Chicago Reader reporter Bogira offers insights into the state of the American criminal justice system based on a year spent observing Chicago’s Cook County Criminal Courthouse, "the biggest and busiest felony courthouse in the nation."
Critic Reviews
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Outstanding
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Publishers Weekly
The brilliance of Bogira's insights will lead many to hope that he will follow this debut with proposals to cure the many ills he has diagnosed. [14 Feb 2005, p.67]
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Outstanding
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Chicago Sun-Times Tom McNamee
An immensely important book that exposes how American's criminal justice system really works.
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Outstanding
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Los Angeles Times Jonathan Shapiro
A powerful and moving consideration of how the justice system deprives some of their liberty and others of their ideals. [1 May 2005, p.R9]
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Outstanding
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The Economist
A brilliant piece of journalism and a genuine eye-opener.
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Outstanding
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Kirkus Reviews
Modern-day muckraking at its best. [1 Feb 2005, p.158]
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Outstanding
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Village Voice Tom Robbins
Uniquely satisfying.
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Favorable
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Booklist Vernon Ford
Readers interested in social issues and the criminal justice system will be engrossed. [1 Mar 2005, p.1116]
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Favorable
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Library Journal Harry Charles
A tour-de-force account. [15 Mar 2005, p.98]
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Favorable
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The New Republic Keelin McDonell
Courtroom 302's compelling and carefully observed narrative of the American criminal justice system is worthwhile reading.
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Favorable
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The New York Times Book Review Ted Conover
By focusing on something small -- the cases coming before one judge, in a single courtroom -- he gets a handle on something large and hard to make sense of: the American way of criminal justice.
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Favorable
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Washington Post David Feige
Because Bogira refuses to caterwaul, he has, ironically, written a chronicle of damnation whose removed, reportorial tone mirrors the pervasive aloofness of the system itself. It can leave the reader longing for more emotion, even fury.
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Favorable
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Chicago Tribune Maurice Possley
Given rare access, Bogira has made the most of it. [27 Mar 2005, p.C4]
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Mixed
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Entertainment Weekly Jennifer Reese
This fascinating book teems with individual human dramas, but in attempting to capture the sheer quantity, Bogira never zeroes in on a single case to hook the reader emotionally.
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