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It is a shocking book, because it shows us that almost everything we have been told about the case is deeply unreliable, and crucial elements of the case against MacDonald simply are not true.

Jeffrey MacDonald was finally convicted in 1979 and remains in prison today. A Publishers Weekly Best Nonfiction Book of 2012“The literary equivalent of one of [Morris’s] movies.

The word “pig” was written in blood on the headboard in the master bedroom.

Buy. It’s reminiscent of the recurring images in ‘The Thin Blue Line,’ iconic and mysterious, always on the verge of revealing the secrets they stand for but never quite yielding them. Please try again later. Morris has produced a brilliant book about the vulnerability of justice to the preconceptions of prosecutors and the power of certain narratives to crowd out all others, even highly plausible ones.

Hoda Kotb Offers Inspiration, Wisdom, and Hope, Ina Garten's Latest Cozy and Delicious Recipes, Discover the Prologue to Jodi Picoult's Poignant New Novel, Audiobooks Read By Your Favorite Celebrities, Feel-Good Audiobooks to Listen to This Week. MacDonald, whose pregnant wife and two young daughters were brutally murdered in 1970, was convicted of the killings in 1979 and remains in prison today. In this profoundly original meditation on truth and justice, Errol Morris reopens one of America’s most famous cases and forces us to confront the unimaginable. Academy Award-winning filmmaker and former private detective Errol Morris examines the nature of evidence and proof in the infamous Jeffrey MacDonald murder case Early on the morning of February 17, 1970, in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Jeffrey MacDonald, a Green Beret doctor, called the police for help.

The culmination of an investigation spanning over twenty years and a masterly reinvention of the true-crime thriller, A Wilderness of Error is a shocking book because it shows that everything we have been told about the case is deeply unreliable and that crucial elements of case against MacDonald are simply not true.

But A Wilderness of Error is both great and important — it’s a beautifully written book, and it has the potential to change the way the country thinks about a justice system that has obviously lost its way.”—Michael Shaub, NPR“Mr. Editor's Picks: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Discover Book Picks from the CEO of Penguin Random House US.

Morris may geek out on minutiae and hypotheticals, but he is enough of an artist to convey that every crime scene is a dialogue between time, as it sweeps away the irrecoverable past, and the material world.”—Salon, Sign up for news about books, authors, and more from Penguin Random House, Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network.

Academy Award–winning filmmaker Errol Morris examines one of the most notorious and mysterious murder trials of the twentieth centuryIn this profoundly original meditation on truth and the justice system, Errol Morris—a former private detective and director of The Thin Blue Line—delves deeply into the infamous Jeffrey MacDonald murder case. As MacDonald was being loaded into the ambulance, he accused a band of drug-crazed hippies of the crime.So began one of the most notorious and mysterious murder cases of the twentieth century.

In a 2012 book, the influential documentarian reinvestigated the case of Jeffrey MacDonald, convicted of the 1970 murder of his wife and children. Jan 22, 2014 | ISBN 9781101583838 Since then a number of bestselling books—including Joe McGinniss’s Fatal Vision and Janet Malcolm’s The Journalist and the Murderer—and a blockbuster television miniseries have told their versions of the MacDonald case and what it all means.Errol Morris has been investigating the MacDonald case for over twenty years.

A Wilderness of Error is the culmination of his efforts.

He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I strongly recommend this book.”—Wall Street Journal“A Wilderness of Error is a beautifully produced book, with chapters set off by line drawings of crucial objects in the case: a toppled coffee table, a flower pot, a rocking horse. Along the way Morris poses bracing questions about the nature of proof, criminal justice, and the media, showing us how MacDonald has been condemned, not only to prison, but to the stories that have been created around him.

By this book’s end, we know several things: that there are two very different narratives we can create about what happened at 544 Castle Drive, and that the one that led to the conviction and imprisonment for life of this man for butchering his wife and two young daughters is almost certainly wrong.

Buy, Sep 04, 2012 He will leave you 100 percent certain he did not get a fair trial… If this headstrong book doesn’t change your sense of the Jeffrey MacDonald case, I’ll eat my Chuck Taylors.”—Dwight Garner, The New York Times“Critics sometimes confuse great books with important books — exceptionally written literature isn’t always the same as literature that can powerfully affect society. | ISBN 9780143123699

Errol Morris is the author of the New York Times bestseller A Wilderness of Error and the Academy Award–winning director of The Fog of War, among other films, including Standard Operating Procedure; Fast, Cheap & Out of Control; and The Thin Blue Line.

Academy Award-winning filmmaker and former private detective Errol Morris examines the nature of evidence and proof in the infamous Jeffrey MacDonald murder case Early on the morning of February 17, 1970, in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Jeffrey MacDonald, a Green Beret doctor, called the police for help. When the officers arrived at his home they found the bloody and battered bodies of MacDonald’s pregnant wife and two young daughters.

…He will leave you 85 percent certain that Mr. MacDonald is innocent.

This book is his finest and most important achievement to date. A Wilderness of Error upends nearly everything you think you know about these killings and their aftermath. Watching Mr. Morris wade into this thicket of material is like watching an aggrieved parent walk into a teenager’s fetid, clothes- and Doritos-strewed bedroom and neatly sort and disinfect until the place shines.