Devil in the Grove

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

By: Gilbert King

Narrated by: Peter Francis James

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 twentieth century, Thurgood Marshall was on the verge of bringing the landmark suit Brown v. Board of Education before the U.S. Supreme Court when he became embroiled in a case that threatened to change the course of the civil rights movement and 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 seventeen-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.

History not to be ignored

One of the most terrifying books I’ve ever read. And, insight into one of America’s greatest justices, Thurgood Marshall.

How could this have happened

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

This book is right up there with the best...

What did you like best about this story?

It's history, it's true, and most of all I learned about injustes to human beings.

What does Peter Francis James bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Love his voice

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

WOW, there were several, no there were many..

Any additional comments?

Great Book

A very powerful book!

What and incredible book this is. In those terrible times, the African Americans suffered so much. This book really puts their struggles out there for all to see. Anyone who still thinks like a majority of the whites in those southern states did in the era that this book is written about, should be firmly put back in their place! An epic book

A seminal book

It’s not often that you read a book, rather listen as I did with this, that rattled you. The facts of this story shocked me as I knew the stain of racism was deep and violent but not like this book told. Worse, one man was the root of all that evil. The narration was exceptional, simply exceptional.

Heartbreaking

Devil is a grove shows the many sacrifices that Thurgood Marshall went through, while helping to change America for the better.

Most of the stories are heartbreaking and you may need to listen in small doses.