This book is very interesting in what it is. I can’t say that it is… or will...or ever would be one of my favorites…or that I would want to read it again...but it IS honest and brutal about the nature of the historical interactions between black and white races. I grew up in the deep south in the 50’s and 60’s and can sadly say that it is indeed honest in the author’s assessment of the racial situation. Be aware that some of the content is extremely graphic and the story will not be suitable for everyone by any stretch of the imagination. The story is Tim Tyson’s account of going back and confronting many of his memories of this event and looking at them through the eyes of an adult instead of those of a child. It's a well written account and good as far as the writing is concerned but sad and tragic beyond measure in the reality. As I said it will NOT be for everyone.

Part memoir and part civil rights documentary, this tells about a lynching in the early 1970's in the small North Carolina town where Tyson grew up. He was about 10 or 11 at the time, and his memories of the event from a child's perspective, his stories of his white preacher father trying to bring the notion of racial equality to his white parishioners, and the intense research Tyson did as an adult into the crime that rocked his childhood.

If I could give 10 stars to this book, I would. Written by the son of an Oxford, NC Methodist minister dedicated to racial equality, the book recounts the events surrounding the murder of Henry Marrow, a black man, by 3 white men in 1970. That's the startling part -- 1970 and the murderers were found not guilty. This is a humane and human, funny and heart rending, riveting book that I could not put down. I think someday, I want to take a Civil Right trip from Oxford, NC to Oxford, Mississippi.

Beautifully written, tremendously sad, at times quite funny, very worthwhile.

A great story. Loved the way Tyson weaved the historical background into a tragic murder in his little southern town. If you are offended by the "N" word, you should probably not read this book. He uses the characters' own words so many places crude phrases captures the times and places. I particularly appreciated two incidents where a single person stood up to the crowd and cooled hot heads.

4.5 Stars
I really learned so much from the book and loved the combination of Tyson’s personal experiences in Oxford, interviews and other research. It is a story that I will continue to think about in the future. The ending especially was impactful. I listened to the audiobook and the repeated use of the n word and r word felt jarring to hear. (I realize the n word was used when the book was set and hearing it might be different than reading it.)

This was one of the most important reads I’ve read about my home state North Carolina...possible ever.

The murders of Henry Marrow were never convicted. This book taught me sooo much history about my home state that was omitted from our history books. It also completely solidified my feelings on confederate statues, as they were all erected to “keep black people in their place” and normally placed at the courthouses of southern cities. Which is also true for my home town in eastern NC.

Because this happened in the 70s many of the people in this book are still alive. My husband and I became friends with a couple from Oxford, NC and as I was reading this book I asked my husband to speak with the couple. Here’s what we found out: There is still a Robert Teel barbershop in Oxford, NC and to this day if a black man walks in to his barbershop they stop them and refuse to cut their hair. Our friend, also being in a related field of work, sees the man whom was also shot when the Teels were trying to kill Henry, quite regularly. Our friend let us know the last time he saw him he spoke to him of Henry’s murder.

This is why it is so important to not omit information from history books as well as give all the facts no matter how unpleasant.
It always ruffles my feathers when I hear people say slavery and Jim Crow was so long ago, you should be over it. This book proves we, as a society, have so much further to go—because honestly we are not that far removed and many of the issues in the book are still relevant today. We’re just slowly becoming desensitized.

One of the best firsthand accounts of 1970s civil rights struggles. Hauntingly honest.

I rated this 5 stars and think it would be an excellent requirement for students. First of all, the content is so important and we cannot ignore, hide, or discredit this story and others like it. For that reason, I find it hard to understand why some might say its content is graphic and not for everyone, well sure maybe not a 5-year-old but I'd read the YA version (Dr. Tyson please consider) of this with my 9 and 13-year-olds. Only big words and length keep me from reading this version.

Second of all, dang Dr. Tyson has an incredible way with words. Please keep writing. Maybe a little disjointed at times with the chronology but I thought the flow was no big deal as long as I could sit back and enjoy the regular occurrence of keen insights and smooth portraiture. Even the vernacular was neither fake nor cavalier but a sincere and important inclusion. At times I laughed at his analogies, feeling a tinge of guilt but I suspect Dr. Tyson knew I needed respite in the pages of such terror.

Finally, let me not forget the story of Henry Morrow. Records were destroyed and people took great lengths to make this story never surface again. Dr. Tyson went above and beyond, I feel, to give this book its due and it's not my place to judge if he did but I hope it has intended effects on me, society, and our future readers. Lord willing, we can more easily close the racial divide by education not ignorance, by revelation not concealment, and by acknowledgement not excuses.

Tyson's opus is intelligently written and meticulously researched and looks at all characters in a sympathetic light, no matter how evil they appear to be on the surface. Tyson's biggest weakness in his book is his ambivalence of his own identity. He begins the book as an individual proud of his strong father and southern roots as they appear to be a dominant force in who he is today...however he oscillates between pat-on-the-back good-ole southern boy and self loathing southerner, wishing to enlighten these backwards and ignorant people (I'm from Kentucky, tongue was in cheek on that one). While I found this book to be heartwrenching and well-written, his refusal to take a stand on who he is really, really annoyed me.

Favorite quotes:

" 'I really dig sharks,' the poet once said, 'because when they bite your goddamn head off, they never say it was for a good cause' "

"Though people tend to think of poor, rural white Southerners as the worst racists in the country, these were not the people who redlined black folks out of their neighborhoods, the way northern bankers and real estate agents did. They were hardly in a position to keep blacks out of America's most elite schools, the way northeastern academics did. And white country people in the South often lived right alongside blacks, in similar material conditions, which both softened and sharpened racial clashes."

If you're from North Carolina, you should read this! It opens your eyes to some of the painful history in our state. It forces you to understand some of the horrors of America. The perspective it was written form is from someone who lived in it. So they don't come off removed and it's not textbooky. It's a story that keeps you engaged.

This book had been, unread, on my shelf for a number of years. In light of the library being closed, I picked it up and was surprised at.how very timely it is.for June 2020. It is part history, part memoir. If you have questions about his research there are many sources listed in the back. It is a really honest book. It examines the racism present in North Carolina (and the country) with wide open eyes and heart. I grew up in North Carolina and was 18 at the time of this murder. The casual white supremacy described was very common and his background information rang true.
It is a difficult book to read, particularly in June 2020 when it feels as if not much at all has changed. It can be a learning experience for anyone who is open to learning and progressing in attitudes past 1970.