First published 1997
At 3:37 AM on October 12, 1958, dynamite rips through the side wall of the Temple, Atlanta's oldest and wealthiest synagogue. The explosion devastates the building, but Rabbi Jacob Rothschild refuses to be silenced. For years, he has preached civil rights from his pulpit, drawing the fury of those who would preserve the old order through violence. As investigators work to identify the bombers, the blast waves spread far beyond Atlanta, shaking the foundations of the South and reverberating across the entire United States. The search for the perpetrators becomes a psychological puzzle as Greene unravels the motives behind this act of hatred. The story builds toward the courtroom trials that follow, where justice hangs in the balance. Through it all, Rabbi Rothschild emerges as an unsung hero of the civil rights movement, a man whose courage in the face of terror helped transform a nation.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, activism, antisemitism, american-history
Vibes: emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: based-on-true-events, courtroom-drama, social-justice
Setting: Atlanta, The Temple
Period: 1958
503 pages · Paperback · Fawcett
Content warnings: violence