Bestselling author James B. Stewart''s newsbreaking
investigation of our era''s most high-profile perjurers, revealing
the alarming extent of this national epidemic.
Our system of justice rests on a simple proposition: that
witnesses will raise their hands and tell the truth. In Tangled
Webs, James B. Stewart reveals in vivid detail the consequences of
the perjury epidemic that has swept our country, undermining the
very foundation of our courts.
With many prosecutors, investigators, and participants speaking
for the first time, Tangled Webs goes behind the scene of the
trials of media and homemaking entrepreneur Martha Stewart; top
White House political adviser Lewis "Scooter" Libby; home-run king
Barry Bonds; and Wall Street money manager Bernard Madoff.
The saga of Martha Stewart''s conviction captured the nation, but
until now no one has answered the most basic question: Why would
Stewart risk prison, put her entire empire in jeopardy, and lie
repeatedly to government investigators to save a few hundred
thousand dollars in stock gains? Moreover, how exactly was the
notoriously meticulous Stewart brought down?
Drawing on the accounts of then-deputy attorney general James
Comey and U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, Stewart sheds new light
on the Libby investigation, making clear how far into the White
House the Valerie Plame CIA scandal extended, and why Libby took
the fall.
In San Francisco, Giants home-run king Barry Bonds faces trial
due to his testimony before a grand jury investigating the use of
illegal steroids in sports. Bonds was warned explicitly that the
only crime he faced was perjury. Stewart unlocks the story behind
the mounting evidence that he nonetheless lied under oath.
Bernie Madoff''s Ponzi scheme is infamous, but less well known is
how he eluded detection for so long in the face of repeated
investigations. Of the four he is the only one who has admitted to
lying.
The perjury outbreak is symptomatic of a broader breakdown of
ethics in American life. It isn''t just the judicial system that
relies on an honor code: Academia, business, medicine, and
government all depend on it. Tangled Webs explores the age-old
tensions between greed and justice, self-interest and public
interest, loyalty and duty. At a time when Americans seem hungry
for moral leadership and clarity, Tangled Webs reaffirms the
importance of truth.
關於作者:
James B. Stewart is the author of Heart of a Soldier, the
bestselling Blind Eye and Blood Sport, and the blockbuster Den of
Thieves. A former Page One editor at The Wall Street Journal,
Stewart won a Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for his reporting on the stock
market crash and insider trading. He is a regular contributor to
SmartMoney and The New Yorker. He lives in New York.