Joel Schwartz – författare

Joel Schwartz presents the first systematic treatment of Rousseau's understanding of the political importance of women, sexuality, and the family. Using both Rousseau's lesser-known literary works and such major writings as Emile, Julie, and The Second Discourse, he offers an original and provocative presentation of Rousseau's argument. To read Rousseau, Schwartz believes, is to enter into a profound discourse about the meaning of sexual equality and the opportunities, pitfalls, costs, and benefits that sexual relationships bestow and impose on us all. His own thoughtful reading of Rousseau opens up fresh perspectives on political philosophy and the history of sexual, masculine, and feminine psychology.

When Jeremy McGinnis, a 15-year-old in the sleepy Gold Rush town of Murphys, discovers a retired teacher spasming with an asthma attack and out of medicine, it''s a no-brainer to get him to the hospital. But the local media suddenly turns Jeremy into a hero, his second "fifteen minutes of fame". As he gets to know the teacher, Lester Crump, a man who has invested his life savings in three breeding Vietnamese miniature potbellied pigs and a trailer, he raises Andy Warhol''s comment into an intense and engaging study of personal integrity.

Outside of town Eliza Hewlie, a 65-year-old widow brokering the sale of an abandoned gold mine just upstream from Lester, has to contend with the threat of the deal contaminating the town''s groundwater. As Jeremy and Lester design a project which becomes a huge environmental scavenger hunt, involving dozens of high school students and half their parents, the tale of a town galvanized into action is told in alternating chapters by Jeremy and Eliza. In parallel coming-of-age stories, both begin feeling frustrated and trapped at the opening of the story but free and in control of their lives at the end for the first time."*****THE EXECUTION IS THOUROUGHLY ENTERTAINING. People are never what they are made out to be. ''The Extraordinary Pupfish of Calaveras County'' is a story with two unique view points. One follows Jeremy McGinnis, a fifteen-year-old whose reputation is overblown as a hero when he helps an old man suffering from an asthma attack. The other follows Eliza Hewlie, a sixty-five-year-old faced with a decision that could wreak havoc on the town''s environment. ''The Extraordinary Pupfish of Calaveras County'' seems unusual in set up, but the execution is thoroughly entertaining, leading it to a recommendation." Midwest Book Review, Oregon, WI

THE TRUE STORY OF THE CASE THAT IS THE SUBJECT OF NBC’S MARQUEE MINI-SERIES "THE THING ABOUT PAM" STARRING RENEE ZELLWEGER AS PAM HUPP AND JOSH DUHAMEL AS JOEL SCHWARTZ.The explosive, first-ever insider’s account of the case that’s captivated millions — the murder of Betsy Faria and the wrongful conviction of her husband — told by Joel J. Schwartz, the defense attorney who fought for justice on behalf of Russel Faria, and New York Times bestselling author Charles Bosworth Jr. On December 27th, 2011, Russell Faria returned to his Troy, Missouri, home after his weekly game night with friends to an unthinkable, grisly scene: His wife, Betsy, lay dead, a knife still lodged in her neck. She’d been stabbed fifty-five times.   First responders concluded that Betsy was dead for hours when Russ discovered her. No blood was found implicating Russ, and surveillance video, receipts, and friends’ testimony all supported his alibi. Yet incredibly, police and the prosecuting attorney ignored the evidence. In their minds, Russ was guilty. But prominent defense attorney Joel J. Schwartz quickly recognized the real killer.   The motive was clear. Days before her murder, the terminally ill Betsy replaced her husband with her friend, Pamela Hupp, as her life insurance beneficiary. Still, despite the prosecution’s flimsy case and Hupp’s transparent lies, Russ was convicted—leaving Hupp free to kill again.  Bone Deep takes readers through the perfect storm of miscalculations and missteps that led to an innocent man’s conviction—and recounts Schwartz’s successful battle to have that conviction overturned. Written with Russ Faria’s cooperation, and filled with chilling new revelations and previously undisclosed evidence, this is the story of what can happen when police, prosecutor, judge, and jury all fail in their duty to protect the innocent—and let a killer get away with murder.“Fans of Dateline will be interested in this work, which will likely only grow in popularity when the miniseries The Thing About Pam, starring Renée Zellweger, premieres in March 2022.” —Library Journal“Filled with chilling new revelations and previously undisclosed evidence, this is the story of what can happen when police, prosecutor, judge, and jury all fail in their duty to protect the innocent—and let a killer get away with murder.  This book is an explosive, insider’s account of a case that continues to fascinate the public. We highly recommend it.” —Mystery Tribune“An engaging true-crime book that exposes failures in the American criminal justice system while putting a human face on those involved and is recommended to those that enjoy well-researched books.” —Mystery and Suspense“If you are interested in justice, in criminal profiling, in trial procedures, the dynamics between the judge, the defense, and the prosecution, this book is for you.” —Defrosting Cold Cases

Explorer-naturalists Robert Brown and Mungo Park played a pivotal role in the development of natural history and exploration in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. This work is a fresh examination of the lives and careers of Brown and Park and their impact on natural history and exploration. Brown and Park were part of a group of intrepid naturalists who brought back some of the flora and fauna they encountered, drawings of what they observed, and most importantly, their ideas. The educated public back home was able to gain an understanding of the diversity in nature. This eventually led to the development of new ways of regarding the natural world and the eventual development of a coherent theory of organic evolution. This book considers these naturalists, Brown, Park, and their contemporaries, from the perspective of the Scottish Enlightenment. Brown’s investigations in natural history created a fertile environment for breakthroughs in taxonomy, cytology, and eventually evolution. Brown’s pioneering work in plant taxonomy allowed biologists to look at the animal and plant kingdoms differently. Park’s adventures stimulated significant discoveries in exploration. Brown and Park’s adventures formed a bridge to such journeys as Charles Darwin’s voyage on H.M.S. Beagle, which led to a revolution in biology and full explication of the theory of evolution.