Our Guys

The Glen Ridge Rape and the Secret Life of the Perfect Suburb

By: Bernard Lefkowitz

Narrated by: Tom Parks

It was a crime that captured national attention. In the idyllic suburb of Glen Ridge, New Jersey, four of the town's most popular high school athletes were accused of raping a retarded young woman while nine of their teammates watched. What went wrong in this seemingly flawless American town? In search of the answer, Bernard Lefkowitz takes the listener behind Glen Ridge's manicured façade into the shadowy basement that was the scene of the rape, into the mansions on "Millionaire's Row", into the All-American high school, and finally into the courtroom where justice itself was on trial.

Lefkowitz's sweeping narrative, informed by more than 200 interviews and six years of research, recreates a murky adolescent world that parents didn't - or wouldn't - see: a high school dominated by a band of predatory athletes; a teenage culture where girls were frequently abused and humiliated at sybaritic and destructive parties; and a town that continued to embrace its celebrity athletes-despite the havoc they created-as "our guys". The clash of cultures and values that divided Glen Ridge, Lefkowitz writes, still divides the country.

Contains mature themes.

©1997 Bernard Lefkowitz (P)2021 Tantor

Really Impressive

I was planning on giving up my Audible membership then I stumbled on this quality piece of investigative journalism. I really can’t say enough about how well written this was. True crime in the best sense - the author seeks out truth from all possible angles.

Crime in the sense that the author writes with a sense of justice, injustice and all the history, politics, culture that get in between. Bravo.

Jocks, Jerks, etc.

Nothing looked very appealing so I grabbed this Audible book in last-minute desperation. What a lucky shot in the dark!

This account of sexual assault on a young girl by a gang of entitled high school jocks is a glaring indictment of a group of self-absorbed teens and their enabling parents, aided and abetted by a high school culture that venerates sports to the exclusion of nearly every other aspect of school life. Equally disturbing is the nudge-nudge wink-wink attitude of a host of adults surrounding this sad tale, a group that includes teachers, police, other parents, and the judicial system. Boys will be boys, indeed.

Narration by Tom Parks is excellent. He obviously prepared carefully for each recording session.

Excellent read!

Very well written, keeps you rooting for Leslie! Small town, good old boy’s club at its best!

Stick to the story

Lefkowitz goes off on far-left extremist rants which have nothing to do with the story or case of the Glen Ridge. Not worth the time or money for this book.