KennyRogersRoast
Well-known member
#1 The Lost Sons of Omaha by Joe Sexton
If I am traveling somewhere I like to pick up a book (or more) that is related to the place. I read this book just before the College World Series last year. This book is about the shooting death of a young black man (Scurlock) by a young white man (Gardner) just days after George Floyd’s murder. With all that was going on in 2020 I do not have any recollection of this tragedy in Omaha.
It is clear Sexton had a lot of access to the families of both Gardner and Scurlock. He does an excellent job of building a timeline of events, but he devotes even more time to the backgrounds and lives of Scurlock and Gardner. You realize that they are not the caricatures portrayed by people trying to advance either themselves or their views. He provides a lot of background on Omaha as well, focusing on its history of racism. All of it is skillfully written and moves at a brisk pace.
My mind keeps returning to this book because the story is tough, it is complex, and it is heartbreaking in more than one way.
If I am traveling somewhere I like to pick up a book (or more) that is related to the place. I read this book just before the College World Series last year. This book is about the shooting death of a young black man (Scurlock) by a young white man (Gardner) just days after George Floyd’s murder. With all that was going on in 2020 I do not have any recollection of this tragedy in Omaha.
It is clear Sexton had a lot of access to the families of both Gardner and Scurlock. He does an excellent job of building a timeline of events, but he devotes even more time to the backgrounds and lives of Scurlock and Gardner. You realize that they are not the caricatures portrayed by people trying to advance either themselves or their views. He provides a lot of background on Omaha as well, focusing on its history of racism. All of it is skillfully written and moves at a brisk pace.
My mind keeps returning to this book because the story is tough, it is complex, and it is heartbreaking in more than one way.