Overview
āA monumental study of violence and grief...one of the most superb testaments about the confusion, despair, andāhopefullyāhumility that frames our century that one could ever hope to read." āHilton Als
On May 30, 2020, in Omaha, Nebraska, amid the protests that rocked our nation after George Floydās death at the hands of police, thirty-eight-year-old white bar owner and Marine veteran Jake Gardner fatally shot James Scurlock, a twenty-two-year-old Black protestor and young father. What followed were two investigations of Scurlockās death, one conducted by the white district attorney Don Kleine, who concluded that Gardner had legally acted in self-defense and released him without a trial, and a second grand jury inquiry conducted by African American special prosecutor Fred Franklin that indicted Gardner for manslaughter and demanded he face trial. Days after the indictment, Gardner killed himself with a single bullet to the head.
The deaths of both Scurlock and Gardner gave rise to a toxic brew of misinformation, false claims, and competing political agendas. The two men, each with their own complicated backgrounds, were turned into grotesque caricatures. The twin tragedies amounted to an ugly and heartbreaking reflection of a painfully divided country. Here, Joe Sexton masterfully unpacks the whole twisting, nearly unbelievable chronicle into a meticulously reported and nuanced account of the two deaths, explaining which claims were true and which distorted or simply false. The Lost Sons of Omaha involves some of the most pressing issues facing America today, including our countryās dire need for gun control and mental health reform; the dangerous spread of fake news, particularly on social media; and the urgent call to band together in the collective pursuit of truth, fairness, and healing.
āA bracing, rigorously reported storyātold with grace and nuanceāthat takes readers deep into the fault lines of todayās America.ā āAndrea Elliott, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Invisible Child
This book title, The Lost Sons of Omaha (Two Young Men in an American Tragedy), ISBN: 9781982198343, by Joe Sexton, published by Scribner (May 9, 2023) is available in hardcover. Our minimum order quantity is 25 copies. All standard bulk book orders ship FREE in the continental USA and delivered in 4-10 business days.
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