politalX Politics Store - Sacco and Vanzetti: The Men, the Murders, and the Judgment of Mankind
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List Price: $25.95
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Manufacturer: Viking Adult
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 345.730252309744
EAN: 9780670063536
ISBN: 0670063533
Label: Viking Adult
Manufacturer: Viking Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 448
Publication Date: 2007-08-16
Publisher: Viking Adult
Studio: Viking Adult
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Editorial Reviews:
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The riveting true story of one of the nation’s most infamous trials and executions
When the state of Massachusetts electrocuted Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti on August 23, 1927, it concluded one of the most controversial legal cases in American history. In the eight decades since, debate has raged over what was probably a miscarriage of justice.
In the first full-length narrative of the case in thirty years, Bruce Watson unwinds a gripping tale that opens with anarchist bombs going off in a posh Washington, D.C., neighborhood and concludes with worldwide outrage over the execution of the “good shoemaker” and the “poor fish peddler.” Sacco and Vanzetti mines deep archives and new sources, unveiling fresh details about these naïve dreamers and militant revolutionaries. This case still haunts the American imagination. Authoritative and engrossing, Sacco and Vanzetti will capture fans of true crime books and everyone who enjoys riveting American history.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Class Struggle in the Dock, Circa 1920
Comment: Honor the Memory of Sacco and Vanzetti on this the 81st Anniversary of their execution by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (August 23, 1927).
I like to put each item about the Sacco and Vanzetti case that I review in historical context with this well-worn standard first paragraph of mine. It, I believe, holds up today as in the past- Those familiar with the radical movement know that at least once in every generation a political criminal case comes up that defines that era. One thinks of the Haymarket Martyrs in the 19th century, the Scottsboro Boys in the 1930's, the Rosenbergs in the post-World War II Cold War period and today Mumia Abu-Jamal. In America after World War I when the Attorney General Palmer-driven `red scare' brought the federal government's vendetta against foreigners, immigrants and militant labor fighters to a white heat that generation's case was probably the most famous of them all, Sacco and Vanzetti. The exposure of the tensions within American society that came to the surface as a result of that case is the subject of the book by Professor Bruce Watson under review here.
In the year 2008 one, like myself, who openly proclaims partisanship for the heroic memory of Sacco and Vanzetti when looking for a book to help instruct a new generation about the case is not after all this time afraid of a little partisanship by its author. One is also looking to see if, given advances in modern criminology and technology, those sources have presented any new information that would change the judgments of history. That is apparently not the case with Professor Watson's book. It is rather another garden variety narrative of the events that have been covered elsewhere by partisans on either side of the divide on the question of the guilt or innocence of the pair. Nevertheless it is good to have an updated narrative so that the youth will know that the pressing issues around the case have not gone away.
Professor Watson has presented a good description of the events that led up to the Sacco and Vanzetti trial in a Dedham, Massachusetts court presided over by an old WASP figure, Judge Webster Thayer. He details the hard work lives of the two Italian immigrants, the problems with foreigners especially South Europeans like them trying to gain a toehold in America, the future troubles to be brought on by their anarchist beliefs and more damagingly their departure for Mexico in 1917 to avoid being drafted into the American army after its entry into World War I.
Professor Watson further links the personal trials and tribulation of Sacco and Vanzetti with the general political atmosphere after World War I with its wave of anarchist bombings, the victory of the Russian Revolution and the response of capitalist America with the Attorney-General Palmer-led " Red Scare, Part I". He further details the South Braintree payroll robbery that set in motion the events of the next seven years that would bring world-wide attention to the cause of the two beleaguered anarchists. He gives the factual events of the day of the robbery and double murders, the subsequent search for the robbers, the narrowing of the chase to these two who were found to be armed at a later date in a very different context and their arrest and indictments for murder.
Needless to say any narrative of the Sacco and Vanzetti case needs to pay close attention to the trial itself, the personalities of the players and the evidence. In the background one has to look at the state of the law, especially its procedural aspects, at that time concerning capital punishment and further the social climate against foreigners, specifically Italians here. Watson, more than most accounts, gives special emphasis to chief trial defense lawyer Fred Moore and his various maneuvers, intrigues and, frankly, mistakes.
Of course, the heart of the book is an account of the appeals both legal and political throughout the seven year period. That included various strategies from calls for gubernatorial clemency to mass strikes by labor so the whole litany of class struggle defense policies gets a workout in the case. Although Professor Watson does a creditable job of describing these efforts as far as he goes I object, on political grounds, to his short shrift of the work of the Communist International and its class defense organization the International Labor Defense in publicizing the case. Who do you think brought the masses of workers out world-wide? It was not those Brahmin ladies on Beacon Hill, well-intentioned or not. This is certainly a subject for further comment by any reader of these lines.
The other point that I object to is Watson's agnostic approach to the question of the guilt or innocence of Sacco and Vanzetti. At this far remove it is not necessary to be skittish about the question of their guilt or innocence in a legal sense. There is, obviously, not quite the sense of urgency of the call today for Mumia Abu Jamal's freedom rather than retrial. However, although 80 years separate the two cases there is a steady tendency to limit justice in these cases to calls for retrial. However, in both cases the parties were innocent so the appropriate call would have been and is for freedom. This political ostrich act by Professor Watson, allegedly in the interest of being `objective' and 'letting the new generation decide for itself', does a tremendous disservice to the memories of these class war fighters.
Nevertheless, this is a worthy book to use as a primer toward understanding the background to that long ago case. The end notes are helpful as is the bibliography for further research. Additionally, unlike Professor Watson's excellent book Bread and Roses that I have previously reviewed in this space here he stays more closely with the subject and avoids bringing in every possible historical fact that might tangentially relate to the case. As always, until ultimate justice in done in the Sacco and Vanzetti case honor their memories today.
Added: August 17, 2008. Please read Mr. Watson's comment below. I, incorrectly, assumed that he was a professor. That he is not nevertheless turns out to be a compliment to him here as he has done a well-researched job here. The real question turns on our very different political perspectives on the case. And, apparently, from the last sentence of his comment the legal concept of what is guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and its consequences then and now, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Customer Rating:
Summary: "Wops" and "Ragheads": A Lesson We Should Have Already Learned
Comment: This is a vibrant history of the tragedy of Sacco and Vanzetti. The book bursts with relevance when the reader imagines the "wops" of the 1920s as the "ragheads" of the 21st century. Whether S & V were guilty is not relevant (though most likely they were not guilty of any crime). The tragedy of the story is how they were denied a fair trial because Massachusetts was swept up in a xenophobic backlash against all Italians/anarchists based on isolated acts of terrorism. That a few Italians were suspected of terrorism meant that all Italians were guilty of any crime of which they were accused. The same thing is happening today, with Guantanamo, torture, rendition. The case of Sacco and Vanzetti was judged an historical failure, a tragedy. It is a mistake we should have learned from.
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Summary: Justice Denied
Comment: The 1920s was referred to as the Jazz Age. Names like Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, Bill Tilden, Charles Lindberg, Red Grange, Al Jolson, Al Capone, and numerous others dominated the decade. Often overlooked, however, are the names of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti who spent the greater part of the decade in a Massachusetts prison until executed in the electric chair in August of 1927. Victims of a vindictive judge, a prejudicial jury foreman, and a politically charged atmosphere against Italians both Sacco and Vanzetti remain an example of justice denied in America to two individuals who came to America in hopes of bettering their lot in life. Denied both a fair trial and a second trial this book uncovers one of America's secrets best swept under a rug, and uncovered here in this new book. Isn't it a good thing that this miscarriage of justice doesn't happen anymore? Or have we already forgotten the names of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Campeon unjustly convicted for upholding their duties along the Texas and Mexico border as border patrol guards? This book is a reminder that history repeats itself because we too often refuse to learn from the past.
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Summary: A Definitive Account of a Global Phenomenon
Comment: Watson has put together a thorough study of the men and the global phenomenon surrounding their trial, appeals and eventual execution. I give him a lot of credit, for while he takes a pretty dim view of the trial judge and prosecutor (as well as S&Z's early defense team) he is objective about the question of their actual guilt and innocence.
Watson spends the early part of the book with an introduction to the accused, some family history and laying the political groundwork; but, the real yeoman's work in the book is done in his methodical trip through the appellate review (if it can be called that given that no judge other than the trial judge ever ruled on any element of the appeals - including the trial judge's potential bias). Watson's research shines through in what is a narrative heavily reliant on sources ranging from personal letters to court records and past first person and scholarly work.
Similarly, there are some really eye-opening sequences in which Watson recounts the global fervor that arose around the accusation, incarceration, trial and execution of these two world-famous criminals. As he notes, in many ways, nothing has ever risen to the level that this case and these men did as global political discourse.
Finally, as others have noted, there are some important constitutional, and legal issues brimming just below the surface of Watson's narrative that I think he - correctly - alludes to but nevers indulges in himself. contemporary Guantanamo Bay, the mid-century transformation in criminal trial practice around evidence, the Red Scares, etc. He truly keeps his eye on the ball here in delivering a definitive history not of these men, or their politics; but, of the events surrounding the "judgment of mankind."
JAW
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Summary: Guilty or innocent?
Comment: Some names cannot be spoken by themselves, but must always be a part of a pair: Laurel & Hardy, Wilbur & Orville, Martin & Lewis, etc.. Thus we have the names of two immigrant Italian men whose execution took place almost exactly 100 years ago (August 22, 1927). In the ensuing years, a plethora of books, pamphlets, articles, dramas, etc. have been produced, each one arguing either their innocence or guilt. This extremely well-written book really tries to walk the thin line between the two extremes, but appears (to me, at least) to lean into the innocent side, or at least the side of an unfair trial. As an attorney, I was shocked and dismayed at the tactics shown by both the prosecution and the presiding judge, and I know with certainty that today any one of a multitude of errors would have given these men a new trial. Would that have made any difference? I truly don't know, but I know that they never had that second trial chance, and for that alone the authorities of the Commonealth of Massachusetts bear a heavy burden of their own guilt. Read this book and try to make up your own minds about these men: it's not easy.
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