Publication Date:March 22, 2001 Availability:Usually ships within 1 - 2 business days Shipping:International shipping available Condition:A tradition of southern quality and service. All books guaranteed at the Atlanta Book Company.
Editorial Reviews:
From Amazon.com In 1979, Lesra, a 16-year-old African American boy from an impoverished Brooklyn neighborhood, befriended three thirtysomething Canadians in the borough on business. The boy, whom the Canadians flew to Toronto to visit them, had led a life so far from the comforts of nature that he stumbled trying to walking on a lawn. Charmed by the exuberant and obviously intelligent Lesra (Lazarus), and aware that without decent health care, a safe environment, or an education he would have little or no hope of success in his dangerous neighborhood, this exceptional group of people invited him to live with and be educated by them. Lesra thrived under their watch--but the story of Lazarus and the Hurricane is only beginning.
After finally being taught to read, at age 16, Lesra immerses himself in The Sixteenth Round, the autobiography of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. The African American prizefighter was tried and convicted in 1966 for murders he didn't commit (the book's title refers to his bouts with the legal system as he tries to get himself exonerated). Lesra and his Canadian "family" pursued both a cause and a friendship with Carter that would transform all of their lives. The Canadians are active but not particularly distinct personalities in this book--a group of do-gooders who don't want too much credit. And Lesra, though he is finely described in early chapters, also falls away from the center of the story once Carter comes into view, for the Hurricane is a centrifugal force that cannot be ignored. Widely read and sensitive, but also pleasure-loving and intensely vital, Carter is the reason readers will be unable to forget this story. And they shouldn't. As Carter revives his fight with the support of his new friends and generous lawyers, working through a byzantine maze of court rulings and appeals, the shortcomings of America's legal and prison systems are made painfully clear. The compelling, bittersweet story in Lazarus and the Hurricane should be a call to action. --Maria Dolan
Inspirational StoryMay 4, 2004 This story is an inspiration. The idea that good can win over evil. That the poor and uneducated will be taken in and educated and the wrongly accused will be freed is a very nice idea. While I'm sure that many of the gritty details of have been over looked or glossed over, I believe that adds to the inspirational value of the book. Afterall, if this story did not have a happy ending Rubin Carter would still be in jail and we would have all forgotten about him long ago.
An excelent book.January 23, 2002 This is a remarkable story, it starts out in the sixties, and takes you through twenty years of injustice to the eighties, and through that time you learn of the corruption of the government to prove its point. Rubin Carter didn't deserve the injustices that he suffered and after his many attempts to prove it, he gave up, just then by chance a young man learns of his heroic and yet sad story and vows to help Rubin. Along with his help the 'Canadians' as they have been named, decide to help Lazarus on his endeavor. They started out as mere acquaintances and ended up to be best friends. This book tells how a tragic event can bring together many people to help two innocent people, and how a stranger off the streets can change the future for them all. This story moved me, I highly recommend this to anyone, I thought this book would be yet another boring book about some no name boxer, but I was wrong, I learned of one of the greatest injustices of the twentieth century. For the young and the old, this book is great.
Lazarus and the Hurricane make outstanding team!January 7, 2001 Lazarus and the Hurricane will inspire you and make you a believer. This young man was a maraculus person and freed a man that had sat in a jail cell for 20 years for nothing. You must read this story Rubin and Lazarus, they will touch your heart and make you a definate believer that the one that did wrong were the currupt cops that robbed one of the greatest boxers of all time of a championship. Lazarus and the Hurricane (He who has rison from the dead)!
CALM AFTER THE STORMNovember 3, 2000 Rubin Carter's unjust incarceration should shatter all illusions that in the United States of America anyone can get a fair and just trial. Carter's saga certainly proved that justice isn't blind. Carter's case is an in-your-face look at what is deeply wrong with our criminal justice system. Yet it is more than that. There is another side to the story.
Lesra, a young black teenager, purchases Carter's biography of what happened. Inspired by this giant, Lesra along with his Canadian guardians take on the quest of proving Carter's innocence. Their love, dedication and commitment prove that even in the worst of times there is hope. This book is the story of that hope unfolding.
Upon reading the book, three stories unfold; Lesra's, Rubin Carter's and the Canadians. Of course Carter's story predominates throughout the book while Lesra and the Canadians provide a nice back drop. The fact of the "Canadians" are not mentioned by name gives you a feeling of them being mere objects in the work of freeing Carter. Even Lesra doesn't receive the full attention that he deserves in this intertwining story.
Even Carter becomes an enigma. We really don't get to know the man but we are bombarded with information concerning his case. Perhaps other texts will make up for the above defientcies. I feel the most important part was Carter's refusal to allow the prison and criminal justice system to dehumanize them. If anything we learn how dehumanizing this system is in our own country. The greater lesson in the book is no matter how bad things can get there are decent people out there to help. Once you open yourself up to them changes can occur.
Very Solid Sharp BookJuly 17, 2000 I Was Like Lazarus I Couldn't put this Book down.I Find This Book to be Very Moving.it captures so many Injustices.it shows how little value was placed on one Man.No Matter who he was or how much Money he made he was still a Black Man.Guilty Sight on Seen.this Book also shows the Loving&Caring way of the Canadians.it's amazing what reading can do for ones mind or the Journey it will take you on.this book is about Freedom.The Canadians Freed Lazarus&the Canadians together with Lazarus Helped free Rubin Carter.the Importance of Reading.if Lazarus had have never read that Book a Great Injustice would have never been solved.
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