Devil in the Grove

Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America

By: Gilbert King

Narrated by: Peter Francis James

Length: 17 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize

“A must-read, cannot-put-down history.” (Thomas Friedman, New York Times)

Arguably the most important American lawyer of the 20th century, Thurgood Marshall was on the verge of bringing the landmark suit Brown v. Board of Education before the US Supreme Court when he became embroiled in a case that threatened to change the course of the civil rights movement and to cost him his life.

In 1949, Florida's orange industry was booming, and citrus barons got rich on the backs of cheap Jim Crow labor with the help of Sheriff Willis V. McCall, who ruled Lake County with murderous resolve. When a White 17-year-old girl cried rape, McCall pursued four young Black men who dared envision a future for themselves beyond the groves. The Ku Klux Klan joined the hunt, hell-bent on lynching the men who came to be known as "the Groveland Boys".

Associates thought it was suicidal for Marshall to wade into the "Florida Terror", but the young lawyer would not shrink from the fight despite continuous death threats against him.

Drawing on a wealth of never-before-published material, including the FBI's unredacted Groveland case files, as well as unprecedented access to the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund files, Gilbert King shines new light on this remarkable civil rights crusader.

©2012 Gilbert King (P)2013 HarperCollinsPublishers

must read for life-long American history students

very informative, well written, and an excellent performance. sadly, I had never heard of this event in American history, even growing up 90 miles from Groveland 50 years after events. it should be taught in high school. This book has made me want to learn more about what I don't know and I will take the knowledge gained from this book and educate others.

Excellent Book

This was a very interesting & detailed work that gave me perspective on civil rights work that I was largely unaware of previously. Told through the lens of a specific case - the book provided an extensive survey of the changes & work to bring justice & civil rights to black citizens.

At times the detail was more than I felt necessary - but I still found myself engaged & eager to complete the book.

The narration was excellent with the speaker using local dialects & speech that added to the overall story. One of my favorite books of the last several I have finished.

Too much dialect

A great, great book and a history lesson we all need to learn. We are all indebted to Thurgood Marshall. The reading is also very good, too. But to my taste the narrator overplayed the use of dialect. To a degree, the use was helpful. But it became tiresome over the course of the book.

Absolutely must be read by all with an interest in social justice.

The readers are excellent. The historical account is important today. We must learn from history, and we should weep over injustice.

Details

Excellent story telling with an immense amount of depth and detail. I am going to read all of Mr King’s books

Very Informative read

Where does Devil in the Grove rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book has a lot of history surrounding the movement and beginning of Civil Rights. I grew up in Florida and was not aware of the many criminal activities that played into Civil Rights that happened here.

Did Peter Francis James do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

I was not impressed with the narrator. Being a native Floridian I was disappointed how Mr. James mis-pronounced several cities in Florida. Umatilla and Tavares are two of them that stick out in my mind. I wish he had researched the proper way to pronounce these names before narrating. Also, when changing characters I think it would have been better to have added another narrator.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The horrible treatment of those that were falsely accused of rape.

Truly compelling story

so glad to have read this book. At once a history of a tragic case, a shameful time and our history, and a community that would not relent in its hunt for justice.

Riveting and Righteous

A MUST read that is infuriating & inspirational. Should be required for US history courses.

Wonderful!

This is an amazing documentary that everyone (especially everyone north of the Mason Dixon Line) needs to read.

WONDERFUL.....SOOO INFORMATIVE

smSo much history all in one place. i am a product of this era. I was born in the 40s and can atest to this overt racism that is , ust as still so pervasive just covert.
it is a MUST read for young and us old folks.