Zusatztext 75032834 Informationen zum Autor Bryan Stevenson Klappentext Bryan Stevenson's incredible fight to end mass incarceration, excessive punishment, and racial inequality comes to life in this young adult adaptation of the acclaimed, #1 New York Times bestseller that was made into a major motion picture starring Michael B. Jordan, Jaime Foxx, and Brie Larson. In this very personal workadapted from the original #1 bestseller, which the New York Times calls "as compelling as To Kill a Mockingbird , and in some ways more so"acclaimed lawyer and social justice advocate Bryan Stevenson offers a glimpse into the lives of the wrongfully imprisoned and his efforts to fight for their freedom. Stevenson's story is one of working to protect basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American societythe poor, the wrongly convicted, and those whose lives have been marked by discrimination and marginalization. Through this adaptation, young people of today will find themselves called to action and compassion in the pursuit of justice. A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR A BOOKLIST EDITORS' CHOICE FEATURED ON CBS THIS MORNING A NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR PRAISE FOR JUST MERCY: A TRUE STORY OF THE FIGHT FOR JUSTICE : "It's really exciting that young people are getting a version tailored for them." Salon * "A deeply moving collage of true stories. . . . This is required reading ." Kirkus Reviews , starred review * " Compassionate and compelling, Stevenson's narrative is also unforgettable ." Booklist , starred review PRAISE FOR JUST MERCY: A STORY OF JUSTICE AND REDEMPTION : " Gripping . . . . What hangs in the balance is nothing less than the soul of a great nation." DESMOND TUTU, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate " Important and compelling ." Pulitzer Prize-winning author TRACY KIDDER " Inspiring and powerful ." #1 New York Times bestselling author JOHN GRISHAM Leseprobe Chapter One Mockingbird Players The temporary receptionist was an elegant African American woman wearing a dark, expensive business suita well-dressed exception to the usual crowd at the Southern Prisoners Defense Committee (SPDC) in Atlanta, where I had returned after graduation to work full time. On her first day, I'd rambled over to her in my regular uniform of jeans and sneakers and offered to answer any questions she might have to help her get acclimated. She looked at me coolly and waved me away after reminding me that she was, in fact, an experienced legal secretary. The next morning, when I arrived at work in another jeans and sneakers ensemble, she seemed startled, as if some strange vagrant had made a wrong turn into the office. She took a beat to compose herself, then summoned me over to confide that she was leaving in a week to work at a real law office. I wished her luck. An hour later, she called my office to tell me that Robert E. Lee was on the phone. I smiled, pleased that I'd misjudged her; she clearly had a sense of humor. That's really funny. I'm not joking. That's what he said, she said, sounding bored, not playful. Line two. I picked up the line. Hello, this is Bryan Stevenson. May I help you? Bryan, this is Robert E. Lee Key. Why in the hell would you want to represent someone like Walter McMillian? Do you know he's reputed to be one of the biggest drug dealers in all of South Alabama? I got your notice entering an appearance, but you don't want anything to do with this case. Sir? This is Judge Key, and you don't want to have anything to do with this McMillian case. No one really understands how depraved this situation truly is, including...

Praise for Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (Spiegel & Grau), on which the young adult edition is based:

“Just Mercy is every bit as moving as To Kill a Mockingbird, and in some ways more so. . . . [It] demonstrates, as powerfully as any book on criminal justice that I’ve ever read, the extent to which brutality, unfairness, and racial bias continue to infect criminal law in the United States. But at the same time that [Bryan] Stevenson tells an utterly damning story of deep-seated and widespread injustice, he also recounts instances of human compassion, understanding, mercy, and justice that offer hope. . . . Just Mercy is a remarkable amalgam, at once a searing indictment of American criminal justice and a stirring testament to the salvation that fighting for the vulnerable sometimes yields.” —David Cole, The New York Review of Books

“A searing, moving and infuriating memoir . . . Bryan Stevenson may, indeed, be America’s Mandela. For decades he has fought judges, prosecutors and police on behalf of those who are impoverished, black or both. . . . Injustice is easy not to notice when it affects people different from ourselves; that helps explain the obliviousness of our own generation to inequity today. We need to wake up. And that is why we need a Mandela in this country.”—Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times

“Unfairness in the justice system is a major theme of our age. . . . This book brings new life to the story by placing it in two affecting contexts: [Bryan] Stevenson’s life work and the deep strain of racial injustice in American life. . . . You don’t have to read too long to start cheering for this man. Against tremendous odds, Stevenson has worked to free scores of people from wrongful or excessive punishment, arguing five times before the Supreme Court. . . . The book extols not his nobility but that of the cause, and reads like a call to action for all that remains to be done. . . . The message of the book, hammered home by dramatic examples of one man’s refusal to sit quietly and countenance horror, is that evil can be overcome, a difference can be made. Just Mercy will make you upset and it will make you hopeful. . . . Stevenson has been angry about [the criminal justice system] for years, and we are all the better for it.”—Ted Conover, The New York Times Book Review
 
“Inspiring . . . a work of style, substance and clarity . . . Stevenson is not only a great lawyer, he’s also a gifted writer and storyteller.”—The Washington Post

“As deeply moving, poignant and powerful a book as has been, and maybe ever can be, written about the death penalty.”—The Financial Times
 
“Brilliant.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer

“Not since Atticus Finch has a fearless and committed lawyer made such a difference in the American South. Though larger than life, Atticus exists only in fiction. Bryan Stevenson, however, is very much alive and doing God’s work fighting for the poor, the oppressed, the voiceless, the vulnerable, the outcast, and those with no hope. Just Mercy is his inspiring and powerful story.”—John Grisham
 
“Words such as important and compelling may have lost their force through overuse, but reading this book will restore their meaning, along with one’s hopes for humanity.”—Tracy Kidder, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Mountains Beyond Mountains
 
“Bryan Stevenson is America’s young Nelson Mandela, a brilliant lawyer fighting with courage and conviction to guarantee justice for all. Just Mercy should be read by people of conscience in every civilized country in the world to discover what happens when revenge and retribution replace justice and mercy. It is as gripping to read as any legal thriller, and what hangs in the balance is nothing less than the soul of a great nation.”—Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

“Bryan Stevenson is one of my personal heroes, perhaps the most inspiring and influential crusader for justice alive today, an…