It's Not About the Truth

The Duke Lacrosse Case and the Lives It Shattered

By: Don Yaeger, Mike Pressler

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Mike Pressler walked into the bottom-floor meeting room of the Murray Building and, as he had done hundreds of times over a 16-year career at Duke University, prepared to address his men's lacrosse team. Forty-six players sat in theater-style chairs, all eyes riveted forward.

It was 4:30 P.M. on Wednesday, April 5, 2006. The program's darkest hour had arrived in an unexpected and explosive announcement.

Pressler, a three-time ACC Coach of the Year, informed his team that its season was canceled and that he had "resigned", effective immediately. While his words reverberated off the walls, hysteria erupted. Players cried, confused over a course of events that had spun wildly out of control. What began as an off-campus team party with two hired strippers had accelerated into a rape investigation, one that exposed prosecutorial misconduct, shoddy police work, an administration's rush to judgment, and the media's disregard for the facts, dividing both a prestigious university and the city of Durham.

Wiping away tears, Pressler demonstrated the steely resolve that helped him win more than 200 games. For the next 30 minutes, Pressler put his personal situation aside and encouraged his players to stick together. He also made a bold promise: "One day, we will get a chance to tell the world the truth. One day".

This is that day.

Pressler, who has not done an interview since the saga began, has handed his private diary from those three weeks to New York Times best-selling author Don Yaeger, exposing vivid details, including the day Pressler was fired, when the coach asked Athletic Director Joe Alleva why the school "wasn't willing to wait for the truth" to come out. "It's not about the truth anymore," Alleva said to the coach in a signature moment that said it all. In addition to Pressler, Yaeger interviewed more than 75 key figures intimately involved in the case. The result is a tale that defies logic.

©2007 Don Yaeger and Mike Pressler (P)2007 Tantor Media Inc.

Critic reviews

"Pressler, the tale's sacrificial lamb, avoids a bitter or accusatory stance. Instead he adds color and insight to Yaeger's rigorous, efficient investigation; for anyone who got caught up in the story, this is a must-read." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Even if you didn't follow the case, you will like the book because the danger of a rogue prosecutor is exposed." (Brian Kilmeade, Fox News)

wow

Amazing book- amazing coach and stand up team. Coach mentor and leader. Best to all involved, what a tragic event that left so many lives effected.

Amazing truth!

Absolutely riveting. All the parties impacted in this are so strong. Prepared to clear your schedule because you want be able to put this down.

A must read

What made the experience of listening to It's Not About the Truth the most enjoyable?

Compelling book. Every law student and lawyer, as well as every young person going to college, should be required to read/listen to this book. What happened to Coach Pressler and the Duke Lacrosse players was a travesty and a witch hunt.

Fantastic book

I've listened to about 300 books about a number of different subjects, but none can compare with this story and the twists and turns along the way. The letter from the former coach's daughter to the Duke President was about as good as it gets. A truly great audiobook.

Incredible Injustice

I found this book so interesting. I knew when this whole thing went down in 2006 that those boys were innocent, so it was very interesting to me to see how it all shook down. I am outraged at the injustice and the atrocities they had to withstand. It hurts to think this kind of thing happens in the USA.

I like the narrator a lot, but he tends to have a Damon Runyon-like accent. It sometimes seems affected, and can make him a little hard to take seriously. But it was only a minor distraction to me.