The Run of His Life - Hardcover

Just when you thought everyone and their second-cousin had published a book on the most famous criminal proceding of the century, along comes a book about the trial that actually deserves to be read.

Jeffrey Toobin's coverage of the trial of O.J. Simpson for The New Yorker magazine was the first to focus on the reality that no one wanted to addresss directly, but that pervaded every moment of the trial and perhaps even the crime itself - that race was at the heart of everything. Toobin's explosive article in July 1994, "An Incendiary Defense," laid out the defense lawyers' strategy, fingered Mark Fuhrman as their chief villain, and made the "race card" the euphemism of choice.

In The Run of His Life, Toobin's reporting, based on his unprecedented access to sources to the sources on all sides, lets us see, in a fresh light, the prosecutors, defense attorneys, private eyes, waiters, dog walkers, cops, ex-football stars, TV personalities, forensic experts, and so many others. He also offers an insightful examination of the larger questions raised by the case - including the importance of celebrity, race (and the way it's manipulated in the media), California as both a state and a state of mind, domestic violence, American jurisprudence, and the efficacy of the jury system.

It has been the most closely-watched and controversial legal proceeding of our time, and Jeffrey Toobin has written the definite history of what has become the trial of the century. Here is the whole story of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman and their aftermath, as it has never been told -- rich in character, driven by the nonstop plot of a legal thriller, and nuanced by the foibles, vanities, and idiosyncrasies of its participants. Featuring a new chapter on the O.J. Simpson civil trial, The Run of His Life -- hailed by The Wall Street Journal as "the pick of the litter" -- is a breathtakingly paced narrative that will long outlast the daily headlines.