Pierce O'Donnell releases "In Time of War: Hitler's Terrorist Attack on America."
(PRWEB via PR Web Direct) June 14, 2005 -- Named one of the "100 Most Influential Lawyers in America" by the National Law Journal, bestselling author Pierce O'Donnell offers a cautionary tale of the dangers of unchecked executive power in a time of crisis with "In Time of War: Hitler's Terrorist Attack on America" (New Press, June 2005). One of the timeliest books since 9/11, "In Time of War" exposes the unconstitutionality of President George W. Bush's audacious usurpation of power in ordering the indefinite military detention of U.S. citizens suspected of terrorism and nearly 700 foreign nationals captured in Afghanistan and elsewhere and imprisoned in "the legal black hole" at Guantnamo Bay, Cuba. O'Donnellone of the leading authorities on Gitmo, the Geneva Convention and the historic use of military tribunals in wartimepulverizes President Bush's reliance on the 1942 German Saboteur Case (Ex parte Quirin) in trying to justify his blatant violation of the Constitution and international law that has tarnished America's image as a human rights champion.
Publisher's Weekly praised "In Time of War" as "a passionate defense of the Bill of Rights."
"'In Time of War' is a riveting account (of a World War II spy story)," said bestselling, legal thriller author John Grisham. "More importantly, it is a blazing red flag of caution to any government hell-bent on tampering with constitutional rights in a time of crisis."
"In Time of War" is a true story that reads like gripping fiction. In striking similarity to the events of 9/11, eight German terrorists landed by submarine on the shores of Long Island and Florida in June of 1942 with a mission to blow up major buildings and railroad hubs throughout the United States. "In Time of War" tells the dramatic story of how they were ultimately betrayed by one of their own, tried by a special military tribunal appointed by FDR, zealously defended by an Army colonel, and six were executed. The trial serves as a precedent for cases brought against "enemy combatants" in Guantnamo Bay, and O'Donnellone of the country's leading trial lawyersillustrates the parallels between then and now, offering a cautionary tale of the dangers of unchecked executive power in a time of crisis.
In his introduction, Anthony Lewis comments: "'In Time of War' is a thrilling account of the saboteurs' story, from their training on a farm in Prussia to their end. But it is much more than that, and much more important. Pierce O'Donnell has uncovered the secrets of the legal process used against the Nazis: the lies of J. Edgar Hoover, the determination of President Roosevelt to execute the saboteurs whatever the law, the unethical behavior of Supreme Court justices."
The Boston Globe highly recommends "In Time of War:" "In an account that moves briskly from spy to courtroom drama and on to legal analysis, trial attorney Pierce O'Donnell argues that 'Quirin is a discredited relic of a different time when the judicial branch had not yet wised up to the perils of uncritical acceptance of the executive's assertions of military necessity.'"
About Pierce O'Donnell
Pierce O'Donnell is a provocative, much-sought-after guest on television and radio and is available for interviews by the print and electronic media. Mr. O'Donnell is a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and co-author of "Fatal Subtraction: How Hollywood Really Does Business" (Doubleday, 1992), a bestselling account of his successful representation of Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Art Buchwald against Paramount Pictures in the famous "Coming to America" case