Book Review: Rogue Lawyer

Book Review: Rogue Lawyer

By John Grisham

My mom gave me the book on tape. I had listened to the Harry Potter series on tape years ago a loved it. I had read the Harry Potter books prior to listening to them and was a little hesitant about listening to a book without having read it first. My fear was that I would get distracted in my car and not pay attention.  My fears were quickly eased as I started listening and found myself sitting in my car trying to listen a little more before going in to work or other places I was heading.

The book features Sebastian Rudd, a lawyer that specializes in clients that nobody else wants to represent. Often his representation of these clients causes him to be viewed as a villain and to live up the stereotype attorney that will represent the worst of the worst for a quick buck.

The book highlights several high profile cases Rudd takes on and his role in helping justice be served. The route to this justice is often a rocky road that had me loving his approach and actually rooting for him even though his clients represented the dregs of society.

His case work caused him to have to basically go into hiding during one trial, be threatened by a mob boss in another, have his child kidnapped in another all while trying to follow the law and stick to his ethics.

At times I wondered if he would maintain his ethics and do what was right or if he would give in and take the easy way out.  I did find myself rooting for him and enjoying his approach to representing his shady clients.  I often found myself hoping he would find a way around the prosecution even though they were clearly representing the good side of society.  I loved Rudd’s attitude and approach to the law, his clients and the others he associated with and he wasn’t content to settle and didn’t take crap from anybody.

The book ended on a tease and I’m hopeful the character is brought back for other books. If they are, I’ll definitely read them. Overall, I enjoyed the book and recommend it highly.

 

Book Review: Unbroken

 

 

Book Review: Unbroken

Author: Laura Hillenbrand

Unbroken chronicles the life of Louis Zamperini, Olympic athlete, Air Force bombardier and prisoner of war (POW). Louie grew up stealing and fighting and people didn’t think he’d amount to much, other than a thief. His older brother Pete challenged him and got him into athletics, specifically running.   He was a natural runner and took to it quickly. He won countless awards, set records and was going to be the US’s greatest runner for years to come.

Then the war hit and he got called to war.  He was assigned to the Air Force where he was trained as a bombardier.  Louie and his team were successful despite flying airplanes that were less than ideal for the job they were tasked with. Despite a less than desirable plane, Louie and his team had good success in the few bombing runs they flew.

On one last minute trip, Louie and his team were pulled in to help in a search and rescue mission. After a couple hundred miles since takeoff, Louie’s team encountered trouble and crash landed in the ocean. Crash landing in the ocean was feared by all airmen due to dangers posed from sharks, drowning and worse, never being recovered.

Louie and two of his team were the only survivors.  They had two small inflatable rafts, limited food and water and some flares. Part of the food supply were chocolate bars that one of the survivors devoured in their entirety while the other two were sleeping.

Louie and his best friend, Phil floated on the ocean for 47 days. During this time they survived storms, shark attacks, attacks from Japanese fighter pilots, hunger, starvation, dehydration, the heat and cold temperatures.

After 47 days at sea, Louie and Phil were captured by the Japanese. Their captures were kind and fed them well. However, after a couple days they were shipped to a Japanese prisoner of war (POW) camp where things were drastically different. Over the course of the next two years, Louie was imprisoned in four different camps and routinely beaten and humiliated all while being practically starved and worked to death.

In his last two POW camps, one Japanese guard in particular make Louie’s life miserable. His name was Mutsuhiro Watanabe.  The prisoners called him The Bird.  The Bird took great pleasure in abusing the prisoners, especially high ranking or high profile prisoners like Louie.

I was amazed at how resilient the POW’s were and the abuse they suffered at the hands of the Japanese. It’s hard for me to even fathom the abuse and how horrible it must have been.

When the war ended and Louie and the other POW’s were liberated and eventually sent back home, many of them encountered a series of health and wellness issues, both physically and mentally.

As the prison camps were liberated, the Allies began prosecuting Japanese service men who abused prisoners. The Bird fled and was on the run until a new agreement was struck that basically pardoned these soldiers for crimes committed. He never spent a day in jail and went on to own a successful insurance agency.

As the 1988 Olympics were nearing in Japan, a CBS news crew was working on a feature story highlighting Louie who was about to carry the Olympic torch through the old prison camp. The crew tracked down The Bird who many believed had committed suicide years earlier. the CBS crew interviewed him and told him that Louie would like to meet with him when he was in Japan for the Torch Relay. The Bird declined the invitation.  You can see the video interviews by clicking here.

After the war, Louie struggled for many years until he found God and devoted his life to him.  What surprised me is how after all the abuse and torment The Bird put him through, Louie still found a way to forgive him.  I didn’t have to go through the hell The Bird put him through, I just read the book and found myself upset and wanting revenge on The Bird for what he did.

Louie had a great life and lived life to its fullest. I admire him for his ability to do that and overcome the past and live in the moment. There are a lot more details than what I’ve shared here.  I don’t want to give too much detail away.

I highly recommend this book and hope that you can enjoy it as much as I did.