Moments of Truth - by Ruffner (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A student journalist's photographic memoir of events surrounding the 1970 Kent State shootings

Working as a photographer for the Kent State University student newspaper and yearbook, Howard Ruffner was a college sophomore when the tragic shootings of May 4, 1970, occurred--a tragedy that left four students dead and nine others wounded. Asked to serve as a stringer for Life magazine in the days leading up to May 4, as student protests against the Vietnam War intensified and National Guard troops arrived on campus, Ruffner became a witness and documentarian to this important piece of history. Several of his photographs, including one that appeared on the cover of Life, are etched into our collective consciousness when we think about civil unrest and the latter half of the 20th century.

Here, in Moments of Truth: A Photographer's Experience of Kent State 1970, Ruffner not only reproduces a collection of nearly 150 of his photographs--many never before published--but also offers a stirring narrative in which he revisits his work and attempts to further examine these events and his own experience of them. It is, indeed, an intensely personal journey that he invites us to share.

An epilogue details how Ruffner's images became critical evidence in the civil trials against the National Guard in 1975 and 1978, as he was the first witness called to take the stand. Ruffner also contemplates the words engraved on the path to what is now the May 4 Memorial Site, a place on the National Register of Historic Places: Inquire, Learn, Reflect. Ruffner's project affirms that we need to ask questions, we need to learn about our history, and we all need to reflect on the past so that our mistakes will not be repeated.

Review Quotes

"Some of Howard Ruffner's photos have appeared previously, but his images have never appeared with the power and clarity that they do here. In these pages, Ruffner tells the unbroken story of a day that nearly broke America."--Thomas M. Grace, author of Kent State: Death and Dissent in the Long Sixties

"This wonderful collection is just what its title promises: moments of personal truth, moments of photographic proof, and moments of historical truth, all flowing together into a powerful river of memory. All credit to Howard Ruffner. The tragedy of May 4, 1970, is both well served and generously honored by these words and images."--Howard Means, author of 67 Shots: Kent State and the End of American Innocence

"'They show the truth, ' Howard Ruffner states. I can't imagine a more poignant statement. Especially in an era where 'Fake News' has seeped into our vernacular, often driven by those who are opposed to the truth. Ruffner's insight, through intimate reflections and powerful images, seek to provide a more nuanced truth of this painful intersection in America's history. It's one that, while difficult, helps to shape our understanding of the truth of our own fragile past."--Ross Taylor, award-winning photojournalist and assistant professor at the University of Colorado Boulder

"We've all seen Howard Ruffner's photographs of May 4, 1970. In his photo-graphic memoir, we see his mind--and his heart. Ruffner is witness, yes, but also human. His memoir doesn't just bridge the gulf of time. It puts us with him on the Kent State University campus on that tragic day, holding the camera and our breath."--Jacqueline Marino, professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Kent State University

About the Author

Howard Ruffner was a broadcast journalism major at Kent State University and became a photographer for the yearbook and school newspaper, roaming the campus to take photographs at every opportunity. During the tragic events of May 4, 1970, he was a stringer for Life magazine and received the Polk Award for photographs that appeared on the cover and interior pages of Life's May 15, 1970, issue. His professional life has encompassed stints both as a corporate executive and an English and journalism teacher in secondary schools.