Background
Philippe Sands is a British laywer and scholar, specialising in international law and teaching at University College London. In 1998, he had been approached by Pinochet's advisors, who asked him to join the defence team of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, who was then facing charges of severe human rights violations. After consulting his wife, who threatened to divorce him if he helped Pinochet, Sands rejected the request and instead helped Human Rights Watch make a submission against Pinochet on the case. [1] [2] His wife had personal connections to Pinochet's case, with Chilean dissident Orlando Letelier having been a friend of her father's who was assassinated by Pinochet's secret police, as well as her being a distant cousin of diplomet Carmelo Soria, who was also assassinated by Pinochet's secret police in the 1970s. [3] In the 2010s, as he did research for his books on Nazi war criminals, East West Street (2016) and The Ratline (2021), he came across a letter indicating a potential between the cases of Nazi war criminal Walter Rauff and Pinochet. [2]
The book is titled after the address of a building in central Santiago used by Pinochet's secret police, the Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional, to torture and disappear dissidents. [4]
Critical reception
Jennifer Szalai of The New York Times praised the book as "marvelous and absorbing," saying that Sands was "a consummate storyteller, gently teasing out his heavy themes and the accompanying legal intricacies through the unforgettable details he unearths and the many people — Rauff’s family, former military conscripts, British legal insiders — who open up to him." [3] Rafael Behr of The Guardian highlighted Sands' "impressive combination of moral clarity and judicious detachment," saying that "it is Sands’s expertise in international law, coupled with a natural storyteller’s intuition for structure, that gives his latest book its understated power." [5] Publishers Weekly gave the book a starred review, describing it as "gripping." [6] Writing in The New York Review of Books , Ariel Dorfman praised the book for "the relentless pursuit of this hidden and repulsive past that gives 38 Londres Street its startling originality, turning it into a tour de force that extends its reach far beyond what we typically envisage from a book about human rights." [7]
Writing in The Law Society Gazette , lawyer Stephen D. Sutton gave the book five stars, saying that "parts of the book read like a spy thriller and in other sections the reader is granted a rare and privileged glimpse into the inner workings of the former House of Lords Appellate Committee." [8] Professor of law at Griffith University Olivera Simic praised Sands for his "strong commitment to neutrality, decency and impartiality" and being "a master of historical non-fiction, he has become known for his unique blend of deeply personal, legal and historical narratives," adding that the book also "offers insight into what it takes to conduct such expansive archival and qualitative research." [9]
Henry Mance of the Financial Times warned that "parts of the book are long-winded," but that "Sands is a storyteller and a scholar, capable of turning scraps into an enthralling collage." [10] Richard Vinen of the Literary Review wrote that the book "mixes history, travel writing and autobiography," warning that "there are many long descriptive passages. It all has a touch of the self-indulgence that one associates with successful barristers," but that "Sands is at his best when he sticks to the central topic and addresses the legal ramifications of the Pinochet case, which are extraordinarily interesting." [11]
Jenni Frazer of The Jewish Chronicle wrote that the book was "at times dense" and that "Sands does not quite succeed in providing a definitive, provable link between Rauff and Pinochet in the carrying out of the executions and torture," but said that it was "particularly fascinating when re-tracing the Pinochet story," while noting Sands involvement in the ICJ case on Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories, saying that "I imagine that Sands hopes 38 Londres Street might serve as an awful warning to political leaders in places other than Latin America." [12] Writing in The Spectator , Jonathan Sumption, Lord Sumption also found Sands' linkage of Rauff and Pinochet to "not really work" and stated that Sands' claim of a deal between the Chilean and British governments to release Pinochet on health grounds to be "certainly untrue," but that the book was otherwise "extremely accurate." [13]
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