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Title: Hurricane: The Miraculous Journey of Rubin Carter
ISBN: 0395979854
Author:
James S. Hirsch
James Hirsch
James Hirsch
Publicate Date: 2000-01-03
Publish: 2000-01-03
List Price: $25.00
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $16.50
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $0.45
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Engligh 9 review, Ms. Till
This is a good book that has a positive message, but it also exposes some of the evils in human nature. Two men, Rubin Carter and John Artis, are convicted of murders they didn't commit and are sentenced to life in prison. This story shoes the struggles that Carter goes through in prison and it is only his knowledge that he is innocent that gets him through it. He changes from an angry and confrontational person into someone wiser with a better understanding of his role in the world. Carter's story is an excellent example of determination and perseverance.
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2: My Journey to Rubin
I loved this book almost as much as I loved the movie. For me it was one more step to tracking down the man, the legend. This is a wonderful book for anyone to read, from juveniles through senior citizens. The justice that eventually prevailed is of the feel good sort. It was such an incredible coming together of so many elements. I think that it should be included on recommended booklists in middle and elementary schools.
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3: Emotional Story Chronicling One Setback After Another
The life of Rubin Carter is certainly worth reading about regardless of what side of the debate you are on. Many people feel passionate about both his innocence and guilt. This book may help the reader decide for himself or herself, but it obviously has an innocent slant to it which the author makes known and makes no apologies.
The story as many of you know involved the conviction of Rubin Carter and John Artis for a triple murder that took place at a bar in Patterson, NJ. The men always maintained their innocence much to the chagrin of prosecutors. Whether Rubin did this crime or not is besides the question considering he got released from a Federal Court over a writ of habeas corpus issue. The court did not rule on whether he was guilty or innocent even though he had been convicted twice before for the triple murders. The Supreme Court judge that decided to overturn the convictions cited a "racial revenge" motive and prosecutorial withhlding of information as reasons to overturn the case. Therefore, after many intense struggles with personal demons and many years in prison Rubin Carter was released a free man. The book recounts his troubled life as a juvenile, his violent temper, his prize-fighting boxing days, and his many years spent in different prison institutions. Apparently while in prison Carter transformed these former attributes by personal study and reflection. He found some people from a Canadian commune to help go to battle for him and eventually won his freedom. It's a powerful story with a few problem areas. One problem area is that there are so many legal meanderings throughout the book that you begin to feel as if you are undertaking a tedious chore sorting through all of it. You lose the zest and earnest interest you first had when you started the book. The other problem area is it's obviously a very opinionated book meant to portray Carter as an innocent man wronged by the system. However, after reading about Carter's past, his media provoking of local authorities, and his temper, I came away feeling very ambivalent. Whereas, I expected to become totally convinced of his innocence I began to feel I wasn't for sure. Nevertheless, it's a compelling story if you can get past the legal "John Grisham" feel of the book.
Rubin Carter continues to fight to this day to overcome the hardness and emotional devastation he had thrust upon him while in prison. We learn that while he is thankful to be out he still has a long way to go to live the life he yearns for. To put to rest the demons bothering him (such as alcohol) and to be able to trust people is one of the great challenges he faces. One can only hope that justice was served in this instance and that he picks up what he has left of his life and makes the most of it.
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4: READ THIS BOOK! It's that simple.
I have read both this and Rubin Carter's own The 16th Round. There are some things that I believe on both sides of the story. I do believe that Rubin did have a violent juvenile past, and was an angry man. Yet, if a person who is facing oppression on a daily basis i'm sure you would tend to have violent tendancies as well; it's easy to make statements about a man's life when we are in a prosperous 21st century and not in the 1940 - 1950's. I do agree that the film does cut out the large part of Rubin's transformation from a violent individual to a more spiritual one.
I am a young Australian who is not of the age to be around when Rubin Carter was set free. This case was so badly stuck together it provides a good look at the judicial system considering it kept an innocent man in jail for 19 years.
And one of the most insulting facts of the case was that when Rubin was set free from jail in 1985, he was set free because of the biased and racial case that was built before him. NOT because he didn't do the crime. Makes me aggrovated.
If you want a book that will open your mind and make you think independently, then buy this and the 16th Round straight away.
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5: This Biography changed my mind
Before I read this bio my only knowledge of the Hurricane case was from what other's had told me. Based on that I always felt the guy was probably framed. After reading this bio, I feel he was probably guilty.
By the first third of this book I found myself not liking Carter. It seemed obvious to me that this was a very angry and violent man who was also very dishonest. This book attempts to make a martyr of a man who seemed like trouble even before he was convicted of the alleged murder. It also attempts to explain away every bad thing this man did (and there were many) by trying to make him look like the victim.
The author nor Carter never once admit to any wrong doing on Carter's part regardless of what it may be. If just ONCE Carter had taken responsibility for some of his nasty behavior and poor dealings with other folk, I may have had a more open mind. But this is a blatant attempt at reaching for excuses for every thing that went wrong in his life. Carter and the author want everybody to believe that Carter was the victim of frame-ups, conspiracies, and racism at every turn in his life. I was not convinced.
The pattern that I found apparent in Carter's personality is that he only opened up to folks who could give him something he wanted and once he got it, he changed his personable and trusting come-on and threw them on the scrap heap. Often rationalizing his using of those who helped him by twisting it into some delusional offense against him. The best I can say for Carter is that he struck me as a very cunning con-man who ultimatley beat the system by using people for his own needs until he was portrayed in the main stream media as a martyr and a victim. I no longer buy into that portyrayel after reading this book.
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