Driving the Green Book

A Road Trip Through the Living History of Black Resistance

By: Alvin Hall

Narrated by: Alvin Hall

Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Join award-winning broadcaster Alvin Hall on a journey through America’s haunted racial past, with the legendary Green Book as your guide.

For countless Americans, the open road has long been a place where dangers lurk. In the era of Jim Crow, Black travelers encountered locked doors, hostile police, and potentially violent encounters almost everywhere, in both the South and the North. From 1936 to 1967, millions relied on The Negro Motorist Green Book, the definitive guide to businesses where they could safely rest, eat, or sleep.

Most Americans only know of the guide from the 2018 Green Book movie or the 2020 Lovecraft Country TV show. Alvin Hall set out to revisit the world of the Green Book to instruct us all on the real history of the guide that saved many lives. With his friend Janée Woods Weber, he drove from New York to Detroit to New Orleans, visiting motels, restaurants, shops, and stores where Black Americans once found a friendly welcome. They explored historical and cultural landmarks, from the theatres and clubs where stars like Duke Ellington and Lena Horne performed to the Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Along the way, they gathered memories from some of the last living witnesses for whom the Green Book meant survival—remarkable people who not only endured but rose above the hate, building vibrant Black communities against incredible odds.

Driving the Green Book is a vital work of national history as well as a hopeful chronicle of Black resilience and resistance.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Alvin Hall (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

Terrific listen

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Alvin’s reading of Driving the Green Book, he brings his own research alive in a dynamic fashion! A great complement to the audio podcast!

Wonderful!

An important contribution to our understanding of traveling while Black the late Jim Crow era. The book brought back positive memories of my own childhood trips across the country, especially the shoebox lunches! The one concern I must make is in the author’s decision to narrate his book. It was strikingly stilted and almost seemed he was unfamiliar with the words on the page. I think I might have enjoyed the book more hade I read rather than listened to the book. Still, a thorough, enlightening discussion!

Green Book history

I think books like this, should be made part of the curriculum for students in school right now. This part of hidden history should be taught in history classes. The author, Alvin Hall did an excellent job.

Excellent!

There is so much history included in this book. The author magically ties the theme of “driving the green book” together with the reason for needing the green book in the first. The writer is thoughtful, brilliant and careful to preserve this sad piece of American history while also highlighting how clever black people had to be to be in order to maneuver oppressive structures that appear to be repeating and re-emerging even today. Just take a look at what is happening in Florida. Thank you Mr. Hall!

First-Hand Way to Learn Some History

This book was a first-hand way to learn about recent American history. The book details how the Green Book was conceived, created, and evolved. It explains how the US has changed in the last 80 years. Victor Green, the Guide's creator, was practical, entrepreneurial, and philanthropic in creating a guide enabling black families to travel the roadways of the US. This book provides many stories and antidotes of how black families survived multi-day road trips, including stopping for gas, bathrooms, meals, and lodging. I listened to the book on a road trip. I learned fascinating perspectives on historical events I could remember as a child, such as details about the motel where Martin Luther King was Assinated. The book cites examples of how cities have changed via Urban Development and the construction of the Interstates Roadways that we all use now. We often view these changes as progress, but they can also be scrutinized as how the system keeps the power with the powerful. It is a fascinating book and a good listen detailing how things were and how they have changed over time.

a trip down memory Road

excellent account of black history. detailing extremely well the tribulations not often pondered by many Americans when thinking of the United States tumultuous history of Oppression.

Unveiling African American Resilience: 'Driving the Green Book' Delivers a Powerful Narrative of Resistance

Alvin Hall’s 'Driving the Green Book' is a compelling journey through the hidden history of African American resilience and resistance. Hall’s personal narrative and exploration of Green Book routes shed light on the impact of racial segregation in America. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in American history and the ongoing fight for social justice.

Great book that should be READ

I very much enjoyed getting to hear the transcripts from conversations with people who remembered the experience of needing to use the Green Book, including the unexpected positive memories of various Little Harlems across the country. However, having said that, you should really read this yourself. The author does the narration and he's a horrible reader. He reminds. Me. Of listening. To students. Taking turns. Reading. Aloud. In junior high. Very little inflection, way too many pauses in his speech. The only thing that kept me going was my interest in the subject matter. I kept increasing the speed bit by bit to get through it. I was listening at double speed by the end and still annoyed at his voice. Lovely writer, not so much of a reader.