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jcpdiesel21's review against another edition
4.0
An important yet often difficult and at times enraging read. Tyson has clearly done an impressive amount of research, presenting all aspects associated with Till: his background, the alleged incident, his kidnapping and murder, the sham trial and and its wide-reaching aftermath. I had only been introduced to Till himself a few years ago via the short film My Nephew Emmett, so it was equal parts informative and heartbreaking to learn all of the details about what happened to him. This audiobook is another recent listen where a narrator uses varying vocal inflections to portray different individuals, and the pitch-perfect Southern drawl adopted for the defense lawyers made my skin crawl. I found Mose and Mamie's bravery displayed after the murder and during the trial to be particularly admirable within the face of such deep-seated systemic racism.
gnatie's review against another edition
4.0
Holy shit this book makes me mad and upset. It's really good writing and the narrator even does accents for a lot of the quotes (which sometimes makes them hard to understand, but it's fun to listen to) I hadnt known about Emmett Till prior to reading Ghost Boys, so I picked this up to learn more and boy oh boy was I shocked and appalled. Even if you already know the story, this is a good read. Even better and more jaw-dropping if you dont know about Emmett Till.
hkiley22's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.75
dstnbrwr's review against another edition
3.0
It’s disappointing to see how little things have changed from the time of Emmett’s death til now. The last chapter features Tyson mentioning some of the innocent black men & children murdered in the name of racism and the fact that now just 4 years after this book was published, there are plenty more examples of needlessly murdered black people just goes to show that this country is certainly not everything it thinks it is.
As for the book itself, I’d probably give it 3.5 stars. It’s a very well researched and clinical look at the systems & infrastructure that allowed Emmett’s murder to happen and go unpunished but it’s almost too focused on the infrastructure and institutions. It’s at it’s best when showing the ripple effects of the murder on things like the NAACP & national media and when discussing the unbelievable bravery of Emmett’s mother Mamie Till-Mobley.
As for the book itself, I’d probably give it 3.5 stars. It’s a very well researched and clinical look at the systems & infrastructure that allowed Emmett’s murder to happen and go unpunished but it’s almost too focused on the infrastructure and institutions. It’s at it’s best when showing the ripple effects of the murder on things like the NAACP & national media and when discussing the unbelievable bravery of Emmett’s mother Mamie Till-Mobley.
nicolemhill's review against another edition
4.0
"America is still killing Emmett Till."
I knew the basics of Till's murder. I knew the context. But to see the details up close and in sequence is gutting. All the more gutting considering that we are, in fact, still killing Emmett Till every day in this country.
I knew the basics of Till's murder. I knew the context. But to see the details up close and in sequence is gutting. All the more gutting considering that we are, in fact, still killing Emmett Till every day in this country.
hwelch86's review against another edition
5.0
I’ve read some reviews that criticize this book for being too simplistic and not adding anything new, but I deeply appreciated that it was a straightforward and accessible deep dive into this historical tragedy and its legacy. I certainly learned new things from this book. The last chapter is beautiful and heartbreaking, something everyone needs to read and consider for themselves.