If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer by The Goldman Family
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Book Reviews of If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer
Book Review: OJ doesn't confess, but he doesn't present a conjecture either, so what is this book?
Summary: 1 Stars
Being a preteen when the events described in this book took place, I probably went into this book with a hazier recollection of the facts than other readers. Even so, it was clear to me that O. J. is relating his skewed view of the events, with a heavy prejudice towards himself. If you knew nothing about the facts, you might actually believe the picture he paints of himself: as a very sensible, family-oriented, patient man; almost flawless, but willing to accept and repent for the minor infractions that he let slip (like in 1989, when he "grabbed" Nicole too forcefully and ended up being convicted of spousal abuse for it). He also doesn't miss any chances to describe Nicole as ill-tempered, obsessive, pedantic, violent... and a drug user to boot.
O. J. includes some actual transcripts from the court case and seems to have gone to some trouble elucidating a back-story to fit the facts that turn up in the transcripts. For example, he explains right before one of Nicole's 911 call transcripts that someone on the set of Naked Gun 33 1/3 told him that Nicole "parties hard" with a "rough crowd." Apparently, that got him worried about his kids and angry enough to confront her about her drug use.
Despite the absurdity and poor writing of his account, I found myself eagerly anticipating the moment of the murder (does that make me a sick person?). O. J. invents an acquaintance named Charlie who dropped by unexpectedly one evening and told O. J. some gossip about Nicole that set him off to the point of dropping everything to go scream at her. Charlie, in my opinion, was O. J's conscience; first, he tried to prevent O. J. from going to Nicole's condo in the first place, then refused to allow O. J. to take the knife in his car with him (why did O. J. have that knife in his car, hmm?). Charlie later tried to cool off O. J. in Nicole's courtyard, but for some inexplicable reason, brought the knife from the car with him. At this point, O. J. grabbed the knife, blanked out for a moment and then realized he was covered in blood with two bodies at his feet. For all his confusion, he seemed to be of sound enough mind to remove his bloody clothing and force Charlie to make his clothes and the murder weapon disappear. The most absurd part, of course, was O. J's temporary amnesia about the climatic moment; he even wonders how he could have missed witnessing the murders when he was standing right there!
In any case, I think If I Did It is a poor title because O. J. never conjectures what it would have been like if he did commit the murders. Nor is I Did It an apt title because he never does admit that he did anything but be an all-around good guy.
And for those wondering why O. J. didn't commit suicide during the Bronco car chase: hearing Dan Rather report that O. J. had a long history with the police department as a domestic abuser made him angry enough to want to stay alive so he could get the truth out there. It only took him over a decade to finally tell his side of it.
[Disclosure: This review also appears on [...], a site for review and discussion of creative works.]
Book Review: Lies and excuses
Summary: 1 Stars
This is nothing more than a whining attempt to blame Nicole for the murders. It goes on and on about how crazy she was and how patient and loving OJ was with only one chapter dedicated to the actual murders and even that does not describe what actually happened. I would only recommend it because the Goldman Family has the rights to it otherwise it is a waste of time. If you want details of these murders read Furhman's book. He is and was a good cop and it shows in how he tells the story of the investigation and trial in meticulous detail.Book Review: Not worth it
Summary: 1 Stars
It was nice to know my money was going to a good cause when buying....but the book as usual for OJ was very delusional and not worth my time. I was curious as we all are with his stories.Book Review: Garbage
Summary: 1 Stars
-probably the worst piece of garbage on the market; even one star is way to generous