Page 2 - The University of Wisconsin Press Spring 2013
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S
PRING
2013
2
THE UNIVERSIT Y OF WISCONSIN PRESS
•
O f r e l a t e d i n t e r e s t
“An invaluable contribution to our under-
standing of the history of the FBI and of
the pernicious legacy of national security
policy on the right to dissent.”
—Athan Theoharis, author of
The FBI and
American Democracy
PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 2008
LC: 2008011973 D 272 PP. 6 × 9
13 B/W ILLUS.
E-BOOK $22.95 ISBN 978-0-299-22893-4
Studies in American Thought
and Culture
U.S. HISTORY / LAW / ETHNIC STUDIES / TERRORISM
“A probing, sensitive account. Dean A. Strang, himself a skillful defense
attorney, has exposed American racism at its worst, and perversion and
corruption of the legal system at its best.”
Stanley Kutler, author of
Wars
of Watergate
In 1917 a bomb exploded in a Milwaukee police station, killing nine officers and
a civilian. Those responsible never were apprehended, but police, press, and pub-
lic all assumed that the perpetrators were Italian. Days later, eleven alleged Italian
anarchists went to trial on unrelated charges involving a fracas that had occurred
two months before. Against the backdrop of World War I, and amidst a prevail-
ing hatred and fear of radical immigrants, the Italians had an unfair trial. The
specter of the larger, uncharged crime of the bombing haunted the proceedings
and assured convictions of all eleven. Although Clarence Darrow led an appeal
that gained freedom for most of the convicted, the celebrated lawyer’s methods
themselves were deeply suspect. The entire case left a dark, if hidden, stain on
American justice.
Largely overlooked for almost a century, the compelling story of this case
emerges vividly in this meticulously researched book by Dean A. Strang. In its
focus on a moment when patriotism, nativism, and terror swept the nation, the
themes in
Worse than the Devil
still resonate as the United States continues to
struggle with administering criminal justice to newcomers and outsiders.
“Dean A. Strang’s fascinating book excavates a conspiracy trial in Milwaukee
back in 1917 that sheds crucial insights into the failings of our legal system and
the hazards of succumbing to mass hysteria against immigrants and alleged ter-
rorists. The book provides urgent lessons for us all.”—Matthew Rothschild, editor
of
The Progressive
Dean A. Strang
is a criminal defense lawyer in Madison, Wisconsin, and an
adjunct professor at the law schools of the University of Wisconsin and Mar-
quette University. For more than fifteen years he lived on the Milwaukee block
that was the scene of the September 1917 riot.
PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
MARCH
LC: 2012032689 HV
280 PP. 6 X 9
20 B/W PHOTOS, 1 MAP
E-BOOK $19.95 ISBN 978-0-299-29393-2
“In engaging prose and with a
terrific eye for detail, Dean A.
Strang gives us the full story of a
fascinating—and almost forgot-
ten—moment of conflict from
Milwaukee’s past. His book explores
debates over civil liberties and ter-
rorism, immigration and radicalism
as they were lived and fought over
a century ago.”
Beverly Gage, author
of
The Day Wall Street Exploded
