At the heart of it...this is a story of betrayal.

Ethel Rosenberg was betrayed by everyone in her life, from her family and husband to her government and country, and at the end of the day, despite all that she lost, she courageously stood firm in her beliefs and I deeply admire her for that.

Going into the book, I knew just a passing account of what happened, and found that the education I received in school about this story was severely lacking.

I would HIGHLY recommend reading this book. It's so important to understand history, and to realize the parallels to what is happening today in 2021, particularly with the lengths government officials will go to mislead and distract the public from the bigger picture and instead create a scapegoat, especially when a woman is involved.

The audiobook was very engaging, and I thought the narration from Orlagh Cassidy was very well done.

***Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley from providing me with an ARC audiobook in exchanged for a honest review.

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. The narration by Orlagh Cassidy is done well. Overall, I enjoyed book.

Thank you #NetGalley, #MacmillanAudio, #SaintMartinPress and #AnneShebba for the advance audiobook copy for my honest review.

I've always enjoyed a good dose of NF, especially with a good bio or memoir, so when I saw this biography was recently released, I was intrigued.

I think most of us in the US have heard at least a little about Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. The couple who lived on the lower East Side in NYC and were convicted of conspiring to commit espionage for the Soviet Union. The couple was put to death by electrocution minutes apart on June 19, 1953, leaving two young boys who would enter the foster care system.

Ethel, a Jewish immigrant, was raised by a mother who was very cold and critical and favored her brother David. Ethel was a bright girl who graduated from school at 15 and loved music; she had dreams of a career in the opera. She landed a job with the government which she gave up when she married Julius so that he could work for the government in New York. She wanted to be a good wife and mother, but at the age of 37 she was put to death leaving her sons ages 6 and 10 orphans.

All of this happened during the Cold War and both husband and wife believed in communism as did many immigrants at that time. They, along with others, saw communism as a way to lift immigrants who came to US in search of a better life out of poverty. The US in the 1950's was the age of McCarthy-ism and there was rampant political paranoia. Ethel's own brother David perjured himself and later admitted he lied when he gave testimony. There was jealousy among the families and David's false testimony against his sister Ethel was an effort to protect his own wife. There was no concrete evidence that Ethel was guilty but, it was proven that her husband Julius had been recruited and was a spy. Despite the pressure put on Ethel to incriminate Julius, she refused to do. Most believed that at least Ethel Rosenberg was innocent but, the government was determined to send a frightening message by putting her to death as well.

This book was extensively researched and was an eye-opener for sure; it gives the reader a lot to think about. At times it made me mad that something like this could have happened here in the United States, especially in the manner it all appeared to go down.
Rating - 4/5 stars

This audio download was provided by Macmillan Audio and NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review. The narrator, Orlagh Cassidy did a very good job.

I am and will always be a fan of reading non fiction books via audio and this book confirmed it for me once again. While in the car, time in my garden or the household chores, this book was a great companion to hear about a woman in history that I was unaware of before reading this book.

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.

The narrator had great inflection in her voice and there were many times where I continued listening to the book beyond the time I had allotted in my day!

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!

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 Macmillan Audio for a copy of the audiobook.

I went into this book quite blind as I didn't know many details about the Rosenbergs or their trial and I was immediately hooked after starting this audiobook. As the details of Ethel's life began progressing, I felt the empathy in the narrator's voice and the portrayal of a young woman trying to do her best while facing isolation and feelings of rejection from family and friends.
I highly recommend this book for book clubs and think it would be a great selection.

This story about Ethel reminds me of the puzzlement I had when reading We Were the Mulvaneys when the mom realizes her husband is her first love and that her kids come second to that. It is strange to consider this is the same relationship Ethel has with her family, a perhaps antiquated take, but one that was current with the society in the 80s and Cold War Era. An interesting read, as I have not read much from this time period. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for a copy of this audiobook for an honest review.

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.

Narrated by Orlagh Cassidy, I thought she did a good job of being factual and seeming unbiased. I haven’t listened to many nonfiction books, but I thought she was great.

I received a copy of Ethel Rosenberg from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I knew the basics of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. They gave the secrets of the atomic bomb to the Soviets and were executed by electric chair. Why were they really executed and did they deserve it or were they a sacrifice of the times?
This is an excellent historical biography without the stuffiness. This book would a great book for lively book club discussion.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* This is the first book ive read on this case and now i want to read more of them for sure! very interesting book and case

This was a very informative account of the Rosenbergs. My husband and I downloaded the book for our roadtrip because we love historical fiction and nonfiction. This book fell short of our expectations. At times the author went into too much detail making the book drag and resulted in us losing our interest. It was just too drawn out. We gave up on listening to the audiobook when we realized we were not paying attention anymore. The narrators tone did not add to the book.

In the 1950s Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted to death for espionage. Ethel’s conviction was achieved via shaky evidence and the perjury by her own brother. This is a biography delving into many aspects of the case and the tragedy surrounding Ethel’s family.

Wow! There is so much in this book which I had no idea about! The author definitely did her research. I liked how the author pointed out some mistakes by the attorneys and she brought to life the tragedy surrounding this case.

I want to say many things about this biography. I knew so little about this time period and this case. I felt so bad for Ethel and her children. Such a tragedy and we should never forget how it came about!

The narrator, Orlagh Cassidy is fantastic. She is very straightforward and has a great cadence.

Need a good biography…do not miss this one! Grab your copy today!

Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, a notorious couple that were electrocuted in June 1953. The author, Anne Sebba, focuses on Ethel and posits that she was murdered by the state and likely innocent, and did not deserve death. Ethel was betrayed, by her family and the state. Once could say she was a victim from the beginning, being raised by a mother, Tessie, that never showed her love, and instead poured her emotions to Ethel’s younger brother David. The same David who names her and Julius in order to reduce his own sentence of the same crime of giving secrets away to Russia.

Ethel was a smart woman, trapped in the 1940’s image of what a woman was allowed to do, not much beyond being a wife and mother. Ethel was determined to be a better mother to her two children and believed in new parenting methods.

Why she didn’t speak, other than pleading the fifth, is a question probed in this book. Some answers are given, but it’s unknown fully of her motives, leaving the question open if she was guilty or not, or at least knowing about her husband’s activities.

A fascinating book into the WWII era and the beginning of the Cold War. Of a family thrown into the headlines and forever embedded as part of the American culture from the anti-communist sentiment and Cold War. I particularly enjoyed the ending, the “Many ways of imagining and seeing Ethel”, with books, plays and a recreation of the trial, which remain part of Ethel’s legacy around the world.

I listed to most of the book as an audio narrated by Orlagh Cassidy. The narration is done well and keeps you in the book. Couldn’t ask for a better narration for this story

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, in spite of the fact that I was angry and frustrated by the historical details of the case and the investigation. Anne Sebba shares more documented details about the Rosenberg family, and in a very well organized way, than I would have thought could have existed. Why is real justice so hard to attain in this country? This sad story is simply fascinating. I think the most engaging part for me was the life journey of the children afterwards. Now I want more.

I really enjoyed the audiobook format.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was, oddly, a subject that I really had no knowledge of. I enjoyed the writing and the facts included in the book. I was able to look up facts as I read the book, which I really enjoyed. I am so sad for Ethel and my heart hurt that she was electrocuted along with her beloved husband Julius. This is a reminder of the place we must grow from to become better.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg - names that bring the specter of anti-communist hysteria instantly to life. Even if you know nothing else about them, you know that they betrayed their country by spying for the Soviet Union. Like everything we think we know, there is so much more to their story, to her story. In Ethel Rosenberg: An American Tragedy, Anne Sebba meticulously researches the life and death of a publically reviled but little-known woman.
Despite the wealth of information, essential questions about Ethel Rosenberg remain unanswered - what did she really know? Was she an active participant in Julius's spy ring? The answers are tantalizingly out of reach as the truth died with Ethel, who remained true to the vows she made to live or die with Julius.
The picture of Ethel that emerges is of an intelligent, political, highly principled woman who loved her family and prioritized them above all else. Her choices were well thought out, often agonized over. Her choice to stand with Julius led directly to her death.
This book left me with far more questions than answers. I have to wonder if the Rosenbergs would have been executed if their trial had occurred a few years earlier or later. I have to wonder why Ethel was executed at all - she seems to have been a victim of hysteria. Her level of guilt is unclear - it seems a lengthy prison sentence would have been an acceptable punishment. This seems especially true as her brother eventually admitted he perjured himself to save his own wife and family.
The relevance of the Rosenberg case is as fresh today as it was in the 1950s. Hysteria on a national level never seems far away. It would be a shame if we learned nothing from the handling of the Rosenbergs.
Thanks to Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for the opportunity to read and review this book.

In 1953, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for espionage. They met their fate in the electric chair just minutes apart. Over the decades since, it has been speculated that the evidence against Ethel was weak, and that others gave evidence against her to save themselves from prosecution. Anne Sebba obviously thoroughly researched Ethel -- her life, her choices, her personality, love for her two sons, the life of a woman that ended in a public spectacle trial and execution brought on by fear of communism. Was Ethel guilty of being a spy, aiding and abetting spies, or helping pass information to the Russians? Sebba presents the facts she discovered during her research and then, for the most part, leaves readers to make their own conclusions.

I'm not sure of my opinions on a case that was concluded 15 years before my birth. In the past the 1950's were idealized as some sort of a perfect family time, a peaceful happy time following WWII -- but the reality is much more dark. There was prevailing racism, sexism, political witch hunts, antisemitism, just a prevailing cesspool of garbage thought and shitty ideals. I don't have enough of the facts in this case to actually form an opinion on the trial and execution of the Rosenbergs. Until I read this book and started doing side research of my own to learn more about the case, I had no idea there was another defendant, Morton Sobell, and that others were jailed for obstruction and other charges during the case. All that was ever mentioned in history books when I was in school was that Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for espionage and passing nuclear secrets to the Russians along with verbage about the evils of Communism.

Were the Rosenbergs guilty? I'd have to do a lot more research to have a firm opinion. But I do know Author Anne Sebba, and many others, believe that Ethel was not. I do know that the aftermath for her children was horrific -- they were left orphaned because family members refused to take them in. There is a documentary on HBOMax, Heir to an Execution, made by the Rosenberg's granddaughter about the execution and its aftermath. Did the Rosenbergs have have activist, fringe political beliefs....yes. As many did back then....as many did in later years....as many do now. But were they -- or Ethel in particular -- spies? Or were they victims of McCarthyism?

Very interesting book that evoked many different emotions for me. I definitely want to read and learn more about this case.

The Audiobook version of this book was narrated by Orlagh Cassidy. She did a phenomenal job. Her reading pace was perfect. Her voice is easy to listen to. And she put the right amount of emotion into it. Very well done.

**I voluntarily read an ARC of this book from St Martins Press, and listened to a review audiobook from MacMillan Audio. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

I am so glad that I was able to listen to this book; Orlagh Cassidy does an amazing job [as usual], and really brings this difficult story to life. Below is my review of the book overall.

The first time I ever heard of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg was in the movie "You've Got Mail" when two characters have a dialogue about an article the one characters wrote about them. I had never even heard those names before. I remember looking them up and really all I could find was that they were spies and that they were both executed for that. Fast forward to a few months ago and this book came up on NetGalley and I knew I needed to read this and I am so glad I did. This was a huge history lesson that everyone should be reading.

What a crazy story [thoroughly researched by the author and written in a even tone, even in the face of Ethel being executed] and heartbreaking story. . I cannot believe what Julius and Ethel went through at the hands of the US government [talk about a farce of a trial; and I cannot even imagine being thrown under the bus by a sibling like Ethel was by her brother] and then to wait out the months leading to their death alone, in prison, knowing they were going to die and still proclaiming their innocence right up to the end, with Ethel thinking only of her husband and her two little boys, who she missed so much every day she was apart from them. That these two boys lost both parents with little regard to their own well-being [Ethel was never anything but a good mother, who lived for her children and her husband {this was shown over and over again, as she gave up a good job to support her husband in a move that his job required, and the help she continually sought out for Michael, who had issues as a child} ] is nothing short of horrific. It isn't until much later that the well-being of the boys is actually taken care of and it is because of their adoptive parents love and caring [AND the love that Ethel and Julius showered on them when they were small], that enables these two boys to grow up to be really amazing adults. It is, in my opinion, the only blessing and good thing that came out of this horrible disaster. My heart hurts for them and all they lost - it is heartbreaking.

Do I believe that Ethel was a spy? No I do not. Do I believe she is guilty of supporting her husband in any way she could? Yes I do. And she died for that.

"Few would deny that David and Ruth betrayed Ethel when they lied about the typewriter. Many would also argue that Julius and David betrayed their county when they spied for the Soviet Union. Tessie betrayed Ethel by failing to love or cherish her only daughter. Saypol, Cohn, and Judge Kaufman betrayed the high ideals of American justice. Truman and Eisenhower betrayed their better selves by refusing to grant Ethel clemency. Only Ethel betrayed no one, thus sealing her own fate." <--THIS sums up this whole book better than I could ever do. Well done.


Thank you to NetGalley, Anne Sebba, and St. Martin's Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you also to Orlagh Cassidy and Macmillan Audio for providing the audio arc in exchange for an honest review.

I received a complimentary digital and audio copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. This review is my voluntary and unbiased opinion.

From the beginning it seems the author wants to sway readers opinion of Ethel’s innocence. Personally, I think her opinion would have best been presented at the end to let the reader develop her own opinion.

It’s Depression Era in New York where families are living in difficult times. This was true for many Jewish immigrants who experienced poverty. Communism was a common philosophy at the time being challenged by the government. The Greenglass family works hard to make ends meet being immigrants from Russia. Ethel sought the approval of her cold, critical mother, Tessie. Being a good student she graduated at 15 years old but need to find work to help support the family. She had loved the theatre and music and often felt drawn to teaching herself sight reading which eventually led to her performing at Carnegie Hall. Because college or other formal training weren’t possible, she took up transcription classes to find work and help make money to support the family. At that time, she became politically involved in causes to support her communist philosophy.

During this time in history, it was not uncommon to encounter communists in America. Much of the philosophy Ethel seemed focused on pertained to equal rights for workers in developing a union for the small shipping company for which she worked. It was at one of Ethel’s performance that she met Julius Rosenberg who was 21 years old. He was the son of Harry and Sophie Rosenberg who immigrated from Poland. Julius was able to study at CCNY where he learned electrical engineering but was very politically involved.

This story provides the historical data and research regarding the fall out regarding communism and espionage. While Ethel was involved with communist causes in her youth, she abandoned much involvement after she had children. She devoted much of her time and energy on becoming a successful parent. She read and researched extensively on parenting and child psychology. How much or what she knew about her husband’s activities is unknown and more importantly unproven.

It seemed more likely that she was included and executed on circumstantial (that’s a stretch) information. It seems her brother David and his wife Ruth were very involved and when questioned implicated Julius and Ethel to save themselves. Ethel was a strong willed woman who refused to show fear or be disloyal to her husband. In the end, with all appeals exhausted she was put to death. The government was very selective and decisive regarding the execution and who should be killed first. They realized they didn’t have evidence that Ethel was involved just “suspicions.” They wanted to make an example of what could happen if people were found guilty of espionage. They hoped that she would “turn” on her husband but that never happened and the government felt obligated to follow through with the conviction.

After reading the facts of the case, it is clear there was no physical evidence to support the claim that Ethel committed espionage while also taking her children. Ultimately, I think coming to that conclusion in the end would be a better read than feeling that the author was trying to persuade the readers opinion. I enjoy reading author’s opinions and research on cases but usually at the end of a story not the beginning.
Overall, a worthy historical read.