Non-Fiction Monday Review Briefs

Nobody Turn Me Around: A People's History of the 1963 March on Washington  by Charles Euchner and We Stood on a Height.

Last week on August 28, 2013 was the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 50th anniversary of the march for civil rights in Washington. I posted Martin Luther King's historic speech MLK Speech, Enduring, Historic and a Call to Action on the anniversary.

Euchner's research produced an excellent accounting of the march in Nobody Turn Me Around. The peak or apex of the movement is told in a minute by minute telling of the day and the people, the promise surrounding the event and the forces at work.

We Stood on a Height features interviews Euchner did during his research for Nobody Turn Me Around but did not include in the book.

Euchner does an excellent job of evoking the emotions of the participants and organizers along with the tension and conflicts surrounding both the event and the civil rights movement. Both books are highly recommended.