Last Man Standing: The Tragedy and Triumph of Geronimo Pratt - Hardcover

Olsen, Jack

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385493673 ISBN 13: 9780385493673

Publisher: Doubleday, 2000

Synopsis

With the epic scope of A Civil Action, Last Man Standing is an unforgettable chronicle of the twenty-seven-year struggle to break a conspiratorial abuse of power and free one of America's most famous political prisoners.

In 1968, twenty-year-old Elmer Gerard "Geronimo" Pratt returned from Vietnam with a chest full of medals and a Purple Heart into the most heated racial climate in American history. Taking advantage of the G.I. Bill, Pratt enrolled at UCLA, where the Black Panther Party was busy recruiting. Propelled by a diverse group of African Americans, the Panther agenda was a volatile mix of black rage, black pride, altruism, idealism, and violence. Under the charismatic leadership of Eldridge Cleaver, Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale, and Bunchy Carter, Pratt rose to the rank of Deputy Minister of Defense and became leader of the Los Angeles Chapter. The Panthers did not go unnoticed by J. Edgar Hoover. In the era of enemies' lists, his FBI drew up its own list of Panthers to be "neutralized" and began a systematic counterintelligence program to undermine black solidarity. Geronimo Pratt headed Hoover's list. When an FBI informer within the Panther party agreed to testify that Pratt murdered a young woman at a Santa Monica tennis court, his days as a free citizen came to an end.

If not for the unlikely alliance of a brash African American defense attorney (Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr.), a radical Irish Jewish law student (Stuart Hanlon), a Protestant minister (Rev. James McCloskey), and the indefatigable Pratt-his spirit unbroken by eight years in solitary confinement-a horrifying miscarriage of justice would never have been rectified. As riveting biography, courtroom drama, and just plain narrative nonfiction, Last Man Standing is certain to take its place among the finest works of American judicial history.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Johnnie Cochran told me many times during the months we spent together at the O. J. Simpson trial, 'You're missing the real story. The real story is Geronimo Pratt.'

"Jack Olsen descended into the hidden corridors of America's Gulag to tell the story of an innocent prisoner's fight for justice. His writing brims with the energy of Geronimo, his family, comrades, supporters, and enemies-as well as his amazing lawyers. Last Man Standing is a moving, fast-paced and compelling book."
-Kathleen Cleaver

"Oft it's said that it takes a fool to not listen when a wise man speaks, and Jack Olsen is no fool. He listened, he heard, and he wrote. The result is Last Man Standing; the stunning, searing, scandalous story of how yet another idealistic young African American leader reaching for the torch borne by Martin Luther King was 'neutralized' by an FBI run amuck.

"Only a writer with Jack Olsen's reportorial and writing skills-in other words, only Jack Olsen-could have told this tale in such riveting fashion, all its richness, power, and depth springing to life on the page.

"You may be startled by Geronimo Pratt's humanity, eloquence, and dignity. You may find your eyes opening wide as you learn that behind the revival-house rhetoric and personal dazzle of Johnnie Cochran there exists a man of brilliance, sincerity, and limitless loyalty. You may not have known of the savvy and doggedness of the superb San Francisco lawyer, Stuart Hanlon. But it should come as no surprise whatsoever that with Last Man Standing Jack Olsen has outdone himself once again, ascending his highest peak yet in a career of truly Himalayan range and dimension.

"I stand in awe of all four men, and of this magnificent book."
-Joe McGinniss, bestselling author of Fatal Vision, Blind Faith, and The Miracle of Castel di Sangro

"A telling narrative, beautifully written. Jack Olsen's book is a monument. This is an extraordinary book about an extraordinary man. Olsen shows how the government tries to destroy Geronimo Pratt through false testimony and a misuse of the criminal system and how Geronimo Pratt survived. If any book can change the way America looks at race and the criminal justice system, this is it."
-Martin Garbus, award-winning author of Ready for the Defense and Traitors and Heroes

"Last Man Standing is a fine example of Jack Olsen's trademark zeal for truth, his remarkable narrative facility, and his vision of an America in which the triumph of justice is too often marred by tragedy. It is a book that makes me grateful to its author, a lasting testimonial, and a document born of the same enduring passion that infuses all of Olsen's work."
-David Guterson, bestselling author of Snow Falling on Cedars and East of the Mountains

"Last Man Standing combines dazzling, suspenseful narrative and superb investigative reporting into a truly stunning achievement. Jack Olsen illuminates a dark chapter in American history with his unique blend of surgical logic and lyrical language. Last Man Standing is a brilliant portrayal of the power of truth and the triumph of the human spirit. And a book you need to read."
-Andrew Vachss, author of Dead and Gone, Choice of Evil, and Flood

About the Author:

Jack Olsen is the author of thirty-one books and the winner of many awards, including the Edgar and the National Headliners Awards. A former bureau chief for Time, he has written for Vanity Fair, Life, People, Paris Match, the New York Times, and Reader's Digest. He lives on an island in Washington's Puget Sound with his wife and children.

About this edition

• Publisher: Doubleday
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0385493673
• ISBN 13: 9780385493673
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 512