3 out of 4 stars
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This is a true story. Colonel George Trofimoff was a Russian living in Germany who survived WWII and eventually became a U.S. citzen. Trofimoff became a military officer, often dealing in intelligence issues. Part One of the book tells the story of Trofimoff’s life, including multiple failed marriages, his close relationship with his brother, and his career in the military. Part Two describes a sting operation where Trofimoff was accused of espionage, and Part Three explains the trial that sent Trofimoff to prison for the rest of his life. This book explains how Trofimoff was accused of spying for the Soviets, and attempts to explain how the man was caught up in a serious charge that he could not fight.
Aaron was Trofimoff’s cellmate in prison, and decided to write a book about him in order to clear Trofimoff’s name and to expose serious flaws in the justice system. Aaron opens the book by announcing that he himself was unfairly jailed, and paints Trofimoff’s legal ordeal as a Kafkaesque tragedy that slandered the name of a loyal American.
This reviewer is not going to take a position on whether Colonel Trofimoff was actually guilty or not. Aaron has produced an extremely readable defense of Trofimoff, and has raised some compelling arguments as to why Trofimoff could be completely innocent. Perhaps a grievous and shameful miscarriage of justice has occurred. Still, without studying other evidence from the case and reading alternative versions of the story, one cannot be certain that a decent man was wronged. Other writers and pundits seem to have no doubt whatsoever about Trofimoff’s guilt. Maybe a guilty man convinced Aaron that he was innocent. After finishing this book, readers are bound to come away with the conclusion that the wheels of justice crushed a blameless man, but I would need to study the case further– much further– before making any sort of pronouncement myself.
Aaron states that since the vast majority of his readers are unlikely to be charged with a serious crime, they are unlikely to be enraged about injustices in the justice system. In many cases, since so many people only have experience with criminal trials through popular culture, it all comes down to whether people have been watching Perry Mason or Law & Order. In the former, completely innocent people are wrongly accused of crimes in the face of seemingly insurmountable evidence and saved only by the presence of brilliant legal counsel. In the latter, upright civil servants try to send horrible criminals to prison where they belong, but they are constantly thwarted by sleazy defense lawyers and legal loopholes. In one, the system poses a danger to citizens. In the other, the system is citizens’ only defense against the dangers of crime.
Aaron’s position comes from a professed belief that he was done wrong by the system, which gives this book a power not often found in true crime books. This book is part legal thriller, part espionage tale, part biography, and part a call for awareness of potential societal injustice. In any case, Aaron’s quietly powerful book is bound to make readers think more critically when people are accused of crimes, and to make people wonder whether or not there may be more to a story than is seen in the headlines.
I give this book three out of four stars. If half-stars were allowed, the book would receive three and a half stars.
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Observer: The Colonel George Trofimoff Story, The Tale of America's Highest-Ranking Military Officer Convicted of Spying
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