This isn't just the story of a murder. It is a story about Los Angeles, a brutal and corrupt police force, and the dangerous allure of fame and money. Although Toobin believes that OJ Simpson committed double murder and got away with it, he also makes the case that a history of abuse by the LAPD in black communities created a political climate that allowed the aquittal to happen.
Very few people come off well in this story, and the flawed nature of the participants makes for compelling reading. The media spectacle that surrounded the case brought out the worst in human nature, and every excess is documented here. In the end, very few principles (the defendant, lawyers, jurors, witnesses, police, even the friends and family of the victims) seem untouched by hubris and self-centered motivation. Toobin understands something that many do not: that the entire thing - the crime, the trial, and the aftermath- was a metaphor for American decadence and social decay.
