QB VII

9/10
While at its heart, this is a courtroom drama, it also is a thought-provoking exploration of anti-Semitism and other forms of prejudice. The main characters are well-drawn. The Holocaust survivors' accounts were searing. This book is a horrifying reminder of what humans are capable of doing to other humans when the "others" are thought to be inferior.

I had no idea what this book was about when I picked it out of my library to read, and still, halfway through wasn't sure where it was going. The first half of the book is dedicated to introducing two men, one an accomplished doctor, Sir Adam Kelno, and the other, Abraham Cady, a renowned writer. The second half of the book is the heart-stopping, tense libel trial that results from a paragraph in Cady's book titled "The Holocaust" where he mentions Dr. Kelno in connection with horrific medical experiments carried out during the war. Finally, the title, which stands for Queen's Bench, Courtroom Seven, became clear. I found the subject matter fascinating and literally read the last hundred pages of this book in one sitting. Leon Uris is a show more suburb writer. His characters literally leap off the page. They are still in my head and will be for a long time to come. show less

i think that i don't really appreciate the way uris writes, but i do like the stories that he chooses to tell, generally. this book brings up some really interesting moral questions, and i like the ambiguous (to me, realistic) way he answers them. (this is a holocaust book so some of the moral questions aren't ambiguous at all, but there are a lot that are.)

i do think that he makes a few strange choices that distance the readers when it would have been more useful to him, enjoyable to me, and poignant for the story if he'd brought us in more. for instance, he could have made either of the two main characters at all even remotely likable. and i don't like the way he portrays women at all in this book, excepting the few courageous ones we show more meet at the end. but the story is interesting and a good reminder that many things aren't so black and white as we'd like to believe.

also it was interesting to see how differently things are done in a british courtroom (at least in the late 60's) from in the usa. (from what i understand, anyway.)

"After all, the only thing that is going to save mankind is if enough people live their lives for something or someone other than themselves." (in all small caps in the book) show less

This was my second read of a work by Leon Uris, and it was superb! In the first half of this book, the author introduces you to the two men who will eventually meet in court, "QB VII". Uris takes his time building so extensive a biography, that you really feel you know these people. I found myself having empathy for both Sir Adam Kelno and Abe Cady.

At the halfway point we are placed in QB VII court, with the barristers, judge, and jury, the plaintiff and defendant, and a sad assortment of witnesses. Due to the previously developed empathy, I felt strongly when the evidence came out, more so, I believe, because of the way the author introduced the characters in the first part of the book.

The court scenes are especially well-done, with show more plenty of tactics and terminology, and this book is highly recommended. show less

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QB VII by Leon Uris is a fictional book, taking place in the Queen’s Bench Courtroom Number Seven, a trial of a doctor in a concentration camp. Mr. Uris is an American author who is mostly known for his two historical fiction books Exodus and Trinity.

Famous author Abraham Cady is being sued for slander. In his best-selling book, The Holocaust, there’s a paragraph asserting that Sir Adam Kelno was a sadistic surgeon in Jadwiga Concentration Camp.

Kelno, of course, denies the accusations. During the trial, Cady is put on the defense over and over again, his reputation and legacy in danger.

QB VII by Leon Uris is a great story that is well put together. The whole book show more forces the reader to piece the truth themselves, as well as try to figure out the meaning of “slander”.

This a novel, but there is much proof that the horrible treatment and experiments described, are based on factual information. I also enjoyed reading about how the English legal system work, a fascinating subject all by itself.

Like other books I read by Mr. Uris, this one also grabs the reader from the first page to the last. If I had to complain about anything, it would certainly be the obscurity of the title, which almost made me not pick it up.

Mr. Uris does certainly does not pull any punches. The horrifying testimony of the victims is difficult to read, especially with the knowledge that the barbaric large-scale Nazi sterilization projects did happen.

While the subject is, indeed, very serious, there’s also playfulness within the narrative. I have no idea how Mr. Uris managed to do that, but it just shows his talent that he managed to pull this off. Especially if you consider the subject.

There’s much hypocrisy, bias, and legal maneuvers in the book, and could have been written about almost any other slander case. The author is very sensitive to the subject and did not contrive some absurd situation to make a point.

I discovered that QB VII was based on Mr. Uris’ experience. After he wrote Exodus, he was being sued by a former doctor in Auschwitz (Dering v Uris). The defendants agreed that the footnote was defamatory to Dering, they also insisted it was true to substance. While the court did rule for Dering, it awarded him the smallest amount possible of damages (halfpenny). show less

If not for the price of $1 I probably would have given this book a miss as the blurb is merely okay verging on being both bland and overloaded with information whilst the title is obscure and meaningless at a glance.

The title QB VII is a contraction for Queen’s Bench Court #7 within the High Court of Justice - had that been the title I would have been considerably more interested.

The book tells the tale of two sympathetic characters at odds over an assertion one participated in inhumane experimental surgery in the Jadwiga Concentration Camp in World War 2. As the story develops your sympathies change and your feelings/belief of innocence shifts as each division of the book tells the characters story separately.

The last half of the show more book is dedicated to the libel trial and is definitely the best part of the whole book, not only for those interested in court room wrangling, but also as it's where the prior character stories all come together.

I was a little disappointed the way the story seemed to waver for the second quarter but it certainly redeemed itself with the last half.

3.5 stars show less

3787. Q B VII, by Leon Uris (read 21 Aug 2003) This is a 1970 book inspired by Uris being sued for libel because of a reference in his novel Exodus to a doctor in a Nazi concentration camp. The account of the trial is highly dramatic and well-done and succeeds in painting a horror-filled account of the doctor. Uris is not a great writer but he is impassioned when he tells of Jewish suffering and the book catches one up. Well worth reading--and easy to read, though non-subtle.