Review by Choice Review
The 1955 abduction and murder of Emmett Till shocked and disgusted the world. The acquittal of the 14-year-old African American's killers made the shock even more enduring. A generation of young people in particular, including many who would help lead the civil rights movement in sit-ins and as Freedom Riders in Albany and Birmingham, drew stern lessons from the events in Money, Mississippi, that fateful summer. Anderson, an editor at Signature Books, has written what will surely remain the most thorough book on the murder, its aftermath, and its larger legacy. Forensic in his reconstruction of the details of the case and judicious in his arguments, Anderson reveals more about that night than has ever been known, adding not only depth to the involvement of Roy Bryant and J. W. Milam, who had been acquitted of the killing (making their later admission of culpability in Till's death in Look magazine all the more galling), but also showing the roles of several other key figures and incorporating the memories of witnesses and other evidence. At times, Anderson's devotion to detail can bury the reader, but historians will welcome his commitment to the story. It will become the go-to reference for scholars and those who teach the Till case in classrooms. Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries. --Derek Charles Catsam, University of Texas of the Permian Basin
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* The brutal murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till in Money, Mississippi, in 1955 set in motion powerful protests that sparked the civil rights movement and reverberated through the years, prompting an FBI investigation 50 years later. Drawing on new evidence and interviews with Till's family members, witnesses to the murder, and reporters who covered the trial that exonerated the accused killers, Anderson offers a very detailed examination of the murder and its significance in the long history of racial abuses in the South under Jim Crow. He details the lives of Emmet and Mamie Till, his mother, in Chicago; the fateful trip to Mississippi; and the aftermath. In a separate section, Anderson looks at how the story of Till's death reemerged after 50 years and sparked an intense investigation, including the exhumation of Till's body. He concludes with his own theory about the case and its legacy, a fund to investigate cold cases of civil rights murders prior to 1970. Photographs enhance this very thorough and compelling look at the murder that galvanized the civil rights movement and continues to act as a rallying call for racial justice.--Bush, Vanessa Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Booklist Review
