The Barn is a thorough investigation of the murder of Emmett Till and of the land where it happened. Thompson digs deep into the history of the Mississippi Delta - the land, its people and its culture - to build up a complete contextual picture of the seeds of Southern racism and its legacy. The level of detail is at times almost overwhelming, with threads branching off in multiple directions, but there is a sold emotional core at the heart of the narrative.

Rich in reporting and first-person testimony from Till's family, The Barn is a comprehensive examination not just of one case by of a whole culture of racism that leaves a deep scar on the Delta to this day.

The murder of 14 year-old Emmett Till ,and the following trial that was hardly worthy of the name, shocked America and he became an icon of the fight for Civil rights. It's a story that, while a horrific milestone in American history has been the subject of misinformation,both innocently and by those with an agenda. In this meticulously researched book author Wright Thompson puts the record straight.
This is a fascinating book that goes much further than the basics of Emmett Till's murder,it's also the story of the Mississippi Delta and the often inglorious history that led to a group of hateful rednecks thinking that killing black people was no big deal. It tells of the plantations and the complex relationships they spawned,with "black" and "white" families often quite closely related with more than a sprinkling of inbreeding adding to the unique demographic mix of the area. The book is quite shocking in many ways,despite Emmett's murder causing shock across the nation author Thompson relates how the Mississippi Delta is almost in a state of denial with tourists coming to see relevant sites while many locals have no idea who Emmett Till was as they've not been taught about him at school and there are selective memories or none at all. There is also barely hidden admiration of Confederate officers and only recently are local schools being dragged kicking and screaming towards desegregation.
Wright Thompson is uniquely qualified to tell the story as he was born and lives a few miles from the scene of the crime and some of his relatives and friends of his family play a part.
A fascinating and often shocking book that lays open the history of the Mississippi Delta, a part of America that was a law unto itself, and the hatred and bigotry that led to to the murder of a child.