The Brother: The Untold Story of the Rosenberg Case by Sam Roberts (PDF)

Description

“A fresh and fast-paced study of one of the most important crimes of the twentieth century” (The Washington Post), The Brother now discloses new information revealed since the original publication in 2003—including an admission by his sons that Julius Rosenberg was indeed a Soviet spy and a confession to the author by the Rosenbergs’ co-defendant.Sixty years after their execution in June 1953 for conspiring to steal atomic secrets, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg remain the subjects of great emotional debate and acrimony. The man whose testimony almost single-handedly convicted them was Ethel Rosenberg’s own brother, David Greenglass. Though the Rosenbergs were executed, Greenglass served a mere ten years in prison, after which, with a new name, he disappeared. But journalist Sam Roberts found Greenglass, and then managed to convince him to talk about everything that had happened. Since the original publication of The Brother, Roberts sued to release grand jury testimony, which further implicates Greenglass and demonstrates how the prosecution was tainted. One of the defendants, Morton Sobell, admitted to Roberts that he and Julius Rosenberg were spies. Furthermore, Michael and Robert Meeropol, the Rosenbergs’ sons, acknowledged to Roberts that although their mother was not legally culpable, that the “secret” to the atomic bomb was not compromised, and that the death penalty was excessive, their father was, in fact, guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union. Now released with this important new information, The Brother is more than ever, “A gripping account of the most famous espionage case in US history…an excellent book, written with flair and alive with the agony of the age” (The Wall Street Journal).

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐This is an excellent book. I read it when it first came out and just got the updated edition for my Kindle. Sam Roberts is a terrific writer. Clearly well researched, the story he puts together is easy to follow and easy to read.I’ve read a lot about the Rosenbergs and the Red Scare. It sure wasn’t one of America’s finer times. I’m against the death penalty so I definitely don’t think they should have been electrocuted.About the Rosenbergs and the other spies, I have no sympathy for their stand, for their actions, for their lying. Jerks is the word that comes to mind. So principled, HA. They fight Hitler but support Stalin. Slight error in judgement, logic, decency there. The sanctimonious prose of the Rosenbergs supporters through the years is so hard to read quietly. Good grief. They were traitors, they were spies, they supported a totalitarian government that murdered millions, a fact that was hardly a secret.The Rosenbergs were self-absorbed, pumped up with self-righteousness, all of which came through in their hectoring, holier-than-thou writings during the trial and incarceration. Hopefully they were nicer as parents. As defendants, they were so focused on martyrdom, they lost sight of honesty, decency and their job as parents.The government behaved badly in shaping the testimony the way it did and making a mockery of the court system. That’s wrong. What would have happened if the government had released the background information they had that proved the spying? It would have prevented the huge gulf that developed over the years between supporters of the government side and those on the side of the Rosenbergs (and other spies). It simply wasn’t necessary. The government made a little god out of secrecy. And the result was a bunch of spies were treated like martyrs.And the Rosenbergs behaved badly by lying and pontificating. What would have happened if they’d told the truth? Would the government have done a deal? They weren’t simply pawns, they were actors in this drama. They had both the responsibility and the power to do things differently than what they did, most definitely before the arrest, but also after it. I just can’t warm up to a bunch of self-righteous liars. They were spies. That’s the truth. They did betray their country. That’s a fact. Looking at what they did and said, they sure seemed to be courting martyrdom. Their goal didn’t seem to have anything to do with a sensible outcome, one that took into consideration their children’s future.The brother is also self-absorbed. He definitely gave up his sister. I sure wonder about that. I think, to some extent, his explanation that he was protecting his family and it was Julius’ job to do whatever it took to protect his has validity. Julius made a decision to make his spying and his deceit the most important thing in his life. Not his wife, not his children. I have no respect for that. He presented himself as if he was being brave and self-sacrificing. But he was behaving like what he conceived a hero from a comic book, a Russian one I guess, would do. It wasn’t reality, it was his chance to live out his fantasy life, the chance to die a hero’s death, instead of working with what he had, was offered, to find a way out at least for his wife. All that posturing, when what was clearly called for was grounded, mature, loving, responsible behavior.The fact that his wife went down with him didn’t seem to matter to him. I like Ilene Philipson’s book about Ethel. It’s a real attempt to make her human. (She was ADD, I think, as were the brother and their father.) What was needed in all this was an adult to say grow up, accept your responsibilities, admit your actions, and get on with things. Quit the posturing, the pontificating.Well, that’s my take on the Rosenbergs and the other spies.

⭐The Brother tells the story of David Greenglass and the Rosenberg espionage case. David was a soldier working at Los Alamos where he passed along secrets of the atomic bomb to his Communist Party brother in law Julius Rosenberg. The Greengrass family grew up in a Jewish neighborhood on New York s lower east side. David was a somewhat lazy young man who was aware that his sister Ethel was a member of the American Communist Party. His wife Ruth was also a leftist but did not join the party. Greenglass sketched pictures of atomic bomb parts passing them on to Herbert Gold, a communist spy, while working at Los Alamos. During the Rosenberg trial he confessed his involvement in spying for the Russians. He accused sister Ethel of typing notes on the stolen material using a Remington typewriter. It is doubtful if Ethel did this. David was not noted for his truthfulness! He died in his 90s after serving a fifteen year sentence at the Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary in Pennsylvania. Without his testimony it is unlikely that Ethel would have been executed. Greenglass said he did it to protect his wife Ruth from prosecution. She was never charged by the government in the Rosenberg case. This case was the most controversial spy case during the Cold War. Both Ethel and Julius died in the electric chair at Sing Sing in June, 1953. Author Sam Roberts is a reporter from the New York Times. He grew up in the Greenglass neighborhood . Roberts was able to locate David Greenglass prior to his death when he was over ninety years of age. The book is not easy reading since it includes many characters. trial testimony and countless footnotes. It is valuable for the insights it provides on the Rosenberg trial, conviction and execution. A good and valuable addition to cold war literature.

⭐Gift for my husband as he’s interested in history.

⭐Great read! Although I had heard of the Rosenberg case all of my life, I had never read that much about them. It seems that most people who had an opinion on them thought they were either completely innocent, or guilty as hell. This book is highly detailed and well researched. Most everyone knows that the Rosenberg’s were caught, convicted, and executed, but this book tells the story of the pivotal role played by the testimony of Ethel Rosenberg’s brother David Greenglas. How he was recruited, cultivated, and ultimately betrayed his own family. What really stands out in this book is how red blooded, working class American citizens could be so “duped” & used by the Communist party & the Soviet Union.

⭐As a child of the 50`s- I often wondered about the Rosenberg`s guilt· It was a different time and a different America; I feel for all the parties involved·

⭐I know this is an important story and has a lot of details I hadn’t read before, but as a Jewish woman born in the 1950’s, I continue to find the saga of the Rosenbergs beyond painful to read. The Brother is quite detailed and explains a lot, including why they got involved and how they passed secrets, yet I still don’t understand why they took such risks and why they were both put to death. Perhaps I’ll never understand.

⭐This book comes the closest to telling truth about Rosenberg case. Basically it establishes that Ethel Rosenberg was NOT guilty of treason and was executed only by lies told by her brother David Greenglass – the guy I think should have been executed! It also established that Julius Rosenberg was a bit part spy who helped the Soviets very little. His execution was a travesty of justice considering that later greater traitors like Bradley Manning got only short prison terms

⭐A husband & wife become spies in WW2 & gave the big secret (How to build an atomic bomb) to the Russians & then paid for the theft by being electrocuted in the early 1950s. A complicated tale with many characters with varying degrees of guilt. One version is this well researched somewhat hard to follow account.

⭐A beautifully written account of one of the 20th Century’s greatest cause celebres.

⭐I saw the obituary for David green glass and thought it would be interesting unfortunately it is a good story badly told rambling and lacking any editing

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