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Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Biography The definitive biography of Clarence Darrow, the brilliant, idiosyncratic lawyer who defended John Scopes in the “Monkey Trial” and gave voice to the populist masses at the turn of the twentieth century, thus changing American law forever. Amidst the tumult of the industrial age and the progressive era, Clarence Darrow became America’s greatest defense attorney, successfully championing poor workers, blacks, and social and political outcasts, against big business, fundamentalist religion, Jim Crow, and the US government. His courtroom style—a mixture of passion, improvisation, charm, and tactical genius—won miraculous reprieves for men doomed to hang. In Farrell’s hands, Darrow is a Byronic figure, a renegade whose commitment to liberty led him to heroic courtroom battles and legal trickery alike.
A biography of the lawyer who devoted himself to unpopular causes and was involved in some of the most famous and important cases of the early twentieth century.
The celebrated American lawyer Clarence Darrow was renowned for his spirited, ruthlessly logical defense of populist causes and controversial ideas. Even today, Darrow’s words continue to frame public discussion about our civil liberties and our religious and civic life. In this timely volume, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Edward J. Larson and ethicist Jack Marshall assemble a broad and rich collection of the iconic lawyer’s words and writings–opening statements, trial arguments, lectures–accompanied by excerpts from his memoir and annotated with expert commentary. These selections showcase the mesmerizing power of Darrow’s passions and ideals, which have lost none of their impact or immediacy with the passage of time.
A bomb explodes in a police station, killing nine officers and a civilian. Those responsible are never caught, but police, press and public are quick to condemn a group of eleven immigrants. This story could have been ripped from today's headlines. In fact, it comes from a 1917 case in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; a miscarriage of justice examined for the first time by Dean Strang, the lawyer whose passionate defence of alleged murderer Steven Avery was at the heart of the hit Netflix series Making a Murderer. Days after the explosion, the eleven suspects went to court on unrelated charges. The spectre of the larger, uncharged crime haunted the proceedings and against the backdrop of the First World War and amid a prevailing hatred and fear of immigrants, a fair trial was impossible. In its focus on a moment when patriotism and terror swept the nation, Worse than the Devil exposes broad concerns that persist today, and failures in the American justice system that will resonate with anyone who has followed the Avery trial.
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This volume presents a selection of 500 letters by Clarence Darrow, the pre-eminent courtroom lawyer of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Randall Tietjen selected these letters from over 2,200 letters in archives around the country, as well as from one remarkable find—the kind of thing historians dream about: a cache of about 330 letters by Darrow hidden away in the basement of Darrow’s granddaughter’s house. This collection provides the first scholarly edition of Darrow’s letters, expertly annotated and including a large amount of previously unknown material and hard-to-locate letters. Because Darrow was a gifted writer and led a fascinating life, the letters are a delight to read. This volume also presents a major introduction by the editor, along with a chronology of Darrow’s life, and brief biographical sketches of the important individuals who appear in the letters.
Courtroom summations by “one of America’s greatest lawyers . . . this book is better than an entire college course in Rhetoric” (Thomas Geoghegan, author of The Secret Lives of Citizens and Only One Thing Can Save Us). A famous defender of the underdog, the oppressed, and the powerless, Clarence Darrow (1857–1938) is one of the true legends of the American legal system. His cases were many and various, but all were marked by his unequivocal sense of justice, as well as his penchant for representing infamous and unpopular clients, such as the Chicago thrill-killers Leopold and Loeb; Ossian Sweet, the African American doctor charged with murder after fighting off a violent, white mob i...
In "The Story of My Life," Clarence Darrow presents a captivating autobiography that intertwines his personal experiences with his philosophical reflections on justice, morality, and human rights. Written in a candid and engaging style, the narrative encapsulates his profound observations as a prominent defense attorney, revealing the complexities of the legal system and the societal prejudices he fiercely challenged. Darrow's eloquence and wit bring to life the crucial moments that shaped his career, all while contextualizing the broader socio-political environment of early 20th-century America, marked by social upheaval and an evolving understanding of civil liberties. Clarence Darrow (185...
Closing Arguments: Clarence Darrow on Religion, Law, and Society collects, for the first time, Darrow's thoughts on his three main preoccupations. The effect reveals a carefully conceived philosophy, expressed with delightful pungency and clarity. The provocative content of these writings still challenges us. His thoughts on social issues, especially on the dangers of religious fundamentalism, are uncannily prescient. A dry and even misanthropic humor lightens his essays, and his reflections on himself and his philosophy reveal a quiet dignity at the core of a man better known for provoking Americans during an era of unprecedented tumult. From the wry "Is the Human Race Getting Anywhere," to...
Clarence Darrow was one of the most legendary and influential trial lawyers the world has ever seen. Famous for his ability to turn seemingly unwinnable cases his way through his oratory and his uncanny skill at reading the mood of a jury, he was a man whose work inspired impassioned campaigns against the death penalty as well as lavish Hollywood movies. But, despite his success, he also had a troubled life outside the court, and some of his most famous cases came after he himself had been put on trial. Now award-winning writer Donald McRae revisits the three greatest trials which secured Darrow's near-mythic reputation and brings them vividly to life. The public themes which Darrow confronted still resonate powerfully today: sex and murder, religion and science, racism, the media and the law. Written with great intimacy, drama and immediacy, this is a sweeping story which offers piercing insight into one of the most towering and controversial personalities of the twentieth century.