Justice : Crimes, Trials, and Punishments

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Summary: I know, I know....
Review: ....to some this may be a retread of old VF articles, but I didn't care, I like the writer, have read all his books & recommend this as a good read for your next flight or beach afternoon. Yep, the OJ chapters were the same bad car accident that repulses/attracts us. Especially liked the whodunit elements of the Safra case.

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Summary: repeat stories
Review: Ok, I am aware that this is a compilation of previously published material but at least a hundred pages of this book were also published as Fatal Charms in the late 80's. His daughter's story, von Bulow, and the Bloomingdale mistress- all great stories and that magical Dunne prose but it's a bit thick the second or third time around. So for example the von Bulow story was in VF, then Fatal Charms and now in Justice. I read VF each month only for Dunnes wonderful column but I was disappointed at the repeat material.

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Summary: Justice: Dunne Good
Review: For Dominick Dunne stalwarts, Justice: Crimes, Trials, and Punishments, does not disappoint. Dunne provides interesting background - gleaned from his Vanity Fair articles - about O.J., Michael Skakal, and some lesser known perpetrators. Dunne's writer's voice as always is superb, loaded with references to society's movers and shakers. I have but one suggestion: write faster, Mr. Dunne.

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Summary: A Great Who-Dunne-It Book
Review: I just read a non-fiction that was the antithesis of this book insofar as the notoriety of the criminals yet incredibly similar with regard to the crimes themselves. What is most fascinating is that when compared side-by-side, they illustrate very clearly that the nature of the criminal doesn't vary much along socio-economic lines. The elements that I found voyeuristic about this book were the same elements that made me feel like the proverbial fish-in-the-bowl in the other book, a non-fiction titled "Inside Job: Deep Undercover as a Corporate Spy." Remove the façade of fortune and fame and we begin to recognize some of these characters from our own lives - albeit without the allure of lured criminal behavior. Remove that one horrific day from OJ's life and he is still the same flawed human being. It's often circumstances coupled with a flawed character that lends itself to such despicable behavior. Remove the circumstances and you have no less a criminal mind and heart. The love of money, for instance, is shared equally by both rich and poor, it is in the circumstances where the greed of the rich is often illuminated. Read both of these books if you want the 20/20 perspective necessary to remove the sliver from your neighbor's eye. Read only this title if you have learned to function with the plank in your own. Either way, this is still a great read!

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Summary: A deep look into the troubles of our justice system.
Review: The essays in this book offer a fascinating, disturbing, and deeply troubling look at the cast of a half dozen high-profile trials. But the most moving part of the book and core counterpoint to his anger by far is the murder of his own daughter, the actress Dominique Dunne, by her ex-boyfriend, who walked away with a pitifully light sentence. His brutal honesty and openness related to his daughter's murder gave me shivers. He is a master storyteller, particularly in his ability to place telling details in the crimes. He writes so deeply as if he were talking to you, something so unimaginable with the great pains he has gone through. He tells us "a rich person on trial is very different from an ordinary person on trial." By giving no compliments about the American system of justice. It is of no wonder if you ever looked at the pain caused by his daughter’s killer and the incompetence of the high profile cases. The book is a deep look into the troubles of our justice system as his investigations have shed new light on those crimes and their perpetrators and demonstrated how it is possible for some to skirt the law which in the end turns out to be the greatest crime of all. ...

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: Dunne is the best writer of modern true crime on the planet, and this is just some of the proof.

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Summary: Everything Old is New Again
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Dunne wrote about stories we've read, reread, and thought we'd never want to read again (O.J. Simpson and the Menedez Brothers, to name two), and made them fresh and interesting! He also has included in this book, stories I wasn't familiar with (Edmund Safra, Marvin Pancoast, etc.), and a very poignant story with regard to his own daughter's murder.

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Summary: A Great Read!
Review: Dominick Dunne's latest book is a collection of essays written during the the most celebrated crimes of the last few decades. These are essays and do not tell the whole stories, but give gripping accounts and compelling descriptions of various events. You will want more if are not familar with the cases. Check out his other writings including the monthly Vanity Fair submissions and "Another City Not My Own" (more OJ) for more enthralling nonfiction. His best work, in my opinion, remains "A Season in Purgatory" which is based on the Martha Moxley murder and is timely reading with Skakel's pending trial for the murder.

Rating:
Summary: Captivating Reading
Review: As always reading anything by DOMINICK DUNNE, one is left with many feelings, some settling and some unsettling, but you always feel something. His passion for what he does is evident on every page. As a long time follower of the author's work going back to the sequel to "The Users", "The Winners" I have come to see so much of the author in many of his characters and stories. This is a man who has had not the easiest life, but is someone who, in the twlight of his life has made one of his greatest successes. I for one, feel that I am enhanced and enlightened by the author, and I suspect there are many of us out there!

Rating:
Summary: A Terrific Book
Review: Any work by this author is dependably good. Dominick Dunne's life is an example of how good evolves from evil. Mr. Dunne's daughter, Dominique, was murdered by her boyfriend who served only about two and a half years for his crime. Mr. Dunne's tragedy led him to career in reporting on justice, and that he does very well. Not confining himself strictly to the legal proceedings, but in many instances, relying on the comments of those close to the participants, he learns more at dinner parties than most reporters do covering the same events. This book discusses the O.J. Simpson trial, the Menendez brothers, and others, and if I interpreted one of the remarks in the book correctly, the author is fictionalizing the Safra murder in Monaco as his next book. Despite Mr. Dunne's intimate acquaintance with the world of the rich and infamous, he obviously is a man of good heart. He says what he thinks and his decency and honesty, especially about himself, shines through. And after all he's been through in his own life, he knows the perspective of the victim too well.