Manyebook

On a Move: The Story of Mumia Abu Jamal

Everyone has an opinion about Mumia

Abu-Jamal.

Have an informed opinion. Read his story.

Mumia Abu-Jamal is one of the most controversial icons of our time. A

prominent African-American journalist on death row in Pennsylvania, he has

come to symbolize America's failure to address fundamental issues of race,

justice, and dissent. Yet despite years of widespread demonstrations calling

for his freedom, few people really know who Mumia was before he became a

death row "celebrity."

Most people know Mumia through his books Live from Death Row (1995), Death

Blossoms (1996), and All Things Censored (2000), which cemented his

reputation as a "voice of the voiceless." In On a Move: The Story of Mumia

Abu-Jamal, award-winning author Terry Bisson brings to life the man behind

that voice.

Now, for the first time, readers can meet Mumia as student, radical, lover,

father, and reporter. Covering a childhood in Philadelphia's projects, a

turbulent youth in Oakland and New York, a promising career in radio

journalism, and a fateful sidewalk altercation that changed everything,

Bisson's colorful sketches tell the story of one of the stormiest periods in

American history, and of a young rebel who came of age in its crucible.

On A Move will tell you how Mumia became the figurehead he is today, and why

almost every progressive organization in the world has called for his

freedom or at least a new trial. However, it does not dwell on the

contradictory details of his conviction. Instead, in a readable style aimed

at a broad audience, Bisson fleshes out the complexities and warmth of a man

constantly dehumanized and reduced to two dimensions, both by those who want

to see him dead, and by his supporters' tendency to make him a

poster-perfect "cause."

Whatever one's views on freedom of speech, racial discrimination, capital

punishment, or even Mumia's guilt or innocence, this book will give you a

vital understanding of a man and a movement that have already left their

mark on history.

About The Author

Terry Bisson is the author of

numerous science fiction novels, short stories, motion picture

novelizations, and a biography of Nat Turner for young adults. A winner of

both the Hugo and Nebula awards, as well as France's Gran Prix de

l'Imaginaire, Bisson has written for The Village Voice, The Los Angeles

Times, The Washington Post, and The Nation.

  • Format
  • paperback
  • Pages
  • 221
  • Language
  • english
  • ISBN
  • 9780874869019
  • Genres
  • biography
  • Release date
  • 2001