A Wilderness of Error

The Trials of Jeffrey MacDonald

By: Errol Morris

Narrated by: John Pruden

Early on the morning of February 17, 1970, in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, a Green Beret doctor named Jeffrey MacDonald called the police for help. When the officers arrived at his home they found the bloody and battered bodies of MacDonald's pregnant wife and two young daughters. The word "pig" was written in blood on the headboard in the master bedroom. As MacDonald was being loaded into the ambulance, he accused a band of drug-crazed hippies of the crime.

So began one of the most notorious and mysterious murder cases of the 20th century. Jeffrey MacDonald was finally convicted in 1979 and remains in prison today. Since then a number of best-selling books - including Joe McGinniss's Fatal Vision and Janet Malcolm's The Journalist and the Murderer, along with a blockbuster television miniseries - have attempted to solve the MacDonald case and explain what it all means.

In A Wilderness of Error, Errol Morris, who has been investigating the case for nearly two decades, reveals that almost everything we know about that case is ultimately flawed, and an innocent man may be behind bars. In a masterful reinvention of the true-crime thriller, Morris looks behind the haze of myth that still surrounds these murders. Drawing on court transcripts, lab reports, and original interviews, Morris brings a complete 40-year history back to life and demonstrates how our often desperate attempts to understand and explain an ambiguous reality can overwhelm the facts.

A Wilderness of Error allows the listener to explore the case as a detective might, by confronting the evidence as if for the first time. Along the way Morris poses bracing questions about the nature of proof, criminal justice, and the media, and argues that MacDonald has been condemned not only to prison, but also to the stories that have been created around him. In this profoundly original meditation on truth and justice, Errol Morris reopens a famous closed case and reveals that, 40 years after the murder of MacDonald's family, we still have no proof of his guilt.

©2012 Errol Morris (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Bound to be in demand." ( Library Journal)

Captivating

This book is incredible. The story is so complicated and twisted yet Morris pulls it altogether so that facts and timelines never get confused. True TRUE drama. This audio book version is great as well, the voices are clear and uncomplicated but gripping. Very happy to have made this purchase!

Interesting, But Ultimately Preposterous

This book is written from the perspective of a defense attorney. There were some new tidbits to learn here, such as details about MacDonald’s colorful in-laws, Mildred and Fred. But I kept listening and waiting to hear a bombshell as to why he’s innocent. It didn’t come. All of the evidence goes back to just one person — and that’s the doctor who didn’t live up to the oath he took to Do No Harm.

The Devil is in the Details

What did you love best about A Wilderness of Error?

The Jeffrey MacDonald case has interested me for years. This book promised to provide a new look at the court cases as well as providing new information about the night of the murders. Overall it delivered but my sense is that were I to read this myself I would have skimmed over the drier bits- and in this format I could not.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Wilderness of Error?

It was good to hear MacDonald's voice.

Would you listen to another book narrated by John Pruden?

I am not sure.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No- and I could not have!

Any additional comments?

Since there were multiple voices- it would have been nice to have a female reading some of the parts.

Rocked My World

Any additional comments?

I was always convinced Macdonald was guilty. 100%, no question. The first half of the book didn't impress me. It seemed as if if Morris was just content to spout philosophy. He brings the jackhammer down in the second half and I'm still astonished at the lack of info regarding the Macdonald case I had no idea existed. I doubt Macdonalds guilt but, even if I didn't, the things that occurred during his trials frighten me in the sense that this judicial malfeasance could actually occur in my lifetime.

Guilty or Not Guilty?

I read Fatal Vision then this. I also saw the Hulu special that is based on this title. I still feel that the doctor is guilty. In every interview it’s all about him never once did I feel he felt any emotion connection to his family’s murders.

Errol writes like he directs.

Methodical and fair. I still don't know who killed the family. But I know the trial was a farce. Word.

Intriguing

I really enjoyed this audiobook immensely. It's given me a lot to think regarding what I THOUGHT I knew and why I thought I knew it. There's too much to unpack in this review, but i will say this... If you are very familiar with this case, you will need to have abln open mind. Additionally, the book goes way deeper than the FX doc did.

If you've read Fatal Vision by Joe McGinnis you need to read this book!

This book reveals a lot of things Joe McGinnis' book and the corresponding movie did not. I don't know if it proves MacDonald's innocence, but I will say it's evident he did not get a fair trial.

Very enlightening

This is a very enlightening case study of the state of the judicial system in the United States and effect of the media there on.

This case never gets old

If you could sum up A Wilderness of Error in three words, what would they be?

Riveting; fascinating; detailed

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

He really captured the characters well.

Which character – as performed by John Pruden – was your favorite?

MacDonald

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Every good book about the MacDonald case elicits some extreme reactions. Nothing about the case makes me laugh, nor did the narrative. Very dramatic.

Any additional comments?

Great narration.