The Barn

The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi

De: Wright Thompson

Narrado por: Wright Thompson

The instant New York Times bestseller • Named a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post, Slate, Vanity Fair, TIME, Buzzfeed, Smithsonian, BookPage, KCUR, Kirkus, and Boston Globe • Nominated for a PEN America Literary Award

“It literally changed my outlook on the world…incredible.” —Shonda Rhimes

"The Barn is serious history and skillful journalism, but with the nuance and wallop of a finely wrought novel… The Barn describes not just the poison of silence and lies, but also the dignity of courage and truth.” — The Washington Post

“The most brutal, layered, and absolutely beautiful book about Mississippi, and really how the world conspired with the best and worst parts of Mississippi, I will ever read…Reporting and reckoning can get no better, or more important, than this.” —Kiese Laymon

“An incredible history of a crime that changed America.” —John Grisham

A shocking and revelatory account of the murder of Emmett Till that lays bare how forces from around the world converged on the Mississippi Delta in the long lead-up to the crime, and how the truth was erased for so long

Wright Thompson’s family farm in Mississippi is 23 miles from the site of one of the most notorious and consequential killings in American history, yet he had to leave the state for college before he learned the first thing about it. To this day, fundamental truths about the crime are widely unknown, including where it took place and how many people were involved. This is no accident: the cover-up began at once, and it is ongoing.

In August 1955, two men, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, were charged with the torture and murder of the 14-year-old Emmett Till in Money, Mississippi. After their inevitable acquittal in a mockery of justice, they gave a false confession to a journalist, which was misleading about where the long night of hell took place and who was involved. In fact, Wright Thompson reveals, at least eight people can be placed at the scene, which was inside the barn of one of the killers, on a plot of land within the six-square-mile grid whose official name is Township 22 North, Range 4 West, Section 2, West Half, fabled in the Delta of myth as the birthplace of the blues on nearby Dockery Plantation.

Even in the context of the racist caste regime of the time, the four-hour torture and murder of a Black boy barely in his teens for whistling at a young white woman was acutely depraved; Till’s mother Mamie Till-Mobley’s decision to keep the casket open seared the crime indelibly into American consciousness. Wright Thompson has a deep understanding of this story—the world of the families of both Emmett Till and his killers, and all the forces that aligned to place them together on that spot on the map. As he shows, the full horror of the crime was its inevitability, and how much about it we still need to understand. Ultimately this is a story about property, and money, and power, and white supremacy. It implicates all of us. In The Barn, Thompson brings to life the small group of dedicated people who have been engaged in the hard, fearful business of bringing the truth to light. Putting the killing floor of the barn on the map of Township 22 North, Range 4 West, Section 2, West Half, and the Delta, and America, is a way of mapping the road this country must travel if we are to heal our oldest, deepest wound.

©2024 Wright Thompson (P)2024 Penguin Audio

The Barn

Such beautiful, powerful prose does not begin to capture the transcendent truth on these pages.

A honest an complete account!

This is the MOST comprehensive account of all the components that made the lynching of Emmet Till possible and completely acceptable! Of what continues to allow lynchings to be accepted today!

A True Eye Opener

This book opened my eyes ever wider than I was previously aware! Thank you to the author for your diligence and dedication to this project!

Outstanding & emotional

I bought the hard cover and audio versions and have gone through it twice. Such an outstanding history of my state. Must read!!

Easy as Sunday Morning

Humbled….
It was enlightening for both black & white…
It was quite informative!

Book club January 16, 2025
Clarksdale MS
Travelers Hotel….

First book of 2025

Reading Between the Wines Book Club

Sad. Awful. But interesting read.

Thank you Wright for your honest and thoughtful historical analysis of our nations hidden past.

My ignorance of history to the black people

I liked the story how it was written I was 26 before I saw the separation of town where whites and blacks were separated I knew nothing about how ppl were treated I was shocked then listening to this book has saddens me I was from a small town where whites and Hispanic lived together so I was unaware how things were outside of my town

I grew up in Mississippi

So glad this story being told . I was a 10 year old white girl in MS when Emmett Till was murdered. I hated it, but didn’t speak out about it. But even my parents who were segregationists, never believed in murder or violence against blacks. However, I do think they felt the negro was “less of a human “ than whites. I never did

The Barn

The author is very detailed in his writing and his narrating was excellent. I have watched two movies about Emit Teal, but this book covers so much more.

Eyewitness to the Past

The Barn by Wright Thompson captured my interest from the very beginning with its subject matter. I thought I knew the story of Emmett Till, but this book revealed so much more than I ever realized.

Wright Thompson sets the stage by delving into the history of the Mississippi Delta, even before the United States was formed. Every detail was new to me, enriching my understanding of the region's past and its influence on the tragic events that unfolded.

The book is filled with an array of characters, making it hard to single out just one to connect with.

Thompson seamlessly weaves historical facts into the narrative, walking the reader through the past as if hand in hand, vividly describing the scenes. Despite knowing about Emmett's murder, reading about it in this context shook me deeply. The book was so emotionally powerful that I found myself discussing it with my students today.

The Barn not only deepened my understanding of Emmett Till's murder but also provided a comprehensive history of the Mississippi Delta and the events leading up to that fateful moment. I'm still processing my emotions from finishing the book just yesterday, but I can say with certainty: a resounding YES, I would recommend this book to anyone.