Rating: 
Summary: A good Book
Review: As a mother myself,I cannot fathom how a young black child could be so horribly and viciously killed. For years, there have been different versions to this story,and for the most part,it made him seem as though he was disrespectful to the lady when all that only happened was this young fella trying to get what he wanted out of his mouth by whistling(as he was taught by his mother and grandmother).Thank God for Mrs Mobley's book. I read it through within a day. Some of the stuff,I had to make myself read,and it makes you wonder how folk can still go on living after such an ordeal. My hat goes out to the memory of a dear woman who lived her life with courage and dignity,and a son needlessly killed. Every mother regardless of her color should read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Death of Innocence
Review: As a young girl, family members told me the story of the lynching of Emmett Louis Till. I was also told stories of the "ways" of the Old South and the deep-rooted hatred whites had toward Blacks. When I was young, I saw the gruesome photos of his maimed and distorted face in Jet magazine. I was horrified. Finally, I was able to read a story about Emmett's life, his brutal murder, the trial and the aftermath of it all from his mother. Mamie Till Mobley's account of her son and family is inspiring. I felt her pain. I also admired her courage and resolve. Emmett's death had a powerful impact on the world.
Rating:
Summary: We Must Never Forget
Review: For everyone who has heard of Emmett Till and sworn "never again" and for those who don't believe the horrors of life for too many Blacks in the South, this book is essential. This is a mother's story of the brutal murder of her young son and the travesty of justice that followed in a rural Mississippi town in the mid-1950's. She refused to let her son's murder be hidden, and it became an early rallying point for the Civil Rights Movement. Mamie Till-Mobley moves the rock under which the roaches of racism hide and exposes them to the bright light of truth. Her words are both inspirational and disturbing. We don't want to believe that this happened fifty years ago here in the "Land of the Free", but it did. We can't even tell ourselves that it could never happen now, because she tells us of a recent and terrifyingly similar murder of a young Black male in the South. Not far from where I live, four young men have just been charged with burning a cross in the yard of a Black family who had moved into a white neighborhood. Mamie Till-Mobley had her son's casket kept open so the world could see what was done to her son. Now, her book opens the "casket" of the buried past to show us once more. Mamie Till-Mobley was a courageous woman whose story is very moving. She talks about her youth, her family, her relationship with Emmett, the lives of Blacks in the south and in Chicago. Her story would be an important one solely because she lost a child to violence. However, her story is much, much more. She stands with other Black women of the 20th century: Marian Anderson, Rosa Parks, Coreta Scott King, the mothers of the girls killed in the church bombings. I believe strongly that we must continue to bear witness to these events, just as we must bear witness to Hitler's atrocities, and the mass murders that continue to occur around the globe. Remembering cannot cure the ignorance and hatred that accompany prejudice, but it can help to prevent repeats of these horrific events. As I read this book, I was reminded of an editorial written over 30 years ago by Arthur M. Sackler. Speaking of the famine in Bangladesh and other mass deaths, he said, "Tears alone are not enough." I hope that everyone who reads the words of Emmett Till's mother will realize that tears are NOT enough - we must remain attentive and work diligently to wipe this kind of hatred from the face of the earth.
Rating:
Summary: A mother¿s tragedy
Review: Forty-eight years after Emmett Louis Till was brutally tortured, murdered and dumped in the Tallahatchie River with a gin engine tied to his body by white men who wanted to teach all blacks a lesson, his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley tells his short life story. Emmett had allegedly whistled at a white woman in a grocery store in Money, Mississippi, a capitol offense in his attackers' eyes. Raised in Chicago, Emmett didn't really understand the horrors of black life in the Delta even though Mamie had given him lessons on proper black "etiquette" for survival in Mississippi. Also Emmett stuttered, the result of childhood illnesses and Mamie had taught him to stop and whistle when a word got in the way. Perhaps that was the "whistle" that Carolyn Bryant heard that prompted her husband and her brother-in-law to cold bloodedly murder a fourteen-year old child. Mamie takes the reader through the unbelievable trial in 1950s United States and its complete disregard for the life and welfare of its black citizens. She recounts the horrid jokes about a "nigger" who not only stole a gin engine but was dumb enough to try to walk across a river while carrying it. Bringing back the nightmare of Jim Crow America, she tells of the segregated courthouse with the Jim Crow table where even Congressman Charles Diggs had to sit and the court orders that black and white reporters not mix or exchange stories. She relates to the reader the fear and terror suffered by the black witnesses and the plans of all the blacks in the courtroom for a quick evacuation if it became necessary. Since there was only one door, they would have to jump from a window - women first and then every man for himself. It is unbelievable to all except those who lived during those disturbing times. Emmett Till's death was not in vain. In fact, it was the catalyst the spurred the Civil Rights movement. His death encouraged Rosa Parks to refuse to move from her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus, giving birth to a new movement by black Americans to refuse to accept second-class treatment. DEATH OF INNOCENCE is a painful book about an even more painful time in America. It should be required reading for every American who can read and for those who can't, it should be read to them. It might stop the cries of "just get over it" when the issues of black inequality, slavery and Jim Crow are brought up. This didn't happen centuries ago. It happened recently enough for many Americans to remember the horrific events of this terrible tragedy. Reviewed by alice Holman
of the RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
Rating:
Summary: A Triumph Of Love Over Hatred And Despair
Review: Have you ever picked up one of those books that of such quality and intensity that you just couldn't put it down no matter what? Well, I just read one. And that was "Death Of Innocence" by Mamie Till-Mobley, mother of murdered teenager Emmett Till. I can't tell you how hard it was to not put this book down. Mrs. Till-Mobley tells in engrossing detail the path her life took after August 28, 1955 when, while on a vacation to visit relatives in Mississippi, Emmett Till (or "Bobo" as he was affectionately known) was kidnapped from the home of his great uncle and subsequently tortured and murdered. Mrs. Till-Mobley goes on to describe how she struggled to turn her own personal tragedy into a drive for freedom, dignity and understanding for everyone no matter the race, creed or color of the individual. She also describes the place that her faith in God had in enabling her to move on. It also shows what can happen when mankind allows its passions to overule its reason and common sense. I'd just like to conclude by saying that I enjoyed this book immensely and I would recommend that everyone with even an ounce of compassion to read this book with an open mind and an open heart. You'll be glad you did.
Rating:
Summary: Moving and Powerful!! The Remembrance of a Matyr
Review: I am a 20 year old black college student that is from Clarksdale, MS. This is a little Delta town near where Emmet's murder was committed and also is mentioned in the book. The horrors described in this book are ones that every child from the Delta is aware of and is cautioned about. The men that murdered Emmett were brutal, merciless, tyrants that deserved the death penalty.
This book moved me to tears simply because of the fact that Mrs. Till never hated or wanted revenge for these men. She just wanted them to show some remorse and hoped that their little boys didn't grow up with the same kind of hatred that killed her son. This book clarified a lot of the myths that I have heard over the years about his death and also showed how strong and determined his mother was. He was her only child, the only boy, and yet she pushed and kept on fighting for him. They brought him home in a box filled with lime so he could deteriorate faster, and she said he didn't even look human, but she fought and never lost in the war of racism. She opened that box that was sealed by the state of Mississippi, and said "let the world see what I've seen". I think that this book is an eye-opener for anyone not familiar with Mississippi and for people that are, it is a raw look at the ugly truth. Mrs. Till went on to become a teacher and influenced lots of more kids with the passion that she would have given Emmett, and I thank her for this look into a heart that was wounded beyond repair and thanks to God, she made it. We made it. Emmett will never be forgotten, his story lives on still.
Rating:
Summary: This book is of Nobel Peace Prize Distinction
Review: I am currently reading this book and Mamie-Till Mobley is an amazing woman of great strength, courage and above all honesty. Her sorrow gave her stength beyond belief for what they did to her son. This book has Nobel Peace Prize written all over it and to not nominate it for this distinctive honor would be another injustice. I only wish Mrs. Mamie Till-Mobley were alive to accept it. She spoke without bitterness from her sorrow and with the truthful and unforgettable voice of a woman born to know such sorrows. Mamie-Till Mobley's strong narrative of what happened is written so effectively and honestly that to ever state it sounded like fiction as someone has stated on here is absolutely absurd. And I have not forgotten you Christopher Benson. I hope that you know what a powerful book you have helped write. It needed to be written and it shall not ever be forgotten. I hope that you can be there to accept that Nobel Peace Prize in her honor and memory of her handsome son, Emmett Till. We shall never forget. Thank you both for not letting us forget.
Rating:
Summary: How can a Mother forgive the animals that killed her son?
Review: I read this book because I wanted to know how can anyone forgive anybody for brutally killing their ONLY child. You will find out in this book how that happened. If you want the truth about what really happened to Emmett Till, his mother will tell you in this book. This book is a must read. It will rip your heart out, however it is a very good book. This will clear up a lot of questions you may have about what really happened. We will never know how much he suffered before he transpired, but his mother goes into deep detail, by detail about what she saw first hand! The animals that did this to him hopefully will NEVER rest in peace! Hopefully their families won't either! What happened to Emmett Till should NEVER happen to anyone, but it did in Mississippi and other states across this country. Mrs. Mamie Till-Mobley died last year, however she nor her son will never be forgotten. May both of them rest in peace! This book is a must read.
Rating:
Summary: How can a Mother forgive the animals that killed her son?
Review: I read this book because I wanted to know how can anyone forgive anybody for brutally killing their ONLY child. You will find out in this book how that happened. If you want the truth about what really happened to Emmett Till, his mother will tell you in this book. This book is a must read. It will rip your heart out, however it is a very good book. This will clear up a lot of questions you may have about what really happened. We will never know how much he suffered before he transpired, but his mother goes into deep detail, by detail about what she saw first hand! The animals that did this to him hopefully will NEVER rest in peace! Hopefully their families won't either! What happened to Emmett Till should NEVER happen to anyone, but it did in Mississippi and other states across this country. Mrs. Mamie Till-Mobley died last year, however she nor her son will never be forgotten. May both of them rest in peace! This book is a must read.
Rating:
Summary: Not a Documentary
Review: It was such a good idea to write this book in the first person. It was far from a documentary-like book with long technical jargon and delves into history. It read just like a work of fiction. I would lose myself for hours, reading this. It was as if I was right there. After all the stories behind this tragedy I believe this is the actual factual account. Mamie Till firmly discredited all the lies surrounding Emmett's character. Though I did find one flaw. I didn't like how the fatal TRIP to Mississippi was dramatized. It was written that she could hardly function, eat, or sleep once he'd left for the vacation. Granted any mother will miss their child but to that extent seemed a bit farfetched. (And besides, Emmett had lived away from her once before upon her move to Detroit.) But in a sense, Emmett was baby Jesus, and Mamie;Mary. God chose him as a sacrifice to open the eyes of the world and take action against racism. JW Milam and Roy Bryant have long since been dead and I'm sure Emmett was waiting on the other side. Those animals are getting theirs for eternity. And the fact that Roy Bryant divorced the wife who's 'honor' he was supposedly defending, that was a slap in the face. All of them were poor white trash.
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