Big Trouble: A Murder in a Small Western Town Sets Off a Struggle for the Soul of America

by J. Anthony Lukas

Book Overview

Recounts the trial of a radical union leader for the murder of Idaho's former state governor. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684846179
• ISBN13: 9780684846170
• Release Date: July 1998
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 875 Pages
• Weight: 2.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

A Journey

All the information about what this book is about is covered already. I just want to state that those who find this encompassing story in need of an editor to reduce detail or think of episodes in this work divergent are missing an important aspect of this book: it is well paced and told in marvelous detail--paced as in turn-of-the-century, horsedrawn, strolling paced; and detailed to the extent an important historical event should be. This isn't CNN. But the feel of life 100 years ago is here. The older I get, the less distant that seems as far as time, but how incredibly different in lifestyle. If you approach it that way, it's a journey. If you suffer a dose of paranoia about big business and big government, this isn't going to help. It names names and spells out the behind the doors power movement. I was reading it during the courtroom frenzy over counting election votes in Florida. Some things haven't changed all that much.

A Brilliant overview of America 100 years ago

Don't read this book if all you want to know about is the murder trial of Bill Haywood, defended by Clarence Darrow, and others, that is only the thread upon which the book hangs. The diversions are what make the book unique and which provide the varied dimensions that make one sense,and feel, in three dimensions, life at the turn of the last century. It is a stereopticon view. It is hard to conceive of any facet of turn-of-the-century american life which isn't explored, and described, in depth. If you don't like detail then avoid this book. I was constantly overwhelmed by the research that went into it, the amazing time and effort. The style is not dry but riveting and alive. It is a book that I wish I could say I produced, how anyone can give it less than five stars is beyond me. That the author committed suicide because he felt he failed is, truly, a tragedy, but it is impossible to see how he could have matched this effort in the rest of his lifetime. I read Common Ground when it first came out, it was good but this is great. I know of no other historical work that so totally conveys the sense of time and place as does this book

Fact More Enthralling Than Fiction

Having grown up in Boise, Idaho I can only say that I was mesmerized by the detail with which Lukas decorates this tale of "murder and mayhem."The Idanha Hotel, with its victorian spires and striped brick facade always loomed large in my childhood imagination. Now, thanks to "Big Trouble" it is peopled with the characters that made it famous (or infamous): the "Great Detective" McParland, his gunfighter bodyguard Charlie Siringo, the famous lawyer Clarence Darrow, along with the rest of the assorted characters which make this book such a treat to read.And it is this cast of characters which brings this book to life. In his acknowledgments Lukas mentions that as a reporter he is accustomed to talking to the living people who make today's events happen. In writing "Big Trouble" he has followed his instincts and through characterizations better than most novelists writing today, he has managed to breathe life back into these long-dead participants.Other reviewers have made clear the similarities between this history and fiction. It is true that the style which Lukas brings to this story reads like fiction, but I personally found it more interesting than any fiction I have read lately. These are true, important events, and, though highly readable (the various coffee cup rings, food stains, ripped covers and water damage from reading in the tub which my copy endured is testament to that), this book is not fiction, nor does Lukas ever treat it as such.For a glimpse into the life of this dusty, western town at the turn of the century and the events swirling around it I recomend this book without reservations.

Ponderous - And worth every sidetrack

This is a big book. I hear that if it wasn't for the editors it would be even larger. That much can be seen before you read it.What can not be seen, and what it does better than any non-fiction book I've read in quite a while, is to tell the story of a time. What was the turn of the (last) century really like? Well, as you will find here, there was a lot going on. There's class warfare. There's corruption. There's a tremendous growth, and tremendous change.If you want to know about all of these things, this is the book for you. If you want a quick recap of the trial that forms the "backbone" of the book, this is not the book. You will, from time to time, get frustrated by the side tracks, you will wonder why there is so much here about other things. If you stick with it, you will come away understanding many of the forces that led to the 'Progressive' reforms a couple decades later, and you will meet many very interesting people along the way.Stick with it... You'll be glad you did.

Fascinating book. Reads like fiction.

It was with great sadness that I learned of Anthony Lukas' death. Having been prompted by 'Big Trouble' to read his other prize winning book 'Common Ground', I am convinced we've lost a major talent and human being. Having lived in Boise, Idaho, this account of the murder of the Governor during the turn of the century was fascinating. Readers may be interested to know that the Idanha Hotel, where many of the key figures lived during the trial still bears their famous names on the room doors. The book is so exhaustively researched that details of conversations come out allowing it to be read almost like a novel. I found the diversions helpful in illuminating and embellishing the atmosphere and culture of the day. The beauty of this book is that you learn about so many different historical events and issues, not just the one at the center of the story. I highly recommend this book.