| The Appeal |  | Author: John Grisham
Publisher: Dell
Category: Book
This item is no longer available
Rating:  455 reviews
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 496
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 0440244978
EAN: 9780440244974
ASIN: 0440244978
Publication Date: November 18, 2008 (New: This Week)
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Amazon.com Review
As the author of twenty bestselling books, John Grisham has set the standard for legal thrillers since the debut of The Firm in 1991. Enjoy this Q&A--as well as a personal note to Amazon readers--from John Grisham. 1. Your new novel starts off where most courtroom dramas end--with the verdict. Where did you get the idea to reverse the usual order of events this time around?
The actual trial is not a terribly significant part of the story. Most all of the action and intrigue begins after the trial is over, with the verdict and the subsequent appeal.
2. The Appeal overtly suggests that elected judges can be bought. If the novel is meant as a cautionary tale, what's next--the Presidential primaries?
Why not? Over one billion dollars will be spent next year in the Presidential primaries and general election. With that kind of money floating around, anything can be bought.
3. Speaking of electoral politics, you've been more vocal recently about your political views ... first supporting Jim Webb for Senate and now endorsing Hillary Clinton for the White House. Have you given any thought to running for office yourself?
No. I made that mistake 25 years ago, and promised myself I would never do it again. I enjoy watching and participating in politics from the sidelines, but it's best to keep some distance.
4. This is your first legal thriller in three years. How did it feel to get back to the genre that started it all, and can fans expect another thriller from you next year?
I still enjoy writing the legal thrillers, and don't plan to get too far away from them. Obviously, they have been very good to me, and they remain popular. I plan to write one a year for the next several years.
5. Your nonfiction book The Innocent Man continues to be a bestseller in paperback. In your ongoing work with The Innocence Project, have you come across another story of the wrongfully convicted that begs to be written as nonfiction?
There are literally hundreds of great stories out there about wrongfully convicted defendants. I am continually astounded by these stories, and I resist the temptation to take the plunge again into non-fiction.
6. What's on your bedside reading list at the moment?
1. The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin
2. Eric Clapton's autobiography
3. East of Eden by John Steinbeck.
Product Description
In a crowded courtroom in Mississippi, a jury returns a shocking verdict against a chemical company accused of dumping toxic waste into a small town’s water supply, causing the worst “cancer cluster” in history. The company appeals to the Mississippi Supreme Court, whose nine justices will one day either approve the verdict or reverse it.
Who are the nine? How will they vote? Can one be replaced before the case is ultimately decided?
The chemical company is owned by a Wall Street predator named Carl Trudeau, and Mr. Trudeau is convinced the Court is not friendly enough. With judicial elections looming, he decides to try to purchase himself a seat on the Court. The cost is a few million dollars, a drop in the bucket for a billionaire like Mr. Trudeau. Through an intricate web of conspiracy and deceit, his political operatives recruit a young, unsuspecting candidate. They finance him, manipulate him, market him, and mold him into a potential Supreme Court justice. Their Supreme Court justice.
The Appeal is a powerful, timely, and shocking story of political and legal intrigue, a story that will leave listeners unable to think about our electoral process or judicial system in quite the same way ever again.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 450 more reviews...
 exciting legal thriller November 22, 2008
The shocking verdict is heard in Jackson, Manhattan and DC when a Mississippi jury finds Krane Chemical guilty of dumping carcinogenic waste into the local water supply leading to a "cancer cluster". Widow Jeannette Baker and her trial layers are awarded $41 million in punitive damages, but she knows that means little since her husband and their child died from their little town being turned into a toxic dump; her lawyers are gratified because they sunk a half of a million dollars into the case and defeat may have meant bankruptcy.
Krane appeals to the Mississippi Supreme Court, but the Wall St based CEO shark Carl Trudeau does not want a second failure. Judicial elections are coming soon and he plans to
insure favorable judges sit on the court. He understands it will cost him a few million, but he believes a million here and a million there to buy judicial loyalty is loose change; in his mind it's billions before he believes we are talking real money. He has picked his prime target and quickly has him signed, sealed, and delivered.
This exciting legal thriller focuses on a real issue in the American political system, the election of judges who are politicians looking for donations to support their election bids. Thus the so-called independent judicial system adhering to laws is actually a series of activist judges regardless of party affiliation bought and sold by the highest bidding corporations. In that environs it is ironic that trial lawyers and punitive settlements are attacked but not the worst that capitalism can buy. Exciting and fast-paced from the onset with the jury ruling coming very early, fans will enjoy John Grisham's fine tale although the villains are so deliberately hyperbolic stereotyped they turn into caricatures as the star is the premise of buying judges through election donations.
Harriet Klausner
 Could not finish this, slow boring, never takes off. November 18, 2008
This book was lousy, just another in the long line of flops for Grisham. I miss the old style of great story telling, this was to slow, never really got my attention, I read a lot of other books, kept coming back to this one to finish, finally my wife said, just put it away. I did, save your money on this one. I'm still holding out for a great story to come along.
 Don't bother November 18, 2008
I have a bone to pick with Amazon...why can't I give this "novel" zero stars?
First off, its his usual formula of handing off a quickie ending that's a downer for everybody but the "bad" guys who unjustly triumph over the "good" guys.
Did I mention all characters are black or white with no in between?
At least we know he doesn't like chemical companies, Christian conservatives who are "family value" folks, folks who think there's some value to protecting the Bill of Rights especially the Second Amendment, and "outsiders" from "up North".
I don't know if he's gotten lazy or what, but I'm not wasting my time on his next effort.
A rebuttal to the 1 and 2 stars: November 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Grisham a 1 or 2 star author - even Charlie Brown could do better than that on this book. I don't understand the very low reviews? Are you paying attention to the social issues included in this book? I grant you this is not his best book and not a 5 Star... but 1 and 2 stars is WAY off. As I commented to one well known reviewer,it even sounds grouchy rather than evaluative. These very low ratings caused many people (at least by their comments back to evaluators) to miss a good book. The pacing of this book is very good, but several ridiculed it. Character development is above average. The ending is fairly fast, but this is common in most thriller books these days and I saw very few loose ends left hanging and those I did see were very minor. I have asked a couple negative reviewers if they could list 3-4 specific failures in tying segments together or not explaining them with the ending? REviews at all levels can be informative, but they should be less bias and more facts and actual examples of weaknesses. This is an angry, moody book about very troubling social aspects of today's culture. Grisham continues to be a strong social critic who is blunt and outspoken. Not many 1 Star books are seen on the NY Times, etc. best seller list. You should read and decide for yourself. Hmmm, mayber Bart Simpson snuck in a review:-)
Typical Decent Grisham Novel November 13, 2008
I would say this another good John Grisham book. There is nothing particularly special but Grisham is always able to captivate a reader from page 1. It is another legal drama that moves a little slower than some of his other books but he develops the characters quite well. This is not one where there is a particular villain but you find yourself switching sides as to who is good and bad.
It will be a page turner for you but this is nothing new for John Grisham fans. I hope that his next book will be a bit more compelling but The Appeal is not a bad book for a quick page turning read.
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