the FIFTH WITNESS REVUED by H?McADAMS
357214
This book had a slow start bit difficult to get started but the end was inspiring .I enjoy Authors  Books
4060905
To do it justice it was excellent! But if you've already seen Humphrey Bogart and Jose' Ferrer in the Cain Mutiny movie then you've already seen the best that can be done. This audio book has some more and some different information but it's really close. The actors did fine jobs but better than Bogart and Ferrer, no. I enjoyed it as a comparison read and if you can suspend your memory, don't criticize and just absorb, you will enjoy it.
2723745
I first saw The Lincoln Lawyer on cable TV and liked it sufficiently to purchase both the book and the dvd. Both arrived as promised and in tip top condition from Amazon.

I have since read the book by Michael Connelly which truly reflects the movie, which is a pleasant surprise. I have re-run the movie several times because it shows an aspect to the way some people might practice the law in LA

I am a fan of both Marisa Tomei and Matthew McConaughey and enjoyed both of their performances in this movie.

I am tempted to purchase and read other stories in the series and if they are as good as this one I hope that additional movies can be made of them.

John Barnes
Bangkok Thailand
2247712
Highly clever and recommended for anyone who is a fan of both Kafka and American popular culture. Imagine a reworking of Kafka's The Trial woven around Orson Welles' film of The Trial and his F for Fake, Jerry Lewis' never-released messterpiece, The Day the Clown Cried, a Twilight Zone marathon, and the litigation between Walter and Margaret Keane over who really painted the Sad-Eyed Waifs. Brilliant.
11683
I read every word of the McVeigh trial and there is so much more information in this movie that was missing from the trial, or the trial only grazed upon, it's just mind boggling. So many times during the trial I was asking myself "and then...." waiting for the defense to take the next step only for them to just stop questioning or dismiss the witness. This documentary goes into all those missing moments from the trial, and then some. I don't know if the lawyers were just too afraid to go down the road, or that the judge ruled they could not, but for whatever reason, the truth was not revealed at the trial. This movie really needs to be watched by every American. I felt it was very well done and worthy of your time.

Also, I recommend you buy the book "How To Kill 11 Million People" and then watch this movie. The two messages work together very well and the book can be read in 20 minutes. But the lesson from these two works may change how you view our country, and certainly our institutions.
780023
I had attended the trial on several occasions and felt that Monte had done an excellent job of describing the indescribable.  It was very true to the trial with added insights.
1147695
The Case of the Irate Witness & Deadly Toy, Erle Stanley Gardner

"The Irate Witness" [1972] is the only Perry Mason short story. Reading this story you realize that Gardner has eliminated much of the descriptive prose in his usual stories. Jebson City is a company town with no small businesses. The company's obsolete safe was broken into and the payroll stolen. Harvey L. Corbin has a record and was told to leave this company town. Corbin gave money to his wife that was said to be part of the loot. How could Corbin have bills whose serial numbers are on the list of newly delivered funds? Perry figures it out and subpoenas an irascible old timer. This explains the care needed for circumstantial evidence. Planting evidence on a suspect can hide the real criminal.

"The Case of the Deadly Toy" [1959] starts when Mervin Selkirk slapped his seven-year old son Robert. Norda Allison sees his sadistic streak behind his mask of smiling politeness and affability, and broke their engagement. Later Mervin punched Norda's boyfriend Nate Benedict in a restaurant. It was self-defense, his friends backed his story. Norda got anonymous letters about suitors who killed former fiancees. Mervin's first wife told of his ruthless and clever behavior, and the power of his family. Lorraine arranged for a meeting. The Jennings have an excuse for Robert's absence. Something happened during the night. Norda packed and left then visited Perry Mason. The investigation does not meet Norda's claims. But a gun was found in her bed. The police take her in for questioning. Mervin Selkirk was found shot dead in his car at the Country Club. Perry is visited by Nate Benedict, he has a permit to carry the gun he brought on his flight from San Francisco. He owns a gun like the murder weapon.

Perry meets Horace Selkirk, a very unscrupulous and powerful man. Perry meets the young woman placed in charge of Robert to tell about the law and her actions. Perry's cross-examination of Sgt. Holcomb raised questions about the prosecution's theory. Other facts clarify the question of guilt. But a new fact connects Norda to the dead body! There is a new development that could free Perry's client. A shocking surprise shakes Horace Selkirk. Hamilton Burger brings in his surprise witness. Perry's cross-examination of Millicent Bailey neutralizes her testimony. Barton Jennings appears as a witness and tells what he knows. Perry's cross-examines a witness to contradict the previous testimony. Another witness is recalled to bring out a material fact. Norda is released from custody. The last chapter resolves the outstanding questions and explains the unknown events. [Gardner described the corrupt and powerful people who run society.] Note how people like Nate carried guns when they traveled by air! You can't do that today.
4475892
After listening to The Fifth Witness, I was really surprised to see all the negative reviews on Amazon for the novel.  The audiobook is a totally different experience.  Micky Haller has become a lawyer for clients fighting foreclosure.  One of his customers, Lisa Trammel, is accused of murdering the banker handling her foreclosure.  The story consistently held my interest (I listened to the entire novel in two days).  The characters were well-developed and complex, particularly the defendant and the prosecuter.  The narrator, Peter Giles, did an excellent job.  The ending was not a complete surprise to me but was very satisfying.  I look forward to more books in this series.
3314157
This important book is an eye-witness account of the Nuremberg trials written by then journalist and now Judge Norbert Ehrenfreund.  It is the type of book all should read: the young to learn of the legacy of this, history's most important trial, and the old as a reminder of what occurred and its lessons.  Truly, the past is prologue and the Trials gave the world meticulously documented evidence of Nazi atrocities and set forth a lasting moral/legal judgment that wars of aggression and the murder of innocents are world class crimes for which the wrongdoers will face the judgment of the civilized world.  The relevance of the Trials, as the author convincingly proclaims, is as important today as when the Trials took place sixty years ago.
2465609
Not many films can be credited with saving a man's life.  One night in 1976, police officer Robert Wood was shot during a routine traffic stop.  One of the occupants of the car, Randall Adams, a man with no record, was sentenced to death for the murder.  The other occupant, David Harris, went free and remained free despite facts that pointed toward his guilt.  Eventually, he was imprisoned for another murder.

The combination of coincidence, complacense, laziness, and dishonesty that conspired against Adams is frightening to behold.  Intrigued by the case, documentarian Errol Morris investigated, uncovering numerous lies and misstatements on the part of witnesses, which the police themselves could presumably have uncovered with their greater resources had they made the necessary effort.  It is clear from their interviews, however, that the authorities are not interested in revisiting this case; in fact, they have a great deal of professional reputation invested in Adams's conviction.

This is a deeply ethical use of the film medium.  By the end of the film, where Harris confesses to the murder that Adams was convicted for, I was stunned by the degree of injustice inflicted on Adams and humbled by a disquieting sense that there must be many similar stories on Death Row.  In one sense, Adams is the luckiest man on Earth for having received such an advocate as Morris.  How many have been executed with no one to believe their innocence?  According to an online interview with Morris, ten years after his release from prison, Adams still had a clean criminal record.
323453
A very interesting film that includes the irrefutible evidence that Oswald was not a shooter because of the parrafin tests done on him. Who did it? my guess is James Files. See Wim Dankbaars' book and videos.
2171320
I repeat the comments I made about the near same name movie staring Camille Keaton. These Lowlifes exist among us , and pray on the weak or defenseless .  The criminal justice system is often ineffective because of so many Loopholes in the morass of legal  contradictive mumbo jumbo. Hurrah to Jemma Dallender  in her portrail of a badly abused victim. She deserves high recognition.
1142857
Wilder could direct any kind of story and make it compelling.  Witness for the Prosecution stands as the greatest courtroom drama for many reasons: the script, the tremendous cinematography, and the outstanding performances by an elite cast. The movie stands up to repeated viewings even though I know most of the dialogue.....................what a fun flick!  If you have not seen it, you are in for a treat!
3342693
in 1993 i was privledged to come across a video filmed in pheonix az. 1989.this video was the first experience i had concerning william cooper.the book came next.becides the talk of a global consperiacy to hide the truth about an alien presence,was the film of john f. kennedy being shot in the head by the driver who was a william grier ithink thats how you speel it.as the governer who was the passenger held the steering wheel for him.jackie looks at the driver and tries to get out of the back of the car.an agent pushes her back into the car,and it speeds off.the rest of the four hour video the information is for you to decide about,but seeing the driver shoot him over and over he showed it to you in slow motion there is no denying the film.anyone who can get me a copy of the video can email me.i made over a hundred copys of it.i bought several copies of the book as gifts to friends.he even said don't believe me ,make your own decisions.
346842
5 for those in speech and debate or journalism in delving into concluding from witness testimonies of deaths that occurred years ago. I read this book in 9th grade Biology as it was one that was on her shelf for our required book reports. Upon reading this what struck upon me during our conversation was the motive for the Father, and the moment where fear struck her when he was about to kill his own daughter.  That's from one of the witnesses. This is a novel for those who want to grid across the witness testimonies to see which coincide, to draw to a conclusion, and see which contradicts and thereby lacks validity compared to others. At the end, what I felt was that familiar Abraham-Isaac motive of killing one's own son or daughter for mere bet at times, or undefined cash pile or tainted reward at the end but driven to that moment.  Upon the cliffs, there was a mishap as I recall.  The twin thing in the plot is somewhat a bailout I feel, but them doubles can be anyone esp. if parents weren't even aware she had a twin.  If Mrs. is driving this death that came after a tragedy at the time of marriage, she maybe putting something up in the air prior to the wedding that needs to be resolved or reviewed. At the end, a set of confirmed facts come through and at that moment, you get the title of Elephants, and why Elephants in this novel written in 1972 years later during the time of Ford and Carter after the 60s when oil and casinos would become major issues. It had my biology teacher take a sabattical to Saudi Arabia and return, but that's all I remember. Although there was a dog, in the end, the witnesses as workers were the ones who knew and remembered.
1145516
On the cover of my Dell paperback edition of "Night Has a Thousand Eyes" (with a cover price of 25 cents), the author is listed as William Irish, with an asterisk next to the name. At the bottom of the cover, next to the footnote asterisk, is another name: George Hopley. This should not fool any prospective readers, though. Both names were pseudonyms of Cornell Woolrich, the author whom Isaac Asimov called "THE Master of Suspense"; whom his biographer,  Francis Nevins, Jr., called "the Edgar Allan Poe of the 20th century" (hey, wait a minute...I thought that H.P. Lovecraft was considered the Edgar Allan Poe of the 20th century!); and who is considered one of the fathers of literary film noir.  Many of Woolrich's novels and stories have been famously filmed, "Rear Window," "The Bride Wore Black," "Phantom Lady," "Deadline at Dawn" and "Mississippi Mermaid" being just a sampling.  "Night Has a Thousand Eyes" (1945) was turned into a 1948 Edward G. Robinson movie that supposedly has little in common with the book. That's a shame, as the book is a marvelous piece of eerie suspense writing that could have made a smashing film. In Woolrich's tale, Detective Tom Shawn saves Jean Reid from a suicide attempt one night, and later hears her tale. She is in despair because the death of her wealthy father has been predicted by a man seemingly gifted with the power of clairvoyance; a man whose predictions have unerringly aided her father in his business many times before. Shawn and a squad of detectives investigate this death prediction, and try to avert the millionaire businessman from meeting his ordained end at the stroke of midnight "at the jaws of a lion." The reader will never guess how things turn out, or how Harlan Reid eventually winds up. Woolrich writes with a superabundance of detail, which slows things down a little but also ratchets up the suspense factor. We get more and more nervous as that midnight hour approaches, while Woolrich teases us by describing how the milk looks in one of the character's coffee, and by giving us the minutiae of a bridge game. Hitchcock himself could not have drawn more suspense out of the book's brilliantly sustained final third. It is a bravura example of a writer anticipating what his reader wants, and holding it tantalizingly out of reach...

  I came to this book after having read of it in Newman & Jones' overview volume entitled "Horror: 100 Best Books." As "Night Has..." progressed, I found myself thinking that the book isn't all that scary; extremely suspenseful, yes, and in parts a bit eerie, but certainly not a horror book. But upon finishing the novel, the reader will inevitably realize that the characters in "Night Has a Thousand Eyes" have no free will at all. Everything is preordained, and human beings are trapped in this master plan. The thousand star-eyes of the title look down on us, mercilessly and aloof. No wonder poor Jean Reid can't bear to look at them. Woolrich's vision of a relentless, bleak and deterministic universe turns out to be a pretty horrifying thing after all!
2318297
Equals Grisham's best in chronicling the drama inside the jury room.  It paints an intriguing profile of the off-beat characters who decided Scott's fate.  Written in a cinematic style with a fast pace it reminded me of the classic movie, "12 Angry Men."  As instructive about the flaws and strengths of our controversial jury system as it is entertaining.  A must-read for anyone who wants the inside story on of our "trials of the century."