Joseph Margulies: Cast Out
About this Event
Join us at Brookline Booksmith to celebrate the release of Cast Out with author Joseph Margulies.
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EVENT ATTENDEES: Preorder your copy of Cast Out through this page. Books will also be available for purchase at the event. Books can be picked up 30 minutes before the event in the event space.
CAN'T MAKE IT TO THE EVENT? Preorder the book here to have it signed, and choose to have it held for pickup or shipped from the store!
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Event accessibility
- This event will take place at street level.
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- ASL interpretation may be provided (based on the availability of interpreters) but must be requested at least 2 weeks in advance of the event.
- Please email us at [email protected] as soon as possible if you require ASL interpretation, guaranteed seating, or other accommodations. Seats are limited.We will do our best to serve your needs!
Cast Out: A Call for a Forgiving Society in an Age of Incarceration
"There is no them, there is only us."
“Margulies tells the stories of people who have done monstrous things but are not monsters, are not forever defined by their worst acts. He writes beautifully of pain and loss, but also of redemption and transformation….A wonderfully hopeful book about what it means to be human.”—Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking
In Cast Out, civil rights lawyer Joseph Margulies insists that those who commit even the most heinous crimes are one of us and should be judged in a spirit of forgiveness. He explains that American society is too often unforgiving, preferring to cast out those we consider irredeemable by fixating narrowly on the question, “What did they do?”, and imagining that those who have done great wrongs have no past worth learning and no future worth preserving.
But judgment in a forgiving spirit demands that we ask, “What happened?” What brought a human being to this place. Through intimate interviews, his rich chapters bring to life six men and women, sharing their (sometimes brutal) crimes, the grim but all-too-human paths that led them there, and their evolution and insights.
Eye-opening and unflinching, Cast Out makes us truly see those society locks away—the so-called “worst of the worst”. It challenges the reader to see us in them and them in us, and in that way, to recognize the humanity we all share.
Joseph Margulies is a writer, a litigator, and professor of the Practice of Government at Cornell University. As a civil rights lawyer, he was Counsel of Record in Rasul v. Bush in 2004, which gave Guantánamo detainees the right to challenge their detention in federal court, and in Munaf v. Geren in 2008, which gave American citizens the right to challenge their detention by the US government.
About Brookline Booksmith
Brookline Booksmith, thriving in the heart of Coolidge Corner in Brookline, Massachusetts, since 1961, is one of New England’s premier independent bookstores. We offer a vast selection of books, ranging from current bestsellers to the most eclectic titles. We are also known for our beautiful and inspired gifts. Customers buy and sell gently used books in our treasured Used Book Cellar and enjoy our bountiful bargain book selection. We host award-winning events series (including our groundbreaking Transnational Literature Series), offering more than 300 author talks, community conversations, and book clubs annually. Find more at brooklinebooksmith.com!
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Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 0.00 to USD 46.17





