Rating: 
Summary: The Wrong Book
Review: "The Wrong Man" examines with depth the tangled web of characters and theories surrounding the endlessly fascinating case of Dr. Sam Sheppard. However, having read widely on this subject, few of the theories presented in The Wrong Man are new. In particular, a great deal of research-based data concerning Richard Eberling was compellingly presented in "Mockery of Justice -- the True Story of the Sheppard Murder Case, by Cynthia L. Cooper and Sam Rees Sheppard, published in 1995 (hardback) and 1998 (paperback). Unfortunately, much of the research done by Ms. Cooper for her book now appears in "The Wrong Man." While I am glad to see that writers continue to delve into this tragic case, there is little new in this book, and I enjoyed reading "Mockery of Justice" a great deal more.
Rating: 
Summary: The penultimate word on the Sheppard case
Review: Given the antiquity of the Sheppard case, the loss of physical evidence and the death of virtually all of its chief figures, it is unlikely that this baffling murder case will ever be solved beyond the shadow of a doubt. But James Neff has come closer than anyone yet in penetrating to the core of this anguished puzzle. Well-researched and well-written, it demolishes many myths and misconceptions about the case and renders virtually every previous book on the case obsolete. Hard-core followers of the Sheppard phenomeon may be no more swayed by Neff's faith in the DNA evidence proffered in the 3rd Sheppard trial last year (the jurors weren't convinced)but he nonetheless makes a compelling argument for the guilt of Richard Eberling, a familiar and repugnant suspect to Sheppard buffs. True, Neff sidesteps the ludicrous implausabilities of Sheppard's "bushy-haired intruder" story but his evidence and arguments will be the starting place for any further controversy on this celebrated case. In a word, don't exhale until you've read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A good read - but it didn't convince me.
Review: I am a life long Clevelander and as a small child remember the newspaper articles and the discussions about the case. As an adult and a laywer I worked in and continue to work in court system and know many of the people in the book. And of course I am familiar with the courtrooms and locations talked about in the book. In the sense that Neff really captures the spirit of the times and the furor over the case in Cleveland I think that he does an excellent job, particularly in the background of some of the characters. He also gives a good view of the Sheppard family and lots of details on Sam, Marilyn and their relationship. However, I have major problems with the premise that Eberling committed the murder. To believe Neff, you still have to believe that Sam Sheppard layed on the sofa while someone came in and beat his wife to death and neither he nor his son work up. You also have to believe that Sam tangled with the killer once in the house and then goes down to the beach and tangles with the same killer who is hanging around. As one of the other reviewers mentioned, Eberling was a known homosexual. Would he have sex with Marilyn and then kill her - a woman that was nice to him. It just doesn't jive. I felt that Neff was really stretching it when he talks about Eberling in the last chapter or so. Talk about hearsay on hearsay...
When Neff spoke at a book signing he talked about how Eberling rambled on and made little sense when he talked to him. He gives Eberling a lot more credibility in the book than he described in person. I always knew that Sam "got around" with the ladies, but after reading of his many affairs, ones that Marilyn knew about it seems hard to believe that she continued to say with him. It was truly a strange marriage. As a minor point, on page 122, Neff mentiones that former Mayor Harold Burton of Cleveland was elected to the senate and then went to the Supreme Court of the United States by virtue of appointment by FDR. Burton was appointed by Harry Truman to the US Supreme Court. All in all this book is a good read about the Sam Sheppard murder case. He gives some good insights but he didn't convince me. I will always believe that Sam was guilty and the book didn't convince me. Some people say it changed their minds. Maybe it did for them but not for me. And as to the law suit filed by my friend Terry Gilbert, on behalf of Sam Reeese Sheppard, the statue of limitations had run. The case was over. Sam didn't seek any redress when he got out of jail and if there was a cause of action it belonged to Sam and died with him. How can the son come up at this late date and say that his father was wrongfully incarcerated. This is the reason that we have statues of limitation of cases.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't have said it better than an expert did...
Review: I tried to write something great about James Neff's The Wrong Man: The Final Verdict on the Dr. Sam Sheppard Murder Case, but decided instead to use the words of one of my favorite mystery writers, Les Roberts, who writes a detective series starring Cleveland private eye Milan Jacovich. In his "Bookmarks" column in the January 24 Currents, Les said his favorite non-fiction book of 2001 "was The Wrong Man, James Neff's re-examination of the Sam Sheppard murder case--brilliantly and painstakingly researched, and written with power and compassion to read like a contemporary novel ...I was on the edge of my seat through every page--as if I'd never heard the bare bones of the case before."
Rating:
Summary: excellent journalism, gripping style
Review: James Neff took over 10 years to gather facts and to compose "The Wrong Man", and it's well worth your own time to read this book. His engaging style effortlessly incorporates important details into the narrative. We are transported back to 1954, back to the era of post-war prosperity and the rise of the suburbs. The story of osteopathic doctor Sam Sheppard, who was convicted of his wife Marilyn's violent death and who served many years in prison before being released, re-tried and acquitted, is widely known. Neff's probing reveals that many people still hold misperceptions about the case. In true Perry Mason style, Neff introduces us to the real perpetrator, and provides an in-depth look at his troubled life. Using scientific evidence as well as psychological insights, he leads us to his conclusion about how and why Marilyn Sheppard was murdered on that Fourth of July nearly half a century ago. Neff's book is a first-rate true crime tale, highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: excellent journalism, gripping style
Review: James Neff took over 10 years to gather facts and to compose "The Wrong Man", and it's well worth your own time to read this book. His engaging style effortlessly incorporates important details into the narrative. We are transported back to 1954, back to the era of post-war prosperity and the rise of the suburbs. The story of osteopathic doctor Sam Sheppard, who was convicted of his wife Marilyn's violent death and who served many years in prison before being released, re-tried and acquitted, is widely known. Neff's probing reveals that many people still hold misperceptions about the case. In true Perry Mason style, Neff introduces us to the real perpetrator, and provides an in-depth look at his troubled life. Using scientific evidence as well as psychological insights, he leads us to his conclusion about how and why Marilyn Sheppard was murdered on that Fourth of July nearly half a century ago. Neff's book is a first-rate true crime tale, highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: THE TITLE CUTS BOTH WAYS
Review: James Neff's bias in favor of Sam Sheppard's innocence is never in doubt, from the title to a detailed examination of the suspect du jour, Richard Eberling. One of Neff's sub-themes is the operation of subconscious forces in suspects and case principals. In fact, his scenario for Eberling as the killer depends heavily on the commission of acts with subconscious significance to this twisted man: breaking Sam's and Marilyn's trophies (Eberling had wanted to be an athlete), scattering the contents of Sam's medical bag (Eberling also wanted to be a doctor), and beating Marilyn's pretty face to a pulp (Eberling both desired and mistrusted women). That same subconscious analysis can be applied to his title: The Wrong Man is obviously Sam Sheppard. The Wrong Man also masks an uneasiness about making ANY claims about suspects in the crime. The reason is less complicated: The crime scene was contaminated beyond even the standards of 1954 police work. Attempts to work with elements of that scene, including blood and DNA, only obscure. This element points to Sam; this one points to the presence of another person in the house that night. It's time to apply the principle of Occam's Razor to the Shepherd case: The simplest explanation is the best. Sam Sheppard himself is no mystery. His behavior prior to the murder and after his release from prison reveals him to have been a spoiled brat, obsessed with sex, expecting the gratification of his every whim. He saw nothing wrong with conducting an open affair with one of the technicians at Bay View Hospital. He slept with her in the home of a colleague. Upon his release, Neff reveals, Sam first wanted to have sex with Ariane Tebbenjohanns, the German woman who had come to his aid. During their later divorce, Ariane sought protection from Sam's violent temper. Plans for July 4, 1954, included a cookout for hospital interns, plans laid by Sam without consulting Marilyn. Sam's idea of a gift for his wife was an outboard motor. There is little doubt that Sam's first trial was a mockery of justice. Judge Blythin should have recused himself, muzzled the Cleveland newspapers, and granted a change of venue. Coroner Gerber, and all members of his staff, including Mary Cowan, should have been banned from testifying at the trial because of the contamination of the crime scene. None of these things happened. Still, in a tribute to the basic good sense of American citizens, the jury found Sam guilty of second-degree murder (murder without premeditation). It was the right verdict. Defendants in the 1966 trial were essentially the Cleveland newspapers, the judge, and the coroner. I believe it fair to say that the first jury reached the right verdict for the wrong reasons, and the second jury reached the wrong verdict for the right reasons. It's not hard to guess what happened in that house on July 4, 1954, but it will always be a guess. Here's mine. Sam woke up on the daybed and went upstairs. He demanded sex of Marilyn. Because she was disgusted with him over his infidelity, angry because of the intern party, pregnant, or simply tired, she refused him. Sam forced himself upon her, and she resisted. Perhaps she hit his face with the missing lamp from the nightstand. Sam flew into a rage, grabbed a fireplace poker, and beat her to death (not a flashlight--I had never heard of that before. Several weeks after the crime a fireplace poker washed up on the lakeshore). Afterwards, Sam called his ever-loyal brother Steve. Steve helped him set things up to look like a burglary (the famous green bag probably came from the desk in Sam's study, because Marilyn's blood-covered watch was found behind the desk, a fact not noted by Neff. The watch was supposed to have gone into the bag). The two of them concocted the story of a bushy-haired intruder to implicate the Sheppard's neighbor, Spencer Houk, who probably had slept with Marilyn. Fortunately for the mayor, his wife insisted on accompanying him to the house after Sam called him. Steve saw to it that Sam was lying in the lake and went home to await a call an hour or two later. When Steve arrived around 6 p.m., he immediately headed for the room where Marilyn's body lay. The only way he could have known that was if he had already been in the house that morning. If it falls to Neff to name alternative suspects,it falls to me to undergird my support of a verdict rendered under such despicable circumstances. Those very circumstances embarrass us. We can't believe that a verdict arrived at under them could possibly be right. We keep looking, in hopes of finding someone else to blame (besides the American justice system). Richard Eberling is so disgusting that he SHOULD be guilty. It boggles the mind to accept the possibility that a DOCTOR, a man committed to healing, could be guilty of such a crime. That Sam was a doctor was a function of his family environment (he wanted to become a professional athlete). It was his essential character that mattered.
Rating:
Summary: The Right Read
Review: James Neff's The Wrong Man not only is a good read but a compelling one. Though the title (subtitled, "The Final Verdict on the Dr. Sam Sheppard Murder Case")gives one the ending, the drama of the story keeps the reader going as well as any good mystery. Neff's investigative talent and what he uncovers helps build that drama. Neff connects the revelations of the passions built by media/political forces in Cleveland during this 1950s case to the McCarthy era mentality and to the growth of what was then considered the "safe" suburbs.(The book has been relatively ignored by the local Cleveland newspaper despite its massive previous coverage. But don't expect a whitewash of its main character. The content also has relevance to today's media frenzy in some of the highly emotional cases that become media spectacles and a warning that what seems to be might not be at all. Neff's detective work, obviously tenaciously done, has a Holmes-like quality. It's hard to put it aside once into the book.
Rating:
Summary: The Right Read
Review: James Neff's The Wrong Man not only is a good read but a compelling one. Though the title (subtitled, "The Final Verdict on the Dr. Sam Sheppard Murder Case")gives one the ending, the drama of the story keeps the reader going as well as any good mystery. Neff's investigative talent and what he uncovers helps build that drama. Neff connects the revelations of the passions built by media/political forces in Cleveland during this 1950s case to the McCarthy era mentality and to the growth of what was then considered the "safe" suburbs.(The book has been relatively ignored by the local Cleveland newspaper despite its massive previous coverage. But don't expect a whitewash of its main character. The content also has relevance to today's media frenzy in some of the highly emotional cases that become media spectacles and a warning that what seems to be might not be at all. Neff's detective work, obviously tenaciously done, has a Holmes-like quality. It's hard to put it aside once into the book.
Rating:
Summary: Very good and thorough
Review: Mr. Neff certainly did his homework on researching this case. A very interesting book, I could hardly put it down. I had to skim over the chapter on the last trial, but otherwise, it is a very good book.
|
