The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther

"[A] political cliff-hanger . . . The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police murdered a Black Panther is an exposé [that] should be read in schools across the country." -- Huffington Post "[A] disturbing eyewitness account in straightforward prose. . . . A still-chilling tale of law-enforcement misconduct." -- Kirkus Reviews “Required political reading, especially for conservatives who are genuinely concerned about the damage secret government can do.” -- Chicago Daily Observer “An extremely important book—and a tale well told—for America to read if it wants to become what it says it has always been—the land of the free and the home of the brave.” — Ramsey Clark , former United States Attorney General “A true crime story and legal thriller, this powerful account puts together all the pieces, step by step, giving us the anatomy of a despicable episode in recent American history.xa0 The writing is clear and straightforward; the overall impact devastating.” — Phillip Lopate , author of Getting Personal “At once journalist, lawyer and storyteller, Jeff Haas manages to sear into every page of this book a compassion seemingly forgotten, providing a riveting eyewitness account of the government assassination of Fred Hampton. This is mandatory reading for those who love and believe in freedom.” — Elaine Brown , author and former chairman of the Black Panther Party “Part history, part courtroom drama, part literary memoir, Haas evokes with chilling precision a bloody and desperate repressive state apparatus locked in conflict with its greatest fear, a charismatic young black man with revolution on his mind.” — William Ayers , professor of education, University of Illinois at Chicago “A must-read.” — Len Weinglass, lawyer and civil rights activist --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Attorney Jeffrey Haas has spent his career working for justice. In 1969 he and three other lawyers set up the People’s Law Office, whose clients included the Black Panthers, SDS, and other political activists. Haas went on to handle cases involving prisoners’ rights, police torture, and the wrongfully accused. He continues to represent victims of police brutality. --This text refers to the audioCD edition. From Publishers Weekly On December 4, 1969, Fred Hampton, the 21-year-old chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party, was shot dead in his bed during a police raid. Hass and his law partner, Flint Taylor of the perpetually underfunded People's Law Office, spent the next decade fighting a well-financed opposition team and a hostile judge to prove that Hampton had been shot not in self-defense, as the police advocates claimed, but as the result of an FBI assassination The dramatic David and Goliath struggle embodies many of the era's fiercest debates, but Haas lacks the skill to transmute his experience into compelling reading. The prose is studded with clichés, and nearly every physical description reads like a checklist: age, size, build, skin color and length of Afro. Hass strays from the narrative to relate irrelevant information about his personal life, as when he recollects that his third wife first captured his attention when she propped her red, calf-length boots on his desk. The book is most engaging when Hass offers a straightforward account of the legal process, a testament to the power of the story—not the author's proficiency. (Nov.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. Attorney Jeffrey Haas has spent his career working for justice. In 1969 he and three other lawyers set up the People’s Law Office, whose clients included the Black Panthers, SDS, and other political activists. Haas went on to handle cases involving prisoners’ rights, police torture, and the wrongfully accused. He continues to represent victims of police brutality. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. Read more