“Ethel Rosenberg: An American Tragedy” by Anne Sebba is an in-depth study of the Rosenberg incident with the main focus being on Ethel herself. As I was reading this book I kept coming back to the phase “you can’t fight city hall” and that is so correct. There are times where our justice system let’s us down, nothing is perfect, but we expect it to be.
The Republicans had been out of power for 10 years and they needed something to hang their hat on to stir the American voting public. Communism was the answer and the Red scare took hold for the next 10+ years. The American public has always been easy to manipulate and people on both sides of the aisle have taken advantage of that fact. Using just one word in a certain way or in a certain context can creat national hysteria. Communism, abortion, taxes, immigrants, white supremacy, BLM and more have and will continue to be used to get people up in arms with the real goal to get certain people elected and to keep them in office. Most of the times the real goal has nothing to do with the hot ticket item, it is just a way to stir people up so they will vote the way the politicians, who have the power, want them to vote. So it was set against this type of crusade that lead Ethel to the electric chair. Did the top of the food chain want her to be killed? For the most part I do not think so. But the politicians had put themselves in a position where they let themselves no other option. The rhetoric was so loud and had been going on for so long that they had backed themselves into a corner. Was she guilty? And if she was guilty what was she guilty of? Many other people during the war, when Russia was our Ally and had lost millions of people fighting against the Nazi invasion, had help them out by providing them with more important information. The cost those people paid was many years, or in some cases no years, in jail. But the government wanted names, they also wanted to make an example of someone so they didn’t appear to be “soft” on Communism. There were also egos involved as well as careers to be advanced. All of this created the perfect storm that sent a women to her death.
It seems clear that Ethel was involved in some aspect of what her husband was doing but to what extent and did it rise to the level of Capital punishment?
This book really needs to be read by everyone who is currently being drawn into buzz words, hot ticket items, the flavor of the month that politicians and news channels throw in our direction so we will jump, roll over and fetch. It is not that some of these causes are not worth our time or energy, it is just that we need to understand that we are being used for someone else’s agenda. It is like magic, hey look at the pretty girl over there do not look at what my hand is doing below the table.
I found this book both interesting and extremely well written. In addition to the people I mentioned above I think everyone should read this book. It shows how our government, politicians and news channels can push issues so far that we end up with only one option and it is not the one anyone really wants. One woman gave her life in this case, what might happen next when the hysteria level gets high enough. This is a cautionary tale.

This book filled in some gaps in my knowledge of Ethel (and Julius) Rosenberg. The author has clearly done her research and did an excellent job of humanizing Ethel. I did find the writing a bit strained at times but my interest in the subject matter helped me gloss over those rough patches of prose.

Was very slow to start but did get better as it went on. It took me a long time to get through the book unfortunately. However I very much enjoyed the overall story was really a fascinating and even inspiring read about someone who reached her goals and stood her ground even with a grim outcome in her future.

I was very interested in learning more about the Rosenbergs. It's obvious the author did a lot of research about them but unfortunately, this book was just very dry and plodding. It just could not hold my attention.

This book was fascinating. It provides an interesting perspective of the Cold War fear of the Soviet Union. The book is written with a balance of narrative history, criminal investigation, court roomdrama, and government conspiracy. The author paints both a realistic and sympathetic portrait of the Rosenbergs.

The author's position on the guilt or innocence of Ethel Rosenberg is clear to see from the beginning of the book. There is some repetition in the storytelling that does not fit well together. It may have been meant as a coming full circle from the introduction to a certain point in the writing. However, it just makes the plotline awkward, as if I was having a dejavu.

This is a very detailed, straight-forward book on the Rosenberg crimes with a focus on Ethel and how she got to where she was. I did not know much about the couple prior to reading this book, so I enjoyed getting a first-hand look at Ethel. While I enjoyed it, the book did feel like an academic report rather than a non-fiction book. Overall, though, it was pretty good!

My knowledge of American history (even with being an American) is only brief at best. Like, can we be real and say Europe has the best history with medieval wackadoodles and human rights atrocities that actively allow us to root for their demise and cheer on when crowns and monarchies fall? Just me?

Anyways, we haven't had anything that spicy in the US - <i>minus the human rights atrocities like slavery and our modern prison system but I digress</i> - so what I know about Ethel Rosenberg is what I remember from my US history class in high school...meaning not much.

This was a bit dry, but well-researched and attempted to show both sides to the Rosenbergs. We also get a look at what happened to future generations of the Rosenberg family as well.

Overall, it was ok - just not necessarily my cup of tea in terms of a biography. But I am glad I explored it.

<i>Thank you to NetGalley for a free digitial copy to rate and review</i>

Impressive biography of Ethel Rosenberg, a controversial female figure in Cold War history. This book does an excellent job gently raising important themes in the social history of intelligence, including a look at Ethel that embraces the full scope of feminist/gender analysis without letting it take over the book. Thoughtful and detailed narrative highlights the impressive research behind this volume.

Fascinating story of Ethel Rosenberg and her husband Julius who were accused of being spies and passing secrets from the Oppenheimer project at Los Alamos to build the atomic bomb to the Russians. Lots of detailed research. The author may be slightly slanted in favor of Ethel, but after reading the book I completely agree with her hypothesis. A completely different time in America. Was the crime sufficient to warrant the death penalty and was she framed? Only you can be your own judge after reading this extremely interesting account.

I was sad I didn't enjoy this more. I love history (both fictional and non) and I honestly knew nothing about the Rosenbergs so I was pretty excited to learn a true part of our history.

Alas, while the author of this book most definitely did their research I honestly felt like I was in school while reading this. It was really boring to me, especially the second half. Very dry. Unfortunately, I barely paid attention the second half and the last 10% was the worst. Glad I learned a little about them, just didn't love the way it was told.

I was intrigued by the untold story of Ethel Rosenberg as described in the synopsis. Sadly, though it was obviously a passion project for the author, it failed to deliver for me. Throughout I felt that the story of Rosenberg was supported by equal parts research and supposition. I went in looking for a fleshed out woman, wife, mother, partner. But in the end, the three dimensional woman perhaps caught up in ideology, perhaps seeking something greater than herself failed to materialize.

For history buffs, you will enjoy the details of this book. As a child born in the late 50’s, I learned about a women I knew nothing about. Was Ethel executed for spying, or was she a scapegoat? The book was set during the period of the Cold War and McCarthyism. Anne Shebba’s research of Ethel is intensive. Overall, I enjoyed book.

Thank you #NetGalley, #SaintMartinPress and #AnneShebba for the advance readers copy for my honest review

This is a nonfiction book and by the way it's presented we can tell Ethel Rosenberg's life has been meticulously researched by author Anne Sebba.
In June 1953, married couple Julius and Ethel Rosenberg who had two young sons were led separately from their cells on death row and electrocuted just moments apart. As they were being led to the chair they did not cry out or fight it they went calmly.
We see Ethel's life as it unfolds for her as a child and teen and feel the coldness of her mother's betrayal and rejection. She didn't want her. One thing was very clear, how much Ethel adored her children. It was interesting reading the details of her trial for espionage-related crimes, of which I didn't see any hard evidence presented. Because of deep love for her husband Julius, she refused to say anything negative against him in court essentially courageously facing the death penalty which left her children orphans after her execution.
Eyeopening tragedy!

Pub Date 08 Jun 2021
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Ethel Rosenberg: An American Tragedy by Anne Sebba is an interesting book to read. It is based on historical events I have never heard of before. Four stars.

Due to life, I wasn't able to get through this book as quickly as I had hoped, but I finally got it done! The Rosenbergs have always fascinated me, with Ethel in particular. Scape goat, probably. Worthy of death, yeah, no. Definitely worth the read if you have any interest in the Rosenbergs in particular or about spies or the Cold War. I highly recommend it!

This was a fun and interesting read about the fate of Ethel Rosenberg. Tried for Treason, this is the story of how Ethel came to be on trial and the story of her trial. I have heard about this story for a long time, but this is the actual full story. I enjoyed learning about Ethel and that time in history.

I primarily listened to this book, but also peaked into the ebook version to see what the book look liked in version of "print."

Almost every time I read a book about a woman in history who should be famous and well known, I go and read all the news articles and things I can find and I get frustrated that I didn't learn this before my current age! Ethel Rosenberg was one of those women and the way the author laid out her story and presented her as a full woman who was a mother and a wife but had interests of her own, I really appreciated the way the author put together all the facts of this woman's life and the downfall she endured.

I would say this book would be a great pairing with Red Letter Days by Sarah Jane Stratford. A fiction book set in the same time that focuses more on the Hollywood impact of the threat of spies and communism, but a great companion read!

I was really intrigued about this book after reading the synopsis. I had not heard of Ethel Rosenberg before. Unfortunately, it ended up falling a little flat for me. The story was a little tedious and got bogged down in details that I didn’t really care to read about. There were some interesting parts and you could tell a lot of research was put into this book. I’m pretty particular about my non-fiction and don’t pick it up super often outside of memoirs so this is just my opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I remember, as a child sitting at the supper table, my parents discussing the deaths of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg by electrocution, and the fact that their two young children were left orphans. My parents expressed the opinion that it had been wrong to kill Ethel, as she probably had little to do with the spying case. Many years later, Anne Sebba decided to look into the facts surrounding the case. By this time, many documents had been released and more information was available, including the letters written by Ethel while she was imprisoned at Sing-Sing, in solitary confinement. Many of the principals in this case were very elderly or had already died. Sebba spent several years investigating and digging out information, piecing the events together.
The early 1950s were a time of Red Scare, of McCarthyism, and a fear of Communism. Julius and Ethel were part of the Communist party in the United States, as were many Eastern European Jewish immigrants of that day. Living in New York, in almost overwhelming poverty, why would they not want things to be better and many people thought the Communist party could help make things better. Ethel's brother, David Greenglass, became a low-level spy, working at Los Alamos, and giving secrets to the Russians through an elaborate network set up to protect all the individuals in the spy ring.
When finally brought to trial, the trial was riddled with problems. Ethel had been held in solitary confinement for many months - during this time she was allowed no visits with Julius or her children. Ethel and Julius were given very little time with their lawyer to prepare for the trial, the judge openly sided with the prosecution, and David Greenglass perjured himself and allowed his sister to be thrown under the bus. Greenglass did manage to save himself and his wife by doing this. Even in old age, he felt no guilt for what he had done. Attorney Roy Cohn made his mark with this trial, and continued on to become one of the most dishonest attorneys of all time.
The world was in protest over the case, but the FBI felt they had to make an example of the Rosenbergs, so the executions took place. It was a time of misinformation, and extreme bias, along with a crooked legal system. The book is a timely read for the times we live in today.

The true story of Ethel Rosenberg is something that I knew next to nothing about. This biography is excellently researched and follows Ethel’s early life all the way past her death by execution. I appreciated the author exploring their children’s lives in the aftermath. While this biography was a bit dry, I now know much more about the story. Reading this biography has also caused me to think more deeply about some heavy topics…the death penalty, feminism, political ideologies. I’m smarter for having read this.