Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime
and start saving today with fast, free delivery
Amazon Prime includes:
Fast, FREE Delivery is available to Prime members. To join, select "Try Amazon Prime and start saving today with Fast, FREE Delivery" below the Add to Cart button.
Amazon Prime members enjoy:- Cardmembers earn 5% Back at Amazon.com with a Prime Credit Card.
- Unlimited Free Two-Day Delivery
- Streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows with limited ads on Prime Video.
- A Kindle book to borrow for free each month - with no due dates
- Listen to over 2 million songs and hundreds of playlists
- Unlimited photo storage with anywhere access
Important: Your credit card will NOT be charged when you start your free trial or if you cancel during the trial period. If you're happy with Amazon Prime, do nothing. At the end of the free trial, your membership will automatically upgrade to a monthly membership.
-62% $10.53$10.53
Ships from: Amazon Sold by: JustloveLLC
$9.99$9.99
Ships from: Amazon Sold by: GREENWORLD BOOKS
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Image Unavailable
Color:
-
-
-
- To view this video download Flash Player
Audible sample
Follow the author
OK
In Hoffa's Shadow: A Stepfather, a Disappearance in Detroit, and My Search for the Truth Hardcover – September 24, 2019
Purchase options and add-ons
"The Irishman is great art . . . but it is not, as we know, great history . . . Frank Sheeran . . . surely didn’t kill Hoffa . . . But who pulled the trigger? . . . For some of the real story, and for a great American tale in itself, you want to go to Jack Goldsmith’s book, In Hoffa’s Shadow.” ―Peggy Noonan, The Wall Street Journal
"In Hoffa’s Shadow is compulsively readable, deeply affecting, and truly groundbreaking in its re-examination of the Hoffa case . . . a monumental achievement." ―James Rosen, The Wall Street Journal
As a young man, Jack Goldsmith revered his stepfather, longtime Jimmy Hoffa associate Chuckie O’Brien. But as he grew older and pursued a career in law and government, he came to doubt and distance himself from the man long suspected by the FBI of perpetrating Hoffa’s disappearance on behalf of the mob. It was only years later, when Goldsmith was serving as assistant attorney general in the George W. Bush administration and questioning its misuse of surveillance and other powers, that he began to reconsider his stepfather, and to understand Hoffa’s true legacy.
In Hoffa’s Shadow tells the moving story of how Goldsmith reunited with the stepfather he’d disowned and then set out to unravel one of the twentieth century’s most persistent mysteries and Chuckie’s role in it. Along the way, Goldsmith explores Hoffa’s rise and fall and why the golden age of blue-collar America came to an end, while also casting new light on the century-old surveillance state, the architects of Hoffa’s disappearance, and the heartrending complexities of love and loyalty.
- Print length368 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherFarrar, Straus and Giroux
- Publication dateSeptember 24, 2019
- Dimensions6.25 x 1 x 9.25 inches
- ISBN-100374175659
- ISBN-13978-0374175658
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
Frequently bought together
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Editorial Reviews
Review
"In Hoffa’s Shadow is compulsively readable, deeply affecting, and truly groundbreaking in its re-examination of the Hoffa case . . . a reckoning . . . and also a meticulous reconstruction of 'the greatest mystery in American history . . . a monumental achievement.'" ―James Rosen, The Wall Street Journal
"The Irishman is great art . . . but it is not, as we know, great history . . . Frank Sheeran . . . surely didn’t kill Hoffa . . . But who pulled the trigger? . . . For some of the real story, and for a great American tale in itself, you want to go to Jack Goldsmith’s book, In Hoffa’s Shadow.” ―Peggy Noonan, The Wall Street Journal
"It’s fair to say that the last thing the world was itching for in 2019 was another speculative account of Hoffa’s final days. Which is precisely why Jack Goldsmith’s gripping hybrid of personal memoir and forensic procedural lands with the force of a sucker punch. More than just another writer chewing over the same old facts and hypotheses, Goldsmith turns out to have a uniquely intimate connection to the case that gooses him along on his hunt for the truth." ―Chris Nashawaty, The New York Times Book Review
"[An] emotionally powerful and utterly compelling book . . . In Hoffa’s Shadow is highly impressive not only as a nonfiction murder mystery but also as a work of profoundly apologetic filial love." ―David J. Garrow, The Washington Post
"Jack Goldsmith's In Hoffa's Shadow is a courageous, poignant, and personal portrait of Charles “Chuckie” O’Brien―the man long-rumored to have had a hand in disappearing Jimmy Hoffa . . . Goldsmith’s The Terror Presidency, a tale of fearlessness in public service, was one of the very best non-fiction books I read in the first decade of this century. In Hoffa’s Shadow, a display of courage of a very different kind, is the single best non-fiction book I’ve read in the century’s second decade. Goldsmith has added a remarkable literary-autobiographical- historical achievement to his name." ―Gabriel Schoenfeld, The American Interest
"[In Hoffa's Shadow] made me cry several times. It was a book about honor, a book about family, a book about guilt . . . I don’t even know where to begin. The book is fantastic." ―Errol Morris, Air Mail
"The unlikeliest riveting read of the year . . . [Goldsmith is] always worth reading on any topic on which he opines. But I wasn’t prepared to be transfixed by a D.C. “backstory” unlike any out there . . . this is a National Book Award nominee waiting to happen. And though Hoffa did not go gently into the night, his abrupt and final exit is as dark as any tragedy." ―Hugh Hewitt, The Washington Post
"So much has been written about Jimmy Hoffa, the former Teamster boss who vanished from a Detroit suburb in 1975, but a new book about him still contains surprises ― not least because of who wrote it . . . In Hoffa’s Shadow is several books in one ― an attempt to piece together the enduring mystery of Hoffa’s disappearance, a glancing history of the labor movement, a reflection on the government’s surveillance powers and, underpinning it all, a memoir of Goldsmith’s relationship with his stepfather [Chuckie O'Brien] . . . The book’s pacing is steady and unrelenting, as Goldsmith toggles between his own careful narrative voice and Chuckie’s off-the-cuff wiseguy vernacular." ―Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times Book Review
"Goldsmith has produced a wonderful book about the complicated relationship between a deeply flawed stepfather [Chuckie O'Brien] and the adopted son he loved deeply and forgave unconditionally for casting him aside . . . Goldsmith doesn’t excuse O’Brien’s misdeeds. But he comes to view his stepfather’s experience as a target of then-Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy through the prism of his own experiences reviewing the legality of new surveillance powers granted after the 9/11 attacks." ―Seth Stern, The Christian Science Monitor
“This is an incredible story, plainly rebutting the clear understanding of many that Charles O’Brien drove Jimmy Hoffa to his death, and offering a profoundly beautiful recognition of the nature of paternal love. This book will make you weep, repeatedly, for the injustice, and for the love.” ―Lawrence Lessig, professor at Harvard Law School and author of They Don’t Represent Us and Republic, Lost
“In Hoffa’s Shadow is a masterpiece and a page-turner―I couldn’t put it down. Brilliant, suspenseful, and deeply moving, it offers a personal view of one of the greatest unsolved crimes in American history. At the same time, it offers startling insights into organized crime, the labor movement, and the surprising origins of today’s surveillance state. Beautifully written and full of unexpected turns, this book is gripping and revelatory from start to finish.” ―Amy Chua, professor at Yale Law School and author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations
“A thrilling, unputdownable story that takes on big subjects―injustice, love, loss, truth, power, murder―and addresses them in sentences of beauty and clarity informed by deep thought and feeling. Goldsmith, one of the finest minds of his generation, has told an insane tale with a storyteller’s flair. This is one of the best works of autobiography that I’ve read in a very, very long time.” ―Bill Buford, former fiction editor of The New Yorker and author of Heat and Among the Thugs
"I am one of the world’s experts on the July 30, 1975, murder of Jimmy Hoffa. And, now, Jack Goldsmith―with his brilliant research and beautiful writing style―comes along and tells me a whole bunch of things I never knew about that day. Satisfying his curiosity about his stepfather’s alleged role in the crime and through his own personal integrity, Goldsmith has advanced the state of evidence of this unsolved mystery, bringing us closer to a final resolution." ―Dan E. Moldea, author of The Hoffa Wars
“This is an extraordinary, muscular adventure story about what’s happened to our nation and what’s possible for its future. A must-read.” ―Ron Suskind, author of Life, Animated and The One Percent Doctrine
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Farrar, Straus and Giroux; First Edition (September 24, 2019)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 368 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0374175659
- ISBN-13 : 978-0374175658
- Item Weight : 1.35 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.25 x 1 x 9.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #616,802 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #258 in Labor & Industrial Relations (Books)
- #359 in Labor & Industrial Economic Relations (Books)
- #19,039 in Memoirs (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book to be a great, fantastic, and fun read. They also describe the story as believable, heartwarming, and well-paced. Readers appreciate the writing style, detail, and insight.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book great, fantastic, and interesting. They say it reads like an investigatory account and a personal tribute. Readers also mention the book succeeds on many levels.
"...The book succeeds on many levels, a poignant story of an abandoned boy and the man who took responsibility for him, the twists and turns in their..." Read more
"...It was fascinating and apparently very well vetted. Time lines and milestones were perfectly aligned...." Read more
"...This book is fantastic, not only very well written, but with content that touches so many facets of the author's personal and family life, his..." Read more
"...particular account of Chuckie O'Brien's version is, but it was interesting reading...." Read more
Customers find the story good, insightful, and believable. They describe the book as heartwarming, interesting, and full of roller-coaster drama. Readers also mention it's a compelling tale of love, regret, crime, and mystery.
"...The book succeeds on many levels, a poignant story of an abandoned boy and the man who took responsibility for him, the twists and turns in their..." Read more
"...The story is told with judicious detail and an appropriate pathos that one would expect from a loving stepson.But don’t be mistaken...." Read more
"Pretty good historical perspective of the Hoffa disappearance, much of it reviewing the timeline of Chuckie O'Brien's whereabouts on July 30, 1975...." Read more
"...In Hoffa's Shadow is a truly heart-warming tale stretched out painfully over three hundred pages...." Read more
Customers find the writing style thoughtful, well-presented, and beautiful. They also appreciate the extensive documentation and annotated text.
"...It is amply supplied with roller-coaster drama and elegant writing...." Read more
"...The thing that links them? Goldsmith’s beautiful, heartfelt efforts to connect with his stepfather." Read more
"...This book is fantastic, not only very well written, but with content that touches so many facets of the author's personal and family life, his..." Read more
"...I am glad I read this one.Extensively documented and well annotated, this laying out the compelling story of how one man’s life was all but..." Read more
Customers find the book full of insights, fascinating, and well-vetted. They appreciate the author's fairness and ability to marshal evidence in a dispassionate way. Readers also mention the book is exhaustive and believable.
"...book so remarkable is the author's fairness and ability to marshal evidence in a dispassionate way...." Read more
"...It was fascinating and apparently very well vetted. Time lines and milestones were perfectly aligned...." Read more
"...although the author provides several fresh and incredibly well-researched insights about that event...." Read more
"...book is fantastic, not only very well written, but with content that touches so many facets of the author's personal and family life, his complex..." Read more
Reviews with images
Damaged Corner
-
Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
The author is the stepson of Charles “Chuckie” O’Brien, the loyal and longtime assistant to Jimmy Hoffa. (I should add that the author is a professor at Harvard law school and a wonderful mentor to our youngest son.)
I well remember the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa. My young assessment was that his Teamster job was really a front to make lots of money from his mobster connections. The reality, like many true things, is more complicated and compelling than the simple narrative I believed in high school.
Goldsmith artfully tells the story of his stepfather’s quest to gain his innocence. I am convinced that Chuckie had nothing to do with the disappearance and death of Hoffa. The story is told with judicious detail and an appropriate pathos that one would expect from a loving stepson.
But don’t be mistaken. This is not a hagiographical account. Goldsmith is quick to admit the many faults and foibles of his stepfather. Perhaps you noticed that Goldsmith did not keep his stepfather’s surname. I won’t go into why, but it underscores that this book is not some cheap, laudatory account. On the other end of the spectrum, it is equally not remotely in the Mommie Dearest genre.
If you are looking for an engaging book full of twists and turns, I highly recommend In Hoffa’s Shadow. I should add the subtitle: A Stepfather, a Disappearance in Detroit, and My Search for the Truth.
Particularly interesting is the Kennedy manic obsession with bringing Hoffa down anyway legal or not. It does not show Bobby Kennedy in a favorable light at all. He played fast and loose with laws on wire tapping and surveillance and bringing Hoffa to justice had little to do with Kennedy's frantic and illegal efforts. An interesting open book on the labor movement and Hoffa's rise and fall.
Top reviews from other countries
As far as the Author's Step Father being exonerated from any participation in the disappearance goes, I do not believe the case presented in the book is a strong one.
Jack Goldsmith chooses to dismiss certain facts and there are some contradictory passages as well.
The book could have been trimmed down some, and I don't believe a normal person who reads it, is going to feel much sympathy for any the main cast of characters.
There is one story in the book I found most unsavory and should have been left out.
Decent read for students of the Hoffa case but nothing earth shattering.
So what we have in this author is a combination of legal expertise, scholarly expertise and a privileged connection to the last source (O'Brien died in 2020) who had any knowledge of what happened (and why) to Jimmy Hoffa and who was willing to say anything (not much) about the details.
The review written here by Tracey Aitkens mischaracterises the book highly and places credence on the Sheeran accounts (I Hear Yopu Paint Houses and The Irishman film) and also assigns low motives to Goldsmith's authorship. Credible evidence shows how and why the FBI closed the books on Chuckie O'Brien as a suspect and the book's Appendix lays out the timeline evidence that put a lid on the O'Brien case. (But if you like all your unsolved mob murders put upon one hitman[not only Hoffa, but Crazy Joey Gallo too!], then do indeed read and enjoy I Hear You Paint Houses and watch the Irishman. [Sheeran also pulls the other one when he describes multiple cash drops to Attorney General John Mitchell...in person!])
This book will probably be the final credible word on the Jimmy Hoffa case. But see The Irishman (for sure it is a fine film) and read I Hear You Paint Houses as well for the full Hoffa-conspiracy experience.
Basically we are led through the authors life and career until finally we get to the point: that his stepfather was NOT involved in Hoffa’s disappearance and assumed murder. Chuckle O’Brien has long been identified as the driver who picked up Hoffa outside the Red Fox restaurant and then drove him to his death. Naturally O’Brien has denied this. Well he would wouldn’t he?
If you are considering buying this book then I’m guessing you’ve seen “The Irishman”. I believe Frank Sheehan is telling the truth about what happened. His family believe him. Hoffa’s children believe him. Interestingly within weeks of Hoffa’s disappearance the FBI had identified the men they believed were directly involved in the disappearance. Every name corresponded with Sheerans own “confession”.
I wouldn’t want to be identified with the plot to kill and disappearthe man who had raised me as a son. Like O’Brien I would deny, deny, deny and hope it all went away.
Late on the book O’Brien states he knows what happened and why they did it. Then he says he won’t name them. He’s not a grass apparently.
Now for a man who has allowed his stepson to write this book to clear his name this sounds rather strange. What’s the point? Their is no one left alive from that time. Who is he going to hurt? Who might want to hurt him?
No one that’s who.
The only person O’Brien could possibly damage is himself. After years of denial his confirmation of his treachery would perhaps add greater distaste for him - liar, coward and traitor.
A thoroughly dislikeable and disreputable man.
What a shame the step son has wasted his time on such a loser.