Nelson Crashes First Duke Lacrosse Book

By Lynn Garrett -- Publishers Weekly, 4/25/2007 1:25:00 PM

On June 5, Thomas Nelson will publish A Rush to Injustice: How Power, Prejudice, Racism, and Political Correctness Overshadowed Truth and Justice in the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case, the first book on the headline-grabbing scandal. The authors are Nader Baydoun, a Nashville-based attorney and Duke alum with close ties to the university, and R. Stephanie Good, also an attorney and the author of three other books for Nelson.

is the brainchild of David Dunham, publisher of Nelson’s general interest/lifestyle and business/culture specialty publishing units. Dunham originally approached the accused student/athletes and their parents about doing a book, but the parents decided it was too soon and backed away from the project.

Dunham re-conceptualized the book, approaching long-time friend Baydoun with the idea. "I wanted three things—for him to write about {DA Michael} Nifong and the corruption of justice, about Duke’s complicity, and to clear the boys." Though this was before the accused were officially declared innocent of the charges, "I was pretty sure they were innocent," Dunham said.

Dunham had a contract with Baydoun and Good by January and a manuscript by mid-March. The original pub date was June 12, but Dunham pushed that up a week to beat out It’s Not About the Truth, the book by Duke lacrosse coach Michael Pressler due from S&S’s Threshold Editions, on the 12^th. A Rush will have a 30,000-copy first printing.