This book is incredible! I've already read Hurricane: The Miraculous Journey by J.S. Hirsch, and Lazarus and the Hurricane, but in England it is extremely difficult to find this book, and I had to wait 18 days for the it to me. It was definately worth the wait. Being only 16, I don't often enjoy reading, but this story just reels you in and I rarely put it down. Rubin Carter: what an inspiration! Read it! It is definately worth it, especially when you think that it was written 30 years ago.

Well from the other reviews your discovered the basic plot. I just want to let you know that I previously ordered this book, and I am about half way through. I do not even enjoy reading but I haven't been able to put this book down. What makes this book even greater is that fact that is is true. Also while reading it, the irony of the fact that we know that rubin carter has been set free but he doesn't even know this, as it was written while he was in jail. This book is incredible, and if I knew how good it would be before I read bought it I would probably pay what ever I had to. Thanx for taking your time in reading my review I just want to express my interest in this book

This book is a must read! It is by far the best book I have ever read. It is a true account of a man who has been repeatedly abused by the American justice system and by society. The descriptions of events and situations are painted so vividly that you can actually see them happening. The writing style is very similar to that of Martin Luther King, Jr. If you want to read a book that shows the struggle that black people (and other minorities) must endure everyday , then you should definately read this book. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, and it will make you want to get up and yell at somebody. And hopefully, it will make you want to be an activist. Read this book if you want to read about something REAL! Rubin Hurricane Carter and John Artis are heros!

The story of "Lazarus and the Hurricane" is riveting. But only half the story is told. The book describes how Lesra Martin, a young teen from Brooklyn's notorious Bedford-Stuyvesant district, came to live with a group of Canadians in Toronto. But nothing is said about who these Canadians really are and why they live the way they do. Not even their surnames are revealed -- except, of course, for the book's co-authors.

The book tells of Rubin Carter's final release and his move to Toronto. But the story ends there. You never read about Carter's turbulent love affair with Lisa Peters (one of the Canadians), a relationship that began when he was still incarcerated. And, needless to say, you never read about Carter's break with the Canadians and why, even to this day, his relationship with them remains precarious.

This book can be recommended to those looking for an inspirational, miraculous story. But for those seeking the hard facts about Rubin Carter and the Canadians who were instrumental in securing his release, this is not the book to read. Too much information is (intentionally?) omitted. Fortunately, the gaps have been filled by James Hirsch, whose thoroughly researched work now constitutes the standard critical biography of Rubin Carter.

Rubin Carter's unjust incarceration should shatter all illusions that in the United States of America anyone can get a fair and just trial. Carter's saga certainly proved that justice isn't blind. Carter's case is an in-your-face look at what is deeply wrong with our criminal justice system. Yet it is more than that. There is another side to the story.

Lesra, a young black teenager, purchases Carter's biography of what happened. Inspired by this giant, Lesra along with his Canadian guardians take on the quest of proving Carter's innocence. Their love, dedication and commitment prove that even in the worst of times there is hope. This book is the story of that hope unfolding.

Upon reading the book, three stories unfold; Lesra's, Rubin Carter's and the Canadians. Of course Carter's story predominates throughout the book while Lesra and the Canadians provide a nice back drop. The fact of the "Canadians" are not mentioned by name gives you a feeling of them being mere objects in the work of freeing Carter. Even Lesra doesn't receive the full attention that he deserves in this intertwining story.

Even Carter becomes an enigma. We really don't get to know the man but we are bombarded with information concerning his case. Perhaps other texts will make up for the above defientcies. I feel the most important part was Carter's refusal to allow the prison and criminal justice system to dehumanize them. If anything we learn how dehumanizing this system is in our own country. The greater lesson in the book is no matter how bad things can get there are decent people out there to help. Once you open yourself up to them changes can occur.

This is a remarkable story, it starts out in the sixties, and takes you through twenty years of injustice to the eighties, and through that time you learn of the corruption of the government to prove its point. Rubin Carter didn't deserve the injustices that he suffered and after his many attempts to prove it, he gave up, just then by chance a young man learns of his heroic and yet sad story and vows to help Rubin. Along with his help the 'Canadians' as they have been named, decide to help Lazarus on his endeavor. They started out as mere acquaintances and ended up to be best friends. This book tells how a tragic event can bring together many people to help two innocent people, and how a stranger off the streets can change the future for them all. This story moved me, I highly recommend this to anyone, I thought this book would be yet another boring book about some no name boxer, but I was wrong, I learned of one of the greatest injustices of the twentieth century. For the young and the old, this book is great.

Well, what a disappointment. 95% of this book is a re-telling of the Lafayette Bar murder case. 5% is a surprisingly superficial discussion of the shortcomings of the American judicial system. On the plus side, this is the most detailed, blow-by-blow account of both of the trials and the numerous appeals, the changes in testimony, the key witnesses, the red herrings, and the legal issues raised. But the writing is not good enough to rise above tedium.

To be fair, it would be a challenge to explain the changing testimony, the way the lies and the charges of bribery and corruption keep revolving back on themselves, like a hall of mirrors. Were the police intimidating the defense witnesses, or were Hurricane Carter and his friends intimidating the prosecution witnesses? Was Al Bello's crucial testimony bought by the police with promises of reward money, or was his recantation bought by Carter's friends with promises of a secret bribe?

I'd like to explain what troubles me about this book -- but how to do it without getting bogged down with nit-picks?

Try this quote on for size: "But within the Paterson community, the police, prosecutors and judicial system were united in their commitment to keeping Carter in prison for the rest of his life. To them, he was an abrasive, violent person who might one day catalyze the rage of the city's black community and who thus needed to be silenced -- he was to them an embarrassment and a villain rather than a hero." (204) Wice writes this, and apparently believes it, while at the same time acknowledging that prosecutors believed they had the guilty men (204) and while admitting he doesn't know whether Carter committed the murders or not! (202)

You'd think there would be extensive documentation and close reasoning to support the notion that (a) Carter was an activist and (b) the police were persecuting him because of it. But of course there isn't. While the tone of the book is skeptical of prosecution motives or eyewitness testimony, it accepts without question Rubin Carter's version of events, many of which were recently repeated in an error-filled movie.

The book repeats that young Rubin Carter was assaulted by a pedophile and was sent to juvenile detention for defending himself. The book repeats that Carter was on the verge of being paroled from juvenile detention when a vengeful guard (whom Carter had beaten savagely for a pedophiliac advance on a young inmate) framed him, thus ruining his chances for release. Wice believes Carter's story of how, as a young army recruit, he got into a no-holds-barred fight with his sergeant -- and was not punished. He repeats that a rash remark printed in the Saturday Evening Post led to police harassment and Carter's eventual frame-up for murder.

Well, if you'll believe that, you'll believe..... that when Carter was getting out of prison after serving time for mugging three people, he received offers from boxing managers from all over the world with "promises of rich contracts, up-front money and attractive jobs." And the reason that Carter rejected all those offers in favor of an amateur manager who was a New Jersey prison guard was because.... "he knew (the guard) fairly well." (33)

If, while doing the research for this book, Professor Wice had read the original Saturday Evening Post article, instead of relying on Carter's version in the 16th Round, he would have read a different version of the knifing incident that sent Carter to juvenile detention, and a different version of his escape. Like his alibi for the night of the murders, Carter's story of his juvenile escapades has also changed over time.

The book does list points that are favourable to the prosecution case. It mentions that Carter's alibi fell apart, for example, and even mentions the letter Carter wrote from prison, laying out the false alibi story, but it's clear where the author's sympathies are. I don't understand why, when Carter supporter Carolyn Kelley says Carter beat her savagely, Wice calls this an "alleged" assault, but when Carter says he was beaten by his own father (who is no longer around to defend himself) there is no "alleged" about it.

Here's a hilarious example of the book's bias:

"(After his transfer to Rahway Prison, Carter) was uninterested in participating... (a)lthough Carter had a few minor scrapes with the guards and other inmates, he primarily studied the law and wrote his autobiography. He was cited a dozen times for disciplinary infractions, but most were early in his stay, BEFORE THE STAFF AND OTHER MEN HAD ACCLIMATED THEMSELVES TO CARTER'S RIGID REGIMEN. (my emphasis)(74)

Um, Professor Wice, was the prison system supposed to adapt itself to the star inmate or was the star inmate -- oh, never mind.

Wice says of the prosecution: "they were rarely able to substantiate their conclusions with direct evidence." (67)

The same could be said of Carter's claim that he was a black activist or that he was framed. There is no evidence. And while the case against Carter for triple murder is mostly circumstantial, there is a case to be made -- with direct evidence -- that Carter has not always been truthful about himself. Unfortunately, this book didn't look deeply enough.