| The Other Side of the River: A Story of Two Towns, a Death, and America's Dilemma Contributor(s): Kotlowitz, Alex (Author) |
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ISBN: 038547721X ISBN-13: 9780385477215 Publisher: Anchor Books OUR PRICE: $15.30 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: January 1999 Annotation: In The Other Side of the River, Kotlowitz brings readers to two Michigan towns, St. Joseph and Benton Harbor. Separated by the St. Joseph River, they are geographically close, yet worlds apart: St. Joseph is a 95 percent white, prosperous lakeshore community, while Benton Harbor is impoverished and 92 percent black. When the body of a black teenage boy from Benton Harbor is found in the river, unhealed wounds and suspicions between the two towns populations surface as well. The investigation into Eric Mcginnis's death inevitably becomes a screen onto which each community projects its resentments and fears. Beautifully written and painstakingly reported, The Other Side of the River sensitively portrays the lives and hopes of the towns' citizens as they wrestle with this mystery and others - and reveals the attitudes and misperceptions that undermine race relations throughout America. This powerful story challenges us to think about our own assumptions about race, no matter which side of the river we live on. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Minority Studies - History | United States - State & Local - General - Social Science | Discrimination & Race Relations |
| Dewey: 977.411 |
| Physical Information: 0.79" H x 5.22" W x 8.06" (0.55 lbs) 336 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Great Lakes - Cultural Region - Midwest - Geographic Orientation - Michigan |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Bestselling author Alex Kotlowitz is one of this country's foremost writers on the ever explosive issue of race. In this gripping and ultimately profound book, Kotlowitz takes us to two towns in southern Michigan, St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, separated by the St. Joseph River. Geographically close, but worlds apart, they are a living metaphor for America's racial divisions: St. Joseph is a prosperous lakeshore community and ninety-five percent white, while Benton Harbor is impoverished and ninety-two percent black. When the body of a black teenaged boy from Benton Harbor is found in the river, unhealed wounds and suspicions between the two towns' populations surface as well. The investigation into the young man's death becomes, inevitably, a screen on which each town projects their resentments and fears. The Other Side of the River sensitively portrays the lives and hopes of the towns' citizens as they wrestle with this mystery--and reveals the attitudes and misperceptions that undermine race relations throughout America. |