Opinion Not History
The Introduction of this book sets it up to be a piece of political soapbox propaganda. It lambastes two Presidents and both major political parties for being anti-communist. It goes on to portray Ethel Rosenberg as a victim of her upbringing and blaming it for her innocent support of her Communist husband. The author then goes on to blame her fate on the social and cultural issues of the twentieth century, but does not mention that all of those still exist today some seventy years later. The book does not fall far from the introduction. While there is plenty of untarnished evidence that Ethel was innocent, this author puts such a spin on the raw facts that this reader thinks she made the evidence fit her theory rather than letting the evidence prove the theory. She does, however, footnote her sources. I am unimpressed and I could not finish the book. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

This was not one of my favorite biographies. I felt like I was back in college reading a history research paper. I prefer biographies to be presented as more of a novel. I could not get into the book and found myself skimming way to much.

In college I took a class where we went in depth into the Rosenbergs so I was excited to read this book from Anne Sebba. Unfortunately, this didn't teach me anything new and felt like I was reading a textbook.

When reading books about controversial figures, writers like Jeff Guinn are what I'm drawn to. He made me fall in love with Clyde Barrow and gave me a new view into Jim Jones. This story about Ethel Rosenberg didn't make me feel anything. And that's why I read - to feel.

This gets a giant "EH" from me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

Ethel was a Jewish immigrant that loved singing and dancing. . Ethel was born to a family that didn't appreciate or value the female members of their family and being highly intelligent. She loved to sing and act and did both until the depression required her to bring home wages for the family. But it was in the little neighborhood places that she met Julius Rosenberg and became the first and only women and mother to die by the electric chair within minutes of her husband leaving two young boys orphans. While Julius was definitely a spy, the testimony and conviction of Ethel has always been shaky.
Anna Sebba does an amazing and totally enthralling history of Ethel Rosenberg’s life. She causes you to have many emotional feelings for Ethel especially for any of this i retested I. The Cold War era.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced readers copy of Ethel Rosenberg: An American Tragedy by Anne Sedna.
#Netgalley #StMartinsPress

The biography of Ethel Rosenberg opens with the electrocution of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg for treason. The author has spent a lot of time researching into their lives. Most of this biography is rather dry, with footnotes and quotes.
It was sad to read about Ethel's childhood and upbringing. Julius helped Ethel escape from her family. The author tells about plays and books based on Ethel's life and death. She ends the biography by giving her perspectives on the multiple meanings of betrayal. She concludes "Only Ethel betrayed no one, thus sealing her own fate."
Sad.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this read.

Anne Sebba has written an amazing book about Ethel Rosenberg. I had all sorts of emotions as I read this well-documented book. First, the description of her execution where she still had a heartbeat and had to put her back in the rented electric chair and shock her two more times. Sebba did an excellent job describing the tenements where Ethel grew up, giving background on her parents, and Ethel’s quest for an education, she wanted to work and have children. Having been through two world wars and a depression in between the wars and the Cold War starting and Korea, I think set the groundwork for unrest.

I had to set this book down at times because of all the facts and people mentioned. I found it was easier to read in smaller increments, it is hard to understand how Ethel’s brother lied. The book left me with lots to ponder.
Thank you St. Martin’s and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

Anne Sebba's use of primary sources, evidence, and letters challenge readers to re-examine the role of Ethel Rosenberg and her place in history with fresh eyes. At a time when only a fine line defined what was considered loyalty and what fueled paranoia, Sebba's Rosenberg is a woman worthy of a second look through today's contemporary lens. The tragedy of the Rosenbergs exemplifies what motivates within circumstances and within the human condition. Well-researched and well done

This book is thoroughly researched and really gives a more detailed picture of Ethel Rosenberg, whom many just know as being the wife of Julius Rosenberg, and that both of them received the death penalty for espionage related to their role giving secrets to the Soviet Union. This book shows Ethel as more than that, as a mother, wife, and more. It also raises many questions regarding exactly how much she knew about her husband’s activities, and questions whether she received a fair trial. A very interesting well researched book.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book gives an insight into what brought about the execution of husband and wife Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in 1953. The couple had two young sons, but their very strong political beliefs, and Ethel's determination to stand behind her husband, even to the detriment of their sons, led to their deaths. It was interesting to read that politics and situations caused by government at that time, made such an impact on their lives. It is always interesting to read the backstory to a famous case and this book showed us the extremes one can go when politics infiltrate your every day.
Thanks to the publisher, author and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

“Ethel Rosenberg: An American Tragedy” by Anne Sebba is a meticulously researched and documented history that focuses primarily on Ethel Rosenberg as a person rather than just one half of the infamous Rosenberg couple. Most Americans are probably familiar with at least the basics of Julius & Ethel Rosenberg’s story. In the early 1950s, the Rosenbergs were convicted of espionage related to passing atomic secrets to the Soviet Union and ultimately executed via the death penalty.

When I was a student, their guilt was taught as if it were an unquestionably proven fact, but today it’s clear that the evidence is not definitive. While we’ll never know how much Ethel knew or didn’t know about Julius’s activities, there was objectively little evidence that incriminated Ethel whatsoever, and her brother has admitted he committed perjury when he implicated Ethel out of a desire to protect his own wife. I was horrified by the miscarriage of justice that took place – the trial evidence was beyond skimpy, and many individuals (all the way up to President Eisenhower) acted out of anti-Communist sentiment, antisemitism, and fear of the Soviet Union. It’s a sobering lesson about what happens when parties act based on paranoia and rhetoric instead of reason, a lesson we would do well to remember in today’s political climate.

While Ethel was certainly a devoted wife to Julius, she was also a loving mother to her two sons, a gifted singer, and was filled with passion for learning and knowledge. Sebba includes input from Ethel’s two adult sons as well as letters Ethel wrote to Julius, her children, her lawyer, and her therapist, giving us an intimate look at Ethel’s state of mind during her incarceration and leading up until her execution. These aspects of Ethel’s personality are the most compelling part of the book. At other points, the narrative is quite dry and tends toward academic and overly detailed, but history buffs and Cold War aficionados will enjoy this comprehensive biography.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was extremely informative. We think we know the story of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, but this book showed me how little I really knew. The book provides insight into the biographical background of Ethel as well as the political and judicial issues that were at the heart of the Rosenberg’s case. The book contains a variety of villains, but none of them were named Rosenberg. The book leaves the reader understanding Ethel as wife, mother, sister, and independent woman with her own identity and ideals.

Ethel Rosenberg An American Tragedy, by Anne Sebba, focuses primarily, (to the extent possible), on Ethel Rosenberg alone, as opposed to the couple, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. By looking SINGULARLY at Ethel, (HER childhood, HER parents), AND society's expectations FOR HER (and all women), as a wife and a mother, in the mid 40's to 50's, Anne Sebba clearly demonstrates that Ethel faced an impossible situation, even more impossible then what was thought before.

One can not help but agonize for Ethel Rosenberg after reading this book. Her family, turned their backs on her, including her mother (who never loved her), and her siblings. Her brother David lied in his testimony to incriminate her and save himself and his own wife, Ruth. Any friends she had, dropped her, in fear of incriminating themselves, even when the lives of her children, who were left without any one to care for them. To think, that the government substantiated not offering clemency because she defied all the expectations for women in 1950, thus painting her as EVIL, and so she MUST be GUILTY, is so painstaking to believe. In the end, it was a Rabbi who stood by her on the way to her execution. There was no one else in the world for Ethel.

If this topic interests you, THIS is definitely THE BOOK to read. I was not able to put it down. Anne Sebba goes so far as to write about what happens to Ethel's children and grandchildren (so interesting)..

If it is not obvious already, I give this book and the audiobook 5 stars. I am so thankful to @stmartinspress for the ebook, @macmillanaudio for the #audiobook, and #netgalley for both. The narration for the audiobook by Orlagh Cassidy was on point.

This is a well-searched and intimate look at a little-understood woman who holds a major place in American history. She was the first and only American female executed for espionage. Brought under suspicion because of her husband’s activities, it’s been long speculated whether Ethel was truly as guilty as presumed and if she deserved the electric chair along with her husband. With the deep understanding and detailed background provided by the author, you can form your own opinion. Throughout the book, Anne Sebba stays neutral in her judgment, leaving room for the reader to reach their own conclusions. In her synopsis, she brings all the facts together, adds the advantage of hindsight, and eloquently presents her conclusions for your consideration.
Right, wrong, or indifferent, you can’t help but have some emotional tuggings for Ethel. She’s brought to life in such detail; such cut and dried exchanges with friends and family, her clothing choices, her style, her quiet nature, her love for her little boys up to the hour she was escorted to her death.
This is a moving, informative, and deeply researched book, perfect for anyone fascinated with the Cold War, American history, and our refusal to learn from our pasts.
Sincere thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date is June 8, 2021.

The Rosenbergs were barely mention in my school history books. I didn't really know anything about them, so I was interested in reading this account. This book tries to bring Ethel and Julius to life through research. Part of it was really interesting and other parts weren't, so I skimmed. Some of it was repetitious and tedious. My take away is that we can't judge the nation or people’s decisions in hindsight. Likewise, can we condemn or excuse or change what happened in the past? All we can do is learn from it.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for an e-arc of this book. The opinions expressed are my own.

interesting and well written. This book gives a new take on Ms. Rosenberg's involvement in the whole story.

Ethel Rosenberg
An American Tragedy
Anne Sebba ( author)
(This review is from an ARC from Netgalley)
This is a moving biography of Ethel Rosenberg.
Ethel Greenglass was born on September 28, 1915, in New York. She was an aspiring actress and singer, but eventually took a secretarial job at a shipping company. She became involved in labor disputes and joined the Young Communist League, where she first met Julius. The Rosenberg’s had two sons, Robert and Michael.
Battling the political paranoia of the McCarthy era, anti-Semitism, misogyny, and a mother who never valued her and 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 faced the death penalty for a crime she hadn’t committed, orphaning her children. The author through tragic prison letters that Ethel exchanged with her husband, her lawyer and her psychotherapist over three years exposed new evidence ,however In June 1953, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, 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, even though the US government was aware that the evidence against Ethel was weak at best and based on the perjury of her own brother. David Greenglass who was a spy for the Soviet Union, and he testified in a Grand jury that Ethel was not involved in February 1951, weeks before the trial, he changed his testimony to claim that Ethel had typed up his notes. He testified against his sister and her husband in court in 1951 as part of an immunity agreement.
The Rosenberg’s were convicted on March 29, 1951 and sentenced to death under Section 2 of the Espionage Act. The couple were the only two American civilians to be executed for espionage-related activity during the Cold War. Judge Kaufman noted that he held them responsible not only for espionage but also for the deaths of the Korean War, since the information leaked to the Russians was believed to help them develop the A-bomb and stimulate Communist aggression in Korea. Their case has been at the center of the controversy over communism in the United States ever since. (https://www.atomicarchive.com/resources/biographies/rosenbergs.html)
The Government motivated by fear, political paranoia of the McCarthy era, and anti-Semitism would not commute the Rosenberg’s sentences.

This book paints a vivid picture of what Ethel's life was like, and the huge number of obstacles she had to overcome. There is too little presented to really form a concrete opinnion about how much she knew of Julian's spying, but it left me thinking she might have known more than I previously thought.

There is no doubt in my mind, however, that she absolutely should not have been put to death. She was essentially murdered and her kids were left as orphans so that some government officials could say they were putting a stop to communism. What a travesty.

Ethel Rosenberg: An American Tragedy by Anna Sebba is a fascinating examination of her life and what led to her death by electric chair. The evidence throughout the book clearly shows that her husband was a spy. But Ethel? The evidence explored in this book is very interesting. The book begins dramatically and quickly gains your interest. Other parts are a bit more dry. Overall, it’s a good, important read. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

Ethel Rosenberg's story is a tragedy on many levels, mostly for her sons. This well researched biography begins with the end, as it were, and then backtracks to attempt to humanize a woman who may or may not have committed the crime for which she was executed. This case, however, remains opaque in so many ways. Who is the bigger villain in Ethel's story- her husband Julius or her brother David? Why wouldn't she cooperate? We're never going to know what really happened so take this as an effort not to exonerate Ethel but rather as an attempt to understand her. The inclusion of her letters helps a bit. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Interesting read.

The story of a misunderstood Ethel Rosenberg. A devoted wife and mother, unjustly accused and executed. She had so many hopes and dreams. She and her husband were caught up in The fears of the era. A scary commentary on the present when government persecuted people for their beliefs.