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    Summary and Analysis of Fatal Vision: Based on the Book by Joe McGinniss
    Summary and Analysis of Fatal Vision: Based on the Book by Joe McGinniss
    Summary and Analysis of Fatal Vision: Based on the Book by Joe McGinniss
    Ebook42 pages29 minutes

    Summary and Analysis of Fatal Vision: Based on the Book by Joe McGinniss

    By Worth Books

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    About this ebook

    So much to read, so little time? This brief overview of Fatal Vision tells you what you need to know before or after you read Joe McGinniss’s book.

    Crafted and edited with care, Worth Books set the standard for quality and give you the tools you need to be a well-informed reader. 
     
    This short summary and analysis of Fatal Vision by Joe McGinniss includes:
     
    • Historical context
    • Section-by-section overviews
    • Detailed timeline of key events
    • Important quotes
    • Fascinating trivia
    • Glossary of terms
    • Supporting material to enhance your understanding of the original work
     
    About Joe McGinniss’s Fatal Vision:
     
    In 1970, the country was gripped by a brutal triple-murder at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Colette MacDonald, then pregnant, and her two young daughters were beaten and stabbed to death in their home. The prime suspect was Colette’s husband, a charismatic military doctor and Green Beret named Jeffrey MacDonald.
     
    MacDonald invited writer Joe McGinniss to write a book about the case. Fatal Vision, published in 1983, has become a true crime classic, but not without controversy. In 1984, MacDonald sued McGinniss for fraud, claiming he misrepresented his intentions, making Fatal Vision an incredibly compelling story and an excellent example of the complex questions surrounding free speech and journalistic integrity.
     
    The summary and analysis in this ebook are intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
    Release dateJan 24, 2017
    ISBN9781504043748
    Summary and Analysis of Fatal Vision: Based on the Book by Joe McGinniss
    Author

    Worth Books

    Worth Books’ smart summaries get straight to the point and provide essential tools to help you be an informed reader in a busy world, whether you’re browsing for new discoveries, managing your to-read list for work or school, or simply deepening your knowledge. Available for fiction and nonfiction titles, these are the book summaries that are worth your time.  

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      Book preview

      Summary and Analysis of Fatal Vision - Worth Books

      Contents

      Context

      Overview

      Summary

      Timeline

      Cast of Characters

      Direct Quotes and Analysis

      Trivia

      What’s That Word?

      Critical Response

      About Joe McGinniss

      For Your Information

      Bibliography

      Copyright

      Context

      In 1970, the country was gripped by news of a brutal triple murder at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Colette MacDonald, then pregnant, and her two young daughters, Kimberley and Kristen, were beaten and stabbed to death in their home. The prime suspect was Colette’s husband, a charismatic military doctor named Jeffrey MacDonald.

      During his trial, MacDonald invited journalist Joe McGinniss to have full access to him and his case in the hope that McGinniss would write a book about the ordeal, demonstrating MacDonald’s innocence. In 1983, thirteen years after the murders, McGinniss published Fatal Vision. The final product revealed that, over the course of the trial, McGinniss had changed his mind about MacDonald, coming to believe that he had, in fact, committed the crime. MacDonald, by then incarcerated for the triple homicide, sued McGinniss for fraud and breach of contract in 1987, a case that was eventually settled out of court.

      In addition to being a public sensation, the book raised important questions about the criminal justice system, the rights of the accused, and journalistic integrity. In 1990, New Yorker writer Janet Malcolm published a book about MacDonald and McGinniss’s relationship called The Journalist and the Murderer, which explores these issues in depth. It was followed by other examinations of the case, including McGinniss’s own 2012 ebook, Final Vision, a rebuttal to those who took issue with his conduct while writing the story of Jeffrey MacDonald’s murder trial.

      Overview

      When Captain Jeffrey MacDonald, a surgeon and a Green Beret, was accused of brutally murdering his pregnant wife and their two young daughters, no one in the Fort Bragg community could believe he was guilty. Only those who worked the crime scene and knew the exact details of the case were certain he was their suspect. MacDonald’s colleagues, and even

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