Hurricane, James Hirsch

An authorized biography of Rubin “Hurricane” Carter.., a once famous boxer, egregiously charged with a triple murder in 1966 he most definitely did not commit. It saddened me to think people of power could do this to another human being… though as we know it happens in this world. Carter raged against his imprisonment and vehemently refused to subject himself to its regimens. He shunned the prison’s food, insisted on keeping his gold watch, and refused to darb prison garb (even after spending a month in the” hole” when he arrived at prison the first time. He became a jailhouse lawyer, poring over the vast transcripts of his trial. He amassed convincing evidence of his innocence and then received vocal support from numerous celebrities.. remember Bob Dylans great song – “Hurricane”?

He was freed pending a new trial, only to lose the appeal. His 9 months of freedom had been as almost as difficult as 9 months of imprisonment.. the accusations were wrongly accused outside… he never faced those kinds of attacks in prison. He was robbed of his freedom, lost an eye in a botched prison operation, lost his marriage, and avoided human contact because he didn’t trust anyone.. rightfully so. And then he received a letter from a Brooklyn teenager that ended up changing his life forever. That and a rightful judge in federal court.

You may have watched the movie on Carter which was brilliantly acted (as always) by Denzel Washington. Highly suggest you watch the movie. This book dives much deeper, where you learn the whole story.. the actual facts, and Carter’s plight. This book (written obviously before Carter passed away) is an incredible display of mental fortitude by one man (who made a cold call to a 23 year old editor while in prison and ended up getting a publishing deal due to the energy and power of his writing being one example) while a despicable display of abuse of power by the government.