Unexampled Courage
The Blinding of Sgt. Isaac Woodard and the Awakening of President Harry S. Truman and Judge J. Waties Waring
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Narrated by:
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Richard Gergel - introduction
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Tom Zingarelli
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By:
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Richard Gergel
About this listen
2019 NPR Best Book of the Year
This program includes an introduction read by the author.
How the blinding of Sergeant Isaac Woodard changed the course of America’s civil rights history.
On February 12, 1946, Sergeant Isaac Woodard, a returning, decorated African American veteran, was removed from a Greyhound bus in Batesburg, South Carolina, after he challenged the bus driver’s disrespectful treatment of him. Woodard, in uniform, was arrested by the local police chief, Lynwood Shull, and beaten and blinded while in custody.
President Harry Truman was outraged by the incident. He established the first presidential commission on civil rights, and his Justice Department filed criminal charges against Shull. In July 1948, following his commission’s recommendation, Truman ordered an end to segregation in the US armed forces.
An all-white South Carolina jury acquitted Shull, but the presiding judge, J. Waties Waring, was conscience-stricken by the failure of the court system to do justice by the soldier. Waring described the trial as his “baptism of fire” and began issuing major civil rights decisions from his Charleston courtroom, including his 1951 dissent in Briggs v. Elliott declaring public school segregation per se unconstitutional. Three years later, the Supreme Court adopted Waring’s language and reasoning in Brown v. Board of Education.
Richard Gergel’s Unexampled Courage details the impact of the blinding of Sergeant Woodard on the racial awakening of President Truman and Judge Waring and traces their influential roles in changing the course of America’s civil rights history.
©2019 Richard Gergel (P)2019 Macmillan AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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This biography of a seminal civil rights leader draws on personal interviews from Myrlie Evers-Williams (Evers's widow), his two remaining siblings, friends, grade-school-to-college schoolmates, and fellow activists to elucidate Evers as an individual, leader, husband, brother, and father. Extensive archival work in the Evers Papers, the NAACP Papers, oral history collections, FBI files, Citizen Council collections, and the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission Papers, to list a few, provides a detailed account of Evers's NAACP work and more.
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Incredible Narration
- By Estella Owoimaha on 10-02-17
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The Supreme Court
- By: William H. Rehnquist
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Chief Justice Rehnquist's engaging writing illuminates both the high and low points in the Court's history, from Chief Justice Marshall's dominance of the Court during the early 19th century through the landmark decisions of the Warren Court. Citing cases such as the Dred Scott decision and Roosevelt's Court-packing plan, Rehnquist makes clear that the Court does not operate in a vacuum, that the justices are unavoidably influenced by their surroundings, and that their decisions have real and lasting impacts on our society.
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Absorbing
- By Jean on 01-28-18
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Impeachment
- An American History
- By: Jon Meacham, Timothy Naftali, Peter Baker, and others
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Impeachment is a double-edged sword. Though it was designed to check tyrants, Thomas Jefferson also called impeachment “the most formidable weapon for the purpose of a dominant faction that was ever contrived”. On the one hand, it nullifies the will of voters, the basic foundation of all representative democracies. On the other, its absence from the Constitution would leave the country vulnerable to despotic leadership.
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May not scratch your personal itch, but read it anyway!
- By Marshall on 11-17-18
By: Jon Meacham, and others
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The Majesty of the Law
- Reflections of a Supreme Court Justice
- By: Sandra Day O'Connor
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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In this remarkable book, Sandra Day O’Connor explores the law, her life as a Supreme Court Justice, and how the Court has evolved and continues to function, grow, and change as an American institution. Tracing some of the origins of American law through history, people, ideas, and landmark cases, O’Connor sheds new light on the basics, exploring through personal observation the evolution of the Court and American democratic traditions.
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Informative and well-written
- By James on 07-11-05
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The Great Decision
- Jefferson, Adams, Marshall and the Battle for the Supreme Court
- By: Cliff Sloan, David McKean
- Narrated by: Peter Jay Fernandez
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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The Great Decision tells the riveting story of Marshall and of the landmark court case, Marbury v. Madison, through which he empowered the Supreme Court and transformed the idea of the separation of powers into a working blueprint for our modern state.
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John Marshall & The Supremes
- By Cynthia on 08-13-13
By: Cliff Sloan, and others
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Brown v. Board of Education: A Civil Rights Milestone and Its Troubled Legacy
- Oxford University Press: Pivotal Moments in US History
- By: James T. Patterson
- Narrated by: Steve Anderson
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Most Americans still see Brown v. Board of Education as a triumph - but was it? James T. Patterson shrewdly explores the provocative questions that still swirl around the case. A wide range of characters animates the story, from the little-known African-Americans who dared to challenge Jim Crow with lawsuits; to Thurgood Marshall, who later became a Justice himself; to Earl Warren, who shepherded a fractured Court to a unanimous decision.
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The Fight Against Inequality
- By Marcus on 03-05-15
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The Brethren
- Inside the Supreme Court
- By: Bob Woodward, Scott Armstrong
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 20 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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The Brethren is the first detailed behind-the-scenes account of the Supreme Court in action. Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong have pierced its secrecy to give us an unprecedented view of the Chief and Associate Justices - maneuvering, arguing, politicking, compromising, and making decisions that affect every major area of American life.
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Amazing
- By Andy on 03-28-19
By: Bob Woodward, and others
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My Own Words
- By: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Mary Hartnett, Wendy W. Williams
- Narrated by: Linda Lavin
- Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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The first book from Ruth Bader Ginsburg since becoming a Supreme Court Justice in 1993 - a witty, engaging, serious, and playful collection of writings and speeches from the woman who has had a powerful and enduring influence on law, women's rights, and popular culture. My Own Words is a selection of writings and speeches by Justice Ginsburg on wide-ranging topics, including gender equality, the workways of the Supreme Court, being Jewish, law and lawyers in opera, and more.
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Spectacularly Dry
- By CMP on 07-27-18
By: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and others
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What Kind of Nation
- Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, and the Epic Struggle to Create a United States
- By: James F. Simon
- Narrated by: Patrick Cullen
- Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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In this dramatic and fully accessible account of these titans of the early republic and their fiercely held ideas, James F. Simon brings to life the early history of the nation and sheds new light on the highly charged battle to balance the powers of the federal government and the rights of the states. A fascinating look at two of the nation's greatest statesmen and shrewdest politicians, What Kind of Nation presents a cogent, unbiased assessment of their lasting impact on American government.
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Interesting but a bit too biased for me
- By Diana Black Kennedy on 03-01-18
By: James F. Simon
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The Presidents and the Constitution
- A Living History
- By: Ken Gormley - editor
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 21 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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In this sweepingly ambitious volume, the nation's foremost experts on the American presidency and the US Constitution join together to tell the intertwined stories of how each American president has confronted and shaped the Constitution. Each occupant of the office - the first president to the 44th - has contributed to the story of the Constitution through the decisions he made and the actions he took as the nation's chief executive.
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great book about the presidency & Constitution
- By Rob on 12-27-16
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Bearing the Cross
- Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
- By: David J. Garrow
- Narrated by: Jeff Riggenbach
- Length: 34 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Winner of the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Biography and the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award, this is the most comprehensive book ever written about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. David J. Garrow had unrestricted access to Martin Luther King's personal papers, to thousands of pages of newly released FBI documents and more than 700 interviews with King's closest friends and enemies.
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great but long
- By Thomas on 04-29-10
By: David J. Garrow
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Contempt
- A Memoir of the Clinton Investigation
- By: Ken Starr
- Narrated by: Ken Starr
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Twenty years after the Starr Report and the Clinton impeachment, former special prosecutor Ken Starr finally shares his definitive account of this period in American history. Now Starr finally shares his unique perspective on the investigation that began with the Whitewater land deal and spread to a wide range of President Clinton's actions, including accusations of sexual harassment and perjury in the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Starr's narrative includes behind-the-scenes details that have never before emerged as well as a new analysis from the perspective of history.
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Thought provoking and honest!
- By Sarah on 09-13-18
By: Ken Starr
What listeners say about Unexampled Courage
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Meredith
- 07-25-22
Unknown and powerful story not to be missed
I am so grateful to the author for this fantastic and informative history weaving together so many lives. The sad legacy of slavery took so many forms and ruined so many lives and communities. This book elevates the bravery of many people who changed the tide through their courage and sacrifice. I am inspired by the power of individual moral commitments and now so much better informed about how we ever got to the landmark Brown decision. Bravo! A great book and great listen.
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- Big Law
- 10-30-20
Brilliant, wonderful account
This was a fine book and reading. Wonderful in so many respects - the writing, subject matter, etc. As a African American lawyer, I was moved by the retelling of this story. Judge Gergel should be applauded for his efforts here. The book is well worth the time reading it for anyone with passing interest in American civil rights history in the post-WWII era.
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2 people found this helpful
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- S. Stanley
- 03-09-19
Change results from courageous 'smart-power'
If you're looking for a story with many lessons for making positive change in your world, this is it. This story illustrates that perfect people, optimal circumstances, and hordes of followers are not the key to fostering social transformation. Simply pursuing what is right, one step at a time, and not allowing fear or public opinion to stop you...these are the keys and all the Universe will conspire to help such a determined person.
Heart-warming! True! Beautifully written!
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3 people found this helpful
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- Bluestar
- 05-28-23
Very good. history
The narrator was very good and understandable. I enjoyed listening to the historical events and gained a good insight to the struggle that African Americans had in the south.I highly recommend this book.
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- Claire
- 11-25-23
Important historical account of one judge’s role along the road to desegregation of public schools.
I applaud the author’s detailed account of Judge Waring and his contribution to the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision overturning Plessy v Ferguson. Unfortunately, this account utterly dismisses the equally important role of Delaware Judge Collins J. Seitz, Sr., who was the only judge AFFIRMED by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1954 Brown v Board of Education ruling. Judge Waring wrote a courageous dissent. Judge Seitz ruled in favor of the black students and ordered their immediate admission to a public elementary and secondary school in the two consolidated cases before him in 1952. It would have been appropriate for the author to acknowledge Judge Seitz’s unexampled courage as well.
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- Courtney J. Corda
- 03-07-19
Well-paced political-legal history woven around the intersecting stories of the 3 title characters
Note: I listened to this at 1.25 speed which was just enough to make up for the narrator’s slow Southern cadence.
This is a lively, well written history of the post-World War 2 roots of the civil rights movement that posits Isaac Woodard’s story and judge Warren’s reaction to it as a unique catalyst for change in judicial fairness toward black litigants and the first nail in the coffin of overt and unapologetic African American oppression in the USA. The author keeps us interested with frequent forays into the personal lives of the real people involved in the cases he covers and his suspenseful treatments of how the cases unfold in court. Bringing in color from media stories of popular reaction to the events covered, such as how Orson Wells became involved, enlivens the narrative. I also liked learning about how Walter White (and the NAACP) and especially Thurgood Marshall strategized to stealthily build a path to real reform using the smallest stepping stones. Also, for me it was a revelation to learn how much Truman factored into the civil rights movement. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes history and has an interest in the topic of race relations. This book should be required reading for high school and college students. Everyone in this country should have a moral obligation to know Woodard’s story and in so doing truly understand the tip of our country’s unconscionable legacy of lynching (literal and figurative) of fellow citizens.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Mary M. Greene
- 01-28-19
a heartbreaking story, well told
A heartbreaking story well told be Judge Gergel, and the lasting legacy of this story,
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3 people found this helpful
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- Kyle Michel
- 08-08-19
Great History Lesson
I live in South Carolina and this is a great history lesson for anyone in SC, but it is also a great story with national importance for anyone interested in the civil rights movement in America.
I wish Judge Gergel had read the book. The narrator’s voice was not quite the right fit for this book.
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- Paul Atwater
- 05-06-21
An Inspiring Piece of Forgotten History
I was riveted to this amazing story of how the blinding of Isaac Woodard prompted both Judge Waring and President Truman to fight for the civil rights of African-Americans. Gergel not only wrote a very well researched account, his narration made the Audible version even more compelling as his passion broke through at key points.
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- Dr. Alan B. Albarran
- 11-18-19
An Unknown Story to Many Americans
A friend suggested I read this book, but I decided on the audio version. In hindsight, the book would have been better as it was somewhat challenging to keep up with all of the different characters that are included in the book. While the first part of the book centers around the savage blinding of Sgt. Woodard in a racially motivated attack, the rest of the story is how the attack on Woodard affected two prominent individuals: President Harry Truman and Judge J. Waites Waring. In that sense, there are really three stories in one presentation. The last part of the book gets in to all of the numerous court cases leading up to Brown vs. Board of Education, and the civil rights journey. Overall, a good story and one most Americans will find compelling.
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2 people found this helpful