Wes Moore

Erica L. Green

A kaleidoscopic account of five days in the life of a city on the edge, told through seven characters on the frontlines of the uprising that overtook Baltimore and riveted the world, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Other Wes Moore. When Freddie Gray was arrested for possessing an "illegal knife" in April 2015, he was, by eyewitness accounts that video evidence later confirmed, treated "roughly" as police loaded him into a vehicle. By the end of his trip in the police van, Gray was in a coma he would never recover from. In the wake of a long history of police abuse in Baltimore, this killing felt like a final straw--it led to a week of protests and then five days described alternately as a riot or an uprising that set the entire city on edge, and caught the nation's attention. Wes Moore is one of Baltimore's most famous sons--a Rhodes Scholar, bestselling author, decorated combat veteran, White House fellow, and current President of the Robin Hood Foundation. While attending Gray's funeral, he saw every strata of the city come together: grieving mothers; members of the city's wealthy elite; activists; and the long-suffering citizens of Baltimore--all looking to comfort each other, but also looking for answers. Knowing that when they left the church, these factions would spread out to their own corners, but that the answers they were all looking for could only be found in the city as a whole, Moore--along with Pulitzer-winning coauthor Erica Green--tells the story of the Baltimore uprising. Through both his own observations, and through the eyes of other Baltimoreans: Partee, a conflicted black captain of the Baltimore Police Department; Jenny, a young white public defender who's drawn into the violent center of the uprising herself; Tawanda, a young black woman who'd spent a lonely year protesting the killing of her own brother by police; and John DeAngelo, scion of the city's most powerful family and owner of the Baltimore Orioles, who has to make choices of conscience he'd never before confronted. Each shifting point of view contributes to an engrossing, cacophonous account of one of the most consequential moments in our recent history--but also an essential cri de coeur about the deeper causes of the violence and the small seeds of hope planted in its aftermath.

The Fiery Reckoning of an American City

Five Days

Traces the parallel lives of two youths with the same name in the same community, describing how the author grew up to be a Rhodes Scholar and promising business leader while his counterpart suffered a life of violence and imprisonment.

One Name, Two Fates

The Other Wes Moore

The delinquent-turned-Oxford scholar picks up after the events of his best-selling The Other Wes Moore to trace his search for purpose in Afghanistan, on Wall Street and in the White House, sharing inspirational stories by others who found meaning in a life in service. 50,000 first printing.

My Search for a Life That Matters

The Work

‘An illuminating portrait of Baltimore ... Readers will be enthralled’ Publishers Weekly A kaleidoscopic account of five days in the life of a city on the edge, told through eight characters on the front lines of the uprising that overtook Baltimore and riveted the world. When Freddie Gray was arrested for possessing an ‘illegal knife’ in April 2015, he was, by eyewitness accounts that video evidence later confirmed, treated ‘roughly’ as police loaded him into a vehicle. By the end of his trip in the police van, Gray was in a coma from which he would never recover. In the wake of a long history of police abuse in Baltimore, this killing felt like the final straw – it led to a week of protests empowered by the Black Lives Matter movement, then five days described alternately as a riot or an uprising. New York Times bestselling author Wes Moore tells the story of the five days through his own observations and through the eyes of other Baltimoreans: Partee, a conflicted black captain of the Baltimore Police Department; Jenny, a young white public defender who’s drawn into the violent centre of the uprising herself; Tawanda, a young black woman who’d spent a lonely year protesting the killing of her own brother by police; and John Angelos, scion of the city’s most powerful family and executive vice president of the Baltimore Orioles, who had to make choices of conscience he’d never before confronted. Each shifting point of view contributes to an engrossing, cacophonous account of a moment in history with striking resemblances to far more recent events, which is also an essential cri de coeur about the deeper causes of the violence and the small seeds of hope planted in its aftermath.

Baltimore's Fiery Reckoning

Two kids with the same name were born blocks apart in the same decaying city within a few years of each other. One grew up to be a Rhodes Scholar, army officer, White House Fellow, and business leader. The other is serving a life sentence in prison. Here is the story of two boys and the journey of a generation.

(book Discussion Kit) : One Name, Two Fates

A powerful memoir from 'the Democrats’ most talented political newcomer since Barack Obama' (Time) 'Spectacular . . . Wes Moore is a proper leader' George Clooney Two kids named Wes Moore shared much more than a name; they shared remarkably similar circumstances. Both grew up fatherless and had difficult childhoods; both hung out on street corners with their crews; both ran into trouble with the police. How, then, did one grow up to be a Rhodes Scholar, decorated veteran, White House Fellow, and leading politician, while the other became a convicted murderer serving a life sentence? Wes Moore, the author of this fascinating book, sets out to answer this profound question. In December 2000, the Baltimore Sun ran a small piece about Wes Moore, a local student who had just received a Rhodes Scholarship. The same paper also featured an article about a botched armed robbery in which a police officer had been killed. Two of the suspects had gone on the run. One was named Wes Moore. After following the case to its conclusion, Wes Moore wrote a letter to the other Wes, now a convicted murderer serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. His letter asked the questions that had been haunting him: who are you? How did this happen? Through dozens of letters and prison visits, over the course of years, Wes discovered that the other Wes had had a life not unlike his own. Told in alternating dramatic narratives, The Other Wes Moore takes readers from heart-wrenching losses to moments of surprising redemption, and sheds a powerful light on modern America. 'I always walk away from a conversation with Wes Moore with a new perspective...new ideas...with a new way of seeing things...with a new burst of positive energy.' Oprah Winfrey

Shawn Goodman

“Brimming with hard realities about the choices we make, the friendships we keep, and the unlikely allies we find along the way, this affecting novel helps to fill the gaping hole left by Walter Dean Myers’s passing.” —Booklist “A taut, haunting tragedy.” —Kirkus Reviews One young man searches for a place to call home in this gut-wrenching, honest novel from New York Times bestselling author Wes Moore and cowriter Shawn Goodman. Elijah Thomas knows one thing better than anyone around him: basketball. But when a sinister street gang, Blood Street Nation, wants him and his team members to wear the Nation’s colors in the next big tournament, Elijah’s love of the game is soon thrown into jeopardy. The boys gather their courage and take a stand against the gang, but at a terrible cost. Now Elijah must struggle to balance hope and fear, revenge and forgiveness, to save his neighborhood. For help, he turns to the most unlikely of friends: Banks, a gruff ex–military man, and his beautiful and ambitious daughter. Together, the three work on a plan to destroy Blood Street and rebuild the community they all call home. This Way Home is a story about reclamation. It’s about taking a stand for what matters most, and the discovery that, in the end, hope, love, and courage are our most powerful weapons.

This Way Home

Elijah, seventeen, has always been sure that basketball will be his way out of West Baltimore, but when gang violence knocks him down, helping a veteran repair his rickety home helps Elijah see what's really important.

A military paratrooper and White House fellow presents a younger reader's adaptation of the best-selling The Other Wes Moore, which contrasts events from his life with those of a fatherless friend to explore the issues that separate the outcomes of success and failure.

Wes Moore

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