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  • The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace

  • A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League
  • By: Jeff Hobbs
  • Narrated by: George Newbern
  • Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (6 ratings)

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The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace

By: Jeff Hobbs
Narrated by: George Newbern
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Publisher's Summary

A heartfelt, and riveting biography of the short life of a talented young African-American man who escapes the slums of Newark for Yale University only to succumb to the dangers of the streets - and of one's own nature - when he returns home.

When author Jeff Hobbs arrived at Yale University, he became fast friends with the man who would be his college roommate for four years, Robert Peace. Robert's life was rough from the beginning in the crime-ridden streets of Newark in the 1980s, with his father in jail and his mother earning less than $15,000 a year. But Robert was a brilliant student, and it was supposed to get easier when he was accepted to Yale, where he studied molecular biochemistry and biophysics. But it didn't get easier. Robert carried with him the difficult dual nature of his existence, "fronting" in Yale, and at home.

Through an honest rendering of Robert's relationships - with his struggling mother, with his incarcerated father, with his teachers and friends and fellow drug dealers - The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace encompasses the most enduring conflicts in America: race, class, drugs, community, imprisonment, education, family, friendship, and love. It's about the collision of two fiercely insular worlds - the ivy-covered campus of Yale University and Newark, New Jersey, and the difficulty of going from one to the other and then back again. It's about poverty, the challenges of single motherhood, and the struggle to find male role models in a community where a man is more likely to go to prison than to college. It's about reaching one's greatest potential and taking responsibility for your family no matter the cost. It's about trying to live a decent life in America. But most all the story is about the tragic life of one singular brilliant young man. His end, a violent one, is heartbreaking and powerful and unforgettable.

©2014 Simon & Schuster Audio (P)2014 Jeff Hobbs

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Solid book

I would recommend this book. It was well written and structure. It was obvious a lot of detailed and empathetic research went into the many individual detailed accounts. The story was intriguing but I felt the author's bias caused a failure to adequately highlight the fact that a lot of Rob's problems were self-inflicted. I did appreciate the well depicted contrast of the two worlds Rob found himself in as well as the constant tragedy Rob faced everyday switching between the two worlds, never able to fully commit to either his past with family, friends and familiarity or his new world of potential. Overall a solid book I enjoyed listening to, thank you.

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