The Man to See: Edward Bennett Williams: Ultimate Insider: Legendary Trial Lawyer

Famed capital trial lawyer Williams provided legal, political, business and personal counsel to government leaders, including U.S . presidents. Superbly capturing his subject's complex, often contradictory personality, Thomas, Newsweek 's Washington, D.C. bureau chief, interviewed hundreds of people who knew the controversial attorney from the 1940s until his death at 68 in 1988. A practicing, Jesuit-educated Catholic, a womanizing hard-drinker devoted to his family, the magnetic Williams made headlines representing Sen. Joseph McCarthy and Mafia don Frank Costello. He challenged abuses perpetrated by the FBI and pressed the Washington Post to publish the Pentagon Papers. Shortly before losing his 10-year battle against cancer, William rejected an offer to head the CIA. Photos not seen by PW. Major ad/promo; author tour. (Nov.)