Library Journal
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History professors Grant (Framingham Coll.) and Katz (Long Island Univ.) have written a detailed, lively, and even-handed account of ten major trials from the 1920s. What distinguishes the book are excerpts from trial testimony and the authors' discussions of historical developments such as sex in the cinema, teaching evolution in schools, and xenophobia. The book shows how each trial, such as the fiercely divisive Sacco and Vanzetti case, still has significance in American culture, though, as the authors show, it is impossible to know what really happened during the robbery for which Sacco and Vanzetti were executed. Other trials include those of the 1919 Chicago "Black Sox," Al Capone, and Leopold and Loeb. The characterizations of major and minor figures, including Clarence Darrow and Fatty Arbuckle, are fascinating. The authors have done their research, and the book deserves a wide audience.?Harry Charles, Attorney at Law, St. Louis (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly
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In the scandal-prone 1920s, celebrity athletes, gangsters, politicians, movie stars and magnates found themselves defendants in marquee trials that fascinated the American public. Here Grant and Katz, historians at, respectively, Framingham College (Massachusetts) and Long Island University, analyze 10 high-profile criminal trials from that tumultuous period, expanding beyond the decade to include the 1919 Chicago "Black Sox" scandal and the 1930s trials of Al Capone and holding-company "super-titan" Samuel Insull. The authors dwell on the factual background of the cases and the social forces that swirled around them, glossing over the actual courtroom proceedings. (Predictably, the only attorney whose performance is noted at length is Clarence Darrow, in both the Leopold-Loeb trial and in the Scopes trial.) Sometimes the intricate background information makes for tedious reading, as when the authors attempt to trace the payola in the Teapot Dome conspiracy or to untangle the corporate structure of Insull's electric companies. More compelling is their examination of the brouhaha surrounding the decade's more sensational cases, such as the rape and murder trial of KKK leader David Stephenson and the trumped-up rape and murder charges against cinema giant Fatty Arbuckle. Although this collection of essays offers no surprises (the authors concede, for example, that key elements of the Sacco and Vanzetti and "Black Sox" cases remain mysterious), it gives a general impression of the period and foreshadows infamous trials to come. 16 pages of photos not seen by PW. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Historians Grant (Framingham Coll.) and Katz (Long Island Univ.) Offer objective but dramatically narrated accounts often major trials that reflected the fierce crosswinds of change in the US in the tumultuous '20s. For instance, the Sacco-Vanzetti case, in which two Italian immigrants were found guilty of murder on seemingly slender evidence, reflected fear and anger at the increasing number of foreigners settling in the US. The national pastime, baseball, was tainted in the Chicago ""Black Sox"" scandal. The case of comic actor Fatty Arbuckle, who after two hung juries was finally acquitted of manslaughter charges ensuing from a wild party, represented public outrage against the hedonistic morals of Hollywood in a still puritanical America. Teapot Dome, the Scopes trial, and the case of Leopold and Loeb are among the other cases ably recounted by the authors. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

The authors focus on 10 trials in the 1920s that reflected not only popular opinions and concerns but also the values and conflicts within the nation at the time. The Sacco and Vanzetti trial reflected the national obsession with anarchists and immigrants. The Chicago "Black Sox" scandal of the 1919 World Series involved players whose action appeared justified by the financial exploitation of the owners, providing an economic undertone to the conflict between the haves and have-nots. The court-martial of Billy Mitchell reflected the overemphasis on conformity and discipline at the expense of insight. Similarly, the Scopes trial illustrated conflicts between fundamentalists and progressives, with the famed Clarence Darrow representing the latter. Darrow appears again in the Loeb-Leopold trial, forestalling the public clamor for the death penalty for convicted young murderers because they were wealthy. Among the other famous trial defendants are Fatty Arbuckle, a movie star falsely accused of rape and manslaughter, and David C. Stephenson, a member of the Ku Klux Klan, convicted of rape and murder. --Vernon Ford