What Lisa Knew

by Joyce Johnson

Book Overview

"She was found in darkness - the bruised, comatose first-grader who would never wake up to tell anyone which of the two adults in the small, filthy Greenwich Village apartment had beaten her." On... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0399134743
• ISBN13: 9780399134746
• Release Date: April 1990
• Publisher: Putnam Publishing Group
• Length: 302 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Steinberg should've been sentenced to death/Nussbaum should

be in prison for life (abused woman or not).My heart aches terribly after reading this book. I'd hoped I'd feel differently. Because of all of the media and hype I was hoping there was some 'normal' explanation to this tragedy. Maybe a typical story of a battered woman who coulnd't respond. BUT, this couple were sado-masochist, crack-heads who participated in cults and sexual perversity. I hoped I would read a simplier explanation of Lisa's death. This book didn't help my phyche at all; it made my pain worse.I kiss my child much harder every night after she's asleep after reading this 'tale of hell'. My prayers go on for Lisa.

Sick people

I agree with the author that Hedda Nussbaum is just as guilty of Lisa's abuse and death as was Joel Steinberg. There are some facts about the birth mother that were incorrect (See her own book "I Wish You Didn't Know My Name" by Michele Laudners). Over all, "What Lisa Knew" is a good book. It gives insight to a very sick, disturbed man.

Nothing Worse Than a Beater

This book is excellent. The story behind it all is totally repulsing and I believe that Joel Steinberg AND Hedda Nussbaum should have been put behind bars for their lack of love that they gave to Mitchell and Lisa and the home that they raised their children in...I'm sure that homeless people raise their children in a more sanitary fashion.

Good book

Congratulations to the author for her work, even tough I'm sure everyone feels real sad about Lisa. I hope american justice won't let him out of jail. ( I readed the Spanish version from Selector ).