Lewis is covering territory that has been well-traveled by others, such as Taylor Branch with his three-part history of the King years and David Halberstam with The Children, and it is light on fresh analysis. But he distills the vast trove of material on SNCC and the movement with a sure, skillful hand. The book would be an excellent starting point for anyone, particularly young people, wanting to learn about key points in the modern civil rights era and the rise - and fall - of SNCC.
His portrait of Bob Moses, the philosopher-activist in a white T-shirt and bib overalls whose journey took him from Harvard University to Mississippi to Africa and back, would make anyone unfamiliar with him want to learn more. This is true of others in Lewis' account, such as Zellner, a White Alabama student who remained committed and courageous even when SNCC turned against him.
The second half of the book chronicles SNCC's downward spiral, the success and prominence of some, and the disillusionment and personal travails of others in its aging cadre. But historian Lewis makes clear how much their fearlessness in youth mattered.
"How this ragtag band with little money, no obvious power, painfully little help from the federal government and the entire White South out to get them, played a starring role in the demise of legal segregation is one of the great adventure stories of American history."
