At the Hands Of Persons Unknown
by Philip, Dray-
It is easy to shrink from our country's brutal history of lynching. Lynching is called the last great skeleton in our nation's closet: It terrorized all of black America, claimed thousands upon thousands of victims in the decades between the 1880s and the Second World War, and leaves invisible but deep scars to this day. The cost of pushing lynching into the shadows, however--misremembering it as isolated acts perpetrated by bigots on society's fringes--is insupportably high: Until we understand how pervasive and socially accepted the practice was--and, more important, why this was so--it will haunt all efforts at racial reconciliation."I could not suppress the thought," James Baldwin once recalled of seeing the red clay hills of Georgia on his first trip to the South, "that this earth had acquired its color from the blood that had dripped down from these trees." Throughout America, not just in the South, blacks accused of a crime--or merely of violating social or racial customs--were hunted by mobs, abducted from jails, and given summary "justice" in blatant defiance of all guarantees of due process under law. Men and women were shot, hanged, tortured, and burned, often in sadistic, picnic-like "spectacle lynchings" involving thousands of witnesses. "At the hands of persons unknown" was the official verdict rendered on most of these atrocities.The celebrated historian Philip Dray shines a clear, bright light on this dark history--its causes, perpetrators, apologists, and victims. He also tells the story of the men and women who led the long and difficult fight to expose and eradicate lynching, including Ida B. Wells, James Weldon Johnson, Walter White, and W.E.B. Du Bois. If lynching is emblematic of what is worst about America, their fight may stand for what is best: the love of justice and fairness and the conviction that one individual's sense of right can suffice to defy the gravest of wrongs. This landmark book follows the trajectory of both forces over American history--and makes the history of lynching belong to us all.From the Hardcover edition.
Reviews
Review this book!
Available Copies
At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America
by Dray, Philip
- Condition
- Used - Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Near Fine
- Edition
- 1st ed
- Published
- 2002
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN
- 9780375503245
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Hamden, Connecticut, USA
- Item Price
-
£20.12
Show Details
Description:
New York: Random House, 2002. 1st ed. Hardcover. Fine/Near Fine. index, xii, 528p. Original boards. dj. 24 cm. Jacket has minor edge-wear.
Item Price
£20.12
At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America
by Dray, Philip
- Condition
- Used - Near Fine -
- Published
- 2003
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN
- 9780375754456
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, USA
- Item Price
-
£12.88
Show Details
Description:
New York: The Modern Library, 2003. Paperback. Near Fine -. Modern Library Paperback Edition. 12, [2], 528, [2] p., 8 unpaginated p. of illustrations; 20 cm. Paperback. "This extraordinary account of lynching in America . . . shines a clear, bright light on American history's darkest stain . . . [and] tells the story of the men and… Read more about this item Item Price
£12.88
More Photos
At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America
by Dray, Philip
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Jacket Condition
- Very Good
- Edition
- First Edition
- Published
- 2002
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN
- 9780375503245
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Southampton, New York, USA
- Item Price
-
£20.12
Show Details
Description:
Random House, 2002. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. First Edition, First Printing. Not price-clipped ($35.00 price intact). Published by Random House, 2002. Octavo. Brown cloth over tan boards stamped in gold. Book is very good; with no writing or names. Sharp corners and spine straight. Binding tight and pages crisp. Light spotting to page ends. Dust jacket… Read more about this item Item Price
£20.12
At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America
by Dray, Philip
- Condition
- Used - Good
- Edition
- 1
- ISBN
- 9780375503245
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Item Price
-
£5.10
Show Details
Description:
Random House. 1. Good. Good. Ship within 24hrs. Satisfaction 100% guaranteed. APO/FPO addresses supported Item Price
£5.10
At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America (Modern Library) (Modern Library Paperbacks)
by Philip Dray
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN
- 9780375754456
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
GORING BY SEA, West Sussex, GBR
- Item Price
-
£4.39
Show Details
Description:
Paperback. Very Good. Item Price
£4.39
At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America
by Philip Dray
- Condition
- Used - Good
- Published
- 2002-01-08
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN
- 9780375503245
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
HOUSTON, Texas, USA
- Item Price
-
£8.44
Show Details
Description:
Random House, 2002-01-08. Hardcover. Good. Item Price
£8.44
At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America (Modern Library)
by Dray, Philip
- Condition
- Used: Good
- Edition
- Reprint
- Published
- 2003-01-07
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN
- 9780375754456
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
HOUSTON, Texas, USA
- Item Price
-
£10.25
Show Details
Description:
Modern Library, 2003-01-07. Reprint. paperback. Used: Good. Item Price
£10.25
At the Hands of Persons Unknown : The Lynching of Black America
by Dray, Philip
- Condition
- Used - Good
- ISBN
- 9780375503245
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Mishawaka, Indiana, USA
- Item Price
-
£7.37
Show Details
Description:
Random House Publishing Group. Used - Good. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Item Price
£7.37
At the Hands of Persons Unknown : The Lynching of Black America
by Dray, Philip
- Condition
- Used - Good
- ISBN
- 9780375754456
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Mishawaka, Indiana, USA
- Item Price
-
£8.40
Show Details
Description:
Random House Publishing Group. Used - Good. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Item Price
£8.40
At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America
by DRAY, PHILIP
- Condition
- Used
- Edition
- First Edition, First printing
- Published
- 2002
- Binding
- Hard Cover
- ISBN
- 9780375503245
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
San Francisco, California, USA
- Item Price
-
£28.18
Show Details
Description:
New York: Random House, 2002. First Edition, First printing. Hard Cover. Stated First Edition. FINE, VIRTUALLY AS NEW, IN SIMILAR DUST JACKET WITH ORIGINAL $35.00 PRICE. A pulitzer finalist in History. Item Price
£28.18
At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America
by Dray, Philip
- Condition
- Used - VG+/VG+
- Jacket Condition
- VG+
- Edition
- 2nd ptg
- Published
- 2002
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN
- 9780375503245
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Fitzwilliam , New Hampshire, USA
- Item Price
-
£40.25
Show Details
Description:
NY: Random. VG+/VG+. 2002. 2nd ptg. hardcover. 8vo . 528pp . Spine cocked a bit, light wear to DJ. . Item Price
£40.25
At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America (Modern Library Paperbacks)
by Dray, Philip
- Condition
- New
- Published
- 2003-01-07
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN
- 9780375754456
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Fairfax Station, Virginia, USA
- Item Price
-
£11.12
Show Details
Description:
Modern Library, 2003-01-07. Paperback. New. Item Price
£11.12
At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America
by Philip Dray
- Condition
- New
- Published
- 2003
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN
- 9780375754456
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Exeter, Devon, GBR
- Item Price
-
£27.20
Show Details
Description:
Modern Library, 2003. Paperback. New. reprint edition. 528 pages. 8.00x5.25x1.25 inches. Item Price
£27.20
At the Hands of Persons Unknown : The Lynching of Black America
by Dray, Philip
- Condition
- Used - Good
- ISBN
- 9780375754456
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Mishawaka, Indiana, USA
- Item Price
-
£8.40
Show Details
Description:
Random House Publishing Group. Used - Good. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Item Price
£8.40
At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America (Modern Library)
by Dray, Philip
- Condition
- Used:Good
- Edition
- Reprint
- Published
- 2003-01-07
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN
- 9780375754456
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
HOUSTON, Texas, USA
- Item Price
-
£17.57
Show Details
Description:
Modern Library, 2003-01-07. Reprint. paperback. Used:Good. Item Price
£17.57
At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America (Modern Library Paperbacks)
by Dray, Philip
- Condition
- Like New
- Published
- 2003-01-07
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN
- 9780375754456
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Fairfax Station, Virginia, USA
- Item Price
-
£10.84
Show Details
Description:
Modern Library, 2003-01-07. Paperback. Like New. Item Price
£10.84
At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America
by Dray, Philip
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- ISBN
- 9780375754456
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
- Item Price
-
£5.75
Show Details
Description:
Random House Inc. Used - Very Good. May have light to moderate shelf wear and/or a remainder mark. Complete. Clean pages. Item Price
£5.75
At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America
by Philip Dray
- Condition
- Used:Good
- Edition
- 1
- Published
- 2002-01-08
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN
- 9780375503245
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
HOUSTON, Texas, USA
- Item Price
-
£33.60
Show Details
Description:
Random House, 2002-01-08. 1. Hardcover. Used:Good. Item Price
£33.60
At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America (Modern Library)
by Dray, Philip
- Condition
- New
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN
- 9780375754456
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Bay, Arkansas, USA
- Item Price
-
£13.68
Show Details
Description:
Paperback. New. Item Price
£13.68
At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America
by Philip Dray
- Condition
- New
- Published
- 2003
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN
- 9780375754456
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Exeter, Devon, GBR
- Item Price
-
£19.83
Show Details
Description:
Modern Library, 2003. Paperback. New. reprint edition. 528 pages. 8.00x5.25x1.25 inches. Item Price
£19.83