The Sleep of Reason: The James Bulger Case

by David James Smith

Overview

Friday, 12th February, 1993. Two outwardly unremarkable ten-year-old boys began the day by playing truant and ended it running an errand for the local video shop. In between they abducted and killed a two-year-old boy, James Bulger. In search of an explanation, award-winning journalist David James Smith looks behind the misinformation, misunderstanding and sensational reporting to an exact account of the events of that day. A sensitive and definitive account, The Sleep of Reason achieves a unique understanding of the James Bulger case, and comes as close as may ever be possible to explaining how two ten-year-olds could kill.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780571340576
Publisher:	Faber and Faber
Publication date:	10/31/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	NOOK Book
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	720,000
File size:	424 KB

About the Author

David James Smith was born in south London and wrote for Esquire before joining the Sunday Times Magazine, for whom he travelled around the world writing cover stories, investigative articles, reportage and profiles, winning several awards for his feature writing. An article for the Magazine led to his second book, All About Jill: The Life and Death of Jill Dando (2002). The acclaimed Supper with the Crippens followed in 2005, then came One Morning in Sarajevo - 28 June 1914 (2008), a reconstruction of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Young Mandela, his influential biography of the early life of Nelson Mandela was published in 2010. More recently, David has served as a Commissioner at the Criminal Cases Review Commission investigating miscarriages of justice.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"A journey into the heart of narrative darkness . . . a thorough investigation and collation of the facts." – Guardian

"Dramatic and disturbing . . . his evidence, used judiciously and presented without comment but with an undertone of urgency, is a damning indictment." – Anita Brookner, Observer

"The most harrowing, heartbreaking and defining account of the murder, its aftermath and legacy."– David Peace

Interviews

"It is as true now as it was then that the murder has never really been explained and the motive for the crime remains a mystery. This book, the result of considerable research and a painstaking, sometimes distressing assembly of the facts, was my attempt to offer some insight and understanding."