The Barn

The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi

By: Wright Thompson

Narrated by: Wright Thompson

The instant New York Times bestseller • Named a Best Book of the Year by Vanity Fair, Washington Post, TIME, Buzzfeed, Smithsonian, BookPage, KCUR, and Kirkus

“It literally changed my outlook on the world…incredible.”—Shonda Rhimes

"The Barn is serious history and skillful journalism, but with the nuance and wallop of a finely wrought novel… The Barn describes not just the poison of silence and lies, but also the dignity of courage and truth.”—The Washington Post

“The most brutal, layered, and absolutely beautiful book about Mississippi, and really how the world conspired with the best and worst parts of Mississippi, I will ever read…Reporting and reckoning can get no better, or more important, than this.”—Kiese Laymon

“An incredible history of a crime that changed America.”—John Grisham

"With integrity, and soul, Thompson unearths the terrible how and why, carrying us back and forth through time, deep in Mississippi—baring, sweat, soil, and heart all the way through.”—Imani Perry

A shocking and revelatory account of the murder of Emmett Till that lays bare how forces from around the world converged on the Mississippi Delta in the long lead-up to the crime, and how the truth was erased for so long

Wright Thompson’s family farm in Mississippi is 23 miles from the site of one of the most notorious and consequential killings in American history, yet he had to leave the state for college before he learned the first thing about it. To this day, fundamental truths about the crime are widely unknown, including where it took place and how many people were involved. This is no accident: the cover-up began at once, and it is ongoing.

In August 1955, two men, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, were charged with the torture and murder of the 14-year-old Emmett Till in Money, Mississippi. After their inevitable acquittal in a mockery of justice, they gave a false confession to a journalist, which was misleading about where the long night of hell took place and who was involved. In fact, Wright Thompson reveals, at least eight people can be placed at the scene, which was inside the barn of one of the killers, on a plot of land within the six-square-mile grid whose official name is Township 22 North, Range 4 West, Section 2, West Half, fabled in the Delta of myth as the birthplace of the blues on nearby Dockery Plantation.

Even in the context of the racist caste regime of the time, the four-hour torture and murder of a Black boy barely in his teens for whistling at a young white woman was acutely depraved; Till’s mother Mamie Till-Mobley’s decision to keep the casket open seared the crime indelibly into American consciousness. Wright Thompson has a deep understanding of this story—the world of the families of both Emmett Till and his killers, and all the forces that aligned to place them together on that spot on the map. As he shows, the full horror of the crime was its inevitability, and how much about it we still need to understand. Ultimately this is a story about property, and money, and power, and white supremacy. It implicates all of us. In The Barn, Thompson brings to life the small group of dedicated people who have been engaged in the hard, fearful business of bringing the truth to light. Putting the killing floor of the barn on the map of Township 22 North, Range 4 West, Section 2, West Half, and the Delta, and America, is a way of mapping the road this country must travel if we are to heal our oldest, deepest wound.

©2024 Wright Thompson (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“To say Wright Thompson’s latest book is about Emmett Till’s murder would be to undersell its scope and the author’s ambition . . . The Barn is a sensitive, deeply reported book that will make you reconsider everything you thought you knew about Till’s lynching and its place in American history.”—TIME, 100 Must-Read Books of the Year

“[Thompson’s] extraordinary new book The Barn is not only an intimate history of the tragedy, but also a deep meditation on Mississippi and America . . . While sifting through the dirt that buried the facts about Till’s death, Thompson credits the work of the historians, journalists and filmmakers who have sought to tell the true tale. But he crafts a wider, deeper narrative. The Barn is serious history and skillful journalism, but with the nuance and wallop of a finely wrought novel . . . The Barn describes not just the poison of silence and lies, but also the dignity of courage and truth.”—The Washington Post

“Terrifying and humbling, The Barn is a chilling examination of the American strain of a nasty human disorder: the slow immolation that some communities initiate when they choose enabling mythologies, deceit, silence, injustice, and willed ignorance as their moral orders.”—Boston Globe

The Barn

Such beautiful, powerful prose does not begin to capture the transcendent truth on these pages.

A honest an complete account!

This is the MOST comprehensive account of all the components that made the lynching of Emmet Till possible and completely acceptable! Of what continues to allow lynchings to be accepted today!

Outstanding & emotional

I bought the hard cover and audio versions and have gone through it twice. Such an outstanding history of my state. Must read!!

A must read, lest we repeat our past

Like the author, I didn't know what I didn't know (as all public school educated kids were unaware how recent Brown v BOE was, and that the "before Brown times" were a long era bordering on epoch. This was 1970 America and there were just thenaround 5 girls and boys in my class.

Increíble.

Hands down the best book on Emmett Till, Mississippi and race in America. I highly recommend.

Very sad story

I am truly shocked at the cold, cruel actions these grown men took against this child, Emmit Till. This poor, innocent child did not deserve in any, way, shape, or form this kind of horrible, horrific, tragic treatment. Regardless of skin color, no one deserves to have their life taken in such an inhumane manner. I am sickened by the actions that these men and women. This should never have happened and I pray never happens again.

Fascinatingly detailed telling

Wright Thompson does an extraordinary job of telling the Emmett Till story in The Barn. I had never heard of Emmett Till before listening to Mr Thompson read his boom to me. I felt, as I listened, as though I were a spectator to this story taking place in 1955. The details used by the author transports the listener to the delta in Mississippi as though the story was happening for the first time.

A Must Read!

Absolutely great book! Congrats Wright! You put together a genuine masterpiece! I appreciate your words, deepth, knowledge, outlook, hard work, and your heart, that you poured out onto those pages!

Context

There's nothing virtual about Mississippi, it's all real, so watch out! When it comes to Mississippi you can go away but you can never get away

The history!! I grew up in the Delta. Never knew about Emmitt Till until I was an adult.

This history demands to be told. Must be told. It has been hidden too long. I am reading it for the second time so I can pull more information out of this book.