Overview

"A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF 2023 ""A meticulously researched and briskly written account that deftly weaves the influences of racial injustice, economic disparity, incendiary social media, and guns."" --Associated Press From the award-winning journalist Bob Woodward calls ""one of the truly great reporters working today,"" a searing account of two linked and tragic deaths stemming from the 2020 George Floyd protests that explores the complex political and racial mistrust and division of today's America. ""One of the most superb testaments about the confusion, despair, and--hopefully--humility that frames our century that one could ever hope to read."" --Hilton Als On May 30, 2020, in Omaha, Nebraska, amid the protests that rocked our nation after George Floyd's death at the hands of police, thirty-eight-year-old white bar owner and Marine veteran Jake Gardner fatally shot James Scurlock, a twenty-two-year-old Black protestor and young father. What followed were two investigations of Scurlock's death, one conducted by the white county attorney Don Kleine, who concluded that Gardner had legally acted in self-defense and released him without a trial, and a second grand jury inquiry conducted by Black special prosecutor Fred Franklin that indicted Gardner for manslaughter. Days after the indictment, Gardner killed himself with a single bullet to the head. The deaths of both Scurlock and Gardner gave rise to a toxic brew of misinformation, false claims, and competing political agendas. The two men, each with their own complicated backgrounds, were turned into caricatures. The twin tragedies amounted to an ugly and heartbreaking reflection of a painfully divided country. Here, Joe Sexton ""elevates a made-for-social-media tragedy into a kaleidoscopic account of race, justice, and urban politics"" (The New York Times Book Review) masterfully unpacking the whole twisted, nearly unbelievable chronicle and explaining which claims were true and which distorted or simply false. ""A book of intense moral weight and integrity"" (The Washington Post), The Lost Sons of Omaha involves some of the most pressing issues facing America today, including our country's broken criminal justice system, the failure to care for the men and women who fight our wars, the dangerous spread of misinformation, particularly on social media, and the urgent need to band together in the collective pursuit of truth, fairness, and healing."

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9781982198343

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Reviews

Joe Sexton is one of the truly great reporters working today. --Bob Woodward In The Lost Sons of Omaha, Joe Sexton unleashes with disciplined fury a gripping tale of multiple tragedies that reveal layers of prejudice, sadness, loss, and denial. It is a feat of relentless reporting. --Randall Kennedy, Harvard Law School, author of Race, Crime, and the Law With The Lost Sons of Omaha, Joe Sexton has written a compassionate yet objective account of two deaths: that of a young Black man shot dead during the heat of a post George Floyd protest march, and the subsequent suicide of the white bar owner who pulled the trigger. It's a telling that gives equal voice to both sides of a bitterly divided city, capturing both the cynicism and the righteousness, the personal heartbreak and the political maneuvering that is presently eating away at the soul of America in the 21st century. A crushing read. --Richard Price, author of Clockers and Lush Life In an era of instant news, semi-informed social media commentary, and crime-as-entertainment, Joe Sexton has gone in the opposite direction. He's crafted a superb book--both sweeping in scale and incredibly detailed--from years of thoughtful, meticulous reporting. It's a profoundly empathetic endeavor that ranks with the best works of narrative journalism. --A.C. Thompson, Emmy Award winner for Documenting Hate: Charlottesville, PBS Frontline correspondent, and ProPublica reporter Joe Sexton, an old-school reporter, conducts a masterful probe of a heartland tragedy with what is best described as investigative empathy. Gripping. Passionate. --Errol Louis, Graduate School of Journalism, City University of New York It took a brave person to write The Lost Sons of Omaha. I sincerely hope that people will take the time to read it. Even if all we do is to absorb the meaning of the book's title, it could add a lot to reduce the toxic nature of America's debate. --Bob Kerrey, former governor and US senator from Nebraska

Joe Sexton is one of the truly great reporters working today. --Bob Woodward

Author Information

Joe Sexton, as a senior editor and reporter at The New York Times and ProPublica, has directed six projects awarded Pulitzer Prizes, including the award for breaking news for his staff's coverage of Gov. Eliot Spitzer's downfall. He has shared in three Emmy Awards for documentary film, one of them for a harrowing look at the re-emergence of violent white supremacists in America. As a reporter, he covered sports, politics, and the country's criminal justice system. His work has been anthologized in The Best American Sportswriting. Sexton is a lifelong resident of Brooklyn and the father of four daughters.

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