The Shadow of the Panther - by Hugh Pearson (Paperback)

About the Book

A controversial, engrossing revisionist assessment of Huey Newton, the civil rights movement, and the Black Panther Party, The Shadow of the Panther "will awaken profound misgivings--about gun-barrel rhetoric, about armed rebellion, about the ambiguities of justice" (The New Yorker). Photos.

Book Synopsis

The first complete and balanced history of the Black Panther Party--powerful and provocative
"Until The Shadow of the Panther there have been no serious book-length attempts to examine the Panthers' history and to evaluate their significance. . . . A Notable Book of the Year."--New York Times Book Review (front page)
"A keenly observed, often brilliant, Panther-busting book. . . . Pearson nevertheless portrays the Panthers' rise as an understandable reaction against . . . white chauvinism."--Los Angeles Times Book Review
"This book will awaken profound misgivings--about gun-barrel rhetoric, about armed rebellion, about the ambiguities of justice."--The New Yorker
"A bracing experience . . . Pearson has been able to present enough hard evidence to draw a chilling portrait of Murder Incorporated in revolutionary dress."--New York Newsday
"Pearson . . . set out to write a very different book about his boyhood hero [Huey Newton] but didn't blink at the truth . . . honest and compelling judgment."--Detroit News

About the Author

Hugh Pearson is currently an editorial page writer for The Wall Street Journal. His writing has also appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The New Republic, Essence, and other publications. A graduate of Brown University, he lives in New York City.