Rating: 
Summary: brilliant, amazing, but also frustrating
Review: This is an amazing but ultimately somewhat frustrating book. Lukas wanted to write about all of America, and tried to shoehorn all of it into his story. It doesn't all fit. He did in fact keep my interest for quite a while, even to the extent that I was thinking criticism of his many digressions was unfair. But in the end I found myself agreeing that too much of the material not only bore no relationship to his narrative, but shed no insight on the larger question he addressed of the war between capital and labor at the turn of the century. In fact his closing paragraph, in which he referred again to Ethel Barrymore and Walter Johnson, made me angry. At the same time, this book is so incredibly well-reported, and there is so much of value in it, that I came away with enormous respect for Lukas, even more than I got from Common Ground. It's 750 pages. If you think of it as a 450 page book-- read the first 400 and the last 50-- then he succeeded brilliantly. Read that, and dump the intervening 300.
Rating:
Summary: Big trouble in the digressions
Review: This is an extraordinarily well-researched, well-written book about a little-known incident in turn of the century Idaho. Lukas casts a wide net, pulling in a fascinating array of characters, some famous, some infamous, almost all interesting. I don't believe he has made much of a case for the overstated subtitle, but he does capture the flavor of the time quite marvelously. This an outstanding book, but I can't give it the five stars some might think it deserves. Although for the first 300-400 pages, his digressions are interesting, by the last 200 pages, only irritating. A perfect example is the visit of Ethel Barrymore to Idaho during the Haywood trial, from which Lukas spins a brief bio of Barrymore, and then the development of theater in America--it is all too much. This type of digression simply overshadows the story, and seems to become the reason for the book's existence, vice the "big trouble" of the title; thus, one ends up with a book that could have been just as effective at 500 instead of 800 pages. Still, this is a fitting tribute to a first-rate writer and researcher.
Rating: 
Summary: Insightful
Review: This is an wonderful book and an insightful lesson in American history. The book is perhaps overly long (it took me several months to complete) and could have been edited better, but the level of detail Lukas uncovers is staggering. Reading about the corrupt American political structure at the turn of the century is strikingly similar to the types of corruption we hear about today...the more things change, the more things remain the same. Excellent book, I just regret that we will have no more books from this author.
Rating:
Summary: Superbly organized history.
Review: This marvelous book will appeal most strongly to those whose favorite biographies include the words "life and times" in the title. Just as a human life is better understood in the context of the times in which it was lived, this trial comes alive in the wealth of detail that illuminates the most amazing era in which it took place. This book should never be touted as a "courtroom drama" and I'm sorry for those who picked it up expecting one. I admire Lukas's superb control of his story, taking side trips and winding up back at the main line of the tale. I'm sorry we'll have no more of his books to enjoy and learn from.
Rating:
Summary: A classic, Ranks with Power Broker, Northwest 101
Review: This ranks with Power Broker. It is a non fiction Mitchner. You will never view the Northwest the same after reading this book. Lukas is a master. This book is not a light read. It is one hundred percent raw meat. I have been everywhere in Idaho and for an Idaho lover this will make every turn in the road, river or trail come alive. I testified before the legislature shortly after reading this book and felt like I was inside the mind of everyone there. Read this book.
Rating:
Summary: An Epic History
Review: Those who complain about the book's length or digressions might be missing the point. Granted it is intimidating at times; boring in spots, even. But I fault readers more than the author. I'm sure Lukas could have easily condensed this into a quick study of an isolated, half-forgotten event in U.S. history. But, the charm and challenge of the exisiting book would be lost. Lukas knew exactly what he was doing when he compiled the book based on his six years of research. I admire his dedication to the topic-especially in an age when so many care so little about history.
Rating:
Summary: "The Book That Made Me Want to Be a Historian"
Review: Well, maybe not THE book, but when, for my first graduate course in history, I had to pick the work of history that most influenced my professional ambitions I picked Big Trouble, which I read in an undergrad U.S. Industrial History course. Big Trouble is a wonderful book and Lukas an amazing writer. I was interested all the way through the several hundred pages, which was not true for any of the other books I read in Industrial History, or in almost any other class ever. What really struck me about Big Trouble, however, was what my professor passed out on the day we finished reading it: Luakas' obituary. He killed himself a few months before Big Trouble was published because, after winning two Pulitzers and a National Book Award, he felt that he had been a failure as a writer. I am sad that he did not live to write more.
Rating:
Summary: A morass of detail charms the reader.
Review: What starts out to be the investigation of the former Govenor of Idaho's trajic murder, culminates in a tapestry of detail that hypnotizesthe reader from the first page. Class struggle, racial division and legal hijinx combine to give one the true sense of what it must have been liketo live in a sparsely populated western state at the turn of the century. In familiar Lukas style,he places layer upon layer of fact and innuendo and minutiae to weave a late nineteenth century tale which ends in the "trial of the century."The industrial revolution and its alienation of workers, juxtaposed against our own technology led"displacement " of workers, as we head toward the next millenium, is chilling. In addition, the irony of investigating a murder ninety years after the fact and Lukas' subsequent suicide upon the books completion drives the reader to finish thischallenging work. To some, the almost obsessive detail is quite onerous. However, the reader isamply rewarded at the end--a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: Read it slowly!
Review: While researching Bill Haywood in Idaho, I kept hearing tales of Lukas and his meticulous and exhaustive research on the Haywood trial. Librarians spoke of him in hushed and awe struck tones. The book was a feast for me. It took me a year to read, as I had to do a lot of digesting. I do not consider the wealth of detail to be extraneous, because I believe it enhanced my understanding of the era.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, digressive history of the USA a century ago.
Review: Written just before his death, Big Trouble is probably the best writing J. Anthony Lukas ever accomplished--though he was top-drawer at the NYTimes for many years. This is a sleep-robbing account of the killing of a former governor of Idaho, set against a backdrop of the fiercest labor-corporation strife America has ever known. Lukas digresses to pockets of American history that include characters like Teddy Roosevelt, Gifford Pinchot, Ethel Barrymore, Samuel Gompers and Walter Johnson (yes, to the beginnings of professional baseball). Throughout, the theme of developing class-consciousness is tied to a world of governmental, corporate and union intrigue. The book is painstakingly researched, with a bibliography and notes that could provide history Ph.D. candidates a field-day of possibilities...but this is written by a writing pro who knows what will keep reading pro's awake through the night. I rate it a 9 and not a 10 because that rating is reserved, on my scale, for a verbal Paradisio that few can attain without their personal Virgil.
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