Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City

by Wes Moore, Erica L. Green

A kaleidescopic 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 lead 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--is telling the multi-narrative 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.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Race, Politics, Audiobook, Social Justice, African American

320 pages, Hardcover

First published June 9, 2020

About the author

Westley Watende Omari Moore (born October 15, 1978) is an American politician, investment banker, author, television producer, and nonprofit executive serving as the 63rd governor of Maryland since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the first Black governor of the state, the third Black person elected as governor of any U.S. state, and as of 2023, the only incumbent black governor of any U.S. state.

Born in Maryland and raised largely in New York, Moore graduated from Johns Hopkins University and received a master's degree from Wolfson College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. After several years in the U.S. Army and Army Reserve, Moore became an investment banker in New York. Between 2010 and 2015, Moore published five books, including a young adult novel.
--wikipedia.org

Reviews

[Sharon Orlopp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harrowing. Disturbing. Incredibly painful. Requires each of us to look in the mirror and dig deep to determine our culpability, responsibility, and next steps for racial understanding, eliminating systemic discrimination, and finding a path toward racial healing.

Wes Moore and Erica L. Green have written a powerful book about the five days of uprising after weeks of protest when Freddie Gray died while in police custody in April 2015. Moore superbly narrates the audiobook.

I read Wes Moore's book, The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates, several years ago and I highly recommend it as well as Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City.

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Important story but I didn’t think that it was well served by the organization of the book. There were too many points of view (8), presented in successive chapters. This felt disjointed and prevented cohesive analysis of the situation. 3.5 stars rounded up due to the book’s potential contribution to the Black Lives Matter conversation.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wes Moore's Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City looks at case that brought Baltimore to its knees. On August 19th 2015 Freddy Gray dies after having been in police custody for 7 days. Succumbing to a severed spine his is not the first death of an unarmed Black man at the hands of Baltimore police. Just two years before Tawanda Jones buried her brother Tyrone West. A community activist fighting on behalf of her brother's memory, Moore uses Tawanda's story, along with those from people within the judicial system, a politician, businessmen and a rioter to give us a three dimensional view of those five days of unrest. He makes sure to consider the perspectives of the privileged as well as the oppressed in this accounting. He also examines which sociopolitical factors that led to Freddie Gray's tragic death and the fury of the people.



I have to admit I started writing this review before I finished reading the book. As a mother of young black men I have so much emotion surrounding these incidents. I have had nightmares about this. My fears have dictated my sons' footsteps and at times kept them hostage at home. "You can't play manhunt with your friends -- they'll see your toy gun, shoot first and ask questions later". "You can't ride your bike home at night -- they'll assume you don't belong in the neighborhood and harass you. "Make sure you have your ID on you at all times -- otherwise they'll think you're a criminal." "If you get stopped it doesn't matter if it is not your fault, don't talk back. Keep your voice low. Try to be as unassuming as possible. Make sure to say 'Yes, sir' and 'No, Sir'."

At the end of the day all I need you to do is come home.

Where did I get these crazy ideas from you might ask? Not from the television and news casts. This wisdom comes from lived experience of the Black men in my family. Granted we have law enforcement officers in our family but even they know to be vigilant when out of uniform.

Unfortunately, the Freddie Gray incident is not an isolated event. In recent months Atatiana Jefferson, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, David McAtee, Sean Reed, Steven Demarco Taylor, Ariane McCree , , , , , , , , ,
-------------------------------------------------------

As of June 4, the U.S. police shot 429 people to death in 2020 with a disproportionate number of these people were Black.

I hope that this book touches someone's life and opens up their heart so that they may have a better understanding of the pain we feel as I honestly do not feel like I can explain it you. Part of me feels like I shouldn't have to. My fear for my sons consumes me so that I do not have enough space to give you. But I will leave you with a statement from this woman who so eloquently sums up the rage, pain and frustration of a people oppressed.

Kimberly Jones

"A child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel the fire's warmth." - African proverb as quoted by Wes Moore

[Jessica J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

My husband commuted into Baltimore for work when the 2015 riots broke out. His office was not particularly close to the epicenter, but I do remember being very nervous about how easily things could spill out across the city. That being said, I wasn't aware of a lot of the finer details of the whole situation.

I think Five Days a very important book but I didn't love how it was structured, following several people over the course of the five days that Baltimore was on edge: a Black police officer, a city councilman, a woman in the public defender's office, the owner of the Orioles baseball team, the manager of a roller rink, and a woman who had been an activist since her own brother had been killed by a police officer several years before, and so on. I do think it's important to show the humanity of the people involved in the situation, and I think Moore did an excellent job with that. However, the chapters were often so short that I think it often weakened the overall narrative. I wanted to stay with each person a bit longer and really get to know them. By the time the book ended, I felt empathy for the people but I was a little disappointed that I didn't have more insight into some of the structural elements that created and escalated the situation.

That being said, I did read an ARC and the pub date was pushed back after the ARC was printed so it's entirely possible that things were finessed a bit for the final printing. And I do think this is a really important book to be reading alongside other antiracism books at this moment in time. I think there were many people who wondered if Freddie Gray might be the turning point...and then the nation sort of moved on. Five years later, we're at another moment that feels like it might be the turning point...and we need to remind ourselves not to move on this time.

[Anita Pomerantz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book follows the five days in the aftermath of Freddy Gray's death while in custody of the Baltimore police. As someone living in the adjacent county at the time, I can say the ramifications of this event roiled Baltimore. By and large, I thought Moore picked a really interesting way to show the events from varying perspectives from an African-American police officer to the owner of the Baltimore Orioles to the manager of a popular roller rink to the sister of a man killed by the police. Each person perceived the events slightly differently, and in their own way, tried to make sense of what happened and tried to help their city.

Moore summarizes his perspectives at the end of the book with a call to action.

This book was uniquely fascinating to me because I know a lot about the physical locations and many of the political players. So it is hard for me to really know how a reader outside of the Baltimore metro area would perceive it. The chapters are very, very short, with each one focusing on a different person. This gives the book a fragmented feeling, and I wonder if that might get confusing for some readers.

And obviously, there is a political message, and not everyone is going to agree with the conclusions. Moore focuses as much on poverty as he does on racism (which in Baltimore, a city where every leadership position is held by black people makes sense), but his final chapter has an academic tone to it and really doesn't talk about how change can be made when a city with so many murders is an unattractive location for economic development. Baltimore has a terrible reputation, and for a city with so many amazing physical assets and beauty, that is a hurdle that no one seems able to overcome. Post Freddy Gray and the consent decree, the police are policing much less and the murder rate has soared. What is the answer? The city is grappling with these issues as we speak which makes this book so gripping and topical right now.

[Lea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book in a goodreads giveaway, which in no way has any bearing on my rating or review. That is to say that I am reading an Advance Uncorrected Proof, and therefore expected the few grammatical errors and missing statistics. I'm not here for that.

I couldnt believe how much I just didnt know. How much I had not seen or heard. I spent the first half of the book reading, then googling, then going on youtube and checking video. I could not believe what I found. Watching the same narrative over and over again, and seeing the truth with your own eyes, well, I cant speak for you but it made me sick. Well and truly sick to my stomach. As much as people want to believe that these injustices are a part of our history, sadly, we are writing the history now. I believe everyone , and I mean every one of every color should read this recounting from every viewpoint. And then think about our youth, and how they are going to learn about this one day. How are we going to explain this? When my children ask me about segregation and the social injustices done to people of color before my time, I rightly tell them that very simply it was wrong. It was an evil that took entirely too long to change. And sadly, I cant even say that. Because change hasn't happened. Not the change that needs to happen. No justice, No peace. There are no truer words. Peace hasnt found it's way to America, and I can only hope that I'm alive to see it one day. Five Stars because that's what it deserves, and a sincere recommendation to every single American.

[Carol Storm · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an important book, but it's not exactly what I would call a masterpiece of great writing. The two authors are writing about the week of violence in Baltimore that followed the arrest of a young black man named Freddie Gray in 2015 and his sudden, mysterious death in a police van shortly afterwards.

This is an important story. The problem is, the story is not told well. There are too many different personalities and too many points of view. With fifteen different narrators, how can the reader keep track of who did what or get a feel for where any one person is coming from? Also, all these voices sound the same -- the black, the white, the men, the women, the cops, the lawyers, and the street kids. They all talk in the same colorless voice with the same accent and they all make the same liberal op-ed page arguments. Really they all sound a lot like Wes Moore!

It didn't have to be this way. Go to the library and look up a book called BLOODS by Wallace Terry. It's an oral history of the Vietnam War by black veterans. Each interview subject talks in his own uncensored voice, telling the story of the war from his own unique perspective. It's all uncensored, unfiltered, and there are no editorial intrusions by the author.

This is not to say that the book is too tough on white people, or the power structure of the country. Indeed, there are times when the authors bend over backwards to praise "good white people" as valuable "allies." It's just that these moments are always fake and often unintentionally funny. I really got all choked up when the rich white baseball magnate started humming "This Land Is Your Land" while surveying his kingdom from a private office in his opulent baseball empire!

Then there's the weird way the authors limbo-dance lower and lower to avoid the unpleasant problem of personal responsibility. About fifteen times in the book there were sentences like "young Shaquan couldn't help throwing rocks at the cop -- his mother was battling heroin addiction." Battling it how, exactly? By taking lots of heroin? That's like saying Count Dracula was battling vampirism when he put the chomp on Lucy and Mina!

But I'm not saying the authors are wrong about social conditions leading to crime. The irony is that they don't go far enough. It's obvious that an awful lot of babies get born in cities like Baltimore. A lot of these babies could have been aborted. Or somebody could have worn a rubber. But there's no mention of the fact that poor women of color don't have access to abortion on demand or birth control. The word contraception is never used once! The writers keep explaining that Freddie Gray's mother was "battling heroin" when she got pregnant with Freddie. That doesn't explain why her partner -- whoever he was -- didn't use a rubber. How much heroin do you have to be on not to know what a condom is? Rubbers (also known as Jimmy Hats) are the real hero of this book.

This book is marred by all kinds of strange inconsistencies. The authors boldly criticize Barack Obama for not taking a tougher line on police violence. (They recount the famous "beer summit" and sneer at Obama for giving the white police officer "the benefit of the doubt. What was he supposed to do, punch the guy in the face and throw him off the White House Lawn?) But they remain oddly silent about other issues. For example, in 2015 Barack Obama was a wartime president. He was fighting a pointless, stupid war in Afghanistan that he "inherited" from a racist white cowboy named George W. Bush. Proud black Obama flushed billions of dollars down the toilet, building schools and hospitals in Afghanistan for an ungrateful nation. He couldn't have spent that money in Baltimore? These are the kinds of questions the authors don't raise.

In the end this is a maddeningly frustrating book. It doesn't capture the mood of the time and place, or the voice of the community. And as far as social problems go, it only skims over the surface. I liked reading about the Shake and Bake, though. If only President Obama could have built more skating rinks in Afghanistan!

[vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been looking forward to this book for months. The author focuses on five days post-Freddie Gray's death, when the city saw much unrest. My biggest issue with this book is how short and clipped each chapter felt: we are learning about each day's events from the POV of eight people, including an activist, a cop, a public defender, a councilman, a community leader/business operator, a protestor, the son of the owner of the Orioles, etc. At 320 pages, that means you don't really get to go in depth with any of their stories. The way the subjects were written also felt a bit clichéd; the final chapter is a plea for racial justice and police accountability that could've been better weaved through the eyes of the book's eight subjects. Some of these people deserved way more time and space (Tawanda Jones and Anthony Williams for sure). I also wished this had more about Freddie Gray, his upbringing, and his family. The book has a timeline and briefly describes his life, but considering these five days happened as a result of his death, it would've been valuable to know more about him. Ultimately, They Can't Kill Us All by Wesley Lowery is a stronger book that touches on the Baltimore protests/unrest of 2015.

[Avid · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was glad to have learned about the events of five days in baltimore that followed the death of freddie gray while he was in the custody of the BPD. The narrative itself is a little (well, very, tbh) choppy, due to the authors’ efforts to base their work on interviews with 7 different people affected by the events. It just didn’t flow very well for me.

But it still manages to make clear that poverty and wealth/income inequality are significant and growing problems that have far reaching consequences. I would recommend that everyone read the epilogue for a good summary of the salient points made in the body of the book. The narrative itself i didn’t find to be super compelling, but it was a quick and easy read, and it held my interest well enough, i suppose. The main narrative may be more appealing to readers who enjoy the blow-by-blow of events as they’re unfolding, or who have a personal connection to baltimore.

There is something here to edify all of us, so i don’t think you will regret picking this one up. You’ll come away a better citizen for having read it, even if it doesn’t end up in your top 10 list.

[S Dok · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited to read this book in the context of today's unrest after George Floyd. While it is a lot to expect that this book may offer some semblance of hope to Minneapolis (and this nation), I found over all this book was both problematic in its story telling and failed to offer a fresh perspective this many years removed from Freddie Grays death and the resulting unrest.

Wes Moore in his prologue tells us that the narrative of a single black person from an impoverished background becoming an academic and financial success limits our understanding of the complexity of what it means to rise above institutional racism in this country. He then amazingly goes on to sell us that exact narrative about himself. And then he and his co-author go on to try to sell us 8 narratives about individuals. These narratives are stereotyped at their core with such cliches like the white savior character who says all the right things on social media, the black cop conflicted about his job and his race, and the rebel black former basketball star with a bright future who ends up down the wrong path. The truth is these are real people, and their portraits are painted to fit a narrative to add drama that never comes. I hoped these portraits would intersect but that doesn't happen. Instead you get a hastily written after thought by the Author (written in 2020 presumably after George Floyd but before this hit the printers) which adds more info about the story but still fails to tie it together.

As far as a read, the authors fail us with this book. The text spends more time dissecting the history of the Orioles than it does about the history of poverty, blackness and segregation in Baltimore which are at the crux of the unrest of this book. The 5 days surrounding these events is a blur and I don't feel like I have clarity as to what happened during this time besides what I already could glean from online videos and newspapers articles.

At the end of the day I think this book will be considered a 'before George Floyd' book in its historical context. It is a book about individuals and fails to paint a picture of the whole. In the coming years I hope to read more 'after George Floyd' books. Those books will ask us to really look at systems and institutions that lead to discontent, disproportionate policing death, unrest and ultimately what will help us all understand how to heal.

[Natalie Park · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. This was a riveting account of five days in Baltimore after the murder of Freddie Gray from different perspectives - citizens, law enforcement, Orioles mgmt, public defenders and community leaders. As Wes Moore grew up in Baltimore, it was an added benefit to see it through his lens.

[Laura Hoffman Brauman · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Moore looks at the reaction of Baltimore to the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody. It's a little surreal to read this while we are seeing the protests and reactions in Kenosha - it feels like we have made no progress in 5 years. Moore structures the book by looking at the experiences of 8 different people who were impacted in different ways. The two that really impacted me the most were Tawanda Jones, whose brother had been killed in police custody several years prior to Freddie Gray and Marc Partee who was an African-American police commander that was in charge of the Inner Harbor area. It made for a really interesting exploration to switch perspectives- but I wish the book was longer and that he spent more time with each person's narrative before jumping to the next person. I think it would have been a richer reading experience if we went more in depth. The author's note at the end zoomed out from personal experience and gave more analysis and I thought that was an effective way to tie everything together.

[Caroline Norton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was really excited for this one, but after finishing it just felt “meh”. Important and significant events to read about which I appreciated. At times it felt disorganized and was hard to keep on track following 8 different individuals.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read- especially if you know and love Baltimore.
"Understand that the best way to protect our own future is to protect the future of others. To use our power to demand justice...our fates are profoundly intertwined. "

[Book2Dragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had previously read A Death in Texas and so this title caught my eye. Like the other book, the focus on the aftermath of Freddie Gray's person was an aside to the aftermath in Baltimore and the 5 days of tension and riots. What I really liked about this book, among a few things, was the scope of coverage, the withholding of all the blame on one group or another, and the notes that preceded and followed the narrative bringing us up to 2019 at least.
The problem is not just Baltimore. Racism and the justice system is skewed in this country. No one seems able to fix it. Pointing fingers does no good. It reads as a tragedy with spots of sunlight through the clouds, though mostly there are dark clouds.
The book is fashioned around individuals in the scenario, each given 3-4 pages in a chapter of their own. Not all black, and not all white. Politicians and councilmen seem to have a side seat, but the streets were the stage.
Recommended for anyone interested in current events, civil rights and the legal and political system in America. An informative read, and well done.

[Elizabeth Higginbotham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five Weeks: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City by Wes Moore with Erica L. Green is a important book in helping us understand the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore and as the authors question what do we do know. I follow the death of Freddie Gray like others via the media and could see this this death trigger a huge response from the community. Most memorable is the burning of the CVS in the community. While I could grasp the long-term impact of a bias police and criminal justice system, the authors take you inside. Not only do they detail Freddie Gray own origins, premature birth, lead poisoning and corresponding health problems. He was pushed out of school because there is not concerted effort to address all his problems and offer aid. So, he begins a career of low-level crime, which does bring him in and out of the CJ system. What we come to see in the book, that this pattern was not unusual. However, people in the community knew him and knew him to be a nice person. It is important that his funeral service be in the community where he lived.

The authors follow different people over those five days—looking at events from their perspectives and they come from different races, social classes, and parts of the city. Tawanda Jones a teacher, whose only brother was killed by the police had been protesting for years, but things turn with Freddie Gray. She is there to support Freddie’s family and participate in a march, that shifts directions and she fears for her own life as a peaceful demonstration is redirected to Camden Yards and the Inner Harbor. Life also changes for Marc Partee, a Black police commander who is called into work on his day off but must cope with this redirected demonstration that turns into a violent confrontation. He gets little help from command central.

John, one of the owners of the Orioles, is away on vacation, but gets news that as the fans come out of the Camden Yards after a game, they will confront protesters. He complies with public safety and asked the fans to stay in the stadium. Later he sends a tweet that places the situation in a wider context that really notes the inequalities that have been building and the harm job losses have done to the community. The next Orioles game is cancelled because of the unrest and crew few, but he will also have the team play a scheduled game without fans.

We all see Jenny, part of a legal team who is watching many arrests on Monday when a commuter hub used by students is shut down, some students are pulled into the protest and other trying to get home. She organizes others and worked diligently to get young people out of jail as Governor Hogan calls in the National Guard. As a raised working-class person, who has been an outsider, she understands the anger of the crowd, but also had to confront her own privileges.

There are Black and White people on different and in fact, the same side. They believe in Baltimore and some cannot rise to position where they can make a difference, but they have a commitment to change. Marc Partee does not get the promotion he earned, but does work on training, so that he could better prepared the police to handle confrontation with the public. He saw that virtual training was not enough. Nick who represented the district in West Baltimore that was so mistreated, but he cannot become mayor, but he does represent his district in the state.

These stories are important in illuminating how the long standing the problems are in Baltimore, a city not far from me, but one that I only know segments of—the tourists center and inner harbor hotels. Yet when driving, I have gotten lost on streets that were mostly abandoned and quickly found my way out, but I did not feel fear. Yet, the fear is part of the equation for residents.

The authors talk about how we have the poverty we make. Having taught poverty for decades, that was my message to students that I hope they carried into their own roles as citizens. We do not support the programs that could eradicate poverty because the culture blames the victims and expects them to change without resources. We could turn that on a dime, since we have the money, but are lacking the heart. Many people in my state of Delaware are reading this book, engaging in reading circles and will have a virtual presentation from Wes Moore in November. I hope it can change the nature of the conversation.

[Meag McHugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book as a whole was really good. The author's note was the strongest part for me. I was highlighting all over the place! So I'd rather let Wes Moore's words speak for themselves than write a review. NOTE: These quotes are from an advanced copy, so the final publication could be slightly different. But the words are important regardless, so here are just a few...

From a chapter following Jenny, a white woman and juvenile defender in Baltimore. This is exactly how I feel:
"As much as she loved the city where she now lived, she always felt the guilt of escaping the reality that its natives have suffered -- poverty so intense, so hard, so deliberate that it was suffocating. She considered herself a kind of opportunist in this tragically magical city --she'd been able to buy a nice house, in a predominantly white neighborhood in a majority-black city, for a reasonable price, because she had a decent job and she could figure out how to work within the system of real estate agents and mortgages and tax breaks and everything else that's involved in buying a house. No matter how much she fought to address the frustrations of the people she lived among, she knew one thing would always separate her from those she defended: privilege."

From the author's note (never skip the author's note!)
On poverty - "I agree that poverty is a choice. But that choice is not made by the people who live under its oppressive effects. Rather, the choice is ours. It's the choice of the government that represents our priorities and allocates our investments. It's a choice reinforced by the companies we patronize and the organizations we support."

On the obstacles of achieving structural change - "'Throw the bums out' and 'Drain the swamp' are popular political slogans. But it's not enough to move people around in a bureaucracy if you don't change the underlying values and let those values reshape tactics and procedures."

And lastly..."So how do we move forward? Our collective pursuit of justice must be as aggressive and intentional as the systemwide injustice that we now encounter. We must alter how we define the state and permanence of poverty. We must acknowledge and challenge our own complicity. And we must put forward policies that actively confront the systemic bias of past policies."

I know a lot of people are seeking out books to help them understand the fight that black Americans have faced for centuries. Add this one to your list. The author's previous book, The Other Wes Moore, is another good one.

[John Kaufmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hidden gem. Amidst all the books and articles on systemic racism, anti-racism, white privilege, policing, etc. over the past months and years, I hadn't heard about this book. I ran across it by chance on the shelves of our local library (here's a shout-out for being able to browse bricks-and-mortar libraries and bookstores rather than on-line). Yet this book was as good or better than several of those other more visible books that I have read.

The book follows the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore in 2015 and the subsequent turmoil over the next few days through vignettes of seven local people representing different segments of the community (e.g., family member of former victim, policeman, undertaker, city councilor, baker, enraged participant, and wealthy white scion.) These perspectives provide a mosaic of how people are affected in so many different ways. The author was also able to tie them together and form a more of the "big picture" view.

The writing is lively. This is not a dry, detached, documentary account. It is personal and gripping, a story (sans dialogue) told through the eyes of the seven community members. I highly recommend it - look for the 2020 edition which includes and excellent epilogue not included in the previous edition(s).

[Chris Jaffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-written and illuminating acccount of April 25-29, 2015 in Baltimore. Moore interviews numerous participants, and goes back and forth between various ones, showing the events from their perspective. At times you get this Rashomon-like impression, where different people in the same place at the same time have different impressions of what's going on. (Was this "Purge" talk coming from the streets, or something the cops planned? Was the cutting of the firehouse something that hurt putting out a fire or saved protesters from being hosed down?) The book reads very easily as a result.

Downsides? It could stand to have a bit more background so you aren't just pushed into the deep end of the pool with so little warning. Also, Moore probably should've had a list of people at the start of the book. There are times he'll go back to a person we haven't seen in 50 pages, and I can't remember who this person is and where we saw them previosly.

Overall, a good understanding of the Freddy Gray Riots in Baltimore.

[Sarah Catallini · Rating 4 out of 5]

I moved to Baltimore three years after Freddie Gray's death, so I thought this book would be a great resource to learn more about such an important event in this city's history. And it was -- I especially enjoyed the perspectives of Tawanda and Anthony. (The latter's story of the West Baltimore community hub the Shake & Bake was heartbreaking by the epilogue.)

But I thought the format of this book was an odd choice. I did love the eight different perspectives and didn't have any trouble keeping them straight, but the chapters were just much too short that it felt choppy. I think Moore and Green could have weaved those stories together in a more thought-provoking way, while also including important context, which Moore curiously saves (mostly) for the end in his author's note.

Despite that, though, this was easy to read and digest, and I think should be on any Baltimore resident's reading list.

[freckledbibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reflects Freddie Gray's death while in the custody of evil hands, also known as the Baltimore Police department. The author addresses the unrest as a result of the injustice. As I turned each page, it seemed like a regurgitation of recent events of black men dying at racist policemen's hands.

Though the back and forth between the different people affected by the events was dizzying, this book is an essential look at the unending racism and deaths at policemen's hands. Those with power and privilege will find it merely a temporary asset when abused.

I am left to reflect on the one who will bring an end to this inhuman conduct.

Readers interested in the blame game's malignant consequences in America as it deals with injustice may want to pick this book up.

3.5*

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very impressive book that I read because Wes Moore could soon be the Governor of my state. I have lived in the Baltimore area for almost a decade, so I remember these events and how they impacted the area. The 8 points of view that the book is broken down in is a great cross section of local people to explore what happened after the tragic murder of Freddy Gray. I saw that a lot of reviews bashed the book being written through the eyes of 8 but unless we start to consider how police brutality impacts all of us then we will just continue to see this happen in city after city. This happened in 2015 and in my opinion our country is still struggling to solve the societal issues that are the heart of this.

[April (whataprilreads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5✨

I think the vision for retelling this harrowing time in American history is admirable, but the execution fell flat for me. It feels like there is too much to wade through, too many people to keep track of, and the epilogue’s intense focus on lead poisoning, and its impact, is somehow both integral to this story and totally glanced over throughout the rest of the book. I’m glad I had read it and explored more of such a tumultuous time in life, especially as this was on the helm of my career in news media, but I don’t think I loved this exact recollection.

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[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book engrossing. The way that Wes Moore and Erica Green weave together the 8 stories of people during the five days around Freddie Gray’s funeral is masterful. The reader learns both the specifics of the individual’s experience as well as much broader information about policing in Baltimore. Two points in the book just seared my heart: the question from juvenile justice public defender Egan when she wonders hopefully where the movement will have led us in five years (aka RIGHT now) and the revelation that Tawanda’s brother died from being knelt on while restrained chest down on the ground. This book makes you think. Those emotional, challenging times of 2015, which reached a national crescendo, reverberate vividly for any reader now. Moore’s conclusions about what the answers are for us as a nation are critical to read. Because it feels imperative that we seek and seek and seek until systemic change is achieved. There is no alternative. This is a book of this moment, a must read.

[Debbie Notkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a multi-viewpoint account of the five days of the Baltimore uprising following the murder of Freddie Gray by the Baltimore police. Wes Moore picked an extremely interesting and diverse set of people to follow. He deftly tells the story of the uprising, taking the reader in short segments from the owner of the Baltimore Orioles to the man who went viral cutting a fire hose to keep it from being turned on a crowd.

Moore is honest, compassionate, and level-headed, and the writing is compelling. It's a hard book to read when you know what happened--six officers indicted, none convicted, all returned to jobs and salaries in the Baltimore Police Department. Nonetheless, the power of humanizing stories can't be underestimated--and that's what makes this book worth your time.

[Rae Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m sorry to my beloved Governor, but this might’ve been the most pointless book I’ve ever read🤣 I understand the intention but it was horribly executed. There were too many POVs and despite them each having a different experience with the riots, the tone of each chapter was the same. It just felt flat and void of the emotions you would expect when speaking about a riot.

Loved this quote tho:

“When we fail to address poverty in one generation, that poverty will more than likely extend indefinitely generation after generation.”

[Kathy (Bermudaonion) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and thought provoking account of the five days in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray at the hand of local police officers. Moore pieces together the five days by telling the story of several people who were heavily involved, including a police officer, a lawyer, and a looter. He explores the policies and institutions that have created the tinder boxes in this country that are about to explode. The epilogue tells how each person and the city of Baltimore are faring now. I found this book to be very timely in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder and subsequent protests.

[Ally Perrin · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Critics will counter that poverty is a choice made by those that are lazy or who lack the desire to change their lives for the better. I agree that poverty is a choice. But that choice is not made by the people who live under its oppressive effects. Rather, the choice is ours. It's the choice of government that represents our priorities and allocates our investments. Its a choice reinforced by the companies we patronize and the organizations we support.”

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an intricate detailing of the protests and violence that tore through Baltimore following Freddie Gray's murder at the hands of the police department. Moore tells the story through the eyes of 8 individuals who were at the center of the protests - an activist, a police officer, a public defender, community members. It gives the story a much more vivid feel than a simple journalistic reporting, and makes real the effects of systemic racism and policy failures at every point in Freddie Gray's life and the lives of so many Black Americans.

[Cindy H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and it’s publisher for gifting me this ARC. In exchange I offer my unbiased review.
In April 2015, the city of Baltimore exploded into a fiery rage when Freddie Gray, an African American male died under police custody. It was determined that a severed spine induced while being arrested for suspicious behavior was the cause. His untimely death fueled riots, violence and destruction throughout the city. Wes Moore shadows 7 individuals who were instrumental during the 5 days. Each has a unique lens and shares their stories of what led to the breakdown and ultimate unrest. An insightful piece of investigative journalism.
Wes Moore is a great storyteller and gifted writer.