The Lizzie Borden "Axe Murder" Trial (Headline Court Cases) [Library Binding]

Joan Axelrod-Contrada (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2000 | Series: Headline Court Cases

Examines one of the most celebrated murder trials in United States history, in which Lizzie Borden was accused of killing her father and stepmother with an axe.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 5-9-An easy-to-read, well-documented history of the famous 1892 trial, written in short sentences and with a breezy style. The author concludes with the question that many others have asked, "If Lizzie did not murder her parents, who did?" Mention is made of the ongoing fascination with the case, including information about studies, writings, shows, and even a 1948 ballet (Fall River Legend). This is a fair and nonjudgmental book; for example, when the author describes Borden as stylish, one who enjoyed attention, she cites a source in a footnote. Archival black-and-white photos and reproductions are scattered throughout. Discussion questions and extensive chapter notes are appended. A thorough and welcome addition.-Linda Beck, Indian Valley Public Library, Telford, PA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Library Binding: 104 pages
• Publisher: Enslow Publishers (August 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0766014223
• ISBN-13: 978-0766014220
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,090,497 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Runs the Gamut from "A-C"., August 26, 2000

By 

Faye Musselman (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lizzie Borden "Axe Murder" Trial (Headline Court Cases) (Library Binding)

The Lizzie Borden "Axe Murder" Trial - A Headline Court Case, by Joan Axelrod-Contrada, a 106 page book, is a short, one session read. Have a snack nearby because you won't get much of a bite out of this one.

This is one of a series of famous court cases designed for the (I assume) Junior High or High School student studying famous cases. It's just enough to provide a fairly good overview of the basics of the case, sufficient enough to write a school report - simple essays, but certainly no term paper. Joan A-C manages to convey all the primary and essential aspects of the case presented in a crisp, concise order. In almost bullet-like paragraphs it covers the Inquest, Preliminary, Grand Jury, and Trial. Those four proceedings probably account for this particular case being a good one for a class study. It ends with very brief comparisons of the OJ Simpson case and Louise Woodard cases (yawn). However, handled well, I thought, given the consistent brevity throughout, was the information on the investigation into insanity and the question of what dress did Lizzie have on between 9:00 and 11:00 that morning.

The end notes indicate more research than probably was necessary considering the resultant shallow substance. The author extracted information from many websites on the subject, and for the first time in a new book on Lizzie, the Chapter Notes/Biblography citations have a generous sprinkling of the ".org" and ".html" references. "Bordenia" websurfers will recognize many of them and may even be surprised, as I was, for a couple of new and very interesting sites.

The book has a handsome cover but, alas, the many photographs are all those that we've seen dozens of times in dozens of books. The picture of Lizzie taken in 1905,when she was 44-45 and with pinch-nez glasses, is probably the least reproduced of the lot.

I'm always appreciative of anything new published on the case, even if the content is a regurgitation in synopsized format. For me, the striking disappointment is that it is so obviously "series-formulated" that it lacks any incentive or motivation to compel the uninformed reader to seek out other works on this extremely compelling and facinating case. While I give credit and due respect to Joan Axelrod-Contrada for achieving what was obviously the publishers intent with this series, as a book of substance, it ran the gamut from "A to C". (Forgive me Dorothy Parker).

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An Introduction to the Case, June 18, 2001

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lizzie Borden "Axe Murder" Trial (Headline Court Cases) (Library Binding)

This 128-page book seems aimed at young teenagers, but doesn't explain why they should read about this case. It gives a good overview of the case, comparable to Rick Geary's illustrated book, and is a simple introduction to this case.

The author lists many sources in the "Chapter Notes", some of which may not be readily available. Some of the sources are Internet sites. There is no rating on the quality of the books on this case. "Further Reading" does not list Arnold R. Brown's book, or David Kent's "Forty Whacks".

There is a problem in the quality of the books, as shown on page 98. Everyone before spoke of the sweltering hear of those August 1892 days. But one writer claims that this was a "myth" because of one newspaper report! No corroboration is given for this claim. Can you believe everything you read in the newspapers, then or now? Eyewitness testimony is more reliable than hearsay.

The books on the case fall into two categories: she did it (Pearson, Sullivan, etc.), or she didn't (Radin, Spiering, Brown, etc.). The jury said "not guilty" and no one can ever prove otherwise. Arnold R. Brown's book explains it all.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lizzie Borden "murderer?", March 28, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Lizzie Borden "Axe Murder" Trial (Headline Court Cases) (Library Binding)

Lizzie Borden is a great story and I recommend it to every reader. The non-fiction story is great and informational, the story takes place right in our back yard. The book is easy and to read and if you like true stories that are interesting then this is the book for you. For me, the story was really hard to put down so I was always reading it at night in bed. Since this is such a short story you would look forward to reading it I know I did. I really enjoyed reading this story because it's not one of these books that everyone reads and is really boring and the ending was really un- expected. The main problem I had was picking a book but when I saw this certain book I knew this was the book for me. The cover the introduction on the back just the whole book brought me in. I really recommend this book for every one I and I really enjoyed reading this book.