Hall and Mirrors by C. Arthur Ellis PhD

[ray315200]

Hall of Mirrors is a non-fiction look at a very old murder trial. The trial was a sensation back in the 1950’s and there have been a lot of newspaper and magazine articles, books, movies, and documentaries on it, including several by Hall of Mirrors author, C. Arthur Ellis PhD. The purpose of this book is not so much to find an “unassailable truth” as to take a look at how those who have reported on the trial have often revised events and how they let the subjective truths of their own time and life bias their conclusions about the murder of Dr. C. Leroy Adams by Ruby McCollum. This trial was a national sensation but this book is a calm and well researched report on the reports and documentation that has followed. What impressed me most was the clear picture of race relations in a small southern town. This is something many Americans today only have a vague notion of. There are magazine ads and articles from Jet and Ebony magazines, letters from witnesses, and various experts as well as newspaper reports. Again, the documentation is very impressive and the effort to give it cultural relevance is exceptional. I give Hall of Mirrors 4 stars for those facts alone. But of course there is much more that Ellis has done well.

This book details the murder of a white man, a prominent doctor in a small Southern town by his African-American lover. This subject matter would be explosive at any period of American history. I was born in 1958, in Alabama, so I know a little about the cultural, and racial atmosphere noted in Hall of Mirrors. Dr. Ellis shows us in no uncertain terms how the cultural and racial norms of that time and place are very different from today, but many fail to really accept and understand how those differences played out in the trial and its aftermath. The writing here is succinct, logical, and at times brilliant. Hall of mirrors is more a testament to the power of critical thinking than it is an account of a sensational trial. Honestly, it would be a great thing if every American read Hall of Mirrors just to see what well written and documented work looks like. Critical thinking and writing is becoming a lost art.

[j p gilbert]

Nice review. I thoroughly enjoy this genre. Looks like another one for the bookshelves.

[ray315200]

Thank you. It's quite a fascinating read. It's not my usual style but I really enjoyed it.

-- 01 Dec 2015, 00:54 --

You are very welcome. This was an easy book to share my opinion on.