Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #496 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

About the Author
Vincent Bugliosi received his law degree in 1964. In his career at the L.A. County District Attorney’s office, he successfully prosecuted 105 out of 106 felony jury trials, including 21 murder convictions without a single loss. His most famous trial, the Charles Manson case, became the basis of his classic, Helter Skelter, the biggest selling true-crime book in publishing history. Two of Bugliosi’s other books—And the Sea Will Tell and Outrage—also reached #1 on the New York Times hardcover bestseller list. No other American true-crime writer has ever had more than one book that achieved this ranking. His latest book, Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, has been heralded as “epic” and “a book for the ages.”

Bugliosi has uncommonly attained success in two separate and distinct fields, as an author and a lawyer. His excellence as a trial lawyer is best captured in the judgment of his peers. “Bugliosi is as good a prosecutor as there ever was,” Alan Dershowitz says. F. Lee Bailey calls Bugliosi “the quintessential prosecutor.” “There is only one Vince Bugliosi. He’s the best,” says Robert Tanenbaum, for years the top homicide prosecutor in the Manhattan D.A.’s office. Most telling is the comment by Gerry Spence, who squared off against Bugliosi in a twenty-one-hour televised, scriptless “docu-trial” of Lee Harvey Oswald, in which the original key witnesses to the Kennedy assassination testified and were cross-examined. After the Dallas jury returned a guilty verdict in Bugliosi’s favor, Spence said, “No other lawyer in America could have done what Vince did in this case.”

Bugliosi lives with his wife, Gail, in Los Angeles.

Customer Reviews

YOU DIDN'T EVEN TRY VINCE
While I agree with the premise and was looking forward to great book, I was very disappointed in the author's presentation.

He was very repetitive and treated the readers condescendingly. He made each point satisfactorally and then proceded to explain what he meant ad ifinitum.

He should have known that readers of this book didn't need to be led or convinced.

GO Vincent!!
The Prosecution of George W. Bush for MurderTypical Bugliosi, Fabulous! Vincent nails it. Let's hope someone acts.

A True Patriot ....
... is someone willing to write a book like this. My hat goes off in respect to Mr. Bugliosi.

I found this book to be very, very disturbing. We Americans have allowed the Bush administration to put a horrible black mark on the American nation.

I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Having said the above, I'd like to add a few comments about places I struggled with the book:

1. I found the writing style to be a bit puzzling ... that is, until I imagined that I was sitting in a court room listening to Mr. Bugliosi present his case. The book flowed much more smoothly for me after this.

2. Make make sure you read the End Notes. The copy of the book I had made no references to the End Notes, so I had read through several chapters before I discovered them.

3. Respectfully, I had a problem with one of the arguments that Mr. Bugliosi presents. I may have misunderstood his argument, but (again respectfully) I think his logic is off.

In his Chapter notes to Chapter 2, Mr. Bugliosi states that Saddam Hussein would never "do something [like attack America] that would only serve to assure his annihilation ..." and that such an idea as "... too ludicrous to even contemplate." (p. 260).

My issue isn't with Saddam Hussein, but with Mr. Bugliosi's logic. My point is that this is not a valid argument. People consistently engage in behavior that can cause their annihilation. (Think about all the smokers around the world.)

When I worked as a forensic counselor, I had the opportunity to work with several true sadists and sociopaths. Each one was very intelligent, and each one would consistently do incredibly stupid things that would get them in trouble.

I imagine that as an accomplished attorney, Mr. Bugliosi has worked with many more sociopaths and people with personality disorders than I have. Which makes me even more surprised that he used this line of reasoning.

Furthermore, although Saddam would not have had access to the information at the time, it is not a given that attacking the U.S. means annihilation. Consider Osama Bin Laden.

In light of the overwhelming evidence that Mr. Bugliosi offers in this book, this argument is not critical to the conclusions he draws about President Bush (conclusions that I completely agree with).

The danger I see in the line of reasoning Mr. Bugliosi uses here is that the exact same (again incorrect, in my view) argument could be used to defend President Bush. Mr. Bugliosi points out that there is no statute of limitations for murder. Therefore, anyone defending Bush can say, "President Bush would never violate as many laws as Mr. Bugliosi says he did, because (to paraphrase Mr. Bugliosi), "The notion that President Bush would do something that would only serve to ensure his annihilation is too ludicrous to even contemplate."

4. There were several instances of Mr. Bugliosi using "he" to refer to both men and women. I struggled with this wording especially when he used "he" in reference to the U.S. troops who have died in Iraq. Women soldiers have died as well. (To be fair, as an author I also struggle with she, he, s/he limitations of our English language. But still ...)

5. On page 68, Mr. Bugliosi writes, "FOr some reason, although the death of Iraqi civilians in the war is always distressing to me, I take the reports of American soldiers being killed in Iraq much harder.

For me, it's exactly the opposite.

I am always more horrified by civilian deaths for, as tragic as the U.S. soldiers deaths are/were, the soldiers at least chose to be there. Civilians have no choice, which makes their deaths even more tragic.

To be clear, I'm not saying Mr. Bugliosi is wrong (or evil or bad or ...) to hold his opinion. Nor do I hold these words up as a criticism of his book. I just see things differently.

6. Finally, I disagree with Mr. Bugliosi's opinion that President Bush should receive the death penalty. As horrific as the things that President Bush did, I, unlike President Bush, oppose the death penalty. Mr. Bush should be sentenced to life in prison in the general prison system.

I did very much appreciate Mr. Bugliosi's explanation of complex legal issues in a way that I as a lay person could understand them. As I read the book, I found myself curious to know what strategy Mr. Bugliosi would suggest in order to avoid a future president from pardoning Mr. Bush (should he indeed be brought to trial). I would hate to see a replay of President Ford's pardoning of Richard Nixon.


Again, these 6 points are where I struggled with Mr. Bugliosi's book. Overall, I agreed with this premise, was shocked at his compilation of facts, and outraged at the acts of the current administration.

I would highly recommend this book to any interested reader ... which should be every voter in America.

Thank you again, Mr. Bugliosi, for standing up for American values.

You are a true patriot.