A rich and compelling narrative; as taut and suspenseful as good fiction. In places; Stories of Scottsboro is almost heartbreaking; not least because Goodman shows what people felt as well as what they thought. -- Washington Post Book WorldTo white Southerners; it was "a heinous and unspeakable crime" that flouted a taboo as old as slavery. To the Communist Party; which mounted the defense; the Scottsboro case was an ideal opportunity to unite issues of race and class. To jury after jury; the idea that nine black men had raped two white women on a train traveling through northern Alabama in 1931 was so self-evident that they found the Scottsboro boys guilty even after the U.S. Supreme Court had twice struck down the verdict and one of the "victims" had recanted.This innovative and grippingly narrated work of history tells the story of a case that marked a watershed in American racial justice. Or; rather; it tells several stories. For out of dozens of period sources; Stories of Scottsboro re-creates not only what happened at Scottsboro; but the dissonant chords it struck in the hearts and minds of an entire nation."Extraordinary.... To do justice to the Scottsboro story a book would have to combine edge-of-the-seat reportage and epic narrative sweep. And it is just such a book that James Goodman has given us; a beautifully realized history...written with complete authority; tight emotional control; and brilliant use of archival material." -- Chicago Tribune
#1899672 in Books Vintage 1998-03-17 1998-03-17Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.00 x .50 x 5.30l; .44 #File Name: 0679737278192 pages
Review
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Berger's Insights on Russia via NeizvestnyBy J. G. H.This extended essay brings to light the otherwise obscure artist Ernst Neizvestny. Berger's gaze intensifies on the particular circumstances of Neizvestny to draw out broader tendencies also being traced in the book; such as Russian iconic art; Soviet revolutionary art and politics; and aspirations of art more generally:"[Neizvestny] is concerned with neither viscera no complexes. He is concerned with creating an image of man that celebrates his total nature."Berger's prose flashes with insight into both Russian art and Neizvestny's sculpture. He lays out his critique sensibly and presents the subject with enough balance between the social; biographical; and critical that the reader is consistently drawn forward along each of those perspectives. The prints - like Berger's words - are also well-chosen and provide a solid visual basis for the discussion at hand.Concerning the rant that closes the book: it is an anachronism largely because of its hopes for the Soviet Union. However; our discomfort at reading it may also betray our own cynicism about the truth that we face an "intolerable condition of inequality in the world".4 of 10 people found the following review helpful. Criticism or Political Tract?By Stephen QuinnWell; the book's fairly interesting when it talks about the history of Russian Academic art; and also when it explores the work of Neizvestny. But the third section degenerates into a Marxist scrred against "imperialism". The book was written in the late 60's; so I suppose I can understand the author's optimism (naivite?) about the prospects of Communism; but all the same; I finished the book feeling that Neizvestny had been used by the author to further his own viewpoint. The description of the book; read in retrospect; is more interesting than the contents.
