Synopses & Reviews
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN THE 2000 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION - AND CAN IT HAPPEN AGAIN?
It was the most tumultuous and uncertain transition of power in the history of the United States, and yet, to most Americans, what really happened in the 2000 presidential election remains unclear—something went wrong in Florida, but the Supreme Court cleared it up and then, er, everyone was happy . . . right? But who actually won the Florida vote recount? What, exactly, did the Supreme Court decide? Was there truly no dissent? What role did the mass media play? Melville House offers three hard-hitting books that take a close look at those very questions, based on three pieces of investigative journalism originally filed at the time, by three of the country's top journalists.
• In IRREPARABLE HARM, Renata Adler, the long-time star of the New Yorker magazine who is also an attorney and a life-long Republican, takes a blistering look at the Bush v. Gore Supreme Court decision, and uncovers numerous problems, including instances where the judges mis-cited their own previous decisions, or reversed them.
• In THE ROAD TO ILLEGITIMACY, Mark Danner, a staffer for both The New Yorker and New York Review of Books, goes to Florida to report on the final, tense counting and recounting of the actual ballots mandated after the Supreme Court decision.
• And in THE BIG CHILL, Dennis Loy Johnson provides a gripping first person account of the enormous protest on inauguration day, which included scenes of violence and the most massive police and military presence ever in the capital—and yet went largely unreported. These three insightful books are riveting history. But more importantly, as the next presidential race intensifies, they may help troubled Americans with one of the most pressing questions we face: Can it happen again?
Synopsis
The legal precedents cited in the Supreme Court's decision to uphold George W. Bush as the winner of the disputed 2000 presidential election are examined and proven faulty in this probe first published in the New Republic. Specific examples of judges misquoting their previous decisions reveal that the legal grounding of the landmark case does not hold up under scrutiny. This blistering, no-holds-barred account offers an argument not based on partisan divisions, as the author is a Republican and former advisor during the pivotal Watergate hearings.
Synopsis
In Irreparable Harm, Renata Adler, the long-time star of The New Yorker magazine who is also an attorney and a life-long Republican, takes a blistering look at the Bush v. Gore Supreme Court decision, and uncovers numerous problems, including instances where the judges mis-cited their own previous decisions, or reversed them.
About the Author
Renata Adler is a former staff writer for The New Yorker and is the author of Canaries in the Mineshaft, Pitch Dark, and Reckless Disregard. She was one of the first female journalists to cover the war in Vietnam. She was an advisor to House Speaker Peter Rodino on the Watergate committee and is a professor at Boston University. She lives in Boston, Massachusetts.