Hurricane: The Miraculous Journey of Rubin Carter

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.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Hurricane recounts the harrowing, inspiring odyssey of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a black boxer wrongly convicted of three murders, from fierce despair to freedom and enlightenment.. "On June 17, 1966, two black men strode into the Lafayette Grill, a white redoubt in racially mixed Paterson, New Jersey, and shot three people to death. Rubin Carter and his young acquaintance John Artis were not those men, but they were convicted of the murders in a highly publicized and racially charged trial.. "Over the next decade, Carter amassed convincing evidence of his innocence and the vocal support of numerous celebrities (Bob Dylan's song "Hurricane" was but one example). He was freed pending a new trial, only to lose his appeal - to the astonishment of many - and land back in prison. He avoided 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 long, tortuous path back into the world. Martin introduced Carter to an enigmatic group of Canadians, including a strong-willed woman with whom he later began an intense unlikely romance. In the process, the Canadians helped wage an international battle to free him.

SYNOPSIS

Hirsch, a former staff writer for the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, recounts the harrowing odyssey from despair to freedom of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a black boxer wrongly accused of three murders. Over the course of a decade, he raged against imprisonment, amassed evidence of his innocence, and garnered the support of various celebrities. When he lost his appeal, he avoided almost all human contact, until he received a letter from a Brooklyn ghetto teenager who helped wage an international battle to free him. Includes b&w photos. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

FROM THE CRITICS

Newsday

Hirsch gives us an intimate portrait of Carter and the strange Canadian communalists/cultists who, by 1988, had helped him win his ultimate freedom.

Publishers Weekly

This authorized biography of Carter by former Wall Street Journal and New York Times reporter Hirsch brings an objective historical perspective to the boxer's story. Scrupulously researched and expertly crafted, Hirsch's updated account of Carter's life is both a rich portrait of a complex man and a clear-eyed telling of a remarkable life. Despite his success in the ring, or because of it, Carter was a man with a bad reputation when he was wrongfully accused of a gruesome triple homicide. As a defiant black man with a mean streak, a criminal record and flamboyant tastes, Carter jarred the sensibilities of many whites in his hometown of Paterson, N.J., and Hirsch explores the role that race played in determining his fate. Carter's hellish ride through the judicial system and the heroic efforts to free him make for fascinating reading. Hirsch used the Canadian edition of Lazarus and the Hurricane (reviewed above) as a source for much of his material, and some scenes are straight out of the earlier book. But Hirsch also explores the nature of Carter's relationships with the Canadians, including his romance and marriage to Lisa Peters, which is treated as a mere footnote in the Canadians' account. When Carter finally became a free man in 1988, he spent several years living in the Canadians' commune, but their controlling nature led him to believe he had traded one prison for another, with a debt of gratitude tying him down. He eventually severed ties. (Jan.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

“A nearly biblical tale of persecution, punishment, and redemption. . . Anyone curious about the persistence of Carter’s notoriety — or the accuracy of the movie — will find all the answers in Hurricane.”

KLIATT

This is not a weather-related story. It is about the prizefighter Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, but it is not about his experience in the boxing arena. In fact, any aspirations for big paydays and title fights vanished on that June night in 1966 when Rubin Carter and a friend were arrested for a shooting in a Paterson, New Jersey nightspot. This authorized biography is the story of his long and bitter struggle to prove his innocence and his gradual growth and change from flashy "man-about-town" to advocate for social justice. The author writes in an almost conversational, fluid style and the pages turn quickly. Sixteen pages of photographs complement the text and there is a detailed index. It is unlikely that this book will appeal to fans of "the sweet science" of boxing but social activists, future attorneys, and lovers of nonfiction will be among its readers. The author presents Carter's situation from two perspectives. First, there is the judicial side, with 19 years of trials, appeals, testimony, etc., that bring about frustrations, delays, disappointments, and heartbreak. The other perspective deals with the changes in Carter. When he entered the prison system, he was morose and lived a monastic life. With the help of supporters, admirers, and friends, he slowly changed into a serious, introspective, compassionate person. The reader will be left with the feeling that the ex-boxer still has some problems but also has the strength to overcome them. KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2000, Houghton Mifflin/Mariner, 358p, illus, bibliog, index, 22cm, 99-052703, $14.00. Ages 16 to adult. Reviewer: Professor John E. Boyd;Jenkintown, PA, March 2001 (Vol. 35 No. 2)

Library Journal

In 1967, middleweight boxing contender Rubin "Hurricane" Carter was sentenced to three life sentences for murdering three white adults in a Paterson, NJ, bar. Both books demonstrate convincingly that this was a miscarriage of justice. Chaiton and Swinton were two members of the Canadian commune that worked for years to free Carter and that was, for a while, his home after his release from prison. Their book was originally published in Canada in 1991 and is the basis for the recent film The Hurricane (starring Denzel Washington). The commune first heard of Carter through Lesra Martin (Lazarus), who was a 15-year-old living in a tough Brooklyn neighborhood when Chaiton and Swinton met him on a business trip and brought him back to Toronto. Chaiton and Swinton devote most of their lively book to recounting Carter's struggle with the legal system and hellish prison conditions and to Lesra's adjustment to Canadian life. Hirsch, a former reporter for the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, offers an excellent investigation of the Carter case and his life, including Carter's relationship with Lisa Peters, the domineering leader of the cult whom he married following his release from prison after serving 22 years. (Carter, as Hirsch notes, left the tension-filled commune because he had only traded one prison for another.) The internationally notorious Carter case was arguably the last cause c l bre of the Sixties Civil Rights-antiwar coalition. His tenacious fight for freedom was ultimately the greatest victory for this courageous battler. Both books are strongly recommended for public libraries, but because Hirsch's book provides courtroom details, delves into the actions of the commune, and updates Lesra's remarkable story, it's the preferred choice by a split decision. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 9/15/99 and LJ 10/15/99, respectively.]--Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information. Read all 6 "From The Critics" >

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

Charles Kaiser -- The New York Times

Anyone curious about the persistence of Carter's notoriety ... will find all the answers in [this] exhaustive biography . . . A nearly biblical tale of persecution, punishment and redemption. — Charles Kaiser