The Book Prize Index

The Sacco–Vanzetti Affair: America on Trial

Moshik Temkin

This book is the first to reveal the full national and international scope of the Sacco-Vanzetti affair, uncovering how and why the two men became the center of a global cause célèbre that shook public opinion and transformed America's relationship with the world. Drawing on extensive research on two continents, this book connects the Sacco-Vanzetti affair to the most polarizing political and social concerns of its era. Moshik Temkin contends that the worldwide attention to the case was generated not only by the conviction that innocent men were condemned for their radical politics and ethnic origins, but also as part of a reaction to U.S. global supremacy and isolationism after World War I. The author further argues that the international protest, which helped make Sacco and Vanzetti famous men, ultimately provoked their executions.

HistoryAmerican History · medium confidenceAmerican History81 signalsLlm Classifier: American History -> American HistoryKeyword Classifier: Society & Culture -> Society & CultureKeyword Classifier: True Crime & Justice -> True Crime & JusticeCourts & TrialsCrime, Policing & Violence

Award History

0 wins · 1 total

AwardYearResultCategory / Notes
Cundill History PrizeMajor2009LonglistSecondary source
View all award history (1)
Experimental book profileGenerated by GPT-5.4 nano · may contain inaccuracies

This is an unverified interpretation of the catalog description, offered as an opt-in discovery experiment—not as bibliographic fact.

  1. 01 Central figures

    None extracted with sufficient confidence.

    These suggestions did not meet the normal display threshold and are more likely to be wrong.

    • Sacco and Vanzetti55%

  2. 02 Central places

    None extracted with sufficient confidence.

    These suggestions did not meet the normal display threshold and are more likely to be wrong.

    • America70%

  3. 03 Suggested argument

    The book argues global attention to Sacco and Vanzetti arose from perceived injustice tied to radical politics and ethnicity and from reaction to post–World War I U.S. global supremacy and isolationism, and that international protest helped provoke their executions.

    Model confidence 74%

  4. 04 Reading orientation

    70 / 100 academic

    Academic

    An estimate of intended readership and scholarly apparatus—not quality or importance.

Confidence percentages are the model's own estimates. Profile confidence: 72%.