The Art of Political Murder: Who Killed the Bishop? [Paperback]

Francisco Goldman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2008

Bishop Juan Gerardi, Guatemala’s leading human rights activist, was bludgeoned to death in his garage on a Sunday night in 1998, two days after the presentation of a groundbreaking church-sponsored report implicating the military in the murders and disappearances of some two hundred thousand civilians. Realizing that it could not rely on police investigators or the legal system to solve the murder, the church formed its own investigative team, a group of secular young men in their twenties who called themselves Los Intocables (the Untouchables). Known in Guatemala as “The Crime of the Century,” the Bishop Gerardi murder case, with its unexpectedly outlandish scenarios and sensational developments, confounded observers and generated extraordinary controversy. In his first nonfiction book, acclaimed novelist Francisco Goldman has spoken to witnesses no other reporter has reached, and observed firsthand some of the most crucial developments in the case. Now he has produced The Art of Political Murder, a tense and astonishing true detective story that opens a window on the new Latin American reality of mara youth gangs and organized crime, and tells the story of a remarkable group of engaging, courageous young people, and of their remarkable fight for justice.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Novelist Goldman (The Divine Husband, etc.) pursues in his first nonfiction book the infamous murder of Bishop Juan Gerardi, the Guatemalan human rights leader murdered after the release of his multivolume report on the genocidal terror campaign led by the army in the 1980s and '90s, in which 200,000 people disappeared or were killed. The book, which began as a New Yorker piece, casts light into the darkest corners of this tortuous case, the U.S.-supported war in Central America and the continuing legacy of violence and corruption. The large cast and myriad details can be overwhelming, but overall Goldman manages a clear narrative (aided by a dramatis personae and chronology). Drawing on a wealth of sources, including interviews, declassified documents and court records, his meticulously researched book is an impressive organizational achievement, as well as a vital moral accounting. Goldman—who was baptized in Gerardi's church of San Sebastian, attended by his Guatemalan-born mother—invests this eye-opening account with a layer of personal reflection. Like Latin American writers García Márquez, Vargas Llosa or Carlos Fuentes, his journalism isn't so much a departure from his fiction as an extension of his concerns with the fraught landscapes where truth is as contested as the soil underfoot, yet central to battles waged over it. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Bookmarks Magazine

Three-time novelist Francisco Goldman’s commitment to telling this true-crime tale shines on every page of The Art of Political Murder. Goldman spent years researching the case, often braving dangerous places and people in order to interview key witnesses. Many of the people he spoke with for the book ended up dead, in exile, or "disappeared." With the exception of the Los Angeles Times, critics uniformly praised Goldman’s insightful exploration of Guatemalan political corruption and media manipulation. As the Chicago Tribune puts it, "The heart of the story, Goldman brilliantly recognizes, is not only the murder but also the crude, insidiously effective ways the killers obfuscated its political motives, spinning stories as farcically compelling as any Latin soap opera."

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press; Reprint edition (September 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802143857
• ISBN-13: 978-0802143853
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.2 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #261,098 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 58 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars If you read one piece of non-fiction this year.... September 30, 2007

By J. Simon

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

read Frank Goldman's book, The Art of Political Murder. Even if you are not interested in Central American politics, this is still a page turner. Unlike scores of other journalists who parachuted into Central America over the past 25 years to get the scoop and then go on to the next newsworthy story somewhere else, Frank Goldman's seven-year quest for the truth behind the murder of Guatemalan Archbishop Gerardi deserves kudos for its indefatigable research as well as his ability to spin a yarn, albeit one that sadly is true, that one simply cannot put down. And even those well-versed in the brutality of Guatemala's history of military rule -- whether by decree or by civilian proxy -- will be riveted by the seamless tale that Frank Goldman expertly tells. Read it and weep.

34 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Timely, Taut, and Terrific October 22, 2007

By David Corbett

Format:Hardcover

Francisco Goldman has written a brilliant non-fiction account of the 1998 murder of Bishop Juan Gerardi and the ensuing investigation and trial of the persons responsible for the crime: a conservative closeted homosexual priest who was sharing the parish house with the bishop, and several military officers with the Presidential Military Staff (Estado Mayor Presidencial--EMP) who are also linked to organized crime.

At the heart of Goldman's story is the account of how a group of human rights investigators, lawyers, prosecutors and judges, a small circle of whom jokingly referred to themselves as Los Intocables--The Untouchables-- pursued justice despite the onslaught of violence, threats, slander and condemnation hurled at them from virtually every direction: the military, politicians, defense lawyers, the press, even respected Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa. One lost his brother to an unspeakably vicious death. Several had their homes bombed, or were forced into exile when military thugs followed their children to school to let them know how easy it would be to kill them. All endured countless death threats that they never disclosed to Goldman personally, out of an intrinsic sense of honor (he learned of the threats from other investigators, or by reading documents related to the case). But these people were true believers that justice had to be done, despite the cynicism of most of their countrymen.... The story of that courage, plus the marvelous depictions of the inimitable characters involved, from ex-army street hustlers to inhabitants of Guatemala's gay demimonde, as well as an informed and daunting portrait of where Guatemala stands today--a country where criminal mafias led by military chieftains vie for control of the insanely lucrative narcotics, human trafficking, car theft and kidnapping rackets, and where "the line between crime and politics can be so fine as to not even exist"--and a clear-eyed analysis of the "schizophrenic" role of the United States in both some of the most galling and the most inspiring episodes in that country's recent history, make this a book that is simply too good to miss.

It also couldn't be more timely. It was hoped that continuing investigation would pursue other officers believed to be linked to the murder, including General Otto Pérez Molina--now a candidate for president of Guatemala, who is facing center-left businessman Álvaro Colom in a runoff scheduled for November 4th. If he is elected, as is expected--the general has received a baffling nod of approval from our own embassy, due to his impeccable anti-Chávez credentials (better a killer and a narco than a leftist, one assumes)--this path to justice will get closed for good, unless the U.N. Commission for the Investigation of Illegal Bodies and Clandestine Security Apparatus (CICIACS) enters the fray with the authority it deserves.

All of which is detailed in this terific book. Buy it, read it, talk about it, share it. Read more ›

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars I'm in the middle March 10, 2008

By thersites

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The reviews here seem to fall into 3 camps: the "it's a perfect masterpiece"" camp, the "he was duped by ODHA - 'who killed the bishop' got it right" camp, and the "he is a lefist fool" camp. I belong to none of these, so let me throw my two cents in here....

I spent a brief time in Guatemala doing human rights work in the mid 80's (a shout out to any PBI alums in the house :)), and so was interested in the subject matter, and had at least a glancing acquaintance with the horrid murderous travesty that was the Guatemalan government, as well as the impenetrable fog of denials, mis-statements, forgeries, violence, hidden agendas, disappearances and murk that hid virtually any attempt to get at any truth.

I found the first half of the book (which focuses on the "who-done-it") outstanding. Here Goldman relates the story of the investigation - the false leads, the disappearing witnesses, the hopelessly (and deliberately) contaminated crime scene, the (deliberately) conflicting evidence, the overlapping areas (and agendas) of the investigators, etc. That the investigators were able to finally pierce it (not completely, but most crimes never are) is just amazing, especially given the very real threat to themselves and their families.

I think the other reviewers who criticize this book for not analyzing the case for/against Monsenor Mario, or for not analyzing the case made by 'who killed the bishop' are being unfair - goldman spends a _lot_ of time on each of these, especially the latter, to the point that you could almost criticize the book for over-focusing on it.... Similarly, I think criticizing the book for not telling more of the story of the defendants is ludicrous - when your primary interactions with a defendant consist of their giving you death threats, it's hard to go much further!

The problem with the book lies in the second half, what is called the "second crime" - the multi-year "war of attrition" against the verdict, year after year of judicial games, wars in the press, maneuver after maneuver. Here, while I appreciate the author's work in showing us just how deeply broken the justice system and press were (and are), I just felt the book became a less interesting read - we know who done it, we know why, now we read chapter after chapter of frustration (although it sure made me glad I've never been a guest of the Guatemalan Penal system!). One last cavil - another reviewer says that Goldman never walks us through the final 'best guess' of the final crime, minute by minute - oh yes he does, it's near the end.

So in summary - a good book, an important book, a book alternately deeply depressing and deeply inspiring, but not a great _read_, the only reason I am marking it down a little. Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Absurd, Violent and Evil State February 1, 2009

By Brian Lewis

Format:Paperback

This is a courageous book, one that exposes the state sponsored terriorism that led to about 200,000 deaths or disappearances in Guatemala in the 80s and 90s. It does so by focusing on one case, the murder of Bishop Juan Girardi in April 1998, just after he had published Guatemala: Never Again a report on the genocide.

Goldman details the murder and the trial in great detail, and very effectively conveys the sense of living in such an awful time and place. He does a good job of sorting out the story and getting at what really happened, but with this case and in this time that requires some digging. Goldman needs to go over the crime scene several times to get through the layers as witnesses/accomplices change their stories or the evidence rules out some explainations.

For example, while I thought Goldman spent too much time discrediting the perfectly ridiculous explaination that a dog had caused the crime, in doing so he shows the extent to which the military was in control of the courts. The charge was taken seriously enough for the court to order Bishop Girardi's body exhumed to check for bite marks.

The book works on many levels, including that of a suspenseful murder story and an important work of recent Latin American history. Goldman very effectively conveys the sense of terror for witnesses and civilians in such a country where the military is at war with its population.