Dead Opposite: The Lives and Loss of Two American Boys

by Geoffrey Douglas

The story of two boys--a privileged white student and the desperate black gang member who shot and killed him--reveals the chasm that divides us and the hopes, dreams, and heartaches we have in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 080502686X
• ISBN13: 9780805026863
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
• Length: 207 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

the heartbreaking toll of teenage violence

The dreadful, heartbreaking toll exacted by teenage violence blackens newspapers, clouds TV screens, and is shrilly proclaimed by faceless radio voices. The familiar tale is especially poignant in the hands of Geoffrey Douglas as he recounts a true story. Christian Prince, a white 19-year-old Yale student born to privilege and promise, was shot in the heart as he returned home from a party. Son of a prominent lawyer in Washington, Christian grew up among the clipped shrubs and servant tended homes of Chevy Chase, Maryland. Four generations of his family attended Yale; skiing vacations were routine. An all-American athlete, Christian was also an honor roll student. Duncan Fleming, an underprivileged black 16-year-old with a history of minor infractions was accused of the crime. Dunc's mileu was the ghetto, streets where weapons, drugs and violence were the norm. He saw his first killing at ten years of age, joined a gang at 13, and walked with a limp from a bullet through both legs. Through the author's research we are privy to conversations with the families and friends of both boys, as well as vivid descriptions of their lives. This book merits our attention, although it offers few answers and no panaceas. It is a well crafted segment of 20th century social history. - Gail Cooke