The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace - Jeff Hobbs

The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace

By Jeff Hobbs

  • Release Date: 2014-09-23
  • Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 610 Ratings

Description

*Now a major motion picture—Rob Peace—starring Jay Will, Mary J. Blige, and Chiwetel Ejiofor*

*Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times Book Review, Entertainment Weekly, and more* The New York Times bestselling account of a young African-American man who escaped Newark, NJ, to attend Yale, but still faced the dangers of the streets when he returned is, “nuanced and shattering” (People) and “mesmeric” (The New York Times Book Review).

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, trying to fit in at Yale, and at home on breaks.

A compelling and honest portrait of Robert’s relationships—with his struggling mother, with his incarcerated father, with his teachers and friends—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 the slums of Newark, New Jersey, and the difficulty of going from one to the other and then back again. It’s about trying to live a decent life in America. But most all this “fresh, compelling” (The Washington Post) story is about the tragic life of one singular brilliant young man. His end, a violent one, is heartbreaking and powerful and “a haunting American tragedy for our times” (Entertainment Weekly).

Reviews

  • Really great book to read

    5
    By amsmbsa
    I had to read this book for a college course at UNLV regarding motivation for school, and life courses after a college education etc. Although I find the ending to be so sad, I did think that it was a great book to read. It really puts into perspective what families go through to get to college, where their family is from, how people and places influence you, how hard single mothers have to work to get their son out of the bad neighborhood influences, etc. I own this in a physical copy and I do recommend this book to read for sure.
  • Hits So Close To Home

    5
    By iLLWiLL50
    As someone who was raised in Newark, born 2 months after Rob, trained for high school sports at Saint Benedict’s, is a police officer who often works directly across the street from Saint Benedict’s in the courthouse in which Skeet was convicted, and is all too familiar with the community in which Rob lived; this book hits incredibly close to home. I would like to thank the author for capturing the the community as well as sharing with us the story of Rob‘s life.
  • Riveting, but missing something

    4
    By More Anxious
    I listened to the audiobook for hours because a friend who recommended the book mistakenly alluded to his death by suicide and that was puzzling. I listened to a well written and highly descriptive portrait of two communities, both of which I know, as a Yale graduate and faculty at Rutgers Newark. I expected this vivid portrayal of a brilliant, caring, streetwise young man to descend into depression, rumination, guilt and the suicide that I was expecting. As the author stated, “we didn’t know Rob.” It seems to me that his risk taking and indifference to danger were a slow suicide fueled by guilt over his father, his sense of being the outsider at Yale, his anger at the racism he constantly experienced, as well as depression and addiction. Although these feelings can be inferred from the vivid chronicle of events in his life, the absence of Rob’s introspection and meaningful dialogue with friends and family lead us wondering what was really going on inside of Rob Peace.
  • AMAZING

    5
    By kalexxis_
    I have the physical book and I couldn't put it down. I received it as a Christmas gift almost 2 years before I read it and let me just say I was missing out. This book was amazing. I laughed, I cried, I felt like I knew him. I've lived and grown up in New Jersey all my life and the fact that all of this took place no more than 30 minutes away from me breaks my heart even more. Rest In Peace Rob Peace. ❤
  • The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace

    5
    By willowgh
    Hopeful, then sad.
  • Untrustworthy

    2
    By ImABlackPoem
    Untrustworthy biography from a struggling writer from Yale. Paints the Peace family in a negative and inauthentic light. The book is only interesting because of the ridiculous subject matter - Yale grad turned low level drug dealer gets murdered. But the author doesn't really know Rob Peace and, therefore, does a terrible job at portraying Rob Peace. I don't recommend this biography to anyone. It's simply the author's subpar job at trying to get money to pay off student loans. Too bad the image of Rob Peace suffers along the way.
  • Captivating

    5
    By wiggyswish
    I bought this book because I mentor 2 young boys in Baltimore city whom are bright and hopefully college bound. My job as I see it is to remove them from the block as much as possible so that the opportunity to gain outweighs the magnet that the ghetto possesses. In any event this book is masterfully written, I couldn't put it down.
  • A Must Read!

    5
    By Mrs. CK
    There aren't words sufficient to describe what an incredible read I discovered when coming across this book. So well written that I found myself stopping to pick up the phone multiple times per day to encourage others to take the journey through Robert Peace's life. No matter who you are, you're sure to find remnants of your life intertwined in his, or those who shaped his life, in some way. A great insight into the psyche of someone who's story is a reflection of many of our nation's youth.
  • The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace

    4
    By JJJETT
    Excellent done! Although a tragic story, one that contains a myriad of "life-long" lessons.
  • Rob Peace

    3
    By BERnie8789
    While I thought the start of this book very interesting, it began to get more and more dragged out. Tragic life, in some ways. But necessary, in no way. From my perspective, a totally wasted gift that Rob threw away. He seemed to have every chance to give himself and his mother a good life, but he refused ultimately to let go of the baggage. The only person I felt sorry for in this story was his mother. She was the one who gave all and never had a chance.