Bøker av Samantha Barbas

"A heroic narrative."-One of The New Yorker's Best Books of 2023"A detailed examination of . . . the landmark 1964 Supreme Court decision that defined libel laws and increased protections for journalists."-The New York Times Book ReviewA deeply researched legal drama that documents this landmark First Amendment ruling-one that is more critical and controversial than ever.   Actual Malice tells the full story of New York Times v. Sullivan, the dramatic case that grew out of segregationists' attempts to quash reporting on the civil rights movement. In its landmark 1964 decision, the Supreme Court held that a public official must prove "actual malice" or reckless disregard of the truth to win a libel lawsuit, providing critical protections for free speech and freedom of the press.   Drawing on previously unexplored sources, including the archives of the New York Times Company and civil rights leaders, Samantha Barbas tracks the saga behind one of the most important First Amendment rulings in history. She situates the case within the turbulent 1960s and the history of the press, alongside striking portraits of the lawyers, officials, judges, activists, editors, and journalists who brought and defended the case. As the Sullivan doctrine faces growing controversy, Actual Malice reminds us of the stakes of the case that shaped American reporting and public discourse as we know it.

"This timely and compelling history underscores the critical, enduring importance of New York Times v. Sullivan for not only freedom of expression but also racial justice and other equal rights movements."--Nadine Strossen, author of Hate: Why We Should Resist It with Free Speech, Not Censorship and past National President, American Civil Liberties Union "New York Times v. Sullivan is the most important Supreme Court decision about freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Samantha Barbas's terrific, riveting book shows that it also must be understood as a crucial decision about civil rights at a crucial moment of the civil rights movement."--Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law

Samantha Barbas presents a long-overdue biography of the legendary civil liberties lawyer-a vital and contrary figure who both defended Ulysses and fawned over J. Edgar Hoover.

Hollywood celebrities feared her. William Randolph Hearst adored her. Between 1915 and 1960, Louella Parsons was America's premier movie gossip columnist and in her heyday commanded a following of more than forty million readers. This first full-length biography of Parsons tells the story of her reign over Hollywood during the studio era, her lifelong alliance with her employer, William Randolph Hearst, and her complex and turbulent relationships with such noted stars, directors, and studio executives as Orson Welles, Joan Crawford, Louis B. Mayer, Ronald Reagan, and Frank Sinatra-as well as her rival columnists Hedda Hopper and Walter Winchell. Loved by fans for her "e;just folks,"e; small-town image, Parsons became notorious within the film industry for her involvement in the suppression of the 1941 film Citizen Kane and her use of blackmail in the service of Hearst's political and personal agendas. As she traces Parsons's life and career, Samantha Barbas situates Parsons's experiences in the broader trajectory of Hollywood history, charting the rise of the star system and the complex interactions of publicity, journalism, and movie-making. Engagingly written and thoroughly researched, The First Lady of Hollywood is both an engrossing chronicle of one of the most powerful women in American journalism and film and a penetrating analysis of celebrity culture and Hollywood power politics.