When You Read This They Will Have Killed Me: The Life and Redemption of Caryl Chessman, Whose Execution Shook America

When Caryl Chessman appeared on the cover of "Time's" March 21, 1960 issue, he was the most famous prisoner in America and arguably the best-known in the world. He not only put a face on the issue of capital punishment, he lived one of the most remarkable transformations of any American writer. Through access to the papers and letters of his attorneys, George T. Davis and Rosalie Asher, the unpublished manuscripts and papers held by Joseph Longstreth, Chesman's literary agent; reminiscences with those who knew him, like country music legend Merle Haggard, the first definitive portrait of the enigmatic Caryl Chessman emerges. Even though his case was once an international cause celebre, Chessman was a household name in 50s America (on the cover of "Time", "Life", "Saturday Evening Post"), and his books sold in such numbers as to underwrite his attempt, via lawyers and legal investigators, to clear his name, Chessman has been effectively expunged from American history. Summations of his case can be found in reference tomes on American jurisprudence but his four books, written and published during the 12-year period he was on Death Row at San Quentin State Prison, are out of print, and the unpublished writings that were known to exist at the time of his death have never seen the light of day, until now. Not only are his books being reprinted now in Europe, but interest in him has been sparked by a website that insists upon his innocence of the crimes for which he was executed. He was The face on the capital punishment issue only 45 years ago, his books translated into 18 languages and his death on May 2, 1960 caused riots and denunciations around the world. Chessman was fond of citing this "prescription" by Nicolo Machiavelli: "To find the true path to Paradise one must know the way to Hell and then avoid it." Thus, the title of this biography: "The Way to Hell".

About the Author :
Alan Bisbort lives in Cheshire, CT. He is a writer, editor and researcher who has authored or coauthored 16 books of history, biography, social commentary and poetry and contributed to numerous other books. He has developed a high profile for his weekly political column in the Hartford Advocate and semi-regular commentaries for American Politics Journal. Bisbort has worked for the Library of Congress, on both staff and contract, since 1977 and is currently working with editors there on World War II: A Library of Congress Desk Reference, to be published in 2007 by Doubleday. As a freelance journalist, he is a regular contributor to The New York Times, the Advocate newspapers, Yale Environment Journal, Yale Medicine, Connecticut, American Politics Journal, Hit List, AMP and Ugly Things. His writings regularly appear on the following Web sites: American Politics Journal, Bartcop, Buzzflash, The Smirking Chimp, The Hamster and In These Times. His work has also appeared in The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, American Way, Los Angeles Times, City Paper, Creem, Biblio and Washingtonian.