A Death in the Delta: The Story of Emmett Till

by Stephen J. Whitfield

Book Overview

In this sensitive inquiry, historian Stephen J. Whitfield probes Till's death; its ideological roots; the potent myths concerning race, sexuality, and violence; and the incident's enduring effects on American national life.

In August 1955, the mutilated body of Emmett Till--a fourteen-year-old black Chicago youth--was pulled from Mississippi's Tallahatchie River. Abducted, severely beaten, and finally thrown into the river with a...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 080184326X
• ISBN13: 9780801843266
• Release Date: November 1991
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.2" x 9.2"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Good but not great

I haven't read this book since May of 1991 but the book was very helpful to me at the time. In 1991 there were not a lot of books on this subject and I was making a trip to Money, Mississippi. Although I enjoyed the book, there were a few things that I troubled me. I believe Mr. Whitfield wrote towards the end of this book that Roy Bryant had an unlisted phone number because he was afraid somebody would try to avenge Emmett Till's murder and come to his Ruleville house in order to exact revenge. If my memory is correct (and this was almost 18 years ago), Roy Bryant lived in Ruleville, Mississippi. In mid May 1991, I called directory assistance and they gave me Roy Bryant's phone number and address. A week later, I drove from Chicago to Mississippi. After visiting Money and several of the other places that are mentioned in books about Emmett Till, my wife and I drove to Mr. Bryant's Ruleville neighborhood and got the name of a nearby street. We then drove past Roy Bryant's house and he was outside in his driveway in black pants and a white shirt (his clothes looked pretty much the same as the ones he was wearing in the 1955 photos of him). After driving past his house, I turned my car around and drove back to Mr. Bryant's house. I stopped my car about 15 yards away from Roy Bryant. I pretended that I was lost and I called out to him. I wanted to see him up close to make sure he was the same Roy Bryant who had murdered Emmett Till. He approached our car and I asked him how to get to some street (which I knew was located close to his street). He looked exactly like he did in the photos from Life Magazine (just older). He had aged but it was definitely him. He leaned down to talk to me and his face was less than a foot from my wife's face. I thanked him for the directions and we drove away. Of course there were things I was dying to ask him, but I was fairly certain he wouldn't answer my questions and I also wasn't willing to let my curiosity and search for truth put my wife's life in danger. From about a distance of 80 yards from Mr. Bryant's house, I took a photo of him and we drove off. I took the photo only because I wanted to prove to author Stephen Whitfield that what he wrote in his book "A Death in the Delta" was inaccurate and that Mr. Bryant could easily be found. Authors have a responsibility to write accurate information and I was disappointed by this obvious error. Mr.Whitfield lost a lot of credibility with me. I never sent Mr. Whitfield the photo but I did call him when I returned from Mississippi and I told him what I did and what I found out. I found Stephen Whitfield to be an extremely nice man and he wasn't at all defensive about what I had discovered. I enjoyed his well-researched book in spite of the one obvious innacuracy regarding Roy Bryant. Mr. Whitfield told me that his own wife would never be willing to make the trip to Money, Mississippi and he was amazed that my wife was willing to go there during precious vacat

Great Historical Perspective

Not only did this book provide great in-depth details of the Till murder, but it also provided a great narrative on how the murder affected and possibly jump started the civil rights movement. I'll rate it 4 out of 5 stars...