Unpunished Murder: Massacre at Colfax and the Quest for Justice, written by Lawrence Goldstone, reviewed by Anneliese White

Summary: A rather summative history of racism in the United States, “Unpunished Murder: Massacre at Colfax and the Quest for Justice,” is a well researched and thorough book for history lovers. Beginning with the foundations of our government and the three branches, it spans to the Reconstruction period, and the horrors and racism black Americans experienced throughout this time period. The focus of the title refers to a little known massacre in the city of Colfax, where 150 black men were murdered; the white men responsible got off without serving any jail time due to racism in our legal system and country’s inhabitants. Goldstone explores many important people during the Reconstruction time period including judges, senators, Democrats, and Republicans; he has created an exhaustive history for readers to fully understand this time period. He also explores the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments, and how they were rendered useless by the court system in the South at that time. This book is quite heavy to get through, but is relevant more than ever for today’s readers. 

Straight Talk for Librarians: Mixed feelings come with this book; it is so well researched and put together, and has a plethora of information readers will be exposed to for the first time. It is, however, very difficult to get through because its reading level is extremely high, and it is so fact driven, that at times it reads like a very boring textbook. As a lover of history and an adult, even I had a difficult time pushing through reading this as I found myself getting bored with information that did not seem relevant and got to be overwhelming. It also, based on title and book jacket summation, implies to be a book solely about the Colfax Massacre. Instead, it is really a history of racism and discrimination from the beginning of our country’s founding until the Reconstruction period. It still is a fantastically researched and written book, just not what is advertised, which is confusing. Librarians will appreciate the rigorous bibliography, index, glossary, and notes at the end of the novel. They will also love the numerous primary sources included that help with the comprehension of the historical events and people. Overall, it could be a good purchase but needs to be advertised to students and would be for more mature, advanced readers.