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And the Sea Will Tell

And the Sea Will Tell

List Price: $7.99
Your Price: $7.19
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best true crime book since Helter Skelter.
Review: If it wasn't for one of Bugliosi's other books ("Helter Skelter") this would be the best true crime book I ever read. The first half of the book reads like fiction: murder mystery on the high seas. The second half of the book primarily concerns the criminal trial of Bugliosi's client: Jennifer Jenkins, who is either an innocent victim or the murderer of two people on Palmyra Island (along with her shady boyfriend Buck Walker). The courtroom drama is well told. I particularly enjoyed the author's account of how he confronted the judge in his chambers and his methods for preparing the case for trial. Outstanding book by one of the most pursuasive writers alive. Also read his book "Outrage" about the prosecutorial blunders in the Simpson trial.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: True crime stories do not get better than this.
Review: This book is an absolutely superb true crime story. Bugliosi, as he did in "Helter Skelter", does not waste any words, despite his penchant for excruciating details. The book reads like a first rate novel, but it's true, and that's what makes it even better reading. The geographic setting of the Pacific Ocean and deserted islands, and the adventure of sailing, is icing on the cake

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Tremendous true-crime writing
Review: Once upon a time Vincent Bugliosi was a star student at UCLA. After that he became a famous star district attorney then went on to private practice where he became a star defense lawyer. Then he became entrapped in that morrass which seems to call with a siren-like persuasion: politics. There was that awful book about JFK (the Warren Commission was right), then an angry defense of Clinton (Paula Jones, et al and 2000 where he wrote that Gore was robbed by the [Democratic] courts of Florida.

Thankfully, this was in an earlier incarnation (plain lawyer) where he takes an unthankful case that doesn't seem to have a prayer. A murder at sea and the person on board is not guilty? The difficulty was compounded by the unwillingness of the defendent to "tell all". Despite this, he worked 100 hours/wk (once he had convinced himself of her innocence) and eventually was vindicated.

Great story, great writing.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An enthralling read
Review: Half murder mystery, half courtroom drama, "And the Sea Will Tell" makes for brisk reading. Part One tells the story of two couples--the murder victims and their suspected killers--who land on Palmyra Island around the same time in 1974. By including descriptions of the island's geography and history, the authors set the scene for the drama quite well. (Note: Interested readers should see the March 2001 issue of National Geographic Magazine, which features a color feature on Palmyra to commemorate its recent acquisition and designation as a nature preserve.) Part Two, which begins after both suspects are apprehended, describes four trials--first each is tried for theft, then for murder. As one might expect, Bugliosi's client is last to bat in a trial which makes for the climax of the book. The division between the two parts is pretty clunky: it's a good guess that Henderson wrote Part One and Bugliosi Part Two, with obvious, major differences in style. In criticism, it must be said that Bugliosi has an ego to match his courtroom reputation, and many readers may well be turned off by his apparent self-promotion, which at times jumps right off the page. Also, those who read Bugliosi's "Outrage" will find much that's familiar here, since his later book borrowed heavily from this one in discussions of legal doctrine and strategy. Overall, however, I highly recommend the book for both true-crime mystery buffs and trial lawyers, who will find many gems in Bugliosi's blow-by-blow analysis of trial testimony.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A must-read for those who love mysteries-true crime stories!
Review: And the Sea Will Tell is a riveting account of a double murder and the long journey to justice. Bugliosi creates suspense and foreboding from the very beginning, and it quickly becomes difficult to put the book down. He paints a picture so vividly of each person involved that this reader felt she knew them personally. His description of the exotic and dangerous scene of the crime truly takes you there. Some of the courtroom proceedings can get a little bewildering to a layperson in spite of Bugliosi's best efforts to explain them, but his keen insight into the psychology of the witnesses and of his client, Jennifer Jenkins, make for a most satisfying true crime story

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Engrossing read, but heavy on the ego
Review: I enjoyed this book overall. The first half sets up the murder mystery, while the second is devoted to Mr. Bugliosi's defense of his client. Both halves were engrossing, although I found, as other readers did, Mr. Bugliosi's ego comes through loud and clear and made for offputting reading at times in his description of the trials.

Still, his summation makes for a fascinating study in how great defense attorneys work (I thought he was especially clever in insinuating that those who took issues with Jennifer's behavior were "strict Puritans," thus indirectly shaming those jurors who might think ill of her). I can see how they were swayed by his arguments and appreciate the care he took to make them (and explain them in the book).

This book also shows, as in the Simpson case, the difficulties state prosecutors face in squaring off against high-profile defense attorneys. I couldn't help but get the impression that many jurors were taken with Bugliosi's persona and celebrity status thanks to the Manson case. I also wonder why the prosecutors didn't exploit his contradictory argument that Jennifer acted independently of Buck while on the island, yet "her reality became his reality" when she was lying to cover up the theft when they were back in Hawaii. You can't have it both ways, which is why I still believe she bears guilt for this crime.

All in all, it was a great read, not quite as gripping as Helter Skelter, but nearly so. I highly recommend this book and hope someday another author will take a look at this fascinating case.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A lawyer justifies getting a guilty client off.
Review: Although this is a pretty good summary of the crime, the courtroom portion of the book is tainted by the author's involvement. He glorifies his own rhetoric at great length. Also, it should not be surprising that a lawyer can slant the truth very subtly. This book is about the murder of two people who sailed to a deserted island and had the great misfortune to meet there the author's client and her boyfriend, who were hanging out in a dilapidated sailboat with little food or fuel. The murderers then proceeded to take the victims' sailboat and sail to Hawaii, where they repainted it. The murders came to light only because of the near-miraculous discovery, long after, of bones of a victim in the deserted island's lagoon. After reading this book to the end, it doesn't take much thought to reach the inescapable conclusion that the author's client, whom he got off, was obviously a full participant in the murders. The author, however, makes it seem that her acquittal was some sort of triumph of justice. He and Johnny Cochran must get along well.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: grand fiction
Review: The femme fatale in this yarn has convinced the author that she was just an innocent passenger in the cruise of the Iola to Palmyra, the murder of Mac and Muff Graham, the theft of the Seawind, the return to Hawaii in the pirated craft, and everything else that transpired.

Why did she stop to get her dog and thereby get arrested? [Huh?].

After her arrest, what did she flush down the toilet in the ladies' room of the Hawaii Yacht Club?

Why did they paint the stolen boat's hull a new color (white with lavender trim) but leave the cabin its original blue?

Real people did the crime to real victims in real places, but Bugliosi overlooked more opportunities to find facts than did the prosecutors.

An exciting story, it should not be considered entirely factual.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An outstanding crime novel
Review: A real life murder mystery that took place on one of the most isolated islands in the South Pacific. Perfect in almost every way and highly recommended to all true crime fans.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Vanity, all is vanity...
Review: This actually isnt a bad story. As you can see below, two couples, two boats, one desert island, one murder. Half the book recounts what happened in Palmyr, and the second half recounts the trial of the two accussed. This by itself wold recommend it to readers interested in true crime/legal dramas, but there is one thing spoiling it....

The writer. Although you would expect a certain degree of self indulgence this is incredible. A few quotes: "No lawyer works harder in preparing a case than me", " I never defend anyone who I think is guilty", " My deamenor in court is some what freewheeling" etc etc etc. Now this would be OK in dribs and drabs, but it is almost every page and after a while it gets a bit annoying.

Still, well worth the money, and an enjoyable read.


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