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.
“Part detective story, part historical reminiscence, it shows the reader how hard it is to prosecute such cases, and why so many human rights violators go unpunished.”
The Progressivenamed Assassination of a Saint one of its Favorite Books of 2016
“[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
“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
“Much of Eisenbrandt’s Assassination of a Saint is a detailed account of the complex process of tracking down Álvaro Saravia and the various witnesses needed to prove the findings by the UN truth commission that he took part with Roberto D’Aubuisson in the murder of Archbishop Romero. It is a tale told well that provides valuable insights into the motives and modus operandi of the death squads in El Salvador, and of the financiers who commissioned and facilitated such crimes.”
The New York Review of Booksby Aryeh Neier
“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] fast-paced, often heartbreaking look into a uniquely depraved period of the Cold War.”
Jacobinby Micah Uetricht
“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
“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 of a Saint is the winner of the 2017 Juan E. Méndez Book Award for Human Rights in Latin America.
[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
