The IBIC Guide to Books By & About O.J. Simpson

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Remarks from the IBIC Editor's Journal

October 1995

Dear fellow book-lovers,

Sometimes what we read is less revealing and meaningful than what we choose not to read.

For example, I won't be reading anything more by, or about, O.J. SimpsonJanuary 29, 1995

I had low expectations of I WANT TO TELL YOU by O.J. Simpson (Little, Brown). I was pleasantly surprised by the book qua book. It consists of 208 pages and a large number of color photographs. It is well crafted--Lawrence Schilling is obviously a top-flight co-author--and there is a lot of grist for thought. There is a foreword by co-author and FOOJ Lawrence Schiller; a chronology of O.J.'s career; and twelve chapters of letters to O.J. and his replies. I'll list a few chapter titles to give you the flavor: "I Always Answer My Mail"; "One Hundred Percent Not Guilty"; "Spousal Abuse"; and "Footprints in the Sand".

I came away from I WANT TO TELL YOU feeling more empathy for O.J. the human being. For example, I believe he is sincere when he writes that his ordeal has greatly increased his interest in spirituality, and that he is touched by the great outpouring of letters wishing him God's grace in his time of trouble. I sympathize with him on a human level for the many costs that are being inflicted on him by the ridiculous media frenzy devoted to a run-of-the-mill domestic violence case. And, as editor and publisher of the Internet Book Information Center, I must admit that I liked O.J. more when he went out of his way to mention how much he likes reading--Clive Cussler, Ken Follett, Nelson DeMille. But I did not come away persuaded of his innocence.

Considered as a piece of character evidence, this book is far from a complete success. One telling moment: the chapter devoted to "Spousal Abuse", where O.J. selects a variety of enlightened correspondents, such as the woman who writes: "When I was married ... I was as much to blame for the disturbance. Calling the police was more my way of gaining control." And the fellow who writes: "We find ourselves so lost as a man when it's us that's being abused." And the woman who writes: "Also, as a lady, I know that we can mentally abuse men if we know that they care a lot for us." There's a mote of truth in these comments; but all O.J. has to say about the beam in his own eye is "Spousal abuse will be an issue at my trial and therefore I can't discuss it in these pages."

O.J. also fails to impress when he mentions in passing that friends sent a stripper to a party in 1989 that was to celebrate his birthday and his daughter Arnelle's graduation from high school. A stripper at your daughter's graduation party? Family values, not. Contempt for women, yes.

Another point that stood out: there is exactly one page devoted to Ron Goldman. O.J. says: "I feel badly for Mr. Goldman's family. I feel his family's hurt and pain; but I had nothing to do with his death. To me he is like the unknown soldier, courageous." This strikes me as a bit looney, and characteristic of the melodramatic cast of mind that got O.J. into this predicament. I never forget that this trial is not primarily about O.J.; this trial is about the brutal murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, two irreplaceable human beings whose worth and dignity we affirm by demanding that their murderer be brought to justice.

If you are interested in the Nicole Simpson/Ron Goldman murder trial, and you believe there is a reasonable chance that O.J. is not guilty, you may find this book worth your while. But if you believe that O.J. has never offered a satisfactory explanation for the trail of blood from the murder scene--for the bloody socks in his bedroom--for the obsessive stalking--your money would probably be better spent supporting your local battered women's shelter.


Comments from IBIC Readers

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Editor's Recommendations, Summer 1996

In this inaugural edition of IBIC's Featured Books, I'd like to draw your attention to several titles which have helped to shape my life and thinking.

  • When I was around fifteen, I came across Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's science fiction novel, INFERNO. This '70s remake of Dante's classic describes science fiction writer Allen Carpentier's descent into Hell. It's still a very fresh, accessible take on the classic. What a great movie it would make!
  • The Niven/Pournelle INFERNO immediately inspired me to read the original Divine Comedy. I've read a number of translations over the years, but my favorite is the one by Dorothy Sayers (INFERNO; PURGATORY; PARADISE). The notes are excellent, and Sayers had such a knowledgeable and witty mind that reading her prose is a pleasure in itself. (For those interested in a more contemporary translation, I should mention that Robert Pinsky received excellent notices for his 1995 THE INFERNO OF DANTE : A NEW VERSE TRANSLATION; it's a very handsome book.)
  • I also want to tell you about the late Henry Fairlie's THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS TODAY, which probably did more than any other single book to galvanize me into a lifetime interest in Christianity that led me, eventually, to faith. Ironic, because Fairlie was a self-proclaimed agnostic socialist! But reading between the lines of this insightful and deeply feeling book, one realizes that the love of God cannot have been far from Fairlie's heart.
  • Finally, I should draw to your attention a more recent acquisition, the very handsome NIV STUDY BIBLE (10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION) from Zondervan, indexed and bonded in leather in IBIC's theme color, burgundy (black and brown are also available). The notes to this Bible are amazing. They appear to provide you with a very substantial portion of what you need to know to have an intelligent layman's appreciation of the linguistic and historical issues involved in understanding Scripture.

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