"Douglas relates with authority and clarity the story of these complex legal processes. . . . [He] does justice to both the story's factual complexities and its moral and political conundrums. . . . The Right Wrong Man, from its summary title to its thoughtful postscript, is an impressive work, as well as a timely one in its demonstration of the power of legal systems to learn from past missteps."—Anthony Julius, New York Times Book Review
"The case of [Demjanjuk] the death camp guard turned autoworker, related with authority and clarity."—New York Times Book Review
"[An] admirable book. . . . Douglas's narrative and analysis of this convoluted legal odyssey [is] extraordinarily impressive."—Christopher R. Browning, Times Literary Supplement
"[M]asterful. . . . [D]eftly delivers disquisitions on nuanced legal questions as if they were plot points in a thriller, making his demanding book a pleasure even for readers unschooled in the particulars of international law."—The Wall Street Journal
"As Holocaust historian Lawrence Douglas has written, the Eichmann proceedings were the ‘Great Holocaust Trial,' an unparalleled reckoning with the universal moral burden of the Nazi regime and its crimes. But what came—what could possibly come—after Eichmann? This is the question that guides Douglas's new book, The Right Wrong Man: John Demjanjuk and the Last Great Nazi War Crimes Trial. . . . By Douglas's account, the Demjanjuk affair was a tumultuous encapsulation of much of the post-Eichmann politics of international justice, shaped as they were by the wax and wane of European communism, the creation of a nascent global architecture of legal accountability for atrocities perpetrated both during the Holocaust and elsewhere, and the global process of coming to terms with Europe's violent past."—Daniel Solomon, The New Republic
"An excellent legal-minded elucidation of the long trail toward the conviction of a notorious concentration camp guard."—Kirkus
"[A] story that needed telling."—Dominic Lawson, Sunday Times
"Sophisticated and suspenseful, the book provides a trenchant analysis of the legal and moral dilemmas surrounding trials for genocidal crimes against humanity."—Glenn Altschuler, Jerusalem Post
"[A] tour de force."—Foreign Affairs
"The Right Wrong Man is an important read about the accountability those who do wrong ultimately face."—San Francisco Book Review
"Formidable . . . a thoughtful treatise."—Cleveland Jewish Star
"In his indispensable history of the Demjanjuk case, Lawrence Douglas, the James J. Grosfeld Professor of Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought at Amherst College, delivers a reader-friendly history of this controversial case that provides a valuable understanding of how German law evolved from eschewing the legal principles established by the Nuremberg Tribunal to the 2011 Demjanjuk case, which marked the first time a German court had ever tried, let alone convicted, ‘one of the thousands of auxiliaries who served as foot soldiers of Nazi genocide.'"—Jack Fischel, Jewish Book Council
"A perceptive and thought-provoking analysis. . . . The story told by Lawrence Douglas in The Right Wrong Man is a vital part of that narrative of barbarism [and] a remorselessly fascinating account of the longest trial of any defendant accused of Nazi crimes."—Oliver Kamm, Jewish Chronicle
"[A] thoughtful treatise."—Arnold Ages, Chicago Jewish Star
"Lawrence Douglas's immensely readable book absorbs the reader in the twists and turns of the Demjanjuk saga, helping us understand both why justice required prosecuting Demjanjuk for his ‘egregious moral complicity,' and how the job got done."—Kevin P. Spicer, Commonweal
"Thoughtful."—Sheldon Kirshner, Times of Israel
"A remarkable and important work that lays bare the limits of the justice system for the greatest crimes. Lawrence Douglas has woven out of the trials of John Demjanjuk a book that is utterly gripping and finely crafted, one that offers insights that are profound, troublesome, and enlightening."—Philippe Sands, University College London
"In this insightful and gracefully written book, Douglas elevates the Demjanjuk case from a legal curiosity—one involving an initially mistaken prosecution followed by a later valid one—to a study in the uses and limits of the law when it confronts genocide."—Michael B. Mukasey, former US attorney general
"A marvelous book and a gripping read, The Right Wrong Man dissects one of the most bizarre episodes in the adjudication of the Holocaust. It is reminiscent of, but superior to, Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem. Like Arendt, Douglas studied his subject from up close, from inside the courtroom. Combining eloquent reporting with trenchant analysis, he has produced a rare thing indeed—a learned page-turner."—Jens Meierhenrich, London School of Economics
"In this pathbreaking book, Lawrence Douglas reflects on how jurists in the Demjanjuk trial grappled with challenges of the passage of time, the infirmity of the accused, the hierarchy of perpetrators, inherited legal institutions, and different legal traditions. This is an essential work for understanding judicial reckoning with mass atrocity in our time."—Michael R. Marrus, professor emeritus, University of Toronto
"The Right Wrong Man is powerful, richly observed, and darkly entertaining. Anyone interested in postwar history will want to read it."—Elizabeth Kolbert, staff writer with the New Yorker
"Lawrence Douglas has once again provided us with a history-laden and provocative analysis of Holocaust trials. His riveting study of the Demjanjuk saga is of importance, not just to historians and jurists, but to all those who wonder how can justice ever prevail when the crime being adjudicated is genocide."—Deborah E. Lipstadt, Emory University
"A wonderfully lucid book about the bizarre and fascinating case of John Demjanjuk, the only American to lose his citizenship twice, and about the much larger issues of law and morality that arise when individuals are held to account for crimes committed by the state."—Scott Turow, author of Identical
"In this excellent book, Lawrence Douglas, a thoughtful student of legal attempts to punish atrocities committed in wartime, uncovers the strange case of the non-German who, impressed into serving as a Nazi concentration camp guard, was, many years later, repeatedly tried as a war criminal and ultimately convicted."—Richard A. Posner, US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
"Impeccably researched, imaginatively crafted, and beautifully written, The Right Wrong Man is a brilliant analysis of the longest, most complex and confusing, and most controversial series of legal measures ever initiated against any Holocaust perpetrator—John Demjanjuk. The story of the three decades of litigation required to convict him is told here as only Lawrence Douglas can tell it."—Charles W. Sydnor Jr., Virginia Holocaust Museum
"The Right Wrong Man is a fascinating exploration of what kind of justice the bit players in history's greatest crimes deserve. With the authority of an academic and the eye of a novelist, Lawrence Douglas sheds bright new light on the perplexing case of John Demjanjuk, a small cog in the Nazis' genocidal machine. Although Demjanjuk was not ‘Ivan the Terrible,' as originally accused, Douglas argues that in the end he was Ivan-the-terrible-enough to have been properly convicted."—Jane Mayer, staff writer with the New Yorker
"This book cements Douglas's reputation as our leading guide to thinking about the difficult moral, political, and legal issues surrounding the postwar Nazi trials. The Right Wrong Man is brilliant, ambitious, and wide ranging."—Devin O. Pendas, author of The Frankfurt Auschwitz Trial, 1963–1965
"Douglas has produced an excellent account of the Demjanjuk case—or rather cases. His beautifully written book is the definitive work on the subject."—William Schabas, author of Unimaginable Atrocities: Justice, Politics, and Rights at the War Crimes Tribunals
