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Conspiracy in the Streets: The Extraordinary Trial of the Chicago Seven
THE TRIAL THAT IS NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE
Reprinted to coincide with the release of the new Aaron Sorkin film, this book provides the political background of this infamous trial, narrating the utter craziness of the courtroom and revealing both the humorous antics and the serious politics involved
Opening at the end of 1969--a politically charged year at the beginning of Nixon's presidency and at the height of the anti-war movement--the Trial of the Chicago Seven (which started out as the Chicago Eight) brought together Yippies, antiwar activists, and Black Panthers to face conspiracy charges following massive protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, protests which continue to have remarkable contemporary resonance.
The defendants--Rennie Davis, Dave Dellinger, John Froines, Tom Hayden, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Bobby Seale (the co-founder of the Black Panther Party who was ultimately removed from the trial, making it seven and not eight who were on trial), and Lee Weiner--openly lampooned the proceedings, blowing kisses to the jury, wearing their own judicial robes, and bringing a Viet Cong flag into the courtroom. Eventually the judge ordered Seale to be bound and gagged for insisting on representing himself. Adding to the theater in the courtroom an array of celebrity witnesses appeared, among them Timothy Leary, Norman Mailer, Arlo Guthrie, Judy Collins, and Allen Ginsberg (who provoked the prosecution by chanting "Om" on the witness stand).
This book combines an abridged transcript of the trial with astute commentary by historian and journalist Jon Wiener, and brings to vivid life an extraordinary event which, like Woodstock, came to epitomize the late 1960s and the cause for free speech and the right to protest--causes that are very much alive a half century later. As Wiener writes, "At the end of the sixties, it seemed that all the conflicts in America were distilled and then acted out in the courtroom of the Chicago Conspiracy trial."
An afterword by the late Tom Hayden examines the trial's ongoing relevance, and drawings by Jules Feiffer help recreate the electrifying atmosphere of the courtroom.
Reprinted to coincide with the release of the new Aaron Sorkin film, this book provides the political background of this infamous trial, narrating the utter craziness of the courtroom and revealing both the humorous antics and the serious politics involved
Opening at the end of 1969--a politically charged year at the beginning of Nixon's presidency and at the height of the anti-war movement--the Trial of the Chicago Seven (which started out as the Chicago Eight) brought together Yippies, antiwar activists, and Black Panthers to face conspiracy charges following massive protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, protests which continue to have remarkable contemporary resonance.
The defendants--Rennie Davis, Dave Dellinger, John Froines, Tom Hayden, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Bobby Seale (the co-founder of the Black Panther Party who was ultimately removed from the trial, making it seven and not eight who were on trial), and Lee Weiner--openly lampooned the proceedings, blowing kisses to the jury, wearing their own judicial robes, and bringing a Viet Cong flag into the courtroom. Eventually the judge ordered Seale to be bound and gagged for insisting on representing himself. Adding to the theater in the courtroom an array of celebrity witnesses appeared, among them Timothy Leary, Norman Mailer, Arlo Guthrie, Judy Collins, and Allen Ginsberg (who provoked the prosecution by chanting "Om" on the witness stand).
This book combines an abridged transcript of the trial with astute commentary by historian and journalist Jon Wiener, and brings to vivid life an extraordinary event which, like Woodstock, came to epitomize the late 1960s and the cause for free speech and the right to protest--causes that are very much alive a half century later. As Wiener writes, "At the end of the sixties, it seemed that all the conflicts in America were distilled and then acted out in the courtroom of the Chicago Conspiracy trial."
An afterword by the late Tom Hayden examines the trial's ongoing relevance, and drawings by Jules Feiffer help recreate the electrifying atmosphere of the courtroom.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 7, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
February 28, 2019
As America went up in flames in 1968 young people descended on the Democratic Convention in Chicago in August to protest against the Vietnam War. It turned into several days of riots, police onslaughts, broken heads, broken hotel windows, it was not a happy experience for anyone. The new Nixon administration in 1969 decided to make an example of these so called revolutionaries and Black Panthers and Yippies so they put eight alleged organisers of the rioting on trial.
The defendants and their lawyers often played this amazing trial for laughs. They were up before Judge Julius Hoffman who was 75. Of course today, you get Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan and Neil Young and the Stones all in their mid to late 70s and they’re still rocking away and issuing albums and touring, it’s a redefinition of old age, but in those days (1969) people in their mid 70s were PROPERLY OLD and they knew nothing about electric guitars, drugs and hippies, the last singer they’d heard of was Bobby Darin, so this was a huge culture clash leading to some exchanges like :
William Kunstler, for the Defence : She is trying to give a political answer to a political question.
Judge : This is not a political case as far as I am concerned.
WK : Well, your Honor, as far as some of the rest of us are concerned, it is quite a political case.
Judge : It is a criminal case. There is an indictment here. I have the indictment right up here. I can’t go into politics here in this court.
WK : Your Honor, Jesus was accused criminally too, and we understand really that was not truly a criminal case in the sense--
Judge : I didn’t live at that time. I don’t know. Some people think I go that far back, but really I didn’t.
WK : Well, I was assuming your Honor had read of the incident.
And there is lots of this kind of stuff:
Leonard Weinglass for the Defence : Will you please identify yourself for the record?
Abbie Hoffman : My name is Abbie. I am an orphan of America.
LW: Where do you reside?
AH : I live in Woodstock Nation.
LW: Will you tell the court and jury where it is?
AH: Yes, it is a nation of alienated young people. We carry it around with us as a state of mind in the same way the Sioux Indians carried the Sioux Nation around with them.
What was not so funny was when Bobby Seale, the one black member of the Chicago Eight, demanded his own lawyer, but his lawyer could not be present, & so demanded that he was allowed to represent himself. The judge disallowed that. Seale continued to demand his rights. The judge eventually blew a gasket and – believe it or not – ordered the court marshals to bind and gag Bobby Seale. So day after day the spectacle was of the one black man of the 8 defendants manacled to a chair and gagged with thick cloth.
This book is mostly just the best bits from the trial transcript. You will laugh, you will cry, but mostly you will be gobsmacked.
The defendants and their lawyers often played this amazing trial for laughs. They were up before Judge Julius Hoffman who was 75. Of course today, you get Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan and Neil Young and the Stones all in their mid to late 70s and they’re still rocking away and issuing albums and touring, it’s a redefinition of old age, but in those days (1969) people in their mid 70s were PROPERLY OLD and they knew nothing about electric guitars, drugs and hippies, the last singer they’d heard of was Bobby Darin, so this was a huge culture clash leading to some exchanges like :
William Kunstler, for the Defence : She is trying to give a political answer to a political question.
Judge : This is not a political case as far as I am concerned.
WK : Well, your Honor, as far as some of the rest of us are concerned, it is quite a political case.
Judge : It is a criminal case. There is an indictment here. I have the indictment right up here. I can’t go into politics here in this court.
WK : Your Honor, Jesus was accused criminally too, and we understand really that was not truly a criminal case in the sense--
Judge : I didn’t live at that time. I don’t know. Some people think I go that far back, but really I didn’t.
WK : Well, I was assuming your Honor had read of the incident.
And there is lots of this kind of stuff:
Leonard Weinglass for the Defence : Will you please identify yourself for the record?
Abbie Hoffman : My name is Abbie. I am an orphan of America.
LW: Where do you reside?
AH : I live in Woodstock Nation.
LW: Will you tell the court and jury where it is?
AH: Yes, it is a nation of alienated young people. We carry it around with us as a state of mind in the same way the Sioux Indians carried the Sioux Nation around with them.
What was not so funny was when Bobby Seale, the one black member of the Chicago Eight, demanded his own lawyer, but his lawyer could not be present, & so demanded that he was allowed to represent himself. The judge disallowed that. Seale continued to demand his rights. The judge eventually blew a gasket and – believe it or not – ordered the court marshals to bind and gag Bobby Seale. So day after day the spectacle was of the one black man of the 8 defendants manacled to a chair and gagged with thick cloth.
This book is mostly just the best bits from the trial transcript. You will laugh, you will cry, but mostly you will be gobsmacked.
August 10, 2007
In my occupation, I spend a significant amount of time in the courtroom. Granted, this is family court and not criminal. I could not believe that some of this stuff actually went on inside of a courtroom. It shocked me. The gross distortion of justice, and the circus put on by the defense and the prosecution. The mockery that the defense attorneys made of this courtroom was well deserved and served to prove an important point. The fact that the judge that heard this case made it to where he was is absurd. I dont know what law school he attended, but his right to act as a practitioner of law should have been revoked during this trial. I would recommend this book to everyone thta wants to learn about the litigation process in this country and how it serves to distort justice and enable the individuals that it empowers to subjugate the individuals which it marginalizes.
April 13, 2021
If you watched The Trial of The Chicago Seven on Netflix you’ve got to read this. It’s hard to believe but they toned down the trial in the movie. I couldn’t put it down.
January 27, 2010
The prologue and epilogue are very good at setting the political context for this trial, and the text itself does an excellent job of narrating both the inanity of the proceedings and the humor and spirit of the defendants. A poignant moment in the book occurs when Bobby Seale is bound and gagged, and the other defendants rise to his aid, and their attorney is literally in tears. A central idea of this book is that by mocking these legal proceedings, they were de-legitimizing the authority of the court and the state, creating more space for resistance and revolution.
September 10, 2021
Really something else. Have to read it to believe it.
Very easy read as well, went fairly quick.
Very easy read as well, went fairly quick.
February 2, 2026
“If you didn’t want to make us martyrs, why did you do it?”
September 21, 2020
I won this book in a goodreads drawing.
Extremely slanted history of the Chicago Eight.
Extremely slanted history of the Chicago Eight.
August 9, 2022
Very interesting book - it's an indictment of the trial's awfulness that it's almost entertaining to read. Almost-if it wasn't real and material. But mordant humour abounds.
Excellent afterword by Tom Hayden, insightful and clear.
Excellent afterword by Tom Hayden, insightful and clear.
December 19, 2021
Fascinating, also interesting to look at this transcript through the lens of AP Lang!
June 28, 2024
Such an interesting event in the history of the US! I read this books after wanting to know more about the trial. The book is a bit of setup/context and then a selection of trial transcripts. That sounds kinda dry, but I couldn’t put it down! Well worth the read, but the Netflix movie is also fairly accurate. :)
April 30, 2021
it’s jarring how relevant the themes and emotions of the 60s are to the consciousness of youth today.
no meaningful change will happen if you work within the system. that’s why “peaceful protests” are a farce. I’m so annoyed and fed up bc we’re caught in a never ending hell hole that is capitalism and there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
no meaningful change will happen if you work within the system. that’s why “peaceful protests” are a farce. I’m so annoyed and fed up bc we’re caught in a never ending hell hole that is capitalism and there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
May 12, 2021
Gives so much information about not only the trial but the defendants and what was going on, it’s so good I cried at parts and am now excited to read the BIG transcript lol
May 13, 2021
I think this was very well put together. I loved the film that was based on these events and wanted to do more reading to become more educated on the topic, the workings of our court system (though this might not have been the best thing to base that on), and the time period and what exactly happened. I found myself relating to a lot of these people, the revolutionaries. We are living in an extremely difficult time where there is still injustice, hate, bigotry, and downright unfairness in our systems. This is an important event to learn about because it directly relates to our own time period. It made me angry, it made me want to be more active about the things I care about personally, and it made me want to go back in time just so I could kick Judge Julius Hoffman in the nuts. That being said, I am glad I read the book.
July 2, 2020
I started reading this book for a class about famous American trials and didn't know what to expect. I thought it was going to be a boring court case, but I was pleasantly surprised to say that I enjoyed reading this book. What happened in that courtroom really surprised me (and pissed me off at some points)!! I think that if you are looking for a court case that's relevant and fun to read, then pick up this book. It's a pretty quick read (I was slow because I got lazy and busy). There are some moments in this book that really makes you think twice about the American court system. If it still doesn't interest you, then read it solely for knowing how the guys spoke when defending themselves and the youth of the era. Happy reading!!
May 23, 2021
I thought that this was an excellent book. It is basically written as the court transcript from the Chicago Seven trial after the 1968 Democratic National Convention. It is amazing to read what a circus atmosphere that trial really was. The judge acted as if he had already decided how it would all end from the minute the jury was sworn in, certain defendants were at times taped to their chairs and their mouths taped shut, basically denying them the right to assist in their own defense, and one defendant was not allowed to use the attorney of his own choosing. All these should have caused a mistrial, but didn't, the case continued for months. No spoilers from me, read it yourself to find out how it all turned out in the end. Well worth your time.
June 3, 2021
Quick read in 3 sections. Introduction, highly edited transcription, epilogue/essay. I watched the Sorkin movie a few weeks ago and was looking for more context and behind the scenes and information on the major players. This doesn’t do that. It mostly focuses on the actual theater of the piece, almost like a play. That being said it was fascinating and illuminating and I’m glad I read it. I just don’t know that it satiated my craving for details and actual analysis.
Anyone got a different book I should read instead?
Anyone got a different book I should read instead?
June 9, 2021
Somehow, tens of thousands of pages of the trial transcript are masterfully culled into this powerful book. It reads as a exceedingly frustrating and seemingly fictional work. At times I was amused, but for the most part I was enraged. As Tom Hayden said in the afterword, this trial was significant in many ways, not the least of it the fact that we continue to talk about it decades later. Read this, watch the movie "The Trial of The Chicago Seven," learn what you can and see how it still applies today.
March 24, 2021
attorney Leonard Weinglass: "Prior to coming to Chicago did you enter into an agreement with David Dellinger, John Froines, Tom Hayden, Jerry Rubin, Lee Weiner, or Rennie Davis to come to the city of Chicago for the purpose of encouraging and promoting and violence during the Convention Week?"
Abbie Hoffman: "An agreement?"
Weinglass: "Yes."
Hoffman: "We couldn’t agree on lunch."
And, with that, all seven defendants were found not guilty of conspiracy.
Abbie Hoffman: "An agreement?"
Weinglass: "Yes."
Hoffman: "We couldn’t agree on lunch."
And, with that, all seven defendants were found not guilty of conspiracy.
April 22, 2021
Wiener provides a good structure for a truncated version of the trial transcripts. He begins with short biographies of everyone involved. Sketches, which I presume are court sketches break up the trial transcript, shocking for the judge's behaviour even more than that of the defendants. The treatment of Black Panther Bobby Seale is exceptionally shocking. How could a judge order a black man be bound and gagged in his court? Conspiracy in the Streets is a good book to read for these times.
April 9, 2022
We recently watched The Trial of the Chicago 7 and really liked it. This is an episode that I knew a little about and I wanted to know more. This book is great. It give you information on all the major players and background information and enough of the trial transcripts to give you an idea of what the trial was like.
January 29, 2023
The Chicago 7 movie peaked my interest in this trial, so I wanted to read more about it. This book is a reprinting of the most explosive parts of the trial transcript. The judge was unbelievable. The movie was true to the transcript, and this while this is an important First Amendment case the real legal issues stem from the incompetence and hostility of the judge.
April 6, 2021
A shorthand and trimmed down version of the trial transcripts. While truly fascinating what was word for word said in court (Abbie Hoffman's one liners) I wanted more background on each person and a summary of the strategy / approach of both sides before launching into transcripts.
August 20, 2024
3.5 stars- I enjoyed the summary in the beginning and the afterword by Tom Hayden but the direct lines from the trial got a little redundant after a while. I thought this was going to be a narrative nonfiction book but I guess that’s on me
June 19, 2025
I was hoping for a lot more commentary about how we could learn from this trial and protests to influence and enact change today. It was nothing more than recounting the author’s favorite parts of the trial.
April 18, 2019
Ah, memories...
Where are the Abbeys and Jerrys of today?
Where are the Abbeys and Jerrys of today?
December 21, 2020
A very manageable edit of key portions of the trial transcript (a gazillion pages long) of the Chicago Seven.
Read
September 2, 2021A whirlwind. As expected.
So infuriating. So fun.
So infuriating. So fun.
May 10, 2022
Outstanding. I was reasonably aware at the time but missed the extent to which Judge H shut down the defense, repeatedly. Feels like very little has changed.
June 1, 2025
I’ll start out by saying that the author obviously put quite a bit of time into researching the case, as the background was very well written. In my opinion, it does get repetitive at points, with the timeline seeming to jump to cover all perspectives, but to be fair I already knew about the case before reading, and I’m sure someone who is new to it would appreciate such a detailed report.
The drawings done by Jules Feiffer was quite a nice touch, and were well spaced out.
Being an abridged version, many pieces of the transcript were cut out, and I get it, you want to keep the interest up, but I can’t help but wish the author had chosen to keep some less interesting portions of the transcript to allow the reader to fully understand the case. Actually, I think this, being the shortened/abridged transcript, is the main weakness of this transcript. The story speaks for itself, but when looking at it through a legal angle, the jumped cuts make it harder to understand.
The drawings done by Jules Feiffer was quite a nice touch, and were well spaced out.
Being an abridged version, many pieces of the transcript were cut out, and I get it, you want to keep the interest up, but I can’t help but wish the author had chosen to keep some less interesting portions of the transcript to allow the reader to fully understand the case. Actually, I think this, being the shortened/abridged transcript, is the main weakness of this transcript. The story speaks for itself, but when looking at it through a legal angle, the jumped cuts make it harder to understand.
September 18, 2007
Oh, did I love this book!
I have much more to say about it, but am rushing (read: rushing!) to meet my college roommate who thinks she is going to persuade me to go into a boutique to try on wedding dresses. I have only a few minutes left to pack up all my stuff (I'm in Anchorage, in a hotel with fast-speed internet!) and come up with a bounty of persuasive excuses. Please do anticipate more verbose gushings about Conspiracy in the Streets.
In the meantime, it was definitely worth a pause in the contemplations to recommend, oh so highly recommend, this book.
We bought it at Left Bank Books in Seattle.
I highly recommend the book store too.
I have much more to say about it, but am rushing (read: rushing!) to meet my college roommate who thinks she is going to persuade me to go into a boutique to try on wedding dresses. I have only a few minutes left to pack up all my stuff (I'm in Anchorage, in a hotel with fast-speed internet!) and come up with a bounty of persuasive excuses. Please do anticipate more verbose gushings about Conspiracy in the Streets.
In the meantime, it was definitely worth a pause in the contemplations to recommend, oh so highly recommend, this book.
We bought it at Left Bank Books in Seattle.
I highly recommend the book store too.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews