{"product_id":"the-other-side-of-the-river-a-story-of-two-towns-a-death-and-americas-dilemma-9780385477215","title":"The Other Side of the River: A Story of Two Towns, a Death, and America's Dilemma","description":"Bestselling author Alex Kotlowitz is one of this country's foremost writers on the ever explosive issue of race. In this gripping and ultimately profound book, Kotlowitz takes us to two towns in southern Michigan, St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, separated by the St. Joseph River. Geographically close, but worlds apart, they are a living metaphor for America's racial divisions: St. Joseph is a prosperous lakeshore community and ninety-five percent white, while Benton Harbor is impoverished and ninety-two percent black. When the body of a black teenaged boy from Benton Harbor is found in the river, unhealed wounds and suspicions between the two towns' populations surface as well. The investigation into the young man's death becomes, inevitably, a screen on which each town projects their resentments and fears. \u003ci\u003eThe Other Side of the River\u003c\/i\u003e sensitively portrays the lives and hopes of the towns' citizens as they wrestle with this mystery--and reveals the attitudes and misperceptions that undermine race relations throughout America.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eALEX KOTLOWITZ \u003c\/b\u003eis perhaps best known for his national bestseller, \u003ci\u003eThere Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in the Other America\u003c\/i\u003e, which the New York Public Library selected as one of the 150 most important books of the twentieth century. Alex's nonfiction stories, which one critic wrote \"inform the heart\", have appeared in print, radio and film. A former staff writer at \u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, Alex has long been a regular contributor to \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e and public radio's \u003ci\u003eThis American Life\u003c\/i\u003e. His stories, which one reviewer wrote \"inform the heart\", have also appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eGranta\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eRolling Stone\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Chicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSlate \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as on PBS (\u003ci\u003eFrontline\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eMacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eMedia Matters\u003c\/i\u003e) and on NPR's \u003ci\u003eAll Things Considered\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eMorning Edition\u003c\/i\u003e. He's been honored with some of journalism's major prizes: a George Foster Peabody Award, the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, the George Polk Award and twice a Columbia duPont Award.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Anchor Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50460166947090,"sku":"9780385477215","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_3cbad737-5a00-4cea-af8b-69489b6a2ee4.jpg?v=1730031991","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-other-side-of-the-river-a-story-of-two-towns-a-death-and-americas-dilemma-9780385477215","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}