"It takes a gifted writer to craft a thriller out of the efforts to have capital punishment declared unconstitutional, but Mandery pulls it off in this intellectual page-turner."

— Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

"The fascinating story of the abolition of the death penalty—and its restoration—had found its ideal narrator in Evan Mandery. At once a page turner and a work of serious scholarship, A Wild Justice puts you inside the justices' deliberations and the advocates’ strategizing. Required reading for anyone who cares about the Supreme Court and how it shapes our lives."

— Noah Feldman, Scorpions

"Mandery has written a tour de force examination of how the U.S. Supreme Court from 1963 to 1977 ruled on death penalty issues...this book is revelatory. Unlike Bob Woodward’s The Brethren and Jeffrey Toobin’s The Nine, it shows how all the court players (politicians, clerks, litigants) had a part in its capital punishment decisions...As much a sociological study as a discussion of the law, this volume is well written and illuminating."

— Harry Charles, Library Journal (Starred Review)

"Explaining Furman and its implications can be tricky, but Evan Mandery…has done both with remarkable ease. Mandery knows how to tell a story, and he’s done some terrific research."

— Editors' Choice, New York Times Book Review

"Much like Jeffrey Toobin in his narrative accounts of Supreme Court history, “The Nine” and “The Oath,” Mandery has managed to turn textbook-style legal history into cinematic scenes with memorable characters. He’s done this by showing us that the law is always made by people, and where there are people, there are stories."

— Austin American, Statesman

"If someone described a book about the Supreme Court’s decisions to strike down and then reinstate the death penalty as thrilling, would you believe her? You should; that’s exactly what A Wild Justice is. Reading it, you get swept up in the details of the court cases that determined capital punishment’s upheaval and rapid resurrection over the course of two decades."

— The Daily Beast

"A Wild Justice is sensational—a revealing and illuminating behind-the-scenes look at one of the most important chapters in the history of the Supreme Court. After reading it, you may never look at the death penalty, or the justices, the same way again."

— Jeffrey Toobin

"A Wild Justice is a rare achievement. At once entertaining and deeply instructive, it is a piece of legal history that grapples brilliantly with capital punishment, one of the fundamental issues of American justice."

— Sean Wilentz

"The author is especially strong on the individual backgrounds, personalities and judicial philosophies of the justices, the shifting alliances among them and the frustrating contingencies upon which momentous decisions sometimes turn. Outstanding in every respect."

— Kirkus (Starred Review)

"Mandery has at once written one of the very best books I have ever read not only on the Supreme Court as an institution, but also on the death penalty itself."

— History Book Club (Prof. Sanford Levinson)

In 1972, the Supreme Court struck down Georgia's death penalty law. Since Georgia's law closely resembled those in the 40 other states with capital punishment, most legal experts believed Furman v. Georgia meant the end of executions in America. The victory was highly improbable. The constitutionality of capital punishment had been axiomatic for 200 years, until, in 1962, the largely forgotten Justice Arthur Goldberg, and his clerk, Alan Dershowitz, suggested otherwise in an unusual dissent from a denial of certiorari in a capital case. Goldberg's opinion spurred an underfunded band of civil rights attorneys to begin a quixotic crusade that produced the stunning 1972 victory and, four years later, a crushing defeat when the Court reversed itself following a brilliant oral argument by Solicitor General Robert Bork. Drawing on interviews with law clerks, litigators, and four years of archival research, A Wild Justice is an extraordinary, behind-the-scenes look at the Supreme Court, the Justices, and the political complexities of the most racially charged and morally vexing issue in America.

"Just as the narrator of this delightful New York-infused novel is about to marry the woman he loves, his future self shows up, warning him that the couple will end up having a child whose early death will ruin them. And so the younger self is persuaded to leave his fiancée, known as Q, to avoid such an awful fate. And on and on. He follows all of the advice. Nothing, of course, works without Q. This drill gets a little old, but the payoff is big. A word to the tear prone: Don’t attempt to read the ending in public."

- The New York Times

"Q caught me by surprise; I’ve never read anything like it! It is a smart, funny, mind-bending book that surprised me all the way to the end. It’s utterly original and totally unforgettable."

- Jessica Anya Blau

"Mandery’s protagonist and Q embark on a fantastically happy, quintessentially Manhattan relationship, complete with miniature-golfing dates, the occasional matinee, and trips to the Union Square Farmer’s Market. A slightly twisted ending only amplifies the intrinsic charm of this noteworthy, genuinely enjoyable novel. Q is a remarkably refreshing work, full of energy and eminently absorbing."

- Booklist

"Mandery is a worthy son of Vonnegut, Barthelme, and Barth."

- Joseph Skibell

"A philosophical, witty, wonderful, and altogether magical love story."

- M.J. Rose

Shortly before his wedding, the unnamed hero of this uncommon romance is visited by a man, claiming to be his future self, who ominously admonishes the protagonist that he must not marry the love of his life, Q. The author doubts this stranger, but in time becomes convinced of his authenticity and leaves his fiancée. The resulting void in his life is impossible to fill. One after the other, future selves arrive urging him to marry someone else, divorce, attend law school, leave law school, travel, join a running club, stop running, study the guitar, the cello, Proust, Buddhism, opera, and eliminate gluten from his diet. The only constants in this madcap quest for personal improvement are the author's love for his New York City home and for his beloved Q. Q turns the classic story of transcendent love on its head, with an ending that will melt even the darkest heart.

"Mandery leaps about the galaxy, finding ways to celebrate topics, like Sting, the Simpsons, and Dr Pepper, even as he mocks censorship, political spin, government waste, insurance fraud, the fourth wall, law professors, and the galactic scourge known as the PTA. At times, the trip can be a bit dizzying, almost breathless, but the laughs never stop rolling. For fans of Douglas Adams and Christopher Moore, First Contact will leave you in stitches."

- Sacramento Book Review

"Mandery’s digression-filled narrative, covering topics ranging from Woody Allen’s early comedies to Rigelian Bundt cake, spoofs contemporary popular culture while telling an irresistibly good story."

- Booklist

"Mandery’s sharp sense of humor and habit of addressing the reader make for a stimulating and intelligent read that’s never short on laughs."

- Publishers Weekly

"Mandery’s. . .allegorical portraits of people, governments, life on other planets, and philosophy range from amusing to laugh-out-loud funny. . .Recommended for those who enjoy comedic fiction."

- Library Journal Review

"First Contact was love at first sight! What a hilarious ride—the ubersurreal meets The Daily Show. I’m now staring at the cosmic calendar waiting for Mandery’s next contact."

- Tim Dorsey, Author of Nuclear Jellyfish

A satirical joyride in the tradition of Kurt Vonnegut and Douglas Adams, First Contact introduces us to the hyper-intelligent Rigelians, who admire Woody Allen movies and Bundt cake, and urge the people of Earth to mend their ways to avoid destruction of their planet. But the president of the United States, a God-fearing, science-doubting fitness fanatic, is skeptical of the evidence presented to him and sets in motion a chain of events that will change the lives of his young attaché, an alien scam artist, several raccoons, and a scientist who has predicted the end of the universe. Parrot sketch excluded.

"Dreaming of Gwen Stefani is a quirky and compelling riff on the nature of romantic obsession, celebrity worship, free will versus determinism and the joys of Papaya ‘Queen’ hot dogs."

- Jay McInerney

"Mandery delivers disparate treatises – on the history of hot dogs, pop-culture obsessions, and yeah, evolutionary biology (humans are just worms, basically) – by turns equally comic, philosophical, and scientific."

- Chicago Reader

"The book moves toward Mortimer’s inevitable meeting with Stefani. When this moment arrives, all of Mortimer’s fastidious preparations, calculations, and obsessions will have readers holding their breath awaiting the outcome."

- Ink 19

Mortimer Taylor Coleridge is a unique man. With a mind of rare mathematical precision, he is obsessed with imposing order upon the chaos of every day life. A once brilliant student of evolutionary biology at Columbia University, he has turned his back on a promising academic career to devote his life to selling hot dogs at Papaya Queen. There, Mortimer uses his keen intellect to become the quickest and most efficient of hot dog men, devising a numerical-based system to sell hot dogs which maximizes both time and effort. One day while watching TV, Mortimer comes upon VH1, and his life is instantly transformed. While watching Behind the Music: No Doubt, he decides that he and Gwen Stefani are soul mates, destined to be together. When Mortimer discovers that her favorite food is a Papaya Queen hot dog, he dedicates his life to preparing for the day, which he knows will come, when Gwen Stefani will walk into the Papaya Queen where he works, order a frankfurter and fall in love with him. Dreaming of Gwen Stefani takes our culture's obsession with celebrity to its logical-or illogical-conclusion.

"This book has excellent in-depth coverage of the major topics relating to the death penalty. The chapters are very thorough, and, where relevant, they include excerpts from landmark cases. Also, the additional reading material is in-depth and thoughtful, addressing a broad range of issues related to the topic."

- Professor Jeffrey L. Kirchmeier, City University of New York School of Law

"As a professor of criminal justice I have had the ocassion to read numerous texts on the death penalty, and Evan Mandery’s, Capital Punishment in America: A Balanced Explanation, is by far the most comprehensive and balanced examination of the topic I have seen. I highly recommend it to any serious student of the death penalty, particularly to those who already have their minds made up. Professor Mandery’s book is an outstanding compilation of the best research and scholarship on this controversial topic. "

- Mark A. Stelter, Professor of Criminal Justice, Montgomery College, Houston, TX

Capital Punishment: A Balanced Examination challenges readers to re-evaluate every aspect of their beliefs regarding this controversial subject. The book explores the American death penalty as law and social policy and requires readers to consider basic philosophical questions such as: Would you ever kill? Is the legal system capable of distinguishing between murderers who deserve to die and those who don’t? Is revenge a legitimate aim of the criminal justice system? Each chapter begins with a primer on an issue, is followed by data and critical documents (including cases), and concludes with essays offering differing viewpoints by some of the nation’s top scholars. The second edition, published in 2011, includes updated research on deterrence, new data and articles on brutalization and cost, the most recent cases on the death penalty for juveniles and child rape, and a new chapter on methods of execution.

"A terrific book for political junkies and for folks who subscribe to New York magazine."

- Booklist

"His day-by-day log of his nine-month stint will interest all readers, including non-New Yorkers, concerned with the degradation of politics into spin over substance…. Enlivened by nimble line drawings and political cartoons, this incisive journal offers a candid and often darkly funny picture of the uneasy cohabitation of idealism and cynicism that defines political life."

- Publishers Weekly

"Mandery successfully recreates the feeling of being in a campaign rather than providing a rational explanation of one."

- Kirkus Reviews

"The book has juicy revelations which speak volumes about how the political game is played in New York."

- New York Daily News

"Mandery proves it’s possible to write an interesting book about a losing political campaign. A fresh and wry look at the life of political professionals."

- Amazon.com

A day-to-day account of the 1997 New York City mayoral race told from the perspective of the research director on Ruth Messinger’s doomed challenge to Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Eyes on City Hall offers a behind-the-scenes look at political campaigns in the television era. It takes us to the real battlegrounds of modern politics: polls, focus groups and television editing studios. We watch first-hand as political consultants, conceive of the ideal candidate and then attempt to fit their client into that ideal, no matter how uncomfortably.