An Execution in the Family: One Son's Journey - Softcover

Part of his restlessness stemmed from his inability to come to terms with his past. Up into his early twenties, he never revealed who his biological parents were, even to his closest friends. Ultimately, however, events forced him to acknowledge his lineage and confront the facts, plunging him into his own in-depth investigation of the Rosenbergs' case. Eventually he was able to prove publicly that his parents' trial had been unfair and that critical testimony against them had been tainted. He also had to acknowledge that his parents' names would never be completely cleared. The process proved rewarding in many ways, notably because it served to reveal a greater purpose for him: In 1990 Meeropol started the Rosenberg Fund for Children to support children of political prisoners, beginning his life as an activist and offering him an opportunity to honor both his biological and adoptive parents in the process. "My parents’ resistance inspired a movement. That inspiration survived their execution," he writes. With this memoir, Meeropol hopes in turn to inspire others. --Shawn Carkonen

"Inspirational . . . moving . . . engaging . . . should be required reading."
- Michael Moore

"A riveting and deeply moving human document, filled with the ache and longing of a son bereaved by history."
- Jonathan Kozol

"Heart-wrending, honest memoir . . . Meeropol's captivating memoir deserves a spot on American history bookshelves."
- Publishers Weekly

"Touchingly sincere."
- The New York Times Book Review

"What is compelling about Robert Meeropol's poignant memoir is his utter honesty in examining the question of whether his parents were guilty of espionage. Yet, this extraordinary candor does not diminish his anger at the travesty of justice that deprived him of his mother and father. His story is a personal, anguished search for truth, even while it illuminates a tragic moment in the history of our country."
- Howard Zinn

"I was intrigued by this brilliantly honest memoir in which Robert Meeropol describes his struggle to honor his heritage as the son of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg while striving to create his own identity. He writes powerfully of his childhood years of self-muting, his adult years of self-searching. And he writes with a lawyer's acumen on the question of his parents' guilt or innocence of the crime for which they were executed."
- E. L. Doctorow