| Hurricane: The Miraculous Journey of Rubin Carter |  | Author: James S. Hirsch
Category: Book
Buy New: $24.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  41 reviews
Media: Library Binding
Edition: Reprint
Pages: 358
ISBN: 1435211944
Dewey Decimal Number: 364.1523092
EAN: 9781435211940
ASIN: 1435211944
Publication Date: June 26, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Not yet published
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Amazon.com
Here comes the story of the Hurricane: On June 17, 1966, two men entered the Lafayette Grill in Paterson, New Jersey, and shot four people, killing three. Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a onetime contender for the middleweight boxing crown, and John Artis, an acquaintance of Carter's, were charged with the murders. In a highly publicized and racially loaded trial, the prosecution hinged its case upon the convoluted and contradictory testimonies of two lifelong criminals, and failed to present any definitive evidence of Carter and Artis's guilt. Nonetheless, both innocent men were sentenced to life in prison. Hurricane is a detailed, inspiring account of Carter's 22-year effort to exonerate himself and regain his freedom. Carter's saga is rich and complicated, and James Hirsch deserves praise for his balanced treatment. He brings Carter's electrifying and complex personality alive without unnecessarily lionizing him, masterfully detailing his transformation from a defiant, intimidating man known for his dangerous temper and stubborn pride into a enlightened one who defeated despair and unimaginable injustice. Upon incarceration, Carter refused to behave like a guilty man--by defying the rules: rejecting prison garb and keeping his jewelry, shunning prison food, and failing to see a parole officer. His defiance earned him cruel punishment, but he compelled the rigid, unforgiving system to come to terms, at least in certain instances. Though he began an earnest study of the law in order to issue his own appeals, he could not have won his freedom without the astonishing collective effort of others. After a 1974 front-page story in The New York Times revealed his plight, there followed an outpouring of public support that included celebrity endorsements from, among many others, Muhammad Ali, Jesse Jackson, and Bob Dylan, who immortalized him in the famous song "Hurricane". Though all the publicity turned Carter into an icon for a time, ultimately it was the efforts of a group of enigmatic Canadians and a team of persistent lawyers that helped Carter achieve justice. He lost his family, his boxing career, and 22 years of his life, yet in the end, he refused to allow bitterness to consume him. When the charges against him were finally dropped in 1988, he spoke at a press conference: If I have learned nothing else in life, I've learned that bitterness only consumes the vessel that contains it. And for me to permit bitterness to control or infect my life in any way whatsoever, would be to allow those who imprisoned me to take even more than the twenty-two years they've already taken. Now, that would make me an accomplice to their crime... He emerged from the fight of his life with his dignity and humanity intact. --Shawn Carkonen
Product Description
In 1967, the black boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter and a young acquaintance, John Artis, were wrongly convicted of triple murder by an all-white jury in Paterson, New Jersey. Over the next decade, Carter gradually amassed convincing evidence of his innocence and the vocal support of celebrities from Bob Dylan to Muhammad Ali. He was freed in 1976 pending a new trial, but he lost his appeal -- to the amazement of many -- and landed back in prison. Carter, bereft, shunned almost all human contact until he received a letter from Lesra Martin, a teenager raised in a Brooklyn ghetto. Against his bitter instincts, Carter agreed to meet with Martin, thus taking the first step on a tortuous path back to the world. Martin introduced him to an enigmatic group of Canadians who helped wage a successful battle to free him. As Carter orchestrated this effort from his cell, he also embarked on a singular intellectual journey, which led ultimately to a freedom more profound than any that could be granted by a legal authority.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 36 more reviews...
My Journey to Rubin May 12, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
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.
Emotional Story Chronicling One Setback After Another December 24, 2005
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
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.
 READ THIS BOOK! It's that simple. September 23, 2005
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
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.
 This Biography changed my mind September 22, 2005
9 out of 18 found this review helpful
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.
Skip the movie, Read this Book March 2, 2004
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I read this book and then saw the movie. This is a familiar formula for disappointment. The book is much better and richer than the movie. The movie portrays Carter as some kind of saint, deeply-principled, who is railroaded by the justice system. As the book reveals, Carter was a deeply troubled individual during the 1960's. Carter was a very angry person who seemed to antagonize authority. He was also an alcoholic and had selfish, chauvanistic attitudes towards women. These traits are overlooked in the film. In fact, the movie shows Carter a suave, kind person. The filmmakers probably skipped these aspects of Carter because they wanted the viewers to like Carter and root for him. In reality, Carter didn't seem a likeable person.
HOWEVER, the fact that Carter was a troubled, angry person doesn't mean he's guilty of murder. Some people seem to invest their dislike of "hollywood justice" and the "cause celeb" aura surrounding this case, into convicting Carter for the murders. Don't confuse the issues. Carter was not a saint but he's still entitled to justice. Part of this book is the story of the unraveling of the prosecutor's case. As a federal district court found, the prosecutors withheld vital evidence from the defense - evidence which the defense was legally entitled to. The prosecutors also resorted to prejudice during the trial to persuade the jury of Carter's guilt. This is the so-called racial revenge theory advanced by the prosecution.
The other important and most fascinating part of the book is the transformation of the man. During his prison sentence, Carter transforms himself, with the help of others, from an angry, troubled individual to a much kinder and complete human being. The movie, by overlooking Carter's bad traits, robs the viewer of this incredible growth of one person.
My advice is to skip the movie and read this excellent book.
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