Customer Reviews

Headline Justice: Inside the Courtroom -- The Country's Most Controversial Trials

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Theo Wilson was the best reporter of her time, and this book gives her insight into major stories she covered: Jack Ruby, Charles Manson, Patty Hearst and many others. Wilson has a way of making you feel you are right next to her in the courtroom, noticing the details that make a story come alive. When heiress Hearst was on trial, for example, Wilson noted that her millionaire parents sat close to the defense table, but "there never was, during those long weeks, a spontaneous gesture of affection, a hug, a kiss, a hand reached for...They were living through the same nightmare but they could not share its terrors." Theo Wilson was known as the dean of reporters over a 40-year period, most of them for the New York Daily News. Journalists are not held in high regard today, but this book shows how honorable and responsible reporters can be. At the same time, she brings into view the reporter's world while the story is being chased and after the deadlines met. Theo Wilson had many adventures -- some funny, some poignant-- during her career. Reading about them is just plain fun

An excellent book by a reporter who covered this country's hottest criminal trials from the 1950s into the early 1990s. Readers of the old New York Daily News (when it was still a serious newspaper) were fortunate to read Theo Wilson's articles on a regular basis. I feel deprived because I didn't have that opportunity. This book is the next best thing, and it is easily as good as anything Dominick Dunne ever wrote, and I consider him one of my favorite writers. Highly recommended for true crime fans if you can find it.

Theo Wilson covered the great trials in this country from the 50's through the 80's. She spent 10 years preparing this book. Sadly, she died just as the promotional tour was scheduled to begin with an appearance on Tom Snyder's show. Theo's voice, a delight to her many friends, comes through loud and clear. It's hard to decide which is more enjoyable, the many funny annecdotes or the numerous pithy and insightful comments on some of the most famous trials in our lifetimes. Theo was maybe 5 feet tall, but she was a giant as a writer. She lit up every room she was ever in. She also didn't take any guff. While covering Charlie Manson's trial, he tried to intimidate her during a recess in the trial. She said "Oh, Charlie. Grow up!" You owe it to yourself to get this book. Ignore the hard-to-get warning. I saw the publisher yesterday (4-20-97) at the LA Times Festival of Books, and they still have plenty of them. Look for Linda Deutsch, Theo's best friend, on the Today show next week. Linda has decided to complete the promotional tour for the book since Theo is unable to. Linda is the AP's premier court reporter. You'll recognize her from the O.J. trial where she was the only journalist not to get kicked out by Judge Ito.