Anatomy of a Murder | 
| Author: Robert Traver
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 55348
Media: Paperback
Edition: 25 Anv
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 448
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.2
ISBN: 0312033567
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780312033569
ASIN: 0312033567
Publication Date: March 15, 1983
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Product Description
First published by St. Martin's in 1958, Robert Traver's Anatomy of a Murder immediately became the number-one bestseller in America, and was subsequently turned into the successful and now classic Otto Preminger film. For the twenty-fifth birthday of a work that is not only the most popular courtroom drama in American fiction, but one of the most popular novels of our time, St. Martin's is proud to introduce this special anniversary edition, with a new introduction by the author.
A gripping tale of deceit, murder, and a sensational trial, Anatomy of a Murder is unmatched in the authenticity of its settings, events, and characters. This new edition should delight both loyal fans of the past and an entire new generation of readers.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
Superior, Like the Film. March 13, 2008
"Anatomy of A Murder" is a first rate courtroom drama about an Army officer who murders the man that allegedly raped his wife. "Alleged" is a key word in AM since guilt or innocence, character or lack of same, is highly subjective. (In his review of the movie, this reader stated that hubby and wifey were "not to be confused with Ozzie and Harriet"). Set in the remote Upper Peninsula of Michigan, AM is told in the first person by the defense attorney in the subsequent murder trial. AM was also a popular 1959 Columbia Pictures movie. Directed by Otto Preminger and staring Jimmy Stewart, Ben Gazzara and Lee Remick, it was nominated for several Oscars, though winning none. Book and movie move in tandem; fans of one should approve of the other. This is an important point since both versions of AM are a bit lengthy and are not suited for the impatient reader or viewer. Time leans a bit harder on the reader. Yet those willing to invest that time witnessing the plot unfold will be amply rewarded for their forbearance. A focal point of AM is how much activity happens out of sight of judge and jury. Much preparation for a murder trial is done in quiet desperation. Another focal point is how thinly the "wheels of justice" are calibrated. Rulings from the bench on admissibility of evidence and objections of counsel plus courtroom tactics can skew a trial critically. Right or wrong, guilt or innocence may take a backseat to the fates. The cat and the mouse seem to hold many of the cards. A fair review would not hint at the resolution but it is safe to venture that most readers will have no idea if "justice was done". (The movie is more cynical than the book here.) If the book has a weakness, it lies in the author's tendency toward the sentimental or florid. AM sometimes reads as though were written a century ago. That and the length warrant the removal of one star from the rating. Yet, the bottom line to AM is that this is a very serious and well constructed murder tale that will please the serious reader or viewer.
 Classic Courtroom Drama - Great Book, Superb Film Adaptation May 29, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Robert Traver's book, Anatomy of a Murder (1958), was on the best seller's list for 65 weeks. Fifty years later this novel is seldom encountered, and yet it is surprisingly well-written and strongly influenced later courtroom dramas. This was Traver's first attempt at a novel. Recalling an English professor's humorous guidance, "An ounce of authenticity is worth of pound of windgassity", he wrote about a murder trial, something with which he was quite familiar. Robert Traver is a pseudonym for a former Michigan Supreme Court Justice.
My copy is a relatively recent reprint from Cinema Classics by Gramercy Books. It includes an amusing, personal introduction by Robert Traver that discusses not only the writing of this exceptional novel, but also his participation in the filming of Anatomy of the Murder.
Having seen the movie several times, I readily visualized James Stewart as Biegler, Ben Gazzara as Lieutenant Manion, Lee Remick as Laura, Arthur O'Connell as Parnell, Eve Arden as Maida, George C. Scott as the prosecutor Claude Dancer, and Joseph M. Welch as the presiding judge.
About 100 pages into this story I was convinced that Otto Preminger's film adhered closely to the book. The rustic atmosphere of the Upper Peninsula, lawyer Paul Biegler's obsession with trout fishing, Biegler's interview with Lieutenant Manion, Biegler's friendship with Parnell, and the good humor of Biegler office assistant, Maida, were as portrayed in the movie.
However, as I continued reading, I became fascinated with several notable differences. Unlike Preminger's film, Laura Manion does not visit Biegler alone in his home office, nor does she go dancing with soldiers at a Thunder Bay bar while her husband is in jail. The humorous courtroom discussion about the proper way to discuss the missing panties is found only in the movie. Otto Preminger was again teasing and testing the censors; the word panties had never been used previously in an American movie. Most significantly, the eleventh-hour revelation that Mary Pilant, the Thunder Bay Bar hostess, was actually the daughter of Barney Quill, and not his mistress as rumored, is found only in the movie. Contrastingly, Traver in his book concludes the courtroom drama with powerful, protracted summaries by the prosecution and defense.
Notes on the movie: Anatomy of a Murder was a best picture nominee while James Stewart was nominated best actor for his role as Paul Biegler. However, the epic Ben Hur dominated 1959, winning eleven Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor.
George C. Scott as the competent, forceful prosecutor was in only his second major role. Joseph M. Welch was equally superb as the presiding judge. Interestingly, Welch was actually a well-respected lawyer, not an actor. Joseph Welch is remembered for having masterfully confronted Senator McCarthy in the Army-McCarthy hearings, forcing him to back down on his unfounded accusations.
For Prospective Lawyers April 10, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I don't dispute the comments of the other reviewers, but I was struck by something else: this book, along with Scott Turow's "One L" would be an excellent read for anyone considering law as a career, particularly trial law. It gives a sense of the rough-and-tumble of trial work, the mind-numbing hair-splitting that seems to be characteristic of the law, and the ambiguity in which lawyers must conduct their work.
"A murder trial is a fascinating pageant." October 27, 2005
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
Robert Traver's 1958 classic, "Anatomy of a Murder," is a prototype of the legal thriller/courtroom drama that has long been a mainstay of popular fiction. However, its value goes beyond its historical importance as a groundbreaking work. It is an engrossing tale of a sensational murder trial that pits a wily prosecutor against a clever and tenacious defense attorney.
Forty-year-old Paul Bieglar (dubbed "Polly" by his cronies) is an ex D. A. who has been replaced by a young upstart, Mitch Lodwick. Paul is at loose ends, with no wife, a faltering legal practice, and little to occupy his time other than drinking and fishing. One day, he gets a telephone call from Laura Manion, whose husband, U. S. Army Lieutenant Frederic Manion, sits in a county jail cell after admitting that he killed the man who allegedly raped his wife. Although Manion has no money to hire a lawyer, Paul believes that this case will bring him valuable publicity. He decides to defend Manion, and Parnell McCarthy, a hard-drinking attorney whose career has faded but who still loves the law, becomes Polly's unofficial partner. Squaring off against them is the aforementioned Lodwick and a much more experienced state attorney named Claude Dancer. As the case proceeds, it becomes a legal morass, with contradictory eyewitness testimony, dueling psychiatrists, heated and, at times, eloquent courtroom exchanges, and an unexpected last-minute witness whose testimony may change the trial's outcome.
Traver accomplishes what few authors of legal thrillers these days even attempt. He creates an indelible sense of time and place as well as fully fleshed out three-dimensional characters. The book is set in a small logging and resort town on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan near Lake Superior. With his evocative descriptive writing, the author captures the atmosphere of this isolated area of wild and untouched beauty, a quiet rural village where everyone knows everyone else, rumors fly around at the speed of light, and old friends sit around in taverns late into the night, swapping stories. The Manion trial rocks the town to its foundations and generates a tidal wave of public interest and excitement.
Besides Polly and Parnell, another notable character is Barney Quill, the alleged rapist, who presumably was a prominent citizen, a man of means, and a tavern and hotel owner known to be an expert marksman, fisherman, and martial arts expert. Why would such an individual suddenly attack a defenseless woman? Claude Dancer, the brains behind the state's case, is articulate, ambitious, and not above pulling a few rabbits out of his hat to catch his opponent off guard. One of the most memorable individuals in the book is Judge Weaver, a brilliant and fair-minded man who bends over backwards to make sure that justice is served in this convoluted case.
The writing in "Anatomy of a Murder" is ornate and old-fashioned by modern standards, but it is also literate and laced with delicious homespun humor as well as fascinating legal arcana. The lawyers resemble boxers who strike blows and are hit in return. Although each man is occasionally bloodied, no one manages to deliver a knockout punch.
A central question posed in this book is one that can never be answered: How sound is a criminal justice system in which charismatic lawyers can bend the truth and manipulate juries? Courtroom dramas are popular because they present humanity at its most elemental, with attorney/gladiators fighting valiantly to win, and willing to do or say anything to achieve victory. Robert Traver wisely recognized the inherent drama that a work of fiction set in a courtroom during a controversial murder trial can generate. "Anatomy of a Murder" was written almost half a century ago and it contained subject matter that was extremely daring for its time. It remains an immensely entertaining and satisfying novel that will fascinate fans of quality courtroom thrillers.
terrific legal thriller July 27, 2005
7 out of 10 found this review helpful
In Thunder Bay, Michigan, hotel and bar manager Barney Quill violently rapes Laura Manion. Laura's spouse Army Lieutenant Frederick Manion explodes into a rage; he fires five shots at Quill killing him. Witnesses saw the homicide and Manion confesses to the crime. The police arrest Manion for murder
Former county Prosecutor Paul Biegler heads up the defense team; his opponent is the lawyer who replaced him as the prosecutor, Mitch Lodwick, also assisted from the Michigan Attorney general's Office. Knowing his client is guilty of the act and in spite of also loathing Manion, Paul hopes to legally defend the murder in the minds of twelve strangers. His plan is to claim his client suffered an "irresistible impulse", an insane rage to get back at the violator of his wife. However, as Paul digs deeper into the background, he begins to uncover other information that puts a different light on the deadly triangular relationship between his client, his client's wife, and the deceased.
This reprinting of a terrific 1950s legal thriller that some insist established the sub-genre (Christie aside) holds up nicely five decades after its initial publishing and movie were made. The story line focuses for much of the first half of the insightful plot on the defense team investigation and building its plea, but though interesting is slow as readers see first hand the strategy and discourse they take; the latter half is the trial with both sides verbose as they make points. Though incredibly perceptive with what happens on a highly charged murder case, talking is not as exciting as performing. Still the tale retains its discerning insider's look at the legal process.
Harriet Klausner
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