American tragedy: the uncensored story of the Simpson defense

New York Times Review".... the matter of O. J. Simpson remains a defining moment in late 20th-century American history, a kind of morality play like the Dreyfus affair in France roughly 100 years ago, incarnating the most intense passions of the time. That is one reason that ''American Tragedy,'' by Lawrence Schiller and James Willwerth, is not only justified in its sheer copiousness, but also a valuable, gripping and illuminating work.In the already vast Simpson literature, this book reaches the furthest into the pith of the event, telling on an almost day-to-day basis the way the defense team labored, plotted and squabbled its way toward rescuing Mr. Simpson from what might very likely have been a conviction on charges of murder. And in this sense, ''American Tragedy'' will help us cope with the deeper questions concerning racial morality and justice raised by the Simpson affair.The authors, in one of their more astonishing passages, show Mr. Simpson's lawyers redecorating his...