Lazarus and the Hurricane: The Freeing of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter

by Sam Chaiton, Terry Swinton

A moving chronicle of the seven-year-battle to free boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter from wrongful imprisonment reveals the role of a group of Canadians in winning Carter's release. Original. Movie tie-in. 35,000 first printing.

Genres: Biography, History, Nonfiction, Sports, Memoir, True Crime, Biography Memoir

344 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1991

Reviews

[Christine Fay]

I wasn’t sure if I was going to read this book in its entirety, since it wasn’t as raw as Rubin Carter’s original story, but I am finding that I can’t put it down. It’s interesting to learn more about the facts behind Denzel’s movie and more into the lives of the Canadians who were instrumental in freeing this heroic man. If anyone is at all interested in the law and how it works, they should really read this book in its entirety. I must confess that I skipped over a lot of the legal brief summaries in order to get to the more human anecdotes about Rubin’s life. I had no idea that for three years, the State of New Jersey fought the court’s decision to grant Rubin his freedom. Three years he had to worry about going back to jail. There were 15 rulings AGAINST the State of New Jersey, so I guess Rubin really did win the 16th round after all. He also ended up marrying Lisa, one of the Canadians, which I did not know about until after I read this book. Very interesting. Lesra’s parents ended up dying within a year of each other, his father from cancer and his mother from ‘medical neglect’. His brother ended up in prison for an accidental homicide, and one of his other brothers was shot and died in the arms of Leland, his youngest brother. Lesra went on to become an attorney, and Rubin moved to Canada. Rubin ended up contracting tuberculosis from prison, which then attacked his infected eye, which then had to be removed and replaced with a prosthetic. As a rule, fighters must have full vision, so Rubin automatically could not continue his fighting career. Not only did the Canadians help Rubin, they also helped a few friends of Rubin as well, while they were incarcerated. Rubin’s first speech to the press after his 1988 final ruling was extremely eloquent and moving. An inspirational story that happens to be true.

[Tonya]

My son recently finished this book. He enjoyed it as much as I did.

[Lizz]

I wanted to love this book. I have been intrigued by Carter’s story and I loved The Sixteenth Round as well as the movie this book inspired.

I found the writing to be terrible, the authors refer to themselves as ‘The Canadians’ in almost every sentence. It was so irritating that I found myself mentally skipping or replacing the word and can’t believe the editors of this book didn’t insist on changes.

The other issue, and I say this well aware this book was written in 1991, is the astonishingly patronizing tone they authors take when speaking of Lazarus. Constant remarks about his ‘black English’ and use of ‘Ebonics’ did not age well. Beyond that I was disappointed not to hear more about Lazarus, instead the story seemed to focus much more on ‘the Canadians’ and painted themselves as white saviors for pulling Lazarus, and then Carter from the circumstances they were found in. The affection held for both people, Lazarus and Carter is evident - but the tone with which the speak of each was congratulatory and again, patronizing.

I did enjoy learning more about Carter’s case and the circumstances, but I was completely disappointed by the structure and writing of this book.

[Su]

Not sure how to review this book. Unbelievable that someone in a civilised country should have spent so much of their life in prison for crimes they did not commit based on what I can only describe as a corrupt law and judicial system. A riveting read!

[Libra Rian]

I read and loved this book! It had a serious impact on me.

[Cole Perelmuter]

My first and maybe last book taken place in Toronto

[Chris]

Sam Chaiton tells the story of the effect that the book "The 16th Round" by Rubin "Hurricane" Carter and the eventually successful attempt to free him from prison after being wrongfully accused of murder. The book the movie the Hurricane is based on.

[David Roof]

This was a great story from two different perspectives of the struggles of being black in America. It is nuanced and sensitive the the realities of life for the characters and being a true story, I found it fascinating. The writing is clear and compelling. I highly recommend this book

[David]

It was a good book that shows how messed up things can be.

[Denise Govan]

So much better then the movie!

[Risa]

This is one of the BEST true stories EVER!!!

[Karen Mahtin]

Important reading for folks who are sports fans or who want to understand more about how the US prison-industrial complex (system) works.

[Juanita]

An extremely powerful book which points out serious flaws in the American justice system.

[Caroline Cate]

I loved this...sad but makes you realise how strong people can be in the face of adversity.

[Tanya]

It was good. Very earnest.

[Leanne Mcauslan]

Great book, I could not put it down and could easily read it again