Fire in a Canebrake: The Last Mass Lynching in America Contributor(s): Wexler, Laura (Author) |
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ISBN: 0684868172 ISBN-13: 9780684868172 Publisher: Scribner Book Company OUR PRICE: $18.04 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: January 2004 Annotation: July 25, 1946. In Walton County, Georgia, a mob of white men commit one of the most heinous racial crimes in America's history: the shotgun murder of four black sharecroppers -- two men and two women -- at Moore's Ford Bridge. "Fire in a Canebrake," the term locals used to describe the sound of the fatal gunshots, is the story of our nation's last mass lynching on record. More than a half century later, the lynchers' identities still remain unknown. Drawing from interviews, archival sources, and uncensored FBI reports, acclaimed journalist and author Laura Wexler takes readers deep into the heart of Walton County, bringing to life the characters who inhabited that infamous landscape -- from sheriffs to white supremacists to the victims themselves -- including a white man who claims to have been a secret witness to the crime. By turns a powerful historical document, a murder mystery, and a cautionary tale, "Fire in a Canebrake" ignites a powerful contemplation on race, humanity, history, and the epic struggle for truth.
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Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - History | United States - State & Local - South (al,ar,fl,ga,ky,la,ms,nc,sc,tn,va,wv) - History | United States - 20th Century - Social Science | Ethnic Studies - African American Studies |
Dewey: 364.134 |
Physical Information: 1" H x 5.5" W x 8.4" (0.60 lbs) 288 pages |
Themes: - Chronological Period - 1950-1999 - Chronological Period - 20th Century - Cultural Region - Southeast U.S. - Cultural Region - South - Ethnic Orientation - African American - Geographic Orientation - Georgia |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: In the tradition of Melissa Faye Greene and her award-winning Praying for Sheetrock, extraordinarily talented debut author Laura Wexler tells the story of the Moore's Ford Lynching in Walton County, Georgia in 1946--the last mass lynching in America, fully explored here for the first time. July 25, 1946. In Walton County, Georgia, a mob of white men commit one of the most heinous racial crimes in America's history: the shotgun murder of four black sharecroppers--two men and two women--at Moore's Ford Bridge. Fire in a Canebrake, the term locals used to describe the sound of the fatal gunshots, is the story of our nation's last mass lynching on record. More than a half century later, the lynchers' identities still remain unknown. Drawing from interviews, archival sources, and uncensored FBI reports, acclaimed journalist and author Laura Wexler takes readers deep into the heart of Walton County, bringing to life the characters who inhabited that infamous landscape--from sheriffs to white supremacists to the victims themselves--including a white man who claims to have been a secret witness to the crime. By turns a powerful historical document, a murder mystery, and a cautionary tale, Fire in a Canebrake ignites a powerful contemplation on race, humanity, history, and the epic struggle for truth. |