Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
Kent State
Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio | Derf Backderf
9 posts | 13 read | 7 to read
From bestselling author Derf Backderf comes the untold story of the Kent State shootingstimed for the 50th anniversary On May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard gunned down unarmed college students protesting the Vietnam War at Kent State University. In a deadly barrage of 67 shots, 4 students were killed and 9 shot and wounded. It was the day America turned guns on its own childrena shocking event burned into our national memory. A few days prior, 10-year-old Derf Backderf saw those same Guardsmen patrolling his nearby hometown, sent in by the governor to crush a trucker strike. Using the journalism skills he employed on My Friend Dahmer and Trashed, Backderf has conducted extensive interviews and research to explore the lives of these four young people and the events of those four days in May, when the country seemed on the brink of tearing apart. Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio, which will be published in time for the 50th anniversary of the tragedy, is a moving and troubling story about the bitter price of dissentas relevant today as it was in 1970.
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
review
Adventures_of_a_French_Reader
post image
Pickpick

Excellent graphic nonfiction about the shooting of students at Kent State University by the national guards in Ohio, and all the cover-ups and lies from the authorities.
Well-researched, this book is a great reminder to really think critically, to pause when the politicians and the media are pushing for emotional reactions (fear, anger, etc.).
The pages with drawings of the shooting are very powerful visually, can be triggering to some.

Suet624 Very much relevant at this time. 1w
17 likes1 comment
blurb
jlhammar
post image

Excellent graphic nonfiction about the 1970 Kent State shootings. Difficult subject matter, but so well done. Highly recommend.

#Campus #SavvySettings
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 🏫📚👍🏻 3y
Eggs Tragic but part of American history - I was a senior in HS when it happened 💔 3y
38 likes1 stack add2 comments
review
Cortg
post image
Pickpick

“No shooter, officer, or politician is held accountable for the Kent State shootings.”
Such a sad story. My parents are from Akron, so I‘ve heard about this throughout my childhood, though it happened before I was born. This graphic novel did a great job of painting a picture of what happened leading up to this devastating event. I‘m glad I found this book.

Suet624 I remember that day so vividly. 3y
vivastory This is one of my favorite books of the year. Backderf did a really great job with the research. Very moving & informative. 3y
Cortg @vivastory I thought so too! I read his Dahmer book a few years ago which was also really good but this one really was an excellent read! 3y
Cortg @Suet624 I‘m sure! Such a heartwrenching event that was so unnecessary and preventable. 3y
51 likes1 stack add4 comments
review
Amie
post image
Pickpick

I've been on a streak of reading books about hard topics and this is the latest.

Some of the dialog was clunky because it was conveying so much factual info, but the illustrations were great and the research was meticulous with end notes giving citations for every event depicted plus additional info.

Crazeedi I remember when this happened 3y
33 likes1 stack add1 comment
review
Megabooks
post image
Pickpick

Backderf has created a beautifully rendered graphic history of the tragic events of May 4, 1970 when Ohio National Guard troops opened fire on unarmed students at Kent State University, killing four and wounding many others. Relying on interviews he conducted and the collections about May 4 at Kent State and Yale, Backderf created a very accessible look at a volatile point in American history. Highly recommend!!! Available on #hoopla

Megabooks @TheAromaofBooks this is my actual #bookspin! 🎉 3y
mrp27 This was definitely a good one! 3y
Megabooks @mrp27 Agreed! 3y
See All 11 Comments
EvieBee Didn‘t he do the Jeffrey Dahmer book? 3y
Megabooks @EvieBee He did. It‘s on my TBR now. That one is on hoopla too. 3y
EvieBee @Megabooks And thanks to you, I‘ve just requested this from the library. TY! 3y
Megabooks @EvieBee It‘s excellent! I learned so much. Enjoy 👍🏻 3y
Cinfhen Cool 😎 thanks for the #Hoopla tip 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen I know you aren‘t a big GN reader, but this is one of the few I‘ve given 5⭐️ to. Extremely well drawn and informative! 3y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 3y
Megabooks @TheAromaofBooks 😁😁🎉 3y
85 likes1 stack add11 comments
review
Nitpickyabouttrains
post image
Pickpick

Extremely well done story telling. It makes this moment in history personal. Great asides to put things in context and give back story.

review
AlizaApp
post image
Pickpick

A non-fiction graphic novel about the Kent State riots and shooting, but with in-depth testimony from victims, survivors, cops, and politicians. I liked the way direct quotes and information was incorporated into the story and the way the victims were memorialized.

27 likes1 stack add
blurb
belacat
post image

I grew up in Northeast Ohio. I had friends that attended Kent State. I was too little to understand what was going on when these events occurred. What surprises me most is that there was not more of an outrage after this happened. No one was ever convicted. This is so heartbreaking.

Bookwormjillk I went to Hiram College, and we talked about this a lot. I‘ll have to read this. 4y
Bits Kent State alum '07. 4y
51 likes1 stack add2 comments