Getting Away With Murder: the True Story of the Emmett Till Case by Chris Crowe

In 1955, fourteen-year-old Emmett Till’s gruesome death by the hands of the husband of a white woman he dared to whistle at would force the nation to face the realities of segregation and trigger the long Civil Rights battle that would define the next decade.  Getting Away With Murder tells this story in a compelling and accessible narrative.  After setting the scene in the first chapter, the book follows a mostly chronological path, from Emmett’s arrival in Mississippi, to his murder and through the trial to the the final chapter, “Aftershocks.”  Author Chris Crowe makes good use of many powerful photographs and quotes, and includes in the back matter a timeline of Civil Rights events, a bibliography, and three lists of additional resources and materials related to the Emmett Till case.  All of which makes this book an engaging and useful tool for teaching about the Civil Rights movement, and a good starting point for related student inquiry projects.  --Regan Schwartz

*Teachers and librarians will want to be prepared for a photo of Emmett’s decomposing body on page 67.

Crowe, Chris. Getting Away With Murder: the True Story of the Emmett Till Case. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2003. Print.