“The Barn” is an amazing story that connects Mississippi to its history of prosperity and violence, as well as the crossroads of music. The story of Emmett Till is truly horrific, and his death created a ripple that launched folks into the civil rights movement to the point where he has become a symbol of how to take care of each other as well as their memory. This book showed me that Emmett Till is alive and everywhere in our society.

I expected to read an account of Emmett till’s murder. Instead I received a detailed history of America through the eyes of the Mississippi Delta. Thoroughly researched, deeply personal, and achingly emotional, this is the best book I have read in some time.