In prose as beautiful as it is powerful; Rita Gabis follows the trail of her grandfather’s collaboration with the Nazis--a trail riddled with secrets; slaughter; mystery; and discovery.Rita Gabis comes from a family of Eastern European Jews and Lithuanian Catholics. She was close to her Catholic grandfather as a child and knew one version of his past: prior to immigration he had fought the Russians; whose brutal occupation of Lithuania destroyed thousands of lives before Hitler’s army swept in.Decades later; Gabis discovered an unthinkable dimension to her family story: from 1941 to 1943; her grandfather had been the chief of security police under the Gestapo in the Lithuanian town of Švencionys; near the killing field of Poligon; where eight thousand Jews were murdered over three days in the fall of 1941. In 1942; the local Polish population was also hunted down. Gabis felt compelled to find out the complicated truth of who her grandfather was and what he had done. Built around dramatic interviews in four countries; filled with original scholarship; and mesmerizing in its lyricism; A Guest at the Shooters’ Banquet is a history and family memoir like no other; documenting “the holocaust by bullets†with a remarkable quest as Gabis returns again and again to the country of her grandfather’s birth to learn all she can about the man she thought she knew.
#504150 in Books 2015-08-07Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.29 x 1.00 x 6.32l; .0 #File Name: 1627229191350 pages
Review
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. A Suspenseful and Interesting ReadBy JohnI have personally spent many sessions in Chicago's Traffic Court and also Cook County's Criminal Court Buildings and have testified in most; if not all; of the court rooms mentioned in the book. While it was common knowledge that there was a degree of corruption present in those court rooms; I had no idea it was as prevalent and as wide ranging as witnessed in this book. I enjoyed the book. It's a suspenseful and very interesting read. I must say; however; that while I totally understand the motives that caused Terry Hake to infiltrate and wear a wire; I find it difficult to understand how Terry could befriend people (people who treated him with kindness and showed him the ropes; so to speak); and then turn around and totally betray them.....in particular; his very closest friend. What kind of man does this? I understand and agree that the pervasive court corruption definitely needed to be dealt with. However; I just personally could never do what Terry did....to betray the trust and friendships he developed over the period of the investigation. Many of the players were not bad people; they just got caught up in the system that was in place at the time. The judges; on the other hand; definitely deserved incarceration...in particular those who were open to fixing felonies and even murder cases. As a side note; it is unfortunate that this operation culminated in several suicides and also the ruin of many lives and families. I guess the bottom line is; "Stay honest and keep your life simple.....you will be able to sleep at night without any worries."2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Great legal read!By MthreeOne Saturday I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts; FBI Casefile Review with Jerri Williams; and the author of this book was the guest. I put it on my goodreads list and purchased it a few months later. The Story of Terry Hake's undercover work was even better in this book. I am an ADA; and his portrayal of the smallest details of life as a young courthouse practitioner were so realistic! This true story was almost as good as the themes of morality and ethics of the legal profession. I loved it and think it would be a great movie! I especially loved getting to see the professional and personal mechanics of the operation. These real life law enforcement agents and prosecutors are unsung heroes in the quest to keep our judiciary free from corruption.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Swampy reveal of corruption in the Cook County CourtsBy Joan M. FiestaIf you have any interest whatsoever as to why the bureaucracy in the Illinois criminal courts system is so tedious; this book reveals the root need for it. The free-wheeling injustice of the Cook County courts with few systems for review are brought to light in Terrence Hake's recount of his days in the Operation Greylord investigation.The best part of the book is the humanization of the investigation. It never read like a police report. Hake covers the deep personal toll that it took on him and his professional dreams. He also humanized the people he was investigating; painting them as real people who are deeply flawed and have tangible emotions. When faced with a stacked system; even good people can fail.The investigation itself was a bit confusing. The story comes from Hake's singular viewpoint; but he and Wayne Klatt do an extremely good job at weaving the pieces together. It almost reads like a spy novel. Hake and Klatt do well in presenting what Hake knew at certain times of the investigation and revealing elements that help tie missing elements together; all while keeping the reader in suspense.Because there were so many people Hake was investigating; and some related to one another; I had to write down names and who they were to keep them straight. The breadth of the investigation was stunning after I reviewed my scratch pad.The end brings satisfaction. It makes me appreciate men and women like Hake who are so willing to take a stance against political corruption...especially when it comes at great personal cost. It was not a sterile book. One comes away feeling as if dragged through a murky swamp.
