O. J. Unmasked: The Trial, the Truth, and the Media

If you only read one book about the criminal trial of O. J. Simpson, this little gem is the one to read.Yes, Ms. Rantala believes that O. J. participated in the murders. If you count that as a bias, then you must consider paying attention and retaining information to be vices.The strength of her book, however, is not her fervent belief that O. J. got away with murder(s). Rather, the book's virtue is her clear communication of why the prosecutors ought to have been able to prove O. J. guilty in court. I believe that the jurors did what they had to do, given the hash that the prosecutors made of the case: the liars for whom the prosecutors vouched; the handling of evidence that raised more questions than the prosecutors could swat away; the motives that made no sense as presented; and so on. However, Rantala shows that, although the verdict was legally correct because Simpson was not proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, the result of the trial was at odds with the facts.

.... Now, turning to the relatively sane rest of the world...this is a compelling and intelligent read that will be thoroughly enjoyed by all OJ buffs, even if you think you've already read enough books on the subject (as I thought I had). Jeffrey Toobin's book remains the best overview of the whole loopy story, and Bugliosi's "Outrage" stands as the most powerful analysis of the trial, what went wrong with it, and how it could/should have gone down. But THIS serves as the most inscrutably logical dissection of the evidence and arguments presented in the trial (as well as some delightful bonuses like the trivia quiz). Rantala does a wonderful job of proving the contradictions and nonsense in the defense arguments simply by providing examples from the text and forcing the reader to ask himself the most obvious questions about it, again and again confirming that no conclusion other than OJ's guilt is even within the realm of possibility. Don't let the book's low profile fool you (I'd never even heard of it, I just happened upon it in the library). Even if you already agree with its conclusions, it's a terrific read, and conversely, it SHOULD (though obviously HASN'T) convince anyone who still harbors doubts: The verdict was wrong. A killer walks free.

O.J. Simpson would need boxes of score cards to tally his double and triple bogeys as described in Lauri Rantala's excellent book. The postscript entitled: "If O.J. Were Innocent" lays out 28 amazing coincidences that must be true if Simpson indeed did not commit the murders on June 12, 1994. Only those intent on wishing to believe in Simpson's innocence on a purely emotional level can deny the obvious as put forth by Rantala

Almost every major figure connected with this unfortunate event has made a tidy sum by writing books - even Simpson himself. What this book has, and the others lack, is an author with the discipline to wade through the voluminous evidence to give us a scholarly analysis of the merits of the defense and prosecution arguments. If you read this book you will be able to understand the complex blood evidence and its implications. Anyone interested in knowing the truth of this case, or how the new techniques of PCR and RFLP are utilized in the courtroom, will want to read O.J. Unmasked

In watching the OJ Simpson trial, we were assaulted with all types of information and misinformation concerning the evidence. The prosecution would say the evidence showed us one thing and we would see what they were saying, then the Defense would show us the same evidence telling us that is showed us something else. In the end a lot of people ended up confused about the evidence. One prime example was the EDTA evidence. The prosecution said there was no EDTA on the socks or the gate at 875 Bundy. The Defense expert said there was. How is one to decide who was telling the truth? Where does one go for these answers? The most reliable place I have found is in the book authored by Lauri Rantala called "OJ Unmasked". Mrs Rantala takes a long hard look at the evidence that was presented in the CA vs Simpson case. She investigated the different conclusions of the evidence brought up by the defense and prosecution and she lays to rest any speculation a person may have about the evidence that was presented in the trial. Mrs Rantala has written this book in a easy to read format and uses common sense in her writing style and conclusions. She uses lay man terms concerning some of the detailed explanations of DNA testimony, where one finds it's a lot easier to understand the break down of DNA and how it works. We the public have been deluged with books on the OJ Simpson case, from almost everyone that was involved in this case, if you want to read a book of fantasy I suggest you read "Killing Time" if you want to read a book on the facts of this case I highly recommend you read "OJ Unmasked"