My Thoughts on the Biography, Clarence Darrow: American Iconoclast…

As stated, I became interested in Clarence Darrow when he appeared in the historical mystery, The Angel of Darkness, by Caleb Carr. At the time, I wondered what type of man would defend such a horrible murderess as Libby Hatch.

I found out who.

Not surprisingly, this biography inspired me to read more biographies. It was sharp, well-written, and painted Darrow, in all his faults and glories, as unquestionably human.

At times, I found myself screaming at the book, more so at Darrow, for his switching of alliances and sides. But he held the same core beliefs and fought for them for sixty of his eighty years of life.

He was all for labor rights and unions, he strongly opposed the death penalty, he championed academic freedom and civil liberties, fought against racial injustice, and always defended the little guy.

Darrow was against government overreach as well as governmental injustice. He hated Herbert Hoover for doing nothing, and despised Franklin Delano Roosevelt for doing too much.

He’d lost and gained fortunes all his life, always finding himself back in the courtroom, where he felt most comfortable.

I highly recommend this book to those who love biographies, and also those who appreciate controversial figures, either in history or in fiction.