The Rosenberg File

Rating:
Summary: The book was very well done.
Review: For over thirty years, there was controversy surrounding the Rosenbergs' trial. We heard the evidence was faked, that the witnesses were unreliable, that there was a more than reasonable doubt as to the Rosenbergs' guilt. This is the book that settled all that for all rational readers. Ronald Radosh and Joyce Milton used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain thousands of pages of documents from the FBI files, as well as interviews with surviving major participants, and showed beyond any reasonable doubt that the Rosenbergs and Morton Sobell were guilty as charged, and fairly tried to boot. Since then, the collapse of the USSR and the release of the VENONA decrypts have provided additional proof they were right on all major points (this evidence is reviewed in the new introduction). A great work of scholarship, and a heck of a good true crime thriller.

Rating:
Summary: Made me think a whole ne way!
Review: One of the most controversial cases of espionage in American History is the Rosenberg's'. This book is about that case and the evidence surrounding the lives of those involved.

The book centers on that misuse of judicial power and how the Rosenberg's' were executed through the lynch mob mentality. The overwhelming evidence presented in this book amazed me.

Any sane and rational thinking human being would be able to understand the clear and precise information presented in this book. You need know a great deal about the case to understand the writing.

Using every technique to find information the authors have done themselves proud. The collection of facts presented here would convince any jury that a great miscarriage of justice was performed. It is time to correct that wrong.

Rating:
Summary: Read both this book and The Brother by Sam Roberts
Review: The Radosh book concerning the Rosenberg case is a much fuller and more comprehensive treatment of the case than is the more recent book, The Brother, by Sam Roberts. The Brother is based on the current recollections of Ethel Rosenberg's brother David Greenglass who fingered both Ethel and Julius in testimony. David also served a number of years for espionage, himself, as part of same case.

...The Rosenberg File ... makes it very, very clear that Julius was certainly part of a communist espionage ring in the NY City area for years during WWII. The Venona Files also make the same case. It is Ethel who was probably not actually guilty of active espionage activities. It should be said, also, that both Rosenbergs could have saved themselves by telling the truth. Ethel might well not even have been charged, and Julius would almost certainly not have gotten the chair. But, they chose to lie right up to the end and be martyrs for the communist cause. The Radosh book, strongly documents the case against Julius and is also forthright about the weakness of the case against Ethel.

Read both The Rosenberg File for completeness and The Brother by Sam Roberts for a facinating sidelight from the point of view of one of the central characters in the story.

Rating:
Summary: Stop apologizing, start reading
Review: The Rosenberg case has faded with time and turned into a diffuse urban legend. Facts are rarely possessed by those who are most vehement about the case. This book puts an end to the hodge-podge of information that led some people to believe the Rosenbergs were innocents framed by the government. The truth is that they were spies, they were communists, and they engaged in treason. The Soviets would have acquired The Bomb with or without the Rosenbergs. That doesn't mitigate their guilt for hastening the information to our enemy. The Rosenbergs weren't tried for what they believed. They were tried for what they did. And they were killed for what they did not do--which was recant. Sworn communists, they chose death instead of life. A selfish, stupid choice that placed a worthless ideology over the needs of their two young children, who have written worthwhile books about growing up as orphans of two of the most infamous American traitors. This book ends the speculation that they were innocent, that they had no chance to save their lives by recanting. Here are the latest facts and the fullest account of a chapter in American history that continues to be a vital flashpoint for people on either side of the political spectrum.

Rating:
Summary: Stop apologizing, start reading
Review: The Rosenberg case has faded with time and turned into a diffuse urban legend. Facts are rarely possessed by those who are most vehement about the case. This book puts an end to the hodge-podge of information that led some people to believe the Rosenbergs were innocents framed by the government. The truth is that they were spies, they were communists, and they engaged in treason. The Soviets would have acquired The Bomb with or without the Rosenbergs. That doesn't mitigate their guilt for hastening the information to our enemy. The Rosenbergs weren't tried for what they believed. They were tried for what they did. And they were killed for what they did not do--which was recant. Sworn communists, they chose death instead of life. A selfish, stupid choice that placed a worthless ideology over the needs of their two young children, who have written worthwhile books about growing up as orphans of two of the most infamous American traitors. This book ends the speculation that they were innocent, that they had no chance to save their lives by recanting. Here are the latest facts and the fullest account of a chapter in American history that continues to be a vital flashpoint for people on either side of the political spectrum.