crime and criminals

Steve Oney's book will stand as the definitive account of the Leo Frank case. Frank, the superintendent of an Atlanta pencil factory, was accused of murdering one of his employees, 13-year-old Mary Phagan, in 1913. His trial was conducted in an atmosphere of anti-Semitism, and, despite the lack of solid evidence against him, Frank was found guilty and sentenced to death -- due mainly to testimony from Jim Conley, a factory janitor who was probably the real killer. When Georgia's governor commuted Frank's sentence to life in prison, a lynch mob, formed by several leading citizens of Marietta, abducted Frank from prison and hung him from a tree. Oney retells the whole tragic tale with great detail but also considerable flair. The book clocks in at 700 pages but never feels dense or tedious. It is a spell-binding read that is difficult to put down. (Please disregard complaints by other reviewers that the book is too long or too detailed. This is an exhaustive account; a reasonably intelligent person who does not have the attention span of a gnat will find it no problem to get through.) Oney, a journalist by profession, tells the story with verve and style. Copiously researched and beatifully written, this book isn't just a "true crime" story from long ago. To the perceptive reader, it demonstrates the dangers of mob mentality and the threat posed by demagogues in politics and the media. It also brutally illustrates what can go wrong when people decide to ignore the rule of law.

Steve Oney admits that much about the murder of little Mary Phagan and the lynching of Leo Frank will never be known, but he has nevertheless done an outstanding job of tracking down as much information as possible in order to tell the story. And the Dead Shall Rise is a superb work of scholarship and journalism. It begins with little Mary's ill fated trip to her workplace in April, 1913 to pick up her pay from Leo Frank,then continues through the discovery of her body in the factory basement,and the subsequent investigation, arrest, and trial of Frank. This was surely one of the first trials of the century for the twentieth century, and Oney takes us through it step by step and witness by witness.

After the trial ends with Frank's conviction, Oney chronicles the media frenzy, both pro- and anti-Frank, that swept Georgia and the nation. He details the long appeals process and, when that ended with Frank's conviction confirmed, examines the process by which Georgia's Governor Slaton commuted the death sentence. It is here that the story becomes even more chilling, as Oney details Frank's life in the Milledgeville prison on the one hand and describes the plans being laid to lynch him on the other.

I don't believe a full listing of the men involved in Leo Frank's lynching in August, 1915 has ever been published before now. Oney names names, extremely prominent ones in many cases, and fully describes Frank's kidnapping and lynching and the gruesome aftermath when thousands flocked to see his body. The book ends with summings up of the subsequent careers of most of the most prominent characters in the affair.

Reading this book was a real shock to me. As a native Georgian I had heard of the Frank case for years. This book was the first time I fully appreciated the frenzy that swept over the state and the stain it left on us for years. I was shocked by the depths of the anti-Semitism and hatred of non-Southerners revealed amongst Georgians at the time. This book needs to be read by everyone, regardless of your background or heritage, in order to remind us of the anger and hatred that can arise within us.

This is a gripping, disturbing story, told in epic fashion. Oney's talents are many: he is a storyteller who does not lose sight of the analysis; a historian capable of telling both the big and little picture; a talented researcher who knows how to use his material; adept at charting his way through arcane legal proceedings. really, this is an unusually well-done book about an important event, and well worth reading.