LAST MAN STANDING The Tragedy and Triumph of Geronimo Pratt

Hardback. An unforgettable chronicle of the 27yr struggle to break a conspiratorial abuse of power and free one of America's most famous political prisoners. In 1968, 20yr old Elmer Gerard "Geronimo" Pratt returned from Vietnam with a chest full of medals and a Purple Heart into the most heated racial climate in American history. Taking advantage of the G.I. Bill, Pratt enrolled at UCLA, where the Black Panther Party was busy recruiting. Propelled by a diverse group of African Americans, the Panther agenda was a volatile mix of black rage, black pride, altruism, idealism, and violence. Under the charismatic leadership of Eldridge Cleaver, Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale, and Bunchy Carter, Pratt rose to the rank of Deputy Minister of Defence and became leader of the Los Angeles Chapter. The Panthers did not go unnoticed by J. Edgar Hoover. In the era of enemies' lists, his FBI drew up its own list of Panthers to be "neutralised" and began a systematic counterintelligence programme to undermine black solidarity. Geronimo Pratt headed Hoover's list. When an FBI informer within the Panther party agreed to testify that Pratt murdered a young woman at a Santa Monica tennis court, his days as a free citizen came to an end. If not for the unlikely alliance of a brash African American defence attorney (Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr.) a radical Irish Jewish law student (Stuart Hanlon), a Protestant minister (Rev. James McCloskey), and the indefatigable Pratt - his spirit unbroken by 8yrs in solitary confinement - a horrifying miscarriage of justice would never have been rectified. A riveting biography and courtroom drama. With Epilogues and Index. 500pp. lge. 8vo. h/back. From the library of true crime writer, Wilfred Gregg, with his personal b/plate. F. in F. dw. A fairly heavy book which may require additional postage.