Patricia Sullivan Livres

The first major history of America's oldest civil rights organisation is destined to become a classic in the field. When it was founded in 1909, The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was an elite organisation of white reformers. By 1918, it had become a mass organisation with predominantly black members. Sullivan unearths the little-known early decades of NAACP's activism, telling startling stories of personal bravery, legal brilliance and political manoeuvring, before moving on to the critical post-war era.

The narrative explores a coalition of black and white activists in the 1930s and 1940s who challenged conservative Southern politics through grassroots efforts to expand democracy. Patricia Sullivan utilizes oral interviews and documentary sources to illustrate how this movement, inspired by the New Deal, aimed to abolish the poll tax and increase voter registration. Despite initial successes, the coalition ultimately disbanded due to Cold War anti-Communism and segregationist backlash, highlighting the complexities of the racial democracy struggle in America.

Bobby Kennedy wasn't the most visible figure in the civil rights movement, but his impact was transformative. As attorney general, he protected the Freedom Riders and turned the Justice Department from an enemy of civil rights into an enforcer of antiracist policies. Patricia Sullivan gives Kennedy his rightful place as a force for racial justice.

Kwan was sick of feeling second-class to her husband's concubine. Late one humid night, she grabbed the cleaver. Within minutes, three people were dead: the concubine with over 70 gashes.Kwan became the last woman in Hong Kong to suffer the death penalty. Behind the stories of the city's female murderers lie complex webs of jealousies, poverty and despair.

Hong Kong, 1918. Tranquil compared to war-torn Europe. But on January 22nd, a running battle through the streets of Wanchai ended with five policemen dead. One of the men came from a small town in Ireland. He, along with a dozen relatives, had sailed out to join the Police Force. Patricia O'Sullivan describes these policemen and the criminals they dealt with, and gives a rare glimpse into the life of working-class Europeans in Hong Kong.