The Implosion Conspiracy

Description for THE IMPLOSION CONSPIRACY by Louis Nizer:

Louis Nizer, called a "legendary attorney" by "Newsweek", has depicted the greatest spy story of the century---the true account of the Rosenberg espionage case, brilliantly set forth in both its human and its legal aspects. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, her brother David Greenglass, Morton Sobel and others were charged with passing along to Soviet Russia the secrets of the device that triggers the atom bomb. The trial that resulted will go down in history as one of the major courtroom drams of all time.

The emotional content of the story is at times almost overwhelming: the love story of Ethel and Julius that endured through waves of hope and espair, and expressed in love letters between them while in the death house; the betrayal of Ethel by her beloved younger brother, David, whose testimony sent her to the chair; the heart-breaking visits to Sing Sing of the Rosenberg's four and eight-year-old sons; the heroism of their attorney, Emanual Block, who gave his life for his clients in a losing cause; the mounting frenzy of world-wide protest at the death; the touching appeal of Ethel Rosenberg To President Eisenhower---and finally, the horror of the execution chamber.

The major scene is the trial itself, captured by Mr. Nizer in such dazzling detail that we are present in the courtroom, even on the jury. For the book invites us to judge for ourselves, in the face of the evidence, whether the Rosenbergs are "guilty beyond a reasonable doubt." We wince as a defense attorney makes a gaffe; shudder at the death-dealing testimony of Greenglass and his wife; observe the theatrics of a superb legal performance---and await in mounting suspense as the jury ponders. But verdict and sentence does not end the case; it went on to the United States Supreme court seven times, was appealed twenty-three, and considered by one hundred and twelve judges. There's even a cliff-hanging last minute stay of execution when a legal loop hole is discovered the Supreme-Court reconvenes.

No fictional espionage thriller has ever been breathtaking as this story of an incredible theft and it "implosive" effects on the balance of power.