The Silk Finisher

Bigotry, Murder, and Sacrifice in the Crossroads of America

By: Daniel Melchior

Narrated by: Daniel Melchior

What happens when toxicity invades a life at every turn?

A 1963 murder leads to a decade-long journey for a son to uncover truths about his family, an American town, and ultimately himself.

In the "Crossroads of America," three active-duty US Army paratroopers commit a more heinous crime than the one they are trying to cover up. Their arrests and trial shock and divide residents of the town between those who see the soldiers as heroes and those who view them as cold-blooded killers.

Author Dan Melchior unearths the story of Rudolph Ziemer, known by some as the "Queer Undertaker." Along the way, he uncovers forgotten often toxic stories involving the Cold War and the Jim Crow south, infidelity, addiction, bigotry, murders, and accidents all woven into the fabric of one woman's life as a laboring silk finisher. The stories link the Civil Rights era to World War II to the march of the MAGA movement and parallel the divisions and challenges facing America today. Journey along with Melchior as he discovers how one man's murder—someone he never knew—led him to a deeper understanding of his family, his beliefs, his country, and his triumphant relationship with his mom, a silk finisher.

©2024 3 White Binders, LLC (P)2024 Tantor Media

A real tale about real people

I just finished The Silk Finisher, and I just had to say how much it impressed me.

The author is a good writer, and a fine storyteller.
But it’s more than that.

I’ve gotten more and more into non-fiction as a way of understanding the world. And I just love this account of real people in real life, making the best of what they were given.

I’m especially glad the author read it. Hearing that voice made the story that much more real.

It was such a gift to the author's family, friends, and all the rest of us.

Very well done, and a great listen.

Bob