Ethel Rosenberg, An American Tragedy by Anne Sebba is an eye-opening biography of this little known woman. I think most students of American History have a minor amount of information regarding the story of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. The couple were convicted on suspicion of espionage because they provided military secrets from Los Alamos to the USSR.

The story is heartbreaking regarding Ethel. There was such a lack of evidence against her but due to the frenetic feeling during McCarthyism and the ‘Red Scare’ the prosecution were able to prey on the witnesses, jury and the judge’s loyalties to protect the USA. The other thing that played against Ethel Rosenberg was the prosecution team. It was filled with extremely ambitious men who would give up a woman’s/mother’s life to make a name for themselves.

A little known part of this story is that Ethel’s brother was the one who worked at Los Alamos and gave the information to Julius who then gave it to the Russians. Did he get executed? The pressure was on the prosecution, who were extremely aware that there was no evidence against Ethel. They believed that the threat of the execution of Ethel would be enough leverage to extract a confession from Julius. To that end, the prosecution turned David and Ruth Greenglass, Ethel’s brother and sister-in-law to purger themselves under oath. They collectively created a story that would make Ethel look guilty but in effect we know now was not true. How a brother could allow his sister to be prosecuted and ultimately executed is unconscionable let alone leave her two sons Michael and Robert without a mother. How he went to bed every night for the rest of his life is beyond my ability to understand.

The amount of research that went into this book is tremendous. The story is meticulously outlined from when Ethel was a young girl, to her meeting Julius, to the birth of her sons through her trial, incarceration and ultimate death. Ms. Sebba was able to speak with many first hand sources who knew directly about the Rosenberg story. She spoke to friends, children and doctors which gave the reader an accurate lens with which to view the story. The reader is ultimately left to decide for themselves as to the extent of Ethel’s guilt or innocence.

I would like to thank Anne Sebba, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

New York Times bestselling author Anne Sebba's moving biography of Ethel Rosenberg, the wife, and mother whose execution for espionage-related crimes defined the Cold War and horrified the world.

In June 1953, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, a couple with two young sons, were led separately from their prison cells on Death Row and electrocuted moments apart. Both had been convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage for the Soviet Union, despite the fact that the US government was aware that the evidence against Ethel was shaky at best and based on the perjury of her own brother.

This book is the first to focus on one half of that couple for more than thirty years, and much new evidence has surfaced since then. Ethel was a bright girl who might have fulfilled her personal dream of becoming an opera singer but instead found herself struggling with the social mores of the 1950s. She longed to be a good wife and perfect mother while battling the political paranoia of the McCarthy era, anti-Semitism, misogyny, and a mother who never valued her. Because of her profound love for and loyalty to her husband, she refused to incriminate him, despite government pressure on her to do so. Instead, she courageously faced the death penalty for a crime she hadn’t committed, orphaning her children.

Seventy years after her trial, this is the first time Ethel’s story has been told with the full use of the dramatic and tragic prison letters she exchanged with her husband, her lawyer, and her psychotherapist over a three-year period, two of them in solitary confinement. Hers is the resonant story of what happens when a government motivated by fear tramples on the rights of its citizens. (less)

A very well written book on an often forgot, tragic story. The book starts off very well and keeps the reader engaged until the end. Even if you think you know the story, the author does a great job of telling the story. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e arc.

Ethel Rosenberg

By Anne Sebba



The wooden chair the Rosenbergs were executed in was rented from the State of New York. Authorities debated who to execute first. J Edgar Hoover was against the death penalty for Ethel, because he was worried about criticism for the FBI. Their lawyer and the Jewish chaplain at Sing Sing tried to get the time of the execution changed from 11 pm, because it was the start of the Sabbath, but they failed. Authorities then insisted they were showing respect by moving up the execution 3 hours early so they would avoid having the killings on the Sabbath.



Julius was executed first, minutes later Ethel was strapped in the chair & the electrocution started. She was removed and examined by the doctors, her heart was still beating. She was returned to the chair and more volts were sent through her body. It took 5 jolts of electricity and 4 1/2 minutes to die.

Yes, they were admitted communists, but I wonder how she felt, standing by her husband, betrayed by her brother(also a communist who worked at Los Alamos & her mother's favorite ) & sister-in-law(both involved in espionage but escaped the chair) and her own mother. Her brother and sister-in-law escaped punishment.



Ethel grew up on the Lower Eastside during the start of the Great Depression in neighborhoods populated with many Jewish refugees. She was a good student, interested in music , acting and wanted to better herself.



It was a time when many Americans equated Communists with Jews. Like the times we are living in, many including established Jews felt that if Jewish refugees or German children were allowed in the country it would effect their privileged positions. Others reminded Americans that the American Dream depended on many peoples, races, religions, cultures. "The moment a nation determines upon a policy that shuts her from the currents of new ideas that nation is doomed,"



In 1936 Ethel met Julius, this was a time when she educating herself about worker's rights and world politics. Julius had joined the Young Communist League while attending City College. There he joined discussions regarding Fascism in Germany and Italy and the fighting in Spain. He & friends were involved in a raid removing the Nazi flag from the German liner, Bermen.

They were young Jewish activists, who had grown up knowing poverty and trying to better themselves and the world they lived in.



It wasn't until 1954, that it became illegal to be a member of the Communist party. Remember the House Un-American Activities Committee was created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty from Fascists as well as Communists. The scope of the committee in the 40's was on anti-Communists. This lead to the 9 day witch hunt led by Sen. Joe McCarthy alleging Communist propaganda in Hollywood.

Do you remember hearing their questions asked of many in Hollywood, " Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party of the United States of America?" Remember it wasn't illegal till 1954, but that didn't stop the politicians from setting into motion the destruction of careers and lives.



I wonder what old Joe would think of the times we are living in now?



Julius became a full member of the party, but there is no evidence that Ethel ever did, even though she was fully invested in their beliefs. No membership cards were ever produced for either at the trial. It seems to me that the party was to a lot of these people a hope for the future in a time where poverty and joblessness was prevalent.



The government started a file on Ethel in 1941, because she signed a Communist Party nominating petition. She had been told it would put the party on the ballot, and signed after be assured it would no make her a Communist.



These are just some of the gems this book revels in just a few chapters. It is not an easy book to read, and will really take me more than the 24 hours I was allowed access to it before I can finish it.



I remember being a kid and seeing the headlines in the paper announcing the executions and seeing the pictures of them. I probably didn't read the article because I was around 7 years old.

As I grew older and learned about this in school, I started to question the murder of two American citizens by the US government. I have read a few books regarding them, and seen programs and movies. They always left me with an uneasy feeling that they were railroaded by the times and the Red scare that was prevalent in the country.



In the years since then, there have been other citizens who have been charged with treason and sentenced to prison, yet the Rosenbergs are the only ones to my knowledge that were put to death.



You want another murder by the government, try looking up Pvt. Eddie Slovik, the only soldier since the Civil War to be executed for desertion. The main reason his sentence wasn't commuted, was too many were deserting and Eisenhower decided to make an example of him. Yes, he wasn't a good example of an upstanding citizen, and yes he did desert after requesting to not be sent into the terrible battles that he and others faced, but to kill someone just to make a statement was not right.



I know many won't agree with me, but that's the great thing about living in the USA, I don't have to worry about speaking my mind.



Thanks to the author for taking a deeper look into this disgraceful part of our history, and I look forward to finishing the book the first chance I get.



I was given the opportunity to preview this book by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. I will post the review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, GoodReads and Facebook.

Really interesting look at executed American Ethel Rosenberg. Covers her life and experiences boy early and later in time. Relationships with her husband and children are explored to devastating effect.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Ethel was executed the same day as her husband. The fbi tried to get her to spill the beans on her husband, which she never did. This book was well written.

This is a biographical history of a major Cold War event, the trial and execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for spying on behalf of the Soviet Union. Ethel Rosenberg is presented as a sympathetic figure, which isn't the case for Julius.

We get a thorough and fascinating description of the lives of the Rosenbergs from childhood on, and the difficulties they experienced during the Great Depression that led to their joining the Communist Party. Their loyalty to the Party, even after the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact that kept the Soviet Union neutral and divided Poland between the Germans and Soviets is noted as a negative point. Indeed, there is no real understanding of the reasons why people, in particular urban working class children of immigrants, joined the Communist Party. This reflexive anti-communism is a flaw in what is, to sum up, a rather pedestrian work.

Nonetheless, it is worth reading as a story about an important period in American history that has been neglected since the Cold War ended in Soviet defeat. Understanding why Americans saw Communism as a viable approach to politics, and an appropriate response to the failure of capitalism in the 1930s.

A biography of Ethel Rosenberg, who was put to death after being convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage, which was based on flimsy evidence. Ethel desperately wanted to be a good wife and mother. She loved her husband dearly. Her children were orphaned when she awaited her death in Sing Sing prison in New York. It seems she truly believed the execution would not come to fruition. She relied on pleading the fifth as not to incriminate herself, which may have worked against her. The executions of Ethel and her husband Julias were the only time in history an execution took place for a non-violent crime in a time of peace.

This was a difficult read due to many characters, hearsay, assumptions, facts, and the difficulty to understand the sentiment of the times. This would have made a fantastic historical fiction from Ethel's viewpoint. I appreciated learning of the Rosenberg's background and story. I had never heard of it and it is a very marked time in our history. Despite the seriousness of espionage allegations, it does not seem there was sufficient evidence to back up the detrimental sentence. I hope America has learned from this example.

I would recommend this read to history buffs.

Ethel Rosenberg by Anna Sebba

9781250198631

320 Pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: June 8, 2021

Nonfiction, Biographies, Memoirs, History, Espionage

Ethel was the middle child and only girl in her family. She was a talented singer and was a good student. She could not go to college since she needed to go to work when she graduated from school to help out her family. She met Julius Rosenberg and was smitten. He was her first boyfriend. They got married and since Julius did not have a job, they did not have anywhere to live. They had to stay with friends and family for a while.

This is an in depth look into the life of Ethel Rosenberg. She grew up in a normal American family and married her first love. The information the author provides shows us more into her life. It is a sad story with an ending we all know. Or do we? Was Ethel a Communist? Was she guilty of passing secrets? The author provides information in an easy to read and understand format. If you are interested in finding out the author’s perspective, I highly recommend reading this book.

When learning about the Cold War in high school, I vividly remember seeing a picture of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, separated by a mesh wall, while in police custody. There were a few short lines explaining their conviction for espionage and ultimate fate of facing the electric chair – but that’s all it was: a quick blurb, a very cut-and-dry mention of a trial that shocked a nation.

Anne Sebba paints a much more in depth picture of Ethel Rosenberg in this biography. Ethel had a complicated childhood that was absent of both monetary resources and maternal love. Both these factors shaped her future in a dramatic way, first leading her to adopt communist beliefs and later to throw herself wholeheartedly into motherhood, desperate to provide her children with the warmth and affection that she never received as a young girl. Learning about her life through this lens allows the reader to better understand Ethel as a complex individual, making her way in life amidst difficult family dynamics.

This deeper understanding of Ethel makes her ultimate fate much more difficult to grasp, as nothing about this version of her matches my preconceived idea of her as a nefarious spy agent (Julius on the other hand…he’s a different story). But that is what makes this book great – it challenges the reader to set aside previous perceptions, and come to their own conclusions about Ethel through carefully detailed letters, quotes, documents, and interviews (some of which were only declassified in recent years!). Whether guilty or not, the story of Ethel Rosenberg is much more complex than most Americans have been taught, and I highly recommend this biography to anyone who wants to dig a little deeper into history!

Anna Sebba's Ethel Rosenberg is a very interesting perspective on the Rosenbergs trial and the controversy that surrounded it at the time and now. Was Rosenberg guilty of being a traitor? What is a traitor? These are some of the questions Sebba tackles in her book. It is very well researched, though her bias is obvious throughout the book. Overall I enjoyed learning about the Rosenberg's background and diving beyond the surface level story, which was my experience before reading this.

Wow! I learned about the Rosenberg's in school, but this book opened your eyes to how if the government wants someone or something they will get it, no matter the cost. This is a historical biography of Ethel Rosenberg.

Ethel grew up poor with a mother who downed her whenever possible. But, Ethel rose above that. She graduated from school at 15. Joined a semi-professional choir, after being turned down once, because she couldn't read music. So she taught herself how to and reapplied and got in the choir.

She married Julius' and quit a job in Washington so he could work for the government in New York City. Even though he worked for the government, they really never made it to middle class. They had two boys, who were Ethel's whole world. They both believed and supported communism. Julius went a lot father into communism than Ethel did.

Because of jealousy from her brother and sister-in-law, Julius and Ethel were turned into the government as spies. Of course, the brother and sister-in-law were making a plea for their lives from the government when they turned the Rosenberg's in. The government was so blind and wanted to make a statement that what they set in motion soon backfired. Before the government knew it, it was out of hand and they couldn't go back, because the American people would know that the government had screwed up. They sacrificed two people because they wanted a big spy so bad.

I recommend this book if you like historical biography, then I think you will enjoy this book. Even if you like crime, you ought to read this book, because it was a crime that happened to Ethel Rosenberg.

I received the Kindle version of this book from Netgalley for my honest opinion and thoughts.

Fascinating book. As a child of the 50s, I had, of course, heard about the Rosenbergs and knew that there has always been controversy about their executions. However, I never knew much about them this book, focusing on Ethel, really filled in the gaps in my knowledge. I do wish there had been a photo section in the book.

Thanks net galley for letting me read this book! I thought that I knew all about the Rosenberg's but this added more information to what I knew. I did not know that Ethel Rosenberg had a strong background in theater arts nor that she was older than her husband. I found it interesting that the the Prosecution wanted to portray her as the older woman who strongly influenced her husband's belief, as if age made the difference. I think that this would be a good book club choice as the readers can have different opinions on their guilt. The author has done her homework in this book, very detailed and well researched.

I have read numerous stories on Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. This one definitely stands out and gives us a more clear portrait of Ethel. Such a heart wrenching story. If you enjoy history and knowing a story, please check this one out.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press.

An in depth look at Ethel Rosenberg that covers the lead up to her death in the electric chair. It is a highly researched book which really slows down the reading. It becomes a bit cumbersome at times. With that said, it is detailed and looks at the political and social climate of the time period while looking at those factors connecting to the finding of her guilt and ultimately her death. Thanks to NetGalley for the read.

This is a well written and well researched book. It presents evidence with the hypothesis that Ethel Rosenberg was an innocent party executed for her husband's espionage when she was simply a person with political beliefs that went against the establishment, and that combined with the social, political and cultural factors resulted in her execution.

It serves as a biography of Ethel's life and also looks into the effects of her death on both her family and society. While the book may not convince you that she was completely innocent, it does offer a level of insight that I haven't seen for her before. Personally, it did not convince me of her complete innocence, but I think it is definitely worth reading.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book regarding the Rosenberg’s that I have read and therefore much of the information regarding the trial was new to me. I found the book very well researched and compelling. It provides an interesting narrative of the life of Ethel Rosenberg and the times in which she lived. And as the title implies, a sympathetic and critical look at the decisions that led to her execution.
Although at times the amount of detail provided, especially surrounding the trial, became tedious it was nonetheless necessary to provide a clear picture of the missteps and prejudices that occurred. I couldn’t help but find many parallels between the McCarthy/Hoover mentality and the mentality of the last four years of our country’s administration. While the book may not have swayed my belief that the Rosenberg’s weren’t entirely innocent, it did make me realize that their death sentence was based on fear and intolerance rather than law and justice.

The story of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg captivated Americans and those around the world in the post-war late ‘40s and ‘50s. Anne Sebba brings us on a journey of their dramatic arrest, conviction and execution in this thoroughly researched book focusing on Ethel Rosenberg. Ethel was the daughter of Russian immigrants and grew up in New York amongst the Jewish community. A brilliant woman, she had an early career as a singer while working a union position. Ethel then started moving in Communist circles and joined a socialist worker’s alliance. She thought that a belief in Communism is a belief in the American dream. Ethel and Julius, whose parents were also immigrants, had similar backgrounds and met when Ethel was performing as a soloist in 1936. Both were dedicated members of the Communist party or at least dedicated to party ideals. Julius started passing United States nuclear secrets working for Soviet intelligence and was arrested by the FBI in 1950. Ethel was also arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit espionage and was sent to prison with little evidence. After a lengthy and controversial trial, both Ethel and Julius were tried and convicted of espionage and executed in 1953.

This dramatic and tragic story is meticulously outlined in Sebba’s book which focuses on all aspects of Ethel’s life, the birth of their children who were sadly left without parents, and the many appeals for clemency. Sebba was able to talk to many first-hand sources of the Rosenberg family and friends which gives the reader an accurate and thorough view of the Rosenberg’s story. The fact that Ethel seems innocent and was arrested with insufficient evidence is infuriating and adds to the tragedy of their Cold War story. This book is recommended for those interested in detailed history accounts and those who want to read an account of a strong woman who grew up in times when Communist sympathizers were scrutinized by all levels of the government.

My sincere thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A very well written book on an often forgot, tragic story. The book starts off very well and keeps the reader engaged until the end. Even if you think you know the story, the author does a great job of telling the story. All the characters are well defined and most of the questions asked are answered as the story is told. The book has a great flow from beginning to end. Even if you are not a history lover, this is a great, well told and often unbelievable story.