Seattle author Jack Hamann will appear January 17 at the Washington State Library

Journalist Jack Hamann, author of the acclaimed nonfiction book “On American Soil,” will speak at the Washington State Library on Wednesday, January 17. The event is free, and begins at 6:30pm. Hamann is a 2007 recipient of the Horace Mann Award, honoring individuals who have “won victories for humanity.”

“On American Soil” tells the true story of the only trial in American history in which black men were convicted of a lynching. The trial stemmed from a riot at Fort Lawton, in the Magnolia neighborhood in Seattle, on August 14, 1944. An Italian prisoner of war named Guglielmo Olivotto was found hanged; the Army eventually charged 43 US soldiers—all of them African-American. What followed was the largest and longest Army court-martial of World War II, prosecuted by none other than Leon Jaworski, who would later go on to be one of the most famous lawyers in American history, particularly for his role at Watergate special prosecutor.

Years of research led Hamann and his wife Leslie to uncover a previously unpublished U.S. Army report in the National Archives. With compelling narrative, the book dismantles the prosecution’s case, and immerses readers in a long-forgotten chapter of Northwest history.

Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. named “On American Soil” the best investigative book in America for 2005. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer named the book one of the ten best of 2005; Barnes & Noble made it an international “Discover Great New Writers” selection.

Jack Hamann has been a journalist for more than a quarter century. His assignments have taken him around the globe, and have earned him ten Emmy awards, medals at film festivals in New York, Chicago, Columbus and Houston, and accolades from the National Press Club and the Society for Professional Journalists, among others. For ten years, he was a correspondent with CNN, primarily with its acclaimed environment unit. He was also the Seattle Bureau Chief for PBS’ NewsHour. He has a law degree from the University of Oregon (1980) and a degree in Economics from UCLA (1976).