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
"With integrity, and soul, Thompson unearths the terrible how and why, carrying us back and forth through time, deep in Mississippi—baring sweat, soil, and heart all the way through.” —Imani Perry

A shocking and revelatory account of the murder of Emmett Till that lays bare the long lead-up to the crime and how the truth was hidden for so long

In summer 1955, two men, Roy Bryant and J. W. Milam, were charged with the torture and murder of the fourteen-year-old Emmett Till in Money, Mississippi, and acquitted in a mockery of justice, leaving behind an ink cloud of a false confession. In The Barn, Wright Thompson reveals the true nature and location of the long night of hell that August: inside the barn of one of the killers, 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, and twenty-three miles from Thompson’s own family farm.

Wright Thompson has a deep, local understanding of this story—the world of the families of both Emmett Till and his killers, the historical forces that brought them together in the same place, and how the crime came to loom so large. Putting the killing floor of the barn on the map of West Half, and the Delta, and America, is a way onto the road this country must travel if we are to heal our oldest, deepest wound.

Just because it happened in the past doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

The author’s research impressed me, down to the familial relationships. His research about land ownership as well as land taken from Black families was interesting. In the end, the fact that grown men who happened to be white murdered a child and walked away without consequences will always be remembered. The town’s population can act like nothing happened all they want to and not acknowledge this crime, we all know. We will never forget! Already recommended to family and friends. Great read!

Wonderful intelligent writer

The author has given us a gift of feeling as if I sat on my grandmother’s porch listening to the story while getting a breath of history I’ve never heard before. The gift connected the dots of time that enlightened, convicted, and encouraged me to never forget, while seeking the beloved community.

Context

There's nothing virtual about Mississippi, it's all real, so watch out! When it comes to Mississippi you can go away but you can never get away

Amazing book

I loved how this book ties the history of a place to the actions of the people that lived there

The well-developed historical background on the area of Mississippi where Emmett was killed

While such a difficult story to listen to, I found myself intrigued with the deep history of Mississippi and the hatred that race grew. Brilliant writing and caring handling of this piece of American history many don’t want to embrace. We must heal by digging deeply, seek to understand, accept accountability and work to reconcile.