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The Saint

Customer Rating:
I read this book through, not long before Mr Beckwith passed away in prison. I found this very one sided, Medgar Evers is shown to be a saint, an angel on Earth, while Byron De La Beckwith is shown at EVERY turn to be a warped, crazy person. Anyone hoping for fair reporting here will be out of luck. Remember, Mr Beckwith was tried twice and had a hung jury. It wasn't until the late twentieth century, with the PC climate, that he was found guilty. At that point there was no way he would have been found not guilty.

A must read !

Customer Rating:
This is a must-read for anyone interested in the civil rights struggle of the 60's. It is a very readable and detailed account of the murder of Medgar Evers by Byron de la Beckwith. This is one of those books I thought I would leaf through, but I got so absorbed that I read it in one sitting.

Ok, four and three-quarters stars....

Customer Rating:
This book is definitely not what you would call fun to read, but it is a stirring and important document. The author commits a few infelicities of language (for which I would have deducted the quarter-star if I could) but keeps the narrative tension high and sheds a lot of light for this Yankee girl on the kind of culture that made a man like Medger Evers loyal to the state of Mississippi even though it was a state that would allow his murderer to go unpunished for decades. It doesn't gloss over the warts of those on the side of the angels, and although it doesn't fully explain the psychology of the assassin, perhaps no one can.

Brilliant work

Customer Rating:
I picked up Ghosts of Mississippi several years ago but tucked it away for a rainy day. De la Beckwith's death earlier this week (and a California rain storm) prompted me to dust it off. I now regret not having read it years ago. Maryanne Vollers' work is, in short, a masterpiece. Her amazing investigative skills and craftmanship left me wanting to read more. Logging on today to write this review, I was thrilled to see that Vollers has a new book out (Ice Bound). This time I won't wait!

One of the best Non-Fiction Books of the last 25 years.

Customer Rating:
I got the paperbound edition of this book on the advice of a friend who, like me, had been disappointed by the film that borrowed its title (but not its content). The book is so gripping, and knot-in-the-stomach good, both as a work of journalism and true-life suspense. The sticker on my copy sez "Ghosts of Mississippi" was a National Book Award Finalist. Hey, it shoulda won because it's an American masterwork that oughta be taught in high schools in colleges. Yo! You want heroes worth believing in, and villains worth bringing to justice? Then put on a CD by the Roots or Rage Against the Machine and read this righteous book and learn real lessons you can live by.