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The Central Park Five: A Chronicle Of A City Wilding (2011)

by Sarah Burns(Favorite Author)

3.78 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0307266141 (ISBN13: 9780307266149)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Knopf

review 1: A well-researched, carefully written, nuanced account of an incident in 1989 that still generates extreme opinions on all sides. Burns gives a full account of the trial of the young men who were accused of raping Trisha Meili, the "Central Park Jogger." The trial unleashed a torrent of racist commentary disguised as disgust over the grisly rape. Burns shows that the five accused were convicted by the police and in the media without anyone giving a second thought to alternative theories. The fear of "wilding" persists today; in fact, it may be having a revival. In the aftermath of Treyvon Martin and Michael Brown, Burns' book and the documentary she and her father Ken made from it have a contemporary feel. It's discouraging how little progress appears to have been made in t... morewenty-five years. Sarah is excellent in showing how attitudes on both sides have roots in the post-reconstruction South, the era of lynching, and how embedded they are. She is illuminating on forced or pressured confessions, which was all the evidence the prosecution had in this case - forensic evidence was absent, and rudimentary DNA testing exonerated the boys from the rape charge. Just a month or two ago the city settled with the five wrongly convicted, distributing $41 million among them. In light of recent developments, one might view the Central Park Five as having a pessimistic message, as if the socioeconomic conditions that result in continuing racial conflict will never disappear. Yet the careful analysis of this book points to a way forward: we need to get beyond the cliches and look at the larger picture, then work together to make progress. If we can, maybe we can avoid the Treyvons and Fergusons twenty-five years from now.
review 2: 1. Plot Overview (Don’t give the ending away!) What did you like about the plot? Did it move quickly or slowly? What didn’t you like? Was it interesting or not? Why? Give details!Im enjoying the book so far, 2. Character Overview: Who were you favorite characters? Describe them—what were they like? Did they remind you of someone? Who/how? How are you like them, even in small ways?Kevin Richardson really stood out to me, he was one of four accused serial rapist. i picture them as 3. Theme Overview: Choose a theme starter word (love, hate, revenge, friendship, anger, etc.) and tell us what the author is saying about it. Example: Forgiveness = The author teaches us that sometimes you have to forgive yourself before you can forgive someone else. She shows this through the characters of Danny and Sandy when… less

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