Overview

What Really Killed Rosebud? is an exploration into the life and death of Rosebud Abigail Denovo, a nineteen year old political activist who was killed by the Oakland police in 1992. Rosebud, armed with a machete, broke into the mansion of the then Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, campus. Alerted and called to the scene in the early morning hours the police, after evacuating the Chancellor and his wife, sent in an officer who had been shot and wounded by a suspect just a few weeks previously. There are numerous questions as to what then really happened and why. In trying to unravel the mystery of this young woman's death one comes face to face with the big question -- what about violence and non-violence? Was this sweet faced young girl, a rebel with a cause, a new Joan of Arc? What is Anarchy anyhow?The book is also an offshoot of the author's long involvement with documenting the events and life stories of the people who gather in and around People's Park in Berkeley, home of the early Free Speech Movement in America.The book begins with a series of photographs depicting Rosebud (born Laura Miller) from age three to just before her death at age nineteen. Following this are a series of reprints of the pertinent newspaper articles (from both mainstream and radical publications) which describe the actual events as well as present various interpretations. Then, comprising the bulk of the book, are interviews with friends and acquaintances of Rosebud, as well as long time observers of the People's Park street scene. In addition, the actual autopsy of Rosebud is presented, casting great doubt on the various official descriptions of the incident.

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