This was a great book. Clearly and concisely, it tells the story of how Ethel Rosenberg was railroaded by the government for her husban'ds crimes.

I almost could have believed that this was a work of fiction, but no -this book tells the story of Ethel Rosenberg, a wife and mother who was executed for her part in espionage-related crimes to the utter dismay of the nation and world. This was a very thorough account of Ethel's life and how the world viewed her trial and execution.

I was fully immersed in the beginning and end of this book, but the middle felt a little slow and I found myself having trouble focusing and picking it back up. But I'm glad that I persevered because I could not put it down for the final third of it!

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Such an interesting time period, that I am now going to read more about!

Anne Sebba has clearly done her research work and does a wonderful job of presenting both sides of a bazaar moment in our country's history.

I think I was most saddened by the information (that I didn't already know) that her little brother, whom she doted on as a boy, lied in the trial to protect his family, and seemed to show no remorse, even as he neared his own death. That's just heartbreaking someone would behave like that...repeatedly.

Thank you to the publisher for my gifted copy, I needed a little historical fiction to break up my reads and this one came at the right time!

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. It has been described as “a tragic and gripping tale with unnerving echoes in the modern world”. Ethel, and her husband Julius, had been convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage for the Soviet Union. The evidence against them was shaky and based on the perjury of Ethel’s own brother. This book focuses on Ethel who gave up her own personal dreams of becoming an opera singer to become a good wife and mother while battling the political paranoia of the McCarthy era, anti-Semitism, misogyny, and a mother who never valued her. This is a painful and deeply moving tale of a miscarriage of justice.

I was lucky to get this from NetGalley - finished it 8/8/2021
it took me some time to read because in the beginning there was just so much back ground information and details of her friends and what the friends parents did - it got to be a bit much for me to try to keep straight and figure out what it had to do with the story line but overall it was a good read and very informative.
It is situations like this that make me really question our "judicial system" here - I think the end of the book summarizes the whole story so well - it is a story of betrayal and how one person would not betray anyone and paid the biggest cost , their life, for it.
After reading this my mind is honestly blow how Ethel was killed it makes no sense other than it being exactly what it was said to be - a way to make an example... a move they hoped would have a different outcome but she called their bluff then they were in to deep.
It is such a sad situation - I wonder what Ethel would have done and who she would have become ..
It shines light on what is more than likely still going on and a part of our justice system- some are the "examples" and the system does not treat all fairly or give everyone the same chances.... this is something that even still today needs WORK and has so much room for improvement.

A well-researched and thoughtfully argued book that is also a great read. As an academic, I would have liked more engagement with previous literature about Ethel Rosenberg, but I found Anne Sebba's argument to be thought-provoking and often quite persuasive.

Communists, spies, espionage, traitors - the subject matter in this new release. The focus centers on the life & possible involvement of Ethel Rosenberg.

My interest in this novel was to find out how & why Ethel was convicted for her participation in communism. There’s a saying everyone has probably heard: “Birds of a feather, fly together” as best I can tell, this is the only real evidence of her involvement. I very much hope that she was indeed guilty or else her punishment did not fit the crime. You’ll have to make your own opinions on this.

Thank you to Netgalley and Anne Sebba for the opportunity to read this book.

Ethel Rosenberg was convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage for the Soviet Union and put to death for it in 1953. The best evidence against her came from the lies her brother David told in court. It was interesting to hear the details about the case because I was not familiar with it. The author got a little heavy handed with making Ethel out to be this fabulous mother which she was not because ultimately she chose her husband and silence over her two young boys. Maybe if she realized her boys would spend part of their childhood institutionalized she would have made better decisions.

In a time in the Cold War era when America was seized with extreme anti-Communist sentiment, Ethel Rosenberg was tried and sentenced to death for treason. Ethel was a wife and the mother of 2 young boys. She and her husband were both given the same sentence, leaving their boys without parents. This well-researched book walks through who Ethel was and how she ended up on death row.

This was a fascinating listen for me. I knew little to nothing about this case ahead of time. It is always a good thing to learn more about history, in my opinion. This trial also pointed out some issues in how the court system wasn't fair for women like Ethel. I recommend this one to history buffs and non-fiction fans.

Wow! I thought this nonfiction book about the story of the Rosenbergs was so interesting. I didn't know too much about their case but this book brought so much to light. After reading the book, I can't say with conviction if I believe that Ethel was truly guilty of her charges for being a spy and betraying her country, but I will say that I do not at all believe they truly proved it nor that she deserved the death penalty.

I remember learning about the "red scare" and the "witch hunts" during that time when I was in college and I thought it was so awful that people were even found guilty by association. The author seemed to find a good balance between showing Ethel as the good mother she wanted to be to her two boys and the life fighting her own fight during the McCarthy Era. Without giving away much of what she went through, the trial, or what she did so as not to incriminate her husband, I will say she was one hell of a strong woman. Ethel's story is a heartbreaker, especially because of what she did in order to stand by her own convictions.

I had the pleasure of having both an ebook and audiobook, so at times I listened and read, other times I listened or read only. I found the narrator, Orlagh Cassidy, very easy to listen to and follow. Her voice and pronunciations were very clear. I didn't feel that she over-dramatized any parts of the book but her reading of the book made it appear natural and like I was hearing a first person opinion rather than a reading from pages of a book. I thought this narrator was excellent and didn't detract from the book by her voice nor how she narrated it.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of the e-ARC.

Ethel Rosenberg: An American Tragedy is an interesting book and well worth the investment of time reading it. Anne Sebba brings the most up-to-date information about the life, trial, and execution of this mother and spy. I admit that at first I thought her recounting the background of Rosenberg’s life to be a little too detailed, but as I read further I came to understand why this information is important - it comes to bear in determining whether this only girl in a family where sons are valued above daughters could actually become the mastermind of an effort to provide secret information to the Soviet Union. In the end, the reader must determine for himself whether Ethel was guilty and deserving of the death penalty or if her prosecution was part of an unsuccessful scheme to obtain information about Soviet espionage. Was she a martyred mother or a deserving villain?

While the book was well-written throughout, I found the final chapter to be especially gratifying. I had some thoughts both pro and con about Ethel’s conviction, and found that Sebba did a great job discussing the issues developed in the book. In the end, I am not sure I concur with her conclusions, but she accomplished what I believe to be the highest achievement of an author of non-fiction: she raised my awareness of the topic and inspired me to learn more about it.

Disclosure: I was provided an advanced copy for my honest review.

So much facts and information. Reads fairly easily and more like a report than your standard book. Which seems fair given that this is a non-fiction book. Leaves some unanswered questions but I enjoy falling down a rabbit hole looking up my own information in conjunction with what I’ve learned from the book. This is for the history buffs!

Most importantly, a big thank you to NetGalley, Anne Sebba and Grand St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of this publication in exchange for an honest review.

“"If the English want a king, it is their business. If the Russians want communism, it is their business. If the Americans want our form of government, it is our business." -Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

I first learned of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg 14 years ago while I was in high school. Funny yet slightly embarrassing to admit, I was dubbed an "emo kid" and posting pictures and quotes on my then trendy MySpace page from these two solidifies my teenage persona. The admiration I had for their unwavering loyalty and affection toward one another has remained with me through all these years. But I wasn't old enough then to understand their story nor form a logical opinion on their guilt or innocence. 'Ethel Rosenberg: An American Tragedy' was my first adult experience on the topic and I must say, Anne Sebba did a phenomenal job bringing her findings to the table in a user-friendly format.
Innocent is the color this book paints Ethel in, and I can't say I disagree. This account thoroughly details Ethel's childhood, meeting of Julius, marriage and beyond. It amazes me to learn so many new, significant tid-bits that most definitely help the reader understand more of where Ethel comes from and gives us some insight as to why she may have ended up in the situation that she did. Which is why I award this book a solid 4 stars for standing out in a sea of Ethel Rosenberg accounts.

3.5 stars

I knew nothing about this, partly because I didn't really pay attention to history or politics until I was an adult, so this case was completely new to me. I had heard of McCarthyism and knew it had to do with the cold war and communism scare, but again, I had not heard of it his case or what McCarthyism had to do with it. On the plus side, this book was deeply researched and the author spent years seeking out primary sources and interviewing people who were connected with the case in one way or another. Additionally, I found myself seeing red many times as I railed at the injustice that was clearly done in this case. Regardless of whether the Rosenbergs were guilty of treason (and I think the author makes a good case that at least Ethel was not), it is clear from this book that neither should ever have been executed and that their execution was the result of many things, including politics. As I read case after case of how many of the characters in the farce of a trial behaved at the very least, unethically, and in many cases, probably illegally, I was struck by how some of this behavior continues to this day, especially but not limited to the Trump era. It is appalling to me that even today, some 60+ years after they were executed, people still refused to acknowledge that at the very least they were illegally executed. So this book was definitely a learning experience for me. Why it did not get a higher rating is because I felt the execution of the story was not well done. That is not to say I wasn't moved to tears at some points. The writing just felt uneven to me, and passages, where I was completely torn up, were followed by pretty boring passages that I had reread to figure out what I had just read. I also disagreed with the author's statement at the end that this story was mainly about three women (Ethel, Tessie and Ruth) and their love of one man (David). In a society that was completely dominated by white men and where women were often expected to be housewives who took care of the children and home, women like Ethel who might think outside the box were easy to be villainized, even by other women. Except once her husband got his job in NY, she gave up her career for him and her sons, who I think she loved above all else, even her husband. The author's description of Ethel's love for Dr. Miller also seemed a bit odd and I wasn't about her point of that relationship. Overall, I'm glad I read this book, especially because it made me google the Rosenbergs and I ended up heading down one rabbit hole or another as I read more about their case. I just feel like the execution of this book was somewhat lacking. Still, if this case holds any interest for you, this is a book worth reading, if only to gain more perspectives about the case.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Tragedy of the Times
Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2021
If you want to know about Ethel Rosenberg, the person, this book is for you. While not loved as a child and living in poverty, she wanted to be a good wife and mother. We find the depth of this woman who was trying to love and raise a family the best way she knew how. Jules is the love of her life and her support for her husband gets her in trouble. However larger events are happening which are out of her control that eventually gets her the electric chair. Through time and release of documents through Freedom of Information Act, her story comes out and it's tragic. The culmination of events and her ideology collide.
The book is easy to follow and is very emotional as to what the time and events condemn this innocent woman.

Nonfiction is a genre I rarely read, but I was interested in learning more about Ethel Rosenberg. Overall, this was an interesting read and I did learn more about Ethel Rosenberg and her journey as the wife of a soviet spy. I felt like the start of the book was more engaging and progressed at a pace I prefer; however, once it got towards the middle of the book, my interest stalled. For typical likers of nonfiction, I'm sure this will be a book they would enjoy. I would recommend this as an audiobook read.

I received an ARC of "Ethel Roseberg" by Anne Sebba through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley, Anne Sebba and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of the book “Ethel Rosenberg”.

I didn’t know much beyond the general story about the Rosenbergs and their executions. This book definitely opened my eyes as to what was happening during their trial and the miscarriage of justice that Ethel underwent.

Basically because of governmental pressures on the investigation , prejudices and abuse of power in the courtroom and that she was loyal to her husband her life was taken from her. It really is tragic story of a very brave woman, regardless of your feelings about the actions her and her husband.

A well researched book about an American story. I was growing up during the period of the Rosenberg story and I have always been curious as to the events. This book answered many questions but still left me wondering about the fear that guided these events. Sadly I hope that the current atmosphere in America would not lead to the same outcome. Definitely leaves a hope that historical events might positively impact today's America.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

<i>"Ah yes, the Rosenbergs, spies weren't they?"</i>

I knew very little of the Rosenbergs before cracking this story. For having the distinction of being one of the only people put to death for espionage during a nonwartime, you'd think there'd be more information about them. Sadly, even now there is little.

I liked the way the author presented the case mainly for Ethel. It's good to separate the two because it seems everyone else just puts them as one entity - The Rosenbergs. I'm not sure I 100% agree with the author and the explanations, it was compelling enough I'd like to know more and have a few more POV before I'm completely sold on whether Ethel was innocent or guilty.

But the argument in here is compelling. It paints a very vivid picture of how the prosecution, Ethel's own family and even her refusal to do anything but plead the 5th - all damned her in different ways to the outcome that ultimately played out. The story is in easier to digest chapters that tackle each part of the story in chronological order. It's compelling and fascinating and I'm really glad I read this one.

<i>A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.</i>

While I never studied much of the Cold War and wasn’t old enough to have lived through thus, I grew up in the 1980s when communism and Russian spies seemed to always be popping up. And in today’s political climate, it’s eSy to see how this became so political back then. I’m fascinated by their story and the differences in how Ruth and Ethel were treated. I’m also fascinated by Ethel caring more for her husband than her children. An enlightening read for anyone fascinated with the cold war, spies and communism.