The Legacy of Sacco & Vanzetti

The literature on the Sacco-Vanzetti case is staggering in its length and breadth. It spans the time from before their execution to the present day. The bibliography of books in-print and out-of-print listed below most likely represent a small percentage of what has been published on this famous case. Many of the important books are from time to time reprinted, so it is difficult at any one point to be certain which works are readily available. All of the out-of-print books cited below were purchased for nominal amounts at used book stores, and most of them are available in public libraries. Most high school libraries have five or more of the out-of-print titles on their shelves, since the Sacco-Vanzetti case is a perennial term paper topic in American History classes. The periodical literature is almost too voluminous to survey.

Of the books in-print, The Crime Library particularly recommends Upton Sinclair's novel, Boston. As its subtitle indicates, it is a "documentary novel," but it is comprehensive in its treatment of the factual aspects of the case. It is a neglected classic of Twentieth-Century American fiction. The reprint edition cited below also includes photographs not found in any other work examined for this article.

Also, the interested student of this case should read a sampling of the letters written by Sacco and Vanzetti during their seven years in prison. As indicated above, they are remarkable works of literature. Unfortunately, the edition that is in-print is quite expensive.

Two out-of-print books, both unique and special, are periodically reprinted or released in new editions. The first is Felix Frankfurter's fascinating and passionate little book, The Case of Sacco and Vanzetti, last published as a slim paperback. The second is Joughin and Morgan's The Legacy of Sacco and Vanzetti, which as been republished three times since its original publication in 1948. This latter work has almost all any reader would wish: the facts of the case, analysis of the trial and the appeals, and a careful consideration of the impact of the case on American culture.

A. Books in Print Search BarnesandNoble.com for Sacco Vanzetti

Appel, Paul P., preface. 1969. Sacco-Vanzetti Case: A Transcript of the Record of the Trial of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti in the Courts of Massachusetts and Subsequent Proceedings, 1920-27. 6 vols. Appel.

Avrich, Paul. 1991. Sacco & Vanzetti: The Anarchist Background Princeton University Press.

D'Alessandro, Frank. Verdict of History on Sacco & Vanzetti Jay Street Publications.

Dos Passos, John R. 1970 reprint. Facing the Chair: Story of the Americanization of Two Foreign-Born Workmen. Da Capo.

Jeans, James W., introduction. 1991. Classics of the Courtroom Vol. XXIII: The Matter of Sacco and Vanzetti, an Ethical Dilemma. PEG MN.

Kadane, Joseph B., & Schum, David A. 1996. Probabilistic Analysis of the Sacco and Vanzetti Evidence. Wiley.

Quesada, Fernando. 1976. Sacco and Vanzetti. Gordon Press.

Sacco and Vanzetti: Developments and Reconsiderations. 1979. Boston Public Library.

Sacco, Nicola, & Vanzetti, Bartolomeo. Letters of Sacco Vanzetti.

Ben Shahn: The Passion of Sacco & Vanzetti

Sinclair, Upton. 1978 reprint. Boston: A Documentary Novel of the Sacco-Vanzetti Case Bentley.

Young, William, & Kaiser, David E. 1985. Postmortem: New Evidence in the Case of Sacco and Vanzetti. University of Massachusetts Press.

B. Books no longer in print:

Busch, Francis X. 1952. Prisoners at the Bar. Bobbs Merrill.

Dickenson, Alice. 1972. The Sacco-Vanzetti Case. Franklin Watts.

Ehrmann, Herbert B. 1933. The Untried Case: The Sacco-Vanzetti Case and the Morelli Gang. Vanguard Press.

Ehrmann, Herbert B. 1969. The Case That Will Not Die. Little, Brown.

Fast, Howard. 1953. The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti: A New England Legend. Blue Heron Press.

Felix, David. 1965. Protest: Sacco-Vanzetti and the Intellectuals. Indiana University Press.

Feuerlicht, Roberta. 1977. Justice Crucified. McGraw-Hill.

Frankfurter, Felix. 1962 reprint. The Case of Sacco and Vanzetti. Grosset's Universal Library, Little, Brown.

Jackson, Brian. 1981. The Black Flag: A look back at the strange case of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Joughin, Louis, & Morgan, Edmund M. 1978 reprint. The Legacy of Sacco and Vanzetti. Princeton University Press.

Montgomery, Robert. 1961. Sacco-Vanzetti: The Murder and the Myth. Devin-Adair.

Russell, Francis. 1971. Tragedy in Dedham: The Story of the Sacco-Vanzetti Case. 50th Anniversary Edition. McGraw-Hill.

Russell, Francis. 1986. Sacco & Vanzetti: The Case Resolved. Harper & Row.

C. Books containing chapters or sections on Sacco and Vanzetti:

Baker, Liva. 1991. The Justice from Beacon Hill: The Life and Times of Oliver Wendell Holmes. (Chapter 29). HarperCollins.

Fecher, Charles A., editor. 1989. The Diary of H.L. Mencken. (entry for February 19, 1932). Alfred A. Knopf.

Meade, Marion. 1987. What Fresh Hell is This? Dorothy Parker, A Biography. (Chapter 10). Villard Books.

O'Connor, Richard. 1975. Heywood Broun, A Biography. (Chapter 10). G.P. Putnam's Sons.

Rosmond, Babette. 1970. Robert Benchley: His Life and Good Times. (Chapter 9). Doubleday.

Vanden Heuvel, Katrina, editor. 1990. The Nation, 1865-1990. (editorial by Oswald Garrison Villard, August 17, 1927). Thunder's Mouth Press.