by Jeff Hobbs
Scribner, 2014. 406 pages. Nonfiction
This book details the life of an intelligent, talented, young, African-American man named Robert Peace. He grew up in the slums of Newark, New Jersey with a loving, single mother; his father was sentenced to prison when Robert was seven. Robert was charismatic, driven, and kind. He escaped his life of poverty to study molecular biophysics and biochemistry at Yale University, only to slide back into the drug business upon returning home. He was murdered at age thirty and the crime has never been solved.
Although this book is nonfiction, it reads like fiction. It was written by his college roommate Jeff Hobbs and the author reads the audio book, which I recommend listening to. Knowing that Robert's life would end before I began reading the book made it even more intriguing. I enjoyed getting to know this young man who genuinely seemed like someone I would be friends with. The devastation of his decision to go back into the drug trade (because it would make him the most money with which to build a great life for him and his mother) was absolutely heartbreaking. If you're interested in learning about a short life that was well-lived and ended too soon, this book is for you.
LKA
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