Johnnie Cochran told me many times during the months we spent together at the O. J. Simpson trial, "You're missing the real story. The real story is Geronimo Pratt."
Oft it's said that it takes a fool to not listen when a wise man speaks, and Jack Olsen is no fool. He listened, he heard, and he wrote. The result is Last Man Standing; the stunning, searing, scandalous story of how yet another idealistic young African-American leader reaching for the torch borne by Martin Luther King was "neutralized" by an FBI run amuck.
Only a writer with Jack Olsen's reportorial and writing skills in other words, only Jack Olsen could have told this tale in such riveting fashion, all its richness, power and depth springing to life on the page.
You may be startled by Geronimo Pratt's humanity, eloquence, and dignity. You may find your eyes opening wide as you learn that behind the revival-house rhetoric and personal dazzle of Johnnie Cochran there exists a man of brilliance, sincerity, and limitless loyalty. You may not have known of the savvy and doggedness of the superb San Francisco lawyer, Stuart Hanlon. But it should come as no surprise whatsoever that with Last Man Standing Jack Olsen has outdone himself once again, ascending his highest peak yet in a career of truly Himalayan range and dimension.
I stand in awe of all four men, and of this magnificent book.
-- Joe McGinniss, bestselling author of Fatal Vision, Blind Faith, and The Miracle of Castel di Sangro.
A telling narrative, beautifully written. Jack Olsen's book is a monument. This is an extraordinary book about extraordinary men. Olsen shows how the government tries to destroy Geronimo Pratt through false testimony and a misuse of the criminal system and how Geronimo Pratt survived. If any book can change the way America looks at race and the criminal justice system, this is it.
-- Martin Garbus, award-winning author of Ready for the Defense and Traitors and Heroes.
Last Man Standing is a fine example of Jack Olsen's trademark zeal for truth, his remarkable narrative facility, and his vision of an America in which the triumph of justice is too often marred by tragedy. It is a book that makes me grateful to its author, a lasting testimonial, and a document born of the same enduring passion that infuses all of Olsen's work.
-- David Guterson, bestselling author of Snow Falling on Cedars and East of the Mountains
Last Man Standing combines dazzling, suspenseful narrative and superb investigative reporting into a truly stunning achievement. Jack Olsen illuminates a dark chapter in American history with his unique blend of surgical logic and lyrical language. Last Man Standing is a brilliant portrayal of the power of truth and the triumph of the human spirit. And a book you need to read.
-- Andrew Vachss, award-winning author of Dead and Gone, Choice of Evil, and Flood