Member Review

I remember briefly learning about Ethel Rosenberg in high school history class. But I don't remember there being much context given to her execution. I had also heard of her as one of the characters in Tony Kushner's amazing play, "Angels in America." But again I didn't know much about the actual person and what she'd been through or about her true part in America's history with fighting communism and the fear of the Cold War.

Sebba did an incredible amount of research into the life and death of Ethel. Her research included interviews with the surviving people who knew Ethel the best. The story is shocking and tragic, and Ethel has gone down in history as the only woman ever executed in the US for a crime other than murder (conspiracy to commit espionage in this case). Sebba does a wonderful job bringing Ethel to life (as a union organizer and in her roles as a mother, wife, and daughter). This serves her subject well as the reader is reminded that Ethel was so much more than her accused crime. In fact, she likely wasn't even guilty at all. There are many heartbreaking details in this book, but they're crucial to understanding what an unfair tragedy the whole thing was.

My only complaint is that there were a few sections that seemed to drag a little bit. Sometimes Ethel's spirit got diminished in the minutiae of her short life. However, I thought in general the book was captivating and left me thinking a great deal of the time - which is truly the sign of a good book.