A 20th century tale that mirrors the Salem Witch trials, where a woman is out in trial for “he said, she said” testimony. Unbelievable, heartbreaking story about a woman’s love for her husband, and lies told about her which resulted in her horrific death.

This book focuses on the life and trial of Ethel Rosenberg, convicted and sentenced to death for espionage. The book draws on prison letters she exchanged with her husband, lawyer and psychotherapist while she was imprisoned. Overall, I thought this book was very slow and plodding. Ethel's story was told in a dry and dispassionate way. Overall, 2 out of 5 stars.

I was absorbed from the first page of reading this book. The author sets the stage with the weather as being sultry in New York on June 19, 1953 as Ethel Rosenberg knows this is the day she will be executed with her husband, Julius, first. The crowd nearby continues to protest - along with those in Europe - for the harsh punishment of a woman with two young boys: Michael is 10 years old and Robby is 6 - a woman who claims her innocence. She was convicted with her husband of being a spy and passing information about the American atomic secrets to the Soviet Union.

While this happened almost 70 years ago, it's still being discussed how the government reacted from fear which created a tragic, regretful case in the U.S. history. As time moved forward before his death, Ethel's brother, David Greenglass, admitted that he did not tell the truth in court. He was aware that his words would convict his sister only to save his family.

Anne Sebba spent five years writing this book and it feels like her heart and soul went into every chapter with some parts repeating itself to stress the importance of this case. The question is: "What can happen when fear turns into hysteria and justice is willfully ignored?" A lot of people are aware of the execution but the book gives you a full account of what happened - much that cannot be ignored.

It's more than a documentary about the life of Ethel Rosenberg. It gives the reader the full story of what happened and how it related to her family, friends and many who reached out trying to help. Pablo Picasso was one that showed his anger over a drawing with a couple in the electric chair. He notes: "The hours count. The minutes count. Do not let this crime against humanity take place." Others told the NY Times and other publications that this would be an embarrassment to execute two innocent people. Still the fear was real and no one stopped it including the President and Supreme Court Justices.

This will be a book I will remember and review with others. My thanks to Anne Sebba, St. Martin's Press and NetGallery for allowing me to read this advanced copy to be released on June 8, 2021.

Gripping & informative the Ethel Rosenberg story is one you simply must read especially if you grew up in the nyc area

I had only vague knowledge of the Ethel Rosenberg story, I found this book very interesting and well written. I was fascinated the whole way through the book.

I only knew the basics of Ethel Rosenberg. The author believes that she was innocent and wasn’t a traitor. After reading Anne Sebba’s Ethel Rosenberg: An American Tragedy, I have to say she made a compelling case. This book was very well written and well sourced. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

I had a vague knowledge of who Ethel Rosenberg was, mostly from pop culture, not school. I knew she was charged and executed for espionage, but could not have told you what time period this was in. This means that almost all of the information in this book was new to me. I can't speak to it's veracity but it seemed well researched including citations and a bibliography.

This book served as reminder to me as to how absolutely bonkers the Red Scare was. Julius and Ethel were executed literally on the word of essentially one person. The fact that there was no real proof beyond someone's word is absolutely insane. Their case in addition to being a prime example of Red Scare court cases, is a testament to how broken the American legal system is and provides an argument for the abolition of the death penalty.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley & St Martin Press for gifting me this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have always been fascinated by this story but have never really delved into it. This book is extremely well researched and brings Ethel from the caricature that she has become to the woman, wife and mother she was. We get to read letters that she wrote from prison and really get to know the whole story behind what put her there.

This was a case that rocked America. There was such a fear of communism that people were blacklisted for even being thought to be communists. People lost their jobs, their homes etc this was a time of fear. It was this fearful witch hunt for communists that inspired Arthur Miller's The Crucible.So is it any wonder that family would turn against each other in order to save themselves?

This was a fascinating book however I felt the writing was very dry. It read a bit more like a text book, it was difficult to stay engaged but this tragedy helped pull me through as well as all the very well researched facts. There is no doubt that Julius was in fact spying for Russia but the evidence that Ruth knew or was involved is sketchy and based on testimony of people trying to save their own skin. Overall this truly was an American tragedy.

The true story of Ethel Rosenberg, the wife and mother whose execution for espionage-related crimes is documented by the author.

The author certainly does a thorough job of researching the case and her conviction, but the way the story was presented was too flat for me. I was bored throughout and never "felt" invested in learning more about her or her husband.

Tedious is what this one turned out to be (for me anyway). What sounded like a fascinating account read like a research report. I do appreciate all the information and background/research the author included (as well as prison letters).

If you enjoy in-depth accounts with some political and cultural side notes, you may really enjoy this one. I do enjoy true cases and trials, but I was just the wrong reader this time.

Very well written and great research on a situation I knew little about. Such a sad tragedy is told through the pages of this book. Definitely worth reading.
So thankful for an advanced copy from netgalley and the publisher.

A fan of history this is a story that’s always fascinated me. I found it well researched, documented and covered in this book. It definitely kept me engrossed.

A few weeks before my birth in 1951, Americans Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted and sentenced to death for espionage given to the Soviet Union. Their aid to the Communists was major, information about the United States nuclear weapons. Both husband and wife refused to acknowledge any other participants in the scheme and claimed their rights allowed by the Fifth Amendment to avoid incriminating themselves. They were members of the Communist Party and were found guilty for espionage after Ethel’s brother gave testimony against them. However, the author, Anne Sebba, believes that Ethel was innocent, so devoted to her husband that she was willing to die. This biography, with a purpose to vindicate Ethel’s blame in the ordeal, is convincing. After a jolting beginning, the writing becomes more scholarly.

Well written account of the unfortunate execution of Ethel Rosenberg and her husband, Julius, for suspicion of espionage. I'm a historical fiction lover and with this book decided to cross over to non-fiction and I thoroughly enjoyed this amazing true story of secrets, jealousy amongst siblings, and the heart-wrenching destruction of families.
Due to the reading of this book I'm interested in reading more on the subject of espionage and especially of Ethel's story.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Full review on Goodreads.
Ethel’s story is a tragedy, whether you find her completely guilty or not. A fairly young mother put to death with her husband, leaving her sons orphans for a crime that didn’t involve murder? It just seems so bizarre to me, interesting and sad.

I was fascinated by the story of Ethel Rosenberg, which I wasn't familiar with before reading. Ethel and her husband Julius were convicted on suspicion of spying for the Soviet Union in 1953. Anne Sebba expertly weaves her research into the telling of Ethel's story. Tragically, Ethel and her husband were put to death by the US government due to the espionage suspicions, despite much evidence that raised considerable doubt about their involvement. This book shares all about the woman Ethel was, including her aspirations and family life. What a difference her presence could have made in the world!
I cannot believe Ethel's story has not been told this completely before. I found reading her prison letters to her husband, therapist, & lawyer helped me further grasp what she was going through. She did not deserve to die at the hands of the US government, and her story is a heartbreaking one for many reasons. Her two sons were orphaned, her dreams were lost, and all because she was falsely believed to have been involved in spying for the Soviets. Although this was a tough book to read due to the nature of the subject, I am glad I had the chance to learn more about this historic woman and her life!

i found this to be well researched and full of facts. At times, it was overwhelming the amount of information presented. I did not know much about Ethel before getting an ARC to review. The story is very compelling and it made me wonder if they would have received the same treatment today??

This is a fascinating book focused specifically on Ethel Rosenberg. It provides so much information about her childhood and how her life was shaped into the woman she became. This was meticulously researched and the references were extensive. I have often wondered about the details of the Rosenbergs and this does an excellent job of filling in the pieces. I was provided an ARC of this book through NetGalley and St.Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

This book is quiet basically a “what did she know and when did she know it?” I only knew the rudimentary story of the Rosenbergs and have never felt an overwhelming desire to learn more. But there was something about the blurb for this book that drew me in and made me want to read it. I’m glad I did. I still am not sure of her guilt or innocence, but I now better know Ethel Rosenberg as a mother, neighbor, sister, wife, and citizen. This book offers an easy to read, easy to understand look into some of the politics and some of the society of the period. The author did a lot of research that she passed on to us without preaching at us and trying to convince us either of Ethel’s guilt or innocence.

I recommend Ethel Rosenberg by Anna Sebba for it is well worth an afternoon spent reading and learning.

I received an ARC Kindle edition of this book from NetGalley.

A special note for Kindle users: This book has both notes in the back (numbers with no links within the text) as well as footnotes (numbers with links within the text) throughout the book. If you find using the links and/or searching the back for the notes troublesome, you may find that a paper copy of this book would be better. I usually prefer the paper copy in these cases as it is easier to flip back and forth between notes, footnotes, and where I am in the book. This had no bearing on my rating; it is simply a personal preference.

The start of the this book was somewhat confusing in how the background was presented. The first couple of chapters and the last chapter are all over the place with the time lines and stories presented. While facts are presented throughout the book, there is just as much speculation; the phrases "may have," "likely," and "probably" appear frequently.

While there were some interesting facts in this book, it was presented slow paced. Overall the book was insightful, just not a page turner.

This is a fascinating study and story of Ethel Rosenberg's life and her participation, or not, in the passing of information to the enemy of the US. Nowhere that I have found has there been such a beautiful rendition of who Ethel was and how much she was involved.
After so much time has passed, it does make everything that happened very questionable, shows the amount of fear that existed at the time, and one wonders how these arrests and then death verdicts could have been handled.

I recommend this book to those who enjoy biographies.