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    The Eyes of Willie McGee: A Tragedy of Race, Sex, and Secrets in the Jim Crow South
    The Eyes of Willie McGee: A Tragedy of Race, Sex, and Secrets in the Jim Crow South
    The Eyes of Willie McGee: A Tragedy of Race, Sex, and Secrets in the Jim Crow South
    Audiobook14 hours

    The Eyes of Willie McGee: A Tragedy of Race, Sex, and Secrets in the Jim Crow South

    Written by Alex Heard

    Narrated by JD Jackson

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    “A memorable narrative of a civil rights case that deserves a larger place in American memory.” —Jon Meacham

    “Riveting. . . . It’s like a real-life To Kill a Mockingbird, but with even more subtlety and complexity.” —Walter Isaacson, author of Einstein

    In this gripping saga of race and retribution, Alex Heard tells a moving and unforgettable story of the deep South that says as much about Mississippi today as it does about the mysteries of the past. In doing so, he evokes the bitter conflicts between black and white, north and south in America.

    In 1945, a young African-American man from Laurel, Mississippi, was sentenced to death for allegedly raping Willette Hawkins, a white housewife. The case was barely noticed until Bella Abzug, a young New York labor lawyer, was hired to oversee Willie McGee's appeal. Together with William Patterson, a dedicated black reformer, Abzug risked her life to plead the case. “Free Willie McGee” became an international rallying cry, with supporters flooding President Truman's White House and the U.S. Supreme Court with clemency pleas and famous Americans—including William Faulkner, Albert Einstein, and Norman Mailer—speaking out on McGee's behalf. By 1951, millions worldwide were convinced of McGee's innocence—even though there were serious questions about his claim that the truth involved a secret love affair.

    In this unforgettable story of justice in the Deep South, Mississippi native Alex Heard reexamines the lasting mysteries surrounding McGee's haunting case.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateMay 11, 2010
    ISBN9780062011336
    Author

    Alex Heard

    Alex Heard is the editorial director of Outside magazine. He has worked as an editor and writer at The New York Times Magazine, Slate, Wired, and The New Republic, and is the author of Apocalypse Pretty Soon. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

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    • 4/5
      This was a very well-researched text. Almost too well-researched. The author didn't know what to leave out. But the core of the information was interesting, even though it was upsetting. Heard did an excellent job of trying to remain unbiased as his research into the McGee tragedy continued. What kept this from being a five-star book for me was simply my personal preference for non-fiction to be told in a linear fashion. Heard jumped around too much in his storytelling (he followed his research path) for my personal taste.