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13 of 14 found the following review helpful:
My Family Story Comes To Life Again Dec 01, 2009
By Prentice P. Johnston
"ratedp_ent"
One Night Of Madness retells the story of what some members of my family endured that night in 1949. I had been told this story many times growing up in my 35 years, but to see it come to life in print is amazing! I recommend this book to anyone! It is very real & the people involved were like characters....they were powerful & captivating. I think Mr.McMillan did a good job in presenting this forgotten chapter in American history! It can very well become a screenplay for a hollywood film!
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
A must-read for creative non-fiction lovers Dec 07, 2009
By George Coyer
While the story line centers on a tragic and violent act in rural Mississippi, Stokes McMillan gives us uncommon and masterful insight into the lives of ordinary people living in the grip of segregation that remains today as a scar on U.S. history, if not an open wound in the deep south. The biographies of famous people would seem easy to write, but McMillan opens the lives of Mary Ella Harris, Verlene Thurman, Leon Turner, Windol Whitt, and others who we would otherwise never meet. He fashions a colorful thread from each of these very real persons, and skillfully weaves them together into the fabric of a community that was Attala County in the 1940's.
Taken from the front pages of newpapers long forgotten, this is a story, which as Stokes explains, "Must be told." Exceptionally well written and easy to read; don't miss the drama of "One Night of Madness". This is a must read for history buffs and anyone who enjoys a great story with unforgettable characters.
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
A sensitively told story of the heinous murder of three black children Jun 23, 2010
By Robert R. Regl
I was a professor of Aeronautical Engineering at Mississippi State University in the 1970s, and Stokes McMillan was one of my students. I recently became aware that he had written a book, "One Night of Madness".
McMillan has written a meticulously researched book chronicling the heinous murder of three black children in rural Mississippi by three white racists in the winter of 1950.
The book is in the style of a non-fiction novel like Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood", and the story is told with a sensitivity for the people that reminded me of Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird". The many characters leap from the pages and bring to life a part of Mississippi history that many would like to ignore, and some would even deny ever happened.
The interaction of the characters, the unfolding of the tragic events leading up to the murders, and the capture and trial of the murderers are skillfully described. After introducing us to the main players in Part 1 McMillan writes in his introduction to Part 2:
"Fate is a weaver. With the world her loom and eternity her timetable, she is emotionless in creating the intricate fabric of our lives. Drawing from her lap the colorful threads that are people's flesh and souls, the masterful embroiderer interlaces them into a living tapestry of the human condition - awash with infinitely contrasting shades and qualities. Individual threads may fray with time, but the story told in their warp and weft endures as memory.
` After decades of patient preparation, as an otherwise unexceptional winter approached, Fate began weaving the threads of a new creation, a tapestry of select filaments of peace and conflict, joy and sorrow, prosperity and poverty, black and white, skillfully woven. This unique composition was not to be a masterpiece of beauty to evoke cries of admiration and wonder, but a work of tragedy to call forth wails of anguish and sorrow."
I can't improve on that discourse except to say that I thoroughly enjoyed every page of "One Night of Madness" and enthusiastically recommend it to those who appreciate skillful writing about historical events that become as fresh as the days they happened.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
This story will stay with me. Dec 14, 2009
By Heath Scott
"Heath and Leslie of Ubon's"
I really enjoyed reading this book about this portion of our Mississippi History. I thought the telling was very thorough and I'm relieved that Mr. McMillan was called to recount this tale. Each life that was involved in this story was well researched and carefully represented. This story will stay with me.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
A true story well told Nov 29, 2009
By Texas Teacher
One Night of Madness reads like a novel. The characters come to life and the descriptive writing makes me feel like I am there. Great read and I highly recommend it.
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