Among the lowest of the dead

the long version

From the cavernous halls of justice to the desolate cells on death row, from the brutal crimes of the convicted to the unbearable anguish of the victims, prizewinning journalist David Von Drehle takes us, as never before, into the harrowing world of the ultimate punishment. Here are the lawyers, on both sides, who dedicate their lives to saving or ending the lives of the accused. Here are the judges who pass the sentences and the politicians who pass the buck. And here are the inmates, staring at their walls and looking death in the face. A work of profound insight and stark vision, AMONG THE LOWEST OF THE DEAD sheds a revelatory light on this deepest, darkest realm. Acclaimed as one of the most powerful books ever written about crime and punishment in America, it is certain to shock both you . . . and the system. "BITTERLY HONEST . . . [Von Drehle ] frames the legal issues well and vividly evokes both the tense calm of the courtroom and the cramped, fetid gloom of prison cells." --The New York Times Book Review