Matt Eisenbrandt is a U.S.-trained human rights lawyer who served on the trial team for the case chronicled in Assassination of a Saint. Now in Canada, he works to hold companies accountable for alleged abuses in their overseas operations.
“In my opinion the Saravia case bids fare to become a landmark in the history of human rights law and, as such, its story needs to be told with all the care and credibility one close to the case could muster.”
Mark Dannerauthor of The Massacre at El Mozote: A Parable of the Cold War
“The assassination of Archbishop Romero was a pivotal event that had profound spiritual as well as political effects. When it happened, though, no one expected that it would set off years of tireless investigation and ultimately a spectacular court case in the United States. This sequence of events makes for a rich story that is crying out to be told.”
Stephen Kinzerauthor of Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq
“Assassination of a Saint shows how the quest for justice has gone unbroken, illuminating the ongoing struggle, both for those of us who lived through those turbulent and terrifying times, and for a new generation not then born, but who are now trying to come to grips with it.”
Craig Pyeshuman rights investigator and Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter
“A web of lies and obfuscation by U.S. and Salvadoran officials, murdered witnesses and the passage of time have blurred the possibility of finding the truth. Yet this book strives for that hidden truth, a vital, missing link in understanding not just the death of Romero, but the history of Central America and the role of the United States in shaping that history.”
Douglas Farahauthor of Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes and the Man who Makes War Possible
[A] fast paced, informative and dramatic account…. Imagine a report from Amnesty International written by Graham Greene and John LeCarre in tandem and you will have a sense of Eisenbrandt’s exciting and well-written achievement…. Their win was a triumph for human rights defenders, and this book is a powerful account of how that victory was won. Highly recommended.
Vancouver Sunby Tom Sandborn
“It has taken Matt Eisenbrandt a decade to write this beautifully crafted volume, but it was worth waiting for. It is a timely addition to the literature on Archbishop Romero’s martyrdom…. He has produced a gripping detective story…”
Catholic Heraldby Julian Filochowski
“Using the investigation as a framework, Eisenbrandt weaves the history of El Salvador with the social and international dynamics (including those of the Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan administrations) that precipitated the assassination and the subsequent civil war that spanned 1980–92…. An intriguing story filled with tragic “if-only’s” and powerful examples of courage.“
Library Journal
“Assassination begins like a crime thriller, complete with a criminal manhunt, before transitioning into a courtroom drama. Ultimately, however, the book’s lasting value is as a work of history…. [A] well-resourced and well-written work that offers a unique perspective on one of the great crimes of the late 20th century and the pursuit of justice that remains, regretfully, mostly denied.”
America Magazineby Kevin Clarke
“[A] remarkable synthesis of the passions, politics and players at work in El Salvador’s brutal last half century…. Eisenbrandt writes not from a front-row seat, but from the stage itself…. It is a dramatic tale that involves remarkable efforts by professional investigators, legal experts, human rights activists and others.”
National Catholic Reporterby Dan Morris-Young
“[A] fast-paced, often heartbreaking look into a uniquely depraved period of the Cold War.”
Jacobinby Micah Uetricht
