The Children Bob Moses Led: A Novel - Softcover

"The large cast of characters gives voice to the complexity of the era's issues, and Heath's clear chronicle of this poignant moment in our nation's recent past is often compelling." --Publishers Weekly
"Heath has created a novel that holds true to the actual heroic events of Freedom Summer. The Children Bob Moses Led is an illuminating account of a period from our history that is too little known and too little understood." --Claybourne Carson, editor of the papers of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and author of In Struggle: SNCC and the Black Awakening of the 1960s.
"The Children Bob Moses Led is an important and timely book, one that is being published at an extremely pivotal period in our national history. The reader will experience the raw courage, the personal discipline and there reliance on transcendent values, whether philosophical or religious, that were at the basis of this historic period of transformation in Mississippi." --James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom
"Bob Moses was the kind of leader we sadly miss today, one of quiet, yet enormous moral strength: a genuine inspiration to the sometimes confused idealism of the young volunteers in the midst of a violent and passionate struggle. Perhaps now, more than ever we need to remember the summer of 1964. This novel is wonderfully instructive, it has a great deal of moral energy, and it tells an important story sensitively, carefully, thoughtfully." --Robert Coles, author of Farewell to the South
"Engaging and suspenseful, this is contemporary fiction at its best. . . . Readers too young to remember Freedom Summer will find Bob Moses an enigmatic, admirable hero." --Laura Dempsey, Dayton Daily News
" The Children Bob Moses Led lives and breathers. Heath's book is important history, but it is also art." --Toby Olson, author of Seaview and Utah
"The blend of fact and fiction is so brilliantly written, the reader is completely absorbed in the unfolding drama . . . . In a masterful manner, William Heath brings alive a disturbing piece of our history." --Martha Smith, Small Press
"An emotional journey through a part of our history that will leave the reader shaken but enriched." --Dorothy Cotton, Southern Christian Leadership Conference
"Heath presents an illuminating portrait of the time, fascinating for the smaller events he uncovers, chronicling the bravery of those who didn't capture the national spotlight. An absorbing look at one of America's darkest and most courageous moments." --Kirkus Reviews
"Good historical fiction tells a story while staying true to the facts. The best historical fiction does that while offering an analysis that is both subtle and true to the situation. William Heath manages to achieve all of this and more in his novel The Children Bob Moses Led: A Novel of Freedom Summer, a gripping novel for all age groups, from young adults to mature readers who may remember the summer of 1964. It is ideal for classroom use in both English and history classes, and the publisher has provided an online study guide to facilitate classroom use." --American Book Review

Winner of the Hackney Literary Award and selected in 2002 by Time as one of the eleven best novels on the African American experience, The Children Bob Moses Led is a compelling, powerful chronicle of the events of Freedom Summer. The novel is narrated in alternating sections by Tom Morton, a white college student who joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee for the summer, and Bob Moses, the charismatic leader of the Mississippi Summer Project. With clarity and honesty, Heath’s novel recalls the bittersweet spirit of the 1960s and conveys the hopeful idealism of the young students as they begin to understand both the harsh reality faced by those they try to help and the enormity of the oppression they must overcome.