About this item
New York Times Book Review Editors Choice Drawing on never-before-published original source detail, the epic story of two of the most consequential, and largely forgotten, moments in Supreme Court history. For two hundred years, the constitutionality of capital punishment had been axiomatic. But in 1962, Justice Arthur Goldberg and his clerk Alan Dershowitz dared to suggest otherwise, launching an underfunded band of civil rights attorneys on a quixotic crusade. In 1972, in a most unlikely victory, the Supreme Court struck down Georgias death penalty law in Furman v. Georgia. Though the decision had sharply divided the justices, nearly everyone, including the justices themselves, believed Furman would mean the end of executions in America. Instead, states responded with a swift and decisive showing of support for capital punishment.
About the Author
Evan Mandery was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in East Meadow, Long Island. He is the author of three novels: Dreaming of Gwen Stefani, First Contact (Or It's Later Than You Think) , and, most recently, Q. He has also written two works of non-fiction: The Campaign, a memoir of the 1997 New York City mayoral campaign, and Capital Punishment, an introduction to the major debates on the death penalty. His most recent book is A Wild Justice: The Death and Resurrection of Capital Punishment in America, published by W.W. Norton. Evan is a professor at the City University of New York, and an avid poker player and golfer. He lives in Manhasset, New York, with his wife, Valli Rajah-Mandery, a sociologist, and their three children.
