Book Review in Not Guilty

A book review on Not Guilty by George Sullivan
Written by: Kimberly Nicole D. Pidenes, 11 STEM B
Checked by: Ms. Rosalie Dilla (Reading and Writing Skills,

Subject Teacher)
NOT GUILTY
By George Sullivan
“I never say, ‘God help me.’ It’s always ‘Help my people, help Your people.”
Overview
The biography tells about the known real-life cases of five different people who were innocent,
but proven guilty. Those people were wrongly accused and convicted following mishandling of
officials through tampered evidences and forced confessions.
Peter Reilly who is a teenage student was convicted of manslaughter of his own mother. Leonard
Peltier, an Indian resident was accused of shooting two FBI agents. Joe Hill was executed for a
murder and same thing happen to Mary Surrat who was put to death for her involvement in
Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. And because of a racist attack, Johnson Whittaker was
expelled from his home.
About the Author
George Edward Sullivan was born on August 11, 1927, in Lowell, Massachusetts. Between 1945
and 1948, he was in the US Navy, where he served as a journalist. He has written over 200
nonfiction books for children and young adults on a wide variety of topics. In 2005, his book
Built To Last was honored with the Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children.
Sullivan is a member of PEN, Authors Guild, Authors League of America, and the American
Society of Journalists and Authors. He lives in New York with his wife.
Notable Works
“Work Smart, Not Hard”
“In The Line of Fire”
“The Yankees”
“Abraham Lincoln”
“Not Built in a Day”
Analysis
Not Guilty is a book published back in the 1997. It was owned firstly by my mother in her
teenage years and I found it on her bookshelf. The title itself showcase its controversial account
and it is a biography, a real-life story. Yes, it is not a typical book exposed to people in this
contemporary period. But the moment I started the book, I realized that the things written here
has to be heard.
The cover page has it all, its minimalism surprisingly gave the details necessary to be viewed.
Although it is not book intended to gain people’s interest, the title and the book cover seems like
a call-for-attention. As I flipped through the first pages of the introduction, I am enlightened by
the context of the whole book and the five accounts. I understand that the case of Mumia Abu-
Jamal has led the author, George Sullivan to take a look on the same cases in his time.
It is a book not for amusement but created as an eye opener and for emotional satisfaction. In the
virtue of fighting for justice, this is an inspiring book. The words from an Indian local named
Leonard Peltier, an account from this book, I’ve seen that a real justice will satisfy bring up not
only you but the people around you who have trusted your innocence.
Despite his wrongful conviction and two decades of imprisontment, Peltier remains confident
about the future. “We will be successful,” he said. “We will be victorious”
Despite of hardships because of the false accusations, these people remained courageous. They
opened their eyes, saw the darkness and fought with it. And I realized that they were fighting not
from themselves, most of them even denied themselves. They were all fighting for the people
around, Peter fought for justice for his mother who died, Peltier fought for his peoples’ rights.
Two of them died but proved and fought a good fight that is not left in vain.
No difficult word/s were written, the biography was very detailed about the dates and sometimes
even on time. It is more like a narrative, minimal dialogues and the description of the cases were
included.
One of the downsides of the book is on how it generalizes in the aspect of governments. It
viewed cases in the political manner which is not a bad thing, but generalized forms of
government and associations could not be a good thing. The book has put the authorities in a bad
light and that could give different influences in the thinking of people. It is much better to let the
readers know and come into realization than say it directly.
Another one, the book could be written in a much more detailed way. Or have each accounts on
separate book because I saw that there is a lot to discuss in each one of them. The book’s pace
was too fast that there is no time to examine or give you thought about the account you’ve
because there is the next one waiting to be read.
Overall, I would recommend this book “Not Guilty” for those who advocated social justice and
rights. But, I could say that this is not for everyone and definitely not for the faint of the heart.
People that I encountered here especially the accusers made my blood boil. Still, this is a book
that is truly life changing, it opened my eyes and me hear the unheard.

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A book review on Not Guilty by George Sullivan

Written by: Kimberly Nicole D. Pidenes, 11 STEM B

Checked by: Ms. Rosalie Dilla (Reading and Writing Skills,

About the Author

“Work Smart, Not Hard”

“In The Line of Fire”

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