky’s antics, nearly all presumed his guilt. Pendergrast’s central focus is on the integrity of the case itself. A few who have studied it have allowed that the 2000-2001 shower episode was grossly embellished by the grand jury presentment’s author, and that the 1998 episode was investigated and found devoid of sexual accusations. Pendergrast’s work boldly goes where almost no one has gone before—to suggest the fundamental innocence of Sandusky in the entire case.
Unlike Louis Freeh, who presumed the guilt of both Sandusky and the PSU athletic staff—and was toasted and paid over $6 million by the university trustees for his conclusions favoring their previous firings of two PSU leaders—Pendergrast takes us into adventurous territory at financial and reputational risk. Having read scores of work on “both” sides of the issue, I find no one who has better prepared his case. Accept or reject his thesis, but do not take it lightly. He has done meticulous background work on every major player in the unfolding drama. And he provides material background for answering any question one may pose to him.
In addition to debunking the common perceptions about 2001 and 1998, the work reveals conclusive evidence that the janitor episode of 2000 witnessed a perpetrator who was not Sandusky. It also details the internal contradictions in the testimony of the adult men (not boys!) who testified in a case devoid of any physical evidence.
If Pendergrast has a “dog in the fight”, it is his rejection of repressed memory therapy, whose techniques, along with manipulative and misleading interview strategies by police, were used extensively in the counselling of several of the designated victims. This is his area of expertise; and when its use is in doubt in particular instances, he volunteers that truth. He concedes the sincerity of several of the witnesses, while questioning the veracity of their claims.
The final chapters offer rarely-published perspectives from Sandusky himself on the case, and his personal experiences and conclusions from it.
A rebuttal of the book’s points and thesis will not be successful on a pedestrian level—the only level that has so far emerged. It should be required reading for courses in ethics and jurisprudence in every law school in America. In revealing the truth in the case, it may be well ahead of its time.
And as a cautionary word about societal prejudgment (see Richard Jewell, Duke Lacrosse, McMartin Day Care and Lindy Chamberlain cases), it is an urgent appeal to sustain the underpracticed principle of innocent until proven guilty.
Joseph R. Stains
jrstains1@gmail.com
January 17, 2018
January 12, 2021
Where there is smoke, there is fire; no matter how you put it!
Mark Pendergast is trying to portray Jerry Sundusky’s innocence. You kidding me?
Yes, I agree he had an awful defense lawyer, but by his own admissions he verified showering with boys and tucking them in bed while blowing their belly buttons. And one instance where sexual abuse occurred with Victim #1.
Mark Pendergast, you certainly did not make a case in your book to convince me otherwise. FAILED!!
Mark Pendergast is trying to portray Jerry Sundusky’s innocence. You kidding me?
Yes, I agree he had an awful defense lawyer, but by his own admissions he verified showering with boys and tucking them in bed while blowing their belly buttons. And one instance where sexual abuse occurred with Victim #1.
Mark Pendergast, you certainly did not make a case in your book to convince me otherwise. FAILED!!
December 27, 2017
The Most Hated Man in America: Jerry Sandusky and the Rush to Judgment by Mark Pendergrast
Very disturbing adult situations and abuse, be warned. Very explicit details but it's necessary as the case comes together.
Feel this was a minute by minute collection of data with people involved and how all the facts come to light and how some are not used in the trial at all.
I followed this case in the news and not sure I've heard all the details so was happy to get a copy of this book to learn more information.
Loved hearing of the charity he started but soon after events come to light and charges are brought against him, pedophile and charged with molestation.
Book starts prior to when he was charged and follows the leads.
After more than 30 come forward I couldn't understand why his wife stood behind him, now I know why, he was really innocent. took the fall for others.
Learned about the techniques used to get the boys to state what had been done to them by reason of suggestion in some cases.
So much was never allowed in the court trials, see it happen so often now in trials. Nobody wants to hear/know the real truth.
Like memory discussions and do wonder if he was really innocent-as today's news and media prosecutes others for crimes without a trial.
So much went wrong in the gathering of information and facts and so much speculation and the media ran with that.
Much is covered about his life prior and current, enjoyed learning about his family histories over the centuries.
Love foot notations as they arise in the story and listed in detail as to how the information was found.
I received this review book from the author and this is my honest opinion.
Very disturbing adult situations and abuse, be warned. Very explicit details but it's necessary as the case comes together.
Feel this was a minute by minute collection of data with people involved and how all the facts come to light and how some are not used in the trial at all.
I followed this case in the news and not sure I've heard all the details so was happy to get a copy of this book to learn more information.
Loved hearing of the charity he started but soon after events come to light and charges are brought against him, pedophile and charged with molestation.
Book starts prior to when he was charged and follows the leads.
After more than 30 come forward I couldn't understand why his wife stood behind him, now I know why, he was really innocent. took the fall for others.
Learned about the techniques used to get the boys to state what had been done to them by reason of suggestion in some cases.
So much was never allowed in the court trials, see it happen so often now in trials. Nobody wants to hear/know the real truth.
Like memory discussions and do wonder if he was really innocent-as today's news and media prosecutes others for crimes without a trial.
So much went wrong in the gathering of information and facts and so much speculation and the media ran with that.
Much is covered about his life prior and current, enjoyed learning about his family histories over the centuries.
Love foot notations as they arise in the story and listed in detail as to how the information was found.
I received this review book from the author and this is my honest opinion.
Read
March 23, 202050 Books from 50 States: #6--Pennsylvania
Okay, so full disclosure up front: this book makes the case for Sandusky's innocence. I know, I know, those words "Sandusky's innocence" probably register like "moon landing hoax," only more sinister. As the title suggests, this guy looked to be the most terrible villain imaginable on all those news clips. I confess, I tried not to pay too much attention back then, it was so disturbing.
But here's the deal, Pedergast makes a pretty good case that Sandusky is actually not guilty of all those crimes that ostensibly amounted to an open-and-shut case the way the media portrayed it. The crucial piece of the puzzle is the use of recovered memory therapy as the source for most of the so-called evidence. Pendergast is not a fan of memory recovery and turns out he's not the only one. I'd really encourage anyone interested to take a look at this book and evaluate it for themselves. I plan on reading more, but thus far I've watched the documentary Happy Valley (Actually watched it twice--before reading this and again after.) and I've read this book, and Pendergast offers a much better explanation for the entire affair.
So now I'm a crazy conspiracy-theory kook.
Even if Pendergast is wrong, this book still stands as a testament to the deference--reverence, even--afforded victimhood in our contemporary culture. Yes, I agree that people who claim to be the victims of this kind of serious abuse or sexual assault or whatever should absolutely be given the benefit of the doubt and taken seriously, but their claims should not go completely unscrutinized. They are not automatically true. The way Pendergast presents things, that kind of happened in this case. It quickly turned into a moral panic and investigators, sure of Sandusky's guilt, grasped as straws for evidence and were ready to believe and endorse the specious, potentially financially-motivated claims that eventually surfaced.
People say that Sandusky was able to get away with it for so long because Americans love a squeaky-clean hero and they didn't want to believe these things about this symbol of old-fashioned family values and the American dream. Maybe so. But I think it is also true that Americans also love to see a squeaky-clean hero dethroned. Maybe it wasn't always this way, but it certainly is now. We like seeing someone like Sandusky fall because it validates our desire to see the values such a figure represents as being faulty, derived from the impossible, "naive" ideals of the past. It makes us feel better about not being as good as he was, or at least seemed to be.
Am I crazy?
So this book maybe wasn't the best source on local Pennsylvania culture, but I could still pick up at lot between the lines--the Upper Appalachia working class culture of the region State College is in the middle of, the classic Pittsburgh Pole narrative of upward mobility that was Sandusky's early life, the absolute obsession of the entire region with Penn State football, the culture clash once the Philadelphia lawyers descended. There was plenty there.
If you have any interest at all, I'd encourage reading this book. Pendergast is a better investigator than he is a writer, but it makes for engaging reading. And mostly, for my money, he's explained this entire situation better than any other account I've come across yet.
Tune in next week, when I'll finally tackle that moon landing hoax book. . .
Other Great Pennsylvania Books: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephan Chbosky
Yet to Read: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Pitching in a Pinch by Christy Mathewson, Fences by August Wilson, An American Childhood by Annie Dillard, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, Clemente by David Maraniss, The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick, Kiss It Good-Bye by John Moody, Wounded Lions by Ronald A. Smith
Okay, so full disclosure up front: this book makes the case for Sandusky's innocence. I know, I know, those words "Sandusky's innocence" probably register like "moon landing hoax," only more sinister. As the title suggests, this guy looked to be the most terrible villain imaginable on all those news clips. I confess, I tried not to pay too much attention back then, it was so disturbing.
But here's the deal, Pedergast makes a pretty good case that Sandusky is actually not guilty of all those crimes that ostensibly amounted to an open-and-shut case the way the media portrayed it. The crucial piece of the puzzle is the use of recovered memory therapy as the source for most of the so-called evidence. Pendergast is not a fan of memory recovery and turns out he's not the only one. I'd really encourage anyone interested to take a look at this book and evaluate it for themselves. I plan on reading more, but thus far I've watched the documentary Happy Valley (Actually watched it twice--before reading this and again after.) and I've read this book, and Pendergast offers a much better explanation for the entire affair.
So now I'm a crazy conspiracy-theory kook.
Even if Pendergast is wrong, this book still stands as a testament to the deference--reverence, even--afforded victimhood in our contemporary culture. Yes, I agree that people who claim to be the victims of this kind of serious abuse or sexual assault or whatever should absolutely be given the benefit of the doubt and taken seriously, but their claims should not go completely unscrutinized. They are not automatically true. The way Pendergast presents things, that kind of happened in this case. It quickly turned into a moral panic and investigators, sure of Sandusky's guilt, grasped as straws for evidence and were ready to believe and endorse the specious, potentially financially-motivated claims that eventually surfaced.
People say that Sandusky was able to get away with it for so long because Americans love a squeaky-clean hero and they didn't want to believe these things about this symbol of old-fashioned family values and the American dream. Maybe so. But I think it is also true that Americans also love to see a squeaky-clean hero dethroned. Maybe it wasn't always this way, but it certainly is now. We like seeing someone like Sandusky fall because it validates our desire to see the values such a figure represents as being faulty, derived from the impossible, "naive" ideals of the past. It makes us feel better about not being as good as he was, or at least seemed to be.
Am I crazy?
So this book maybe wasn't the best source on local Pennsylvania culture, but I could still pick up at lot between the lines--the Upper Appalachia working class culture of the region State College is in the middle of, the classic Pittsburgh Pole narrative of upward mobility that was Sandusky's early life, the absolute obsession of the entire region with Penn State football, the culture clash once the Philadelphia lawyers descended. There was plenty there.
If you have any interest at all, I'd encourage reading this book. Pendergast is a better investigator than he is a writer, but it makes for engaging reading. And mostly, for my money, he's explained this entire situation better than any other account I've come across yet.
Tune in next week, when I'll finally tackle that moon landing hoax book. . .
Other Great Pennsylvania Books: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephan Chbosky
Yet to Read: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Pitching in a Pinch by Christy Mathewson, Fences by August Wilson, An American Childhood by Annie Dillard, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, Clemente by David Maraniss, The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick, Kiss It Good-Bye by John Moody, Wounded Lions by Ronald A. Smith
January 2, 2018
“The Most Hated Man in America: Jerry Sandusky and the Rush to Judgment.” by Mark Pendergrast: (Sunbury Press)
Long ago, as an adolescent, I had a penchant for the “Pan Book of Horror Stories,” an annual anthology of gruesome tales, the best – perhaps I should say the worst – of which, made the hair stand on end. But of all the horrors related in those stories I found not one as deeply disturbing, as starkly hair raising, as those contained within the pages of Mr. Pendergrast’s book. Perhaps the difference is that the Pan books amounted to fiction while Mr. Pendergrast’s work is stark fact.
Jerry Sandusky, for decades a darling of the American people, was a celebrated football coach and charity worker, and founder of the “Second Mile” which aided delinquent youth in numbers too large to tally. An angel but one who plunged headlong from grace to disgrace, charged and convicted as a serial paedophile, found guilty of practising sodomy along with other vices on adolescents and children as young as eight. With the damning evidence of no fewer than ten of his victims standing against him one would think he was – is – surely as guilty as found and wholly deserves the thirty to sixty year sentence levied against him. In effect a life sentence for Sandusky who was 68 at the time of conviction in 2012.
Mr. Pendergrast thinks not. He believes that Sandusky is innocent and he makes an excellent job of fighting his corner, contending that Sandusky was the victim of a witch hunt, that he was not so much prosecuted as persecuted, that his trial was grossly flawed and that a great miscarriage of justice was done. The book is extremely well written, meticulously researched and is accurate in all details. Above all things it makes compulsive reading. But is the author right? Is Sandusky, damned by all, really an innocent man? After reading Mr Pendergrast’s work I fear that he might be. Yet I hope he is not, for if Sandusky is indeed guilty the fact that he was able to commit such heinous crimes and remain above suspicion for so long is horror enough. But if he is innocent then that horror is multiplied tenfold and those who hounded him into prison, zealots to a woman and man, surely deserve to serve serious stretches in hell.
“The Most Hated Man in America:” by Mark Pendergrast: (Sunbury Press) Compulsive yet disturbing reading that will make your hair stand on end.
D. A Barker (author of “Killing for Christmas” & ”What Am I?”)
Long ago, as an adolescent, I had a penchant for the “Pan Book of Horror Stories,” an annual anthology of gruesome tales, the best – perhaps I should say the worst – of which, made the hair stand on end. But of all the horrors related in those stories I found not one as deeply disturbing, as starkly hair raising, as those contained within the pages of Mr. Pendergrast’s book. Perhaps the difference is that the Pan books amounted to fiction while Mr. Pendergrast’s work is stark fact.
Jerry Sandusky, for decades a darling of the American people, was a celebrated football coach and charity worker, and founder of the “Second Mile” which aided delinquent youth in numbers too large to tally. An angel but one who plunged headlong from grace to disgrace, charged and convicted as a serial paedophile, found guilty of practising sodomy along with other vices on adolescents and children as young as eight. With the damning evidence of no fewer than ten of his victims standing against him one would think he was – is – surely as guilty as found and wholly deserves the thirty to sixty year sentence levied against him. In effect a life sentence for Sandusky who was 68 at the time of conviction in 2012.
Mr. Pendergrast thinks not. He believes that Sandusky is innocent and he makes an excellent job of fighting his corner, contending that Sandusky was the victim of a witch hunt, that he was not so much prosecuted as persecuted, that his trial was grossly flawed and that a great miscarriage of justice was done. The book is extremely well written, meticulously researched and is accurate in all details. Above all things it makes compulsive reading. But is the author right? Is Sandusky, damned by all, really an innocent man? After reading Mr Pendergrast’s work I fear that he might be. Yet I hope he is not, for if Sandusky is indeed guilty the fact that he was able to commit such heinous crimes and remain above suspicion for so long is horror enough. But if he is innocent then that horror is multiplied tenfold and those who hounded him into prison, zealots to a woman and man, surely deserve to serve serious stretches in hell.
“The Most Hated Man in America:” by Mark Pendergrast: (Sunbury Press) Compulsive yet disturbing reading that will make your hair stand on end.
D. A Barker (author of “Killing for Christmas” & ”What Am I?”)
August 20, 2018
The Most Hated Man in America
By Mark Pendergrast
2018
Reviewed by Angie Mangino
Rating: 4 stars
In the introduction the author explains his choice of book title by his first sentence.
“Jerry Sandusky, former defensive coordinator of the Penn State football team and now convicted of serial child molestation, is perhaps the most hated man in America.”
He continues, however, to state the book’s premise.
“But what if this compelling story, which has appalled virtually everyone in America, isn’t true?”
Divided into three sections with 23 chapters, endnotes, and a bibliography, this book presents an extensive exploration on all aspects of the circumstances surrounding the accusation. The author explores the allegations against Sandusky, the people who made the charges, the events starting from the public release of the Grand Jury on November 4, 2011 until the June 2012 trial and aftermath. He takes a look at Sandusky through the view of his family, others who knew him, as well as from the man himself in prison interviews.
The author additionally adds information to the Sandusky case from his previous three books on the questionable therapy of repressed memories and how he feels it played a significant part in the condemnation of the man.
Reader can weigh all of the many itemized details of the interrogations, therapies employed, motivations, and quotes from the people involved as they live through the events alongside Jerry Sandusky. From this, readers can form their own conclusion.
Angie Mangino currently works as a freelance journalist and book reviewer, additionally offering authors personalized critique service and copyediting of unpublished manuscripts. www.AngieMangino.com
By Mark Pendergrast
2018
Reviewed by Angie Mangino
Rating: 4 stars
In the introduction the author explains his choice of book title by his first sentence.
“Jerry Sandusky, former defensive coordinator of the Penn State football team and now convicted of serial child molestation, is perhaps the most hated man in America.”
He continues, however, to state the book’s premise.
“But what if this compelling story, which has appalled virtually everyone in America, isn’t true?”
Divided into three sections with 23 chapters, endnotes, and a bibliography, this book presents an extensive exploration on all aspects of the circumstances surrounding the accusation. The author explores the allegations against Sandusky, the people who made the charges, the events starting from the public release of the Grand Jury on November 4, 2011 until the June 2012 trial and aftermath. He takes a look at Sandusky through the view of his family, others who knew him, as well as from the man himself in prison interviews.
The author additionally adds information to the Sandusky case from his previous three books on the questionable therapy of repressed memories and how he feels it played a significant part in the condemnation of the man.
Reader can weigh all of the many itemized details of the interrogations, therapies employed, motivations, and quotes from the people involved as they live through the events alongside Jerry Sandusky. From this, readers can form their own conclusion.
Angie Mangino currently works as a freelance journalist and book reviewer, additionally offering authors personalized critique service and copyediting of unpublished manuscripts. www.AngieMangino.com
May 22, 2020
Absolute miscarriage of justice. This is a travesty. No one wants to question victims, and looking into this case puts any author at risk. I commend Mr. Pendergrast for being brave enough to look into these allegations and do a thorough analysis of this case backed by research. This book reminds me of the Salem Witch Trials, the Satanic Panic of the 1980s, and the McMartin Preschool Trial in the 1980s. A complete moral panic happened here and a rush to “justice” imprisoned an innocent man. I am absolutely shocked to learn that the majority of the testimony was based on debunked repressed memory therapy and that was allowable in Pennsylvania court. Completely non credible witnesses but the hysteria and panic got the best of everyone. How terrible it also is for these now young adults to have their childhoods repainted and to be suffering from false memories of things that did not happen. I was hesitant to even read this book because no one wants to invalidate real victims. But the only victim here is Jerry Sandusky. Please take the time to read this book. Our legal system and mass media has a long way to go. A Salem Witch Trial in 2012 was all this was.
October 26, 2022
If stupidity and naivete were crimes, Jerry Sandusky would be justifiably locked behind bars. But Jerry Sandusky was convicted of gross acts of pedophilia and the associated scandal brought down a coaching legend and the administration of Penn State University. Sandusky, Joe Paterno et al were convicted in the court of public opinion long before any jury said so. The accusations caused a media storm of moral outrage and influenced, as is clear in this book, the jury pool, the judge and probably even the people hired to defend Sandusky. Prendergast casts long shadows of doubt over the testimony of the supposed victims, troubled youths who were possibly manipulated by police and therapists and motivated by more than $90 million in compensation made available by the university. Prendergast tells an unpopular tale. But its conclusion is that Sandusky was innocent of the charges and deserves a new trial with competent representation. After reading his book, I tend to agree.
January 22, 2018
This is a Goodreads win review. After reading this book I cannot tell for certain if Jerry Sandusky is guilty or not. That is up to the judicial system to decide. As with many famous cases this one had high media attention, and that is hard to get a jury for. Dealing with repressed memories is also hard to deal with.
January 12, 2025
A unique book. While it doesn't provide a completely convincing reevaluation of the infamous Penn State child sex abuse scandal, The Most Hated Man in America gives an incredibly thorough and thought-provoking perspective on the case and (more importantly) how we view people accused of crimes. I don't think I'm fully sold on the author's conclusion of Sandusky's innocence, but reading this has definitely changed the way I look at such cases. The most interesting and troubling aspect of the whole scandal was how much the media played a role in convicting Sandusky of guilt in the court of public opinion. The whole case - undeniably full of clerical and judgmental errors - is a sobering example of our constant need to be on the right side of every issue.
October 26, 2021
with the benefit of hindsight and time
Mark Pendergrast’s book takes reasoned logical look at the charges brought forth and all of the people involved…. accusers, lawyers, therapists, investigators, politicians and Jerry Sandusky. Like most all, who knew virtually only what was in the media, I was shocked and felt that Sandusky must be guilty. After reading this book, I would think most reasonable people would at least feel Jerry Sandusky deserves a new trial … one that would be litigated by a competent counsel and that would review the “evidence” and separate the truth from non truth, the reality from the illusion.
Mark Pendergrast’s book takes reasoned logical look at the charges brought forth and all of the people involved…. accusers, lawyers, therapists, investigators, politicians and Jerry Sandusky. Like most all, who knew virtually only what was in the media, I was shocked and felt that Sandusky must be guilty. After reading this book, I would think most reasonable people would at least feel Jerry Sandusky deserves a new trial … one that would be litigated by a competent counsel and that would review the “evidence” and separate the truth from non truth, the reality from the illusion.
June 24, 2020
Good read, but left a lot of questions open. The grooming question was just brushed over. There is no doubt there was a lot of procedural problems with this trail. 99.9 of the supposed victims are liars and looking for a payday. The ones who got the biggest payoff were the sketchiest of the pool. Was he guilty or not? Not sure, but the trail shows the shit the justice system has become.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews