Review
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"Clear-eyed, sweeping, honest and tough, Nina Burleigh's autopsy
of one of the most compelling criminal dramas of our time sets a
standard that any of the other other chroniclers of this tale
have yet to meet. The story of Amanda Knox is part Salem witch
trial, part cultural misunderstanding of an epic sort, and part
vendetta. Burleigh found the universal elements of a junior year
abroad that shook the world, and she brings them home without
sentimentality nor an axe to grind. This is what long-form
narrative journalism is all about." --Tim Egan, author of The
Worst Hard Time
"THE AL GIFT OF BEAUTY is the real, the true, and the complete
story of the Amanda Knox case. It will draw you into a nightmare
world of murder, conspiracy, corruption, false accusations,
incompetence, abuse, lies, and manipulations. Nina
Burleigh is a first-rate journalist who presents a meticulously
researched and reported account, with every fact documented and
sourced. It is an essential read for anyone interested in this
case. More than a murder story, is a look into the dark and
complex soul of Italy itself."--Douglas Preston, co-author of The
Monster of Florence
"Finally, the twisted tale of Amanda Knox, the all-American
college girl convicted of murder in Italy, gets the telling this
extraordinary story deserves. Nina Burleigh's immersion in
Italian cultural history provides a context that allows us--first
the first time--to understand how this international miriage
of justice could have occurred. Stirring, compelling, and in the
end a tragic tale worthy of Italian opera." --Joe McGinniss,
author of al Vision, The Miracle of Castel Di Sangro and The
Rogue
"The global media, in its frenzied coverage of the sensational
Amanda Knox murder trial, overlooked what Nina Burleigh has
skillfully unearthed and analyzed--a compelling chain of
evidence, subtle levels of significance. Her telling of the tale
is clearly the only one that gets it right."--John Berendt,
author of The City of Falling Angels and Midnight in the Garden
of Good and Evil
“A fascinating book about a beautiful American girl in Italy and
how she was prosecuted for a murder she may not have committed.
It is also a study in sexism and criminal law--especially in
Italy. Horrifyingly readable.”-- Erica Jong
"Nina Burleigh has cut through the confusion of conflicting and
often inaccurate news accounts of the Amanda Knox murder case and
given us a lucid, fair-minded account of the case. She shows,
quite convincingly, that Knox and her co-defendant have been
victims of a serious miriage of justice. Perhaps more
importantly, she explains why, showing the case to be the product
of cultural misunderstanding between Italy and the
U.S."--Alexander Stille, author of The Sack of Rome
"[In] this powerful example of narrative non-fiction...Burleigh,
who parses how the Knox trial was perhaps tainted, still presents
a fair and unbiased portrait of a girl adrift in a foreign legal
system and a culture rife with preconceptions about young
American women." —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
"Burleigh’s propulsive narrative and the many unsettling aspects
of the case make this a standout among recent true-crime
titles."—Kirkus Reviews
“Journalist/author Burleigh (e.g., Unholy Business) reconstructs
a murder case that has proved to be about much more than
murder.”—Library Journal
"A fascinating book about a beautiful American girl in Italy and
how she was prosecuted for a murder she may not have committed.
It is also a study in sexism and criminal law--especially in
Italy. Horrifyingly readable." --Erica Jong, author of Fear of
Flying
“Savvy true-crime reporting combined with a headline-hogging
murder trial.”—Booklist
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About the Author
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Nina Burleigh is the author of Unholy Business: A True Tale of
Faith, Greed, and Forgery in the Holy Land, A Very Private Woman:
The Life and Unsolved Murder of Presidential Mistress Mary Meyer,
and two other books. She has written for the New York Times, The
New Yorker, and Time and is a contributing editor at Elle. She
has resided in France, Italy, and the Middle East and now lives
in New York.
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