Lazarus and the Hurricane: The Untold Story of the Freeing of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter [Hardcover]

Sam Chaiton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1991

This remarkable true story begins in a Brooklyn ghetto when a group of Canadians meets Lesra (Lazarus), an illiterate black teenager who wins their hearts. They end up bringing him to Toronto to help with his education, and while learning to read, Lesra finds a copy of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter's The Sixteenth Round. It was a book destined to change Lesra's life forever, and the lives of his adopted family.

Rubin Carter, the subject of Bob Dylan's song "Hurricane," was a number one middleweight boxing contender who had been wrongfully imprisoned after a white jury found him guilty of the murder of three whites in 1966. A huge public outcry followed the publication of The Sixteenth Round in 1974, culminating in a retrial, which was a virtual reenactment of the original travesty, with Carter receiving the same triple life sentence.

Moved by Lesra's passion, his adopted Canadian family contacted Carter and reinvigorated the legal battle. The inspiring relationship that ensued forms the heart of Lazarus and the Hurricane--a riveting legal drama, fast-paced murder investigation, and above all, a moving account of hope, humanity, and the indomitability of the human spirit.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In 1979, Lesra, a 16-year-old African American boy from an impoverished Brooklyn neighborhood, befriended three thirtysomething Canadians in the borough on business. The boy, whom the Canadians flew to Toronto to visit them, had led a life so far from the comforts of nature that he stumbled trying to walking on a lawn. Charmed by the exuberant and obviously intelligent Lesra (Lazarus), and aware that without decent health care, a safe environment, or an education he would have little or no hope of success in his dangerous neighborhood, this exceptional group of people invited him to live with and be educated by them. Lesra thrived under their watch--but the story of Lazarus and the Hurricane is only beginning.

After finally being taught to read, at age 16, Lesra immerses himself in The Sixteenth Round, the autobiography of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. The African American prizefighter was tried and convicted in 1966 for murders he didn't commit (the book's title refers to his bouts with the legal system as he tries to get himself exonerated). Lesra and his Canadian "family" pursued both a cause and a friendship with Carter that would transform all of their lives. The Canadians are active but not particularly distinct personalities in this book--a group of do-gooders who don't want too much credit. And Lesra, though he is finely described in early chapters, also falls away from the center of the story once Carter comes into view, for the Hurricane is a centrifugal force that cannot be ignored. Widely read and sensitive, but also pleasure-loving and intensely vital, Carter is the reason readers will be unable to forget this story. And they shouldn't. As Carter revives his fight with the support of his new friends and generous lawyers, working through a byzantine maze of court rulings and appeals, the shortcomings of America's legal and prison systems are made painfully clear. The compelling, bittersweet story in Lazarus and the Hurricane should be a call to action. --Maria Dolan --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

A pair of new releases accompany the upcoming release of the movie The Hurricane, in which Denzel Washington plays former top middleweight boxing contender Rubin Carter, who spent 20 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. This entry, billing itself as "a basis" for the film, was originally published in Canada in 1991 and now appears with a new, three-page epilogue. Written by two Canadians who, despite no formal legal training, joined the legal battle to free Carter, it has the advantage of an unusual inside perspective. Imprisoned in 1967 for the slaying of two white men and a white woman the previous year, Carter had already published a memoir (The Sixteenth Round), become a cause c?l?bre and inspired the Bob Dylan song "Hurricane" when Chaiton and Swinton stumbled upon his story in the late 1970s. He had also been retried and reconvicted. The authors were led to Carter's story through Lesra Martin, a young black man they befriended on a trip to Brooklyn and whom they invited to be a part of their commune in Toronto where they had been "living together in harmony for almost ten years." A letter from Martin, whose first name is a corruption of Lazarus, to the fighter established a connection that resulted in the authors eventually moving to New Jersey to become full-time members of Carter's legal research team. Although it's a serviceable chronicle of Carter's fight for freedom, the book is strangely lacking in the passionate intimacy of an insider. Written in the third person, the text regularly refers to the authors themselves and their friends as "the Canadians." It asserts that they would "do anything" to help Carter's cause, but it doesn't shed much light, beyond an implied desire to right wrong, on their motivation.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1 pages
• Publisher: Penguin USA; First Edition edition (September 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670834823
• ISBN-13: 978-0670834822
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,329,307 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lazarus and the Hurricane, January 13, 2000

By 

Alison Yada (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lazarus and the Hurricane: The Freeing of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter (Paperback)

I bought this book before I knew the movie was to be released. It is an amazing story of an innocent man's stuggle to gain his right to freedom after spending almost 20 years in jail, incarcerated for a crime he was completely innocent of. It made me wonder how "just" is justice in certain criminal cases where the evidence was so clear he was not guilty of a horrible crime.

The "Canadians" as they were so fondly addressed as, should be given tremendous credit as well as his attourney's that worked pro bono on Hurricane's case. Their belief is Hurricane's innocence and aid to his freedom is a breathtaking example of selflessness that is rarely heard of these days - we're all so busy with our own lives and problems, it was a welcome break to discover there are those out there who make a difference in our lives, namely for the Hurricane and for those who will read this book.

54 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Nice Complimentary Read To "The Hurricane", January 31, 2000

By 

taking a rest - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Lazarus and the Hurricane: The Freeing of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter (Paperback)

If you have already completed "Hurricane: The Miraculous Journey Of Rubin Carter" by James S. Hirsch, PLEASE do not let that stop you from reading this book as well. I read the newer book first, and I look forward to finding a copy of "The Sixteenth Round" by Mr. Carter.

Friday January 21, 2000, Larry King hosted the following group on his show; Rubin Carter, Lesra Martin, Denzel Washington, Judge Sarokin, Former Talk-Show Host Michael Douglas, and Attorney Gerry Spence. It was a tremendous show, and if you missed it, find out when it will be run again, you will not be disappointed.

One of the issues they all agreed upon was that 2 hours of film couldn't tell a life story. I recommend this book on the same theory. I also have seen the movie, and recommend it as well. I wrote extensively on the previous book but there are a couple of points this book noted that ranged from interesting to the pathetic. Lesra's Father was the Lead Singer for the group The Del Vikings when they performed on The Ed Sullivan show many years ago. The "Canadians" at Rubin's request, and with his help, were instrumental in having the case of, Sam Leslie "The Rose", overturned as well. Lesra graduated with honors from The University Of Toronto, went on to earn his Master's Degree, and then his license to practice law in 1997. There have been comments made about the "Canadians" that are less than flattering, and I claim no special knowledge, but some of the facts are these. They brought Lesra along to where he is today, and he certainly worked very hard for all he accomplished. There were 2 additional young people the Canadians helped, Walter a friend of Lesra's, and a young woman from England who had moved to Toronto. They dedicated themselves financially, and a great number of years of their own lives to a man that Lesra discovered in a book. So what faults they may have would have to be rather monumental to seriously detract from what good they have repeatedly done. Lesra had one brother that was murdered, and another that is in and out of jail. Where would they be if the Canadians or someone else had helped them?

As to this issue of "Black English"; as offensive as some might find that characterization to be, what about the attempt to teach "Ebonics" in this Country?

Gerry Spence recently completed a case where 4 men spent 18 years in prison for a crime they did not commit. One of the men was to be executed, and today January 31, the Governor of Illinois has suspended all executions until reviews are conducted. Gerry Spence got them some walking around money at $9,000,000 each. They will never see that as the appeals courts will knock those numbers to a fraction of what the jury awarded.

Rubin Carter and John Artis got $0.00. To be more precise Mr. Carter received just under $3,000.00 almost 10 years after having been wrongfully interred in the Vroom house of horrors.

On Larry King's show, Judge Sarokin said the "Habeas Corpus" laws have been changed so that he would not have gotten Mr. Carter's case; and even if he had, it would be overturned, Rubin would still be in prison.

After Judge Sarokin made his ruling, New Jersey was not satisfied until they were shot down 14 additional times, in a variety of courts because their case had remained what it always had been, garbage.

Pathetic is not strong enough, but it is comforting to know that when asked about the upcoming movie, Sheriff Edwin J. Englehardt kept up the party line of those involved in New Jersey. Some of his pearls of wisdom were/are, Carter was set free "because of a technicality", the fact he was set free was "a disgrace to the system", and the real gems, "If the movie makes any money, the state should charge Carter $77 a day for the 20 years of free room and board he got while in prison", and "If I could do something to destroy the movie, I would". These statements were made within the past year, comforting are they not?

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that ALL men are created equal............one of the greatest series of typos ever. Please note the Author of the document to which I refer bought, sold, and settled debts with slaves, as did The Father Of Our Country, as did the majority of those men who signed said document. Don't take my word, look it up.

We live in the greatest Country. Greatest and perfect are not the same.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars could've been better, January 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Lazarus and the Hurricane: The Freeing of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter (Paperback)

A decent enough overview of the case's history, but poorly written and cripplingly biased. It's ironic that an account of a case which relied so heavily upon the facts (or distortion of the facts) is itself so careless with actual events and their motivations. While there is little doubt of Carter's innocence, the story of his case deserves an objective telling, which "the Canadians" (as the authors refer to themselves) do not provide. And would any American actually refer to slang as "black english"? If you're interested in the history of Carter's case, check it out, but skip the overwrought dramatic interludes and take everything with a grain of salt.