An exemplary life, and an exemplary biography that will rekindle readers’ commitment to racial justice.
Comprehensive biography of the late civil rights leader and legislator.
John Lewis practically emerged from the womb with his habits fully formed: at a very early age, he became entranced by books, taking as a lifelong talisman the poem “Invictus” and its closing: “I am the master of my fate, / I am the captain of my soul.” Born in 1940 to tenant farmers in southeastern Alabama, Lewis came of age as the Civil Rights Movement was gathering force; while a student at the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, he helped organize lunch-counter sit-ins and even tried to organize an NAACP chapter on campus until warned that the white churches funding the college “would never tolerate it.” Organizing voter drives during Freedom Summer 1964, Lewis practiced Martin Luther King Jr.’s doctrine of nonviolence, which he held to for the rest of his life, even as he endured beatings by white supremacists and police. He made news for refusing to give in and later, having taken the case for civil rights to first John and then Robert Kennedy, for entering national legislative politics. Greenberg allows that Lewis could be a contrarian with a radical edge; he stated at the March on Washington, for example, “We are involved in a serious social revolution.” He remained a force for progressivism in Congress—and, Greenberg notes, an early and strong ally of the LGBTQ+ community and advocate for the environment. Greenberg also points to uncomfortable moments, including Lewis’ divisive primary race against fellow Black progressive Julian Bond, whose enmity extended unto death (Lewis was not invited to Bond’s funeral). Greenberg also writes perceptively about how Lewis finessed his friendship with Hillary Clinton to become a champion of Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential race and how Lewis became a leader in the repudiation of Trump-era white supremacism before his death in 2020.
An exemplary life, and an exemplary biography that will rekindle readers’ commitment to racial justice.Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9781982142995
Page Count: 704
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PROFILES
PERSPECTIVES
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.
Greed, depravity, and serial murder in 1920s Oklahoma.
During that time, enrolled members of the Osage Indian nation were among the wealthiest people per capita in the world. The rich oil fields beneath their reservation brought millions of dollars into the tribe annually, distributed to tribal members holding "headrights" that could not be bought or sold but only inherited. This vast wealth attracted the attention of unscrupulous whites who found ways to divert it to themselves by marrying Osage women or by having Osage declared legally incompetent so the whites could fleece them through the administration of their estates. For some, however, these deceptive tactics were not enough, and a plague of violent death—by shooting, poison, orchestrated automobile accident, and bombing—began to decimate the Osage in what they came to call the "Reign of Terror." Corrupt and incompetent law enforcement and judicial systems ensured that the perpetrators were never found or punished until the young J. Edgar Hoover saw cracking these cases as a means of burnishing the reputation of the newly professionalized FBI. Bestselling New Yorker staff writer Grann (The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession, 2010, etc.) follows Special Agent Tom White and his assistants as they track the killers of one extended Osage family through a closed local culture of greed, bigotry, and lies in pursuit of protection for the survivors and justice for the dead. But he doesn't stop there; relying almost entirely on primary and unpublished sources, the author goes on to expose a web of conspiracy and corruption that extended far wider than even the FBI ever suspected. This page-turner surges forward with the pacing of a true-crime thriller, elevated by Grann's crisp and evocative prose and enhanced by dozens of period photographs.
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.Pub Date: April 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-385-53424-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.
Documenting perilous times.
In his most recent behind-the-scenes account of political power and how it is wielded, Woodward synthesizes several narrative strands, from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel to the 2024 presidential campaign. Woodward’s clear, gripping storytelling benefits from his legendary access to prominent figures and a structure of propulsive chapters. The run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is tense (if occasionally repetitive), as a cast of geopolitical insiders try to divine Vladimir Putin’s intent: “Doubt among allies, the public and among Ukrainians meant valuable time and space for Putin to maneuver.” Against this backdrop, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham implores Donald Trump to run again, notwithstanding the former president’s denial of his 2020 defeat. This provides unwelcome distraction for President Biden, portrayed as a thoughtful, compassionate lifetime politico who could not outrace time, as demonstrated in the June 2024 debate. Throughout, Trump’s prevarications and his supporters’ cynicism provide an unsettling counterpoint to warnings provided by everyone from former Joint Chief of Staff Mark Milley to Vice President Kamala Harris, who calls a second Trump term a likely “death knell for American democracy.” The author’s ambitious scope shows him at the top of his capabilities. He concludes with these unsettling words: “Based on my reporting, Trump’s language and conduct has at times presented risks to national security—both during his presidency and afterward.”
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668052273
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
IN THE NEWS
PERSPECTIVES
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