Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
TOTALLY FASCINATING AND ENDLESSLY PROVACATIVE, March 2, 2001
I was amused by one reviewer who considered Schiller an appalling human being for capitalizing on such a tragedy. There were similar, if not quite as vitriolic, opinions expressed by other reviewers. All I can say is -- if you were so offended by the Simpson case, and an author who chose to write about it - why on earth would you buy a 900+ book about the subject? I, on the other hand, found this book absolutely absorbing. At the start I should say that nothing in this book swayed my opinion that O.J. Simpson committed both murders. This book was not dedicated to the defense. It did appear that Mr. Schiller got a lot more assistance from the defense side, but he writes a fairly balanced narrative, showing the strengths and the weaknesses of both sides. The one character who actually comes out looking pretty bad is O.J. himself. He is egotistical, narcissistic, termperamental and fully in denial of what he has done. This comes out clearly in the book. I work in the local District Attorney's Office where I live, and was thoroghly captivated by the intense coverage of the trial, as well as the behind the scenes activities of both sides. I learned as much about some of the key witnesses as I did about the key players. If anything from this book affected my outlook on the case, it gave me a little more understanding about the jury. Even will compelling and undeniable evidence (specifically the blood evidence), they were so bombarded with conflicting facts from both Prosecution and Defense, that as typical, ordinary citizens, they lost sight of the big picture. In short, they were pretty much overwhelmed with facts. As you read this book, you begin to feel their frustration. A highly educated person could probably have read between the lines and sifted through the junk to find the truth, but these people had been sequestered for months. They wanted to go home. They had had enough. I read Mr. Schiller's other book: "Perfect Murder, Perfect Town", and am still amazed by his ability to take minute facts and somehow make the story interesting. One can almost pretend this is novel taken from someone's overactive imagination. But the bottom line is - Mr. Schiller sticks to facts. He does not choose sides, and he does not paint Mr. Simpson as a victim. The facts speak for themselves, and if we don't like them, well, that is not Mr. Schiller's responsibility. He did an admirable job with an awful lot of information. I could not put it down, even knowing the ending. And I was pleasantly surprised to find that the last part of the book dealt with the civil trial, which I knew very little about. If you have already formed a strong opinion about Simpson's guilt or innocence, this book will probably not change that. You will, however, get a fascinating look into what made everyone tick, what went wrong, and what tricks drove the verdict of the criminal trial. And be honest with yourself that this will always be a compelling and fascinating piece of history, and there is no shame in having an interest in it. I recommend this book whole-heartedly.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Absorbing but rather long, April 14, 2003
I decided to read this book and expected a very detailed inside account of the so called "Dream Team". Overall the book exceded my expectations. It is an almost daily account of what went on in the trial and the behind the scenes details are the most interesting. Especially insightful are the thoughts of Robert Kardashian and his "evolving" thoughts on O.J. Kardashian, Carl Douglas (Cochran's associate) and Shawn Chapman (another Cochran assoc.) are the main sources of the information for the book. The events surrounding the verdict and O.J.'s worries about his security after the trial is something I never thought about. There really was concern for the lawyers' safety as well. Of all the characters involved in the dream team, Bailey comes out looking the worse. His drinking and hand tremors make him an almost pathetic figure. Barry Scheck, even w/his doubts of Simpson's innocence, looks the best without any doubt. O.J. should thank him for his acquittal. After 600 pages, you start wondering when it will end but it was necessary to make it that long because it gives you a sense of the unbelievable length of the "trial of the century".
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A surprising page turner that's surprisingly unbiased!, January 27, 2001
The real reason why I bought this book on OJ was because I had a free coupon for the bookstore and there was really nothing else on OJ to buy. I actually wanted Bugliosi's "Outrage". Now I am glad that I did buy "American Tragedy". It was a real page turner for a non-fiction book!Not being familiar with the authors I was interested to see where they stood on the matter. When it was revealed that Schiller had helped OJ write his book before the trial I groaned, "Alright, I guess we know who's side he is on." Though centered mostly on the defense's story, I was surprised to see that Schiller only lays out what happened and who the characters involved were. As a matter of fact, by the end of the book, we see the author lay out evidence that portray OJ's guilt more that his innocence. Schiller really makes no assumption about whether or not OJ was guilty. Rather, he shows the obvious evidence that the defense had to overcome. He does not state whether the actions of the defense were right or wrong, or whether the evidence was true or not. Rather, it is as if Schiller takes the reader inside closed quarters as a fly on the wall to observe and come to his own conclusions. This book reads like a fictional crime story and it was interesting, illuminating and entertaining. Just when you thought OJ's guilt or innocence was determined, a loop hole or damning revelation is thrown in. On the whole, I felt that alot of the blood evidence was tampered with (whether deliberately or not I am unsure on). The defense did raise many doubts about Furhman's actions and words, and the bloody socks. I think that the hair, fibre, and shoe print evidence, along with OJ's lies at the civil trial point more to OJ as the individual responsible for Nicole and Ron's deaths. As a matter of fact, it was the civil trial presented near the end of the book, more than the criminal trial which proved to me that despite my doubts concerning the blood evidence, OJ was guilty of murder. Even though everyone knows the outcome, Schiller presents the book as if the outcome could go either way by the end of the book. A very good read!
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