Customer Reviews

Crossing the Lines: A Novel

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Richard Doster pens a heartfelt, powerful, thought provoking book that gives a broad view of when things started to forever change in the South. It was as much of a surprise to Martin Luther King, Jr. as it was to the rest of the world when a group voted him to lead a fight of justice, for all! Martin Luther tells a reporter, "There comes a time when people get tired of being plunged across the abyss of humiliation."

Martin Luther tries to explain that this movement is not about desegregation - it's about community. "We want the same things. We might come at it from a different direction; might see things from a slightly different angel, but we both want a place were people thrive, where they're free, where everybody loves his neighbor." Jack Hall, reporter for the Atlanta Constitution, doesn't see this happening in a peaceful way--he's scared to be part any of this movement--what will his neighbors and friends think?

To Jack, Martin Luther King says, "Justice is love correcting that which revolts against love. .... True peace--the kind the Bible talks about--has got to be more than the absence of hostility. It's got to be the presence of something good. You can't have peace until you've got justice and goodwill and honest-to-goodness brotherhood," Jack starts to think about life in a new way after hearing Martin Luther's speeches and his pastor's sermons. He thinks God just might want to use him to get Martin Luther's story out to the world.

Richard Doster has a section in the back of the book called "Fact or Fiction," In it he describes what is real in the book and what he's changed to help the story along. I found this helpful since I haven't done an in-depth study of Martin Luther King Jr. or that time period before. I could never understand the hatred people had back then or why everyone was so angry; even the governor was angry enough to bring out the National Guard to stop `Negro' children from entering a white school after a law had been passed to make this legal. Oh, My!! All that I read was mind boggling.

In the "author notes" page of the book, Richard says, "This is a story about how a contented Southerner grows uncomfortable with his region. It is a book about how attitudes--individual and collective--were changed, not only by events, but by the flesh-and-blood humans who transformed the Old South into the new one." I loved this story and think it's an important read. The author doesn't give an account of detailed history that will put you to sleep. Instead Richard centers the story around Jack Hall and his family dynamic, as well as Jack's relationship with Martin Luther King Jr.

The author used parts of Martin Luther's speeches and parts from a book Martin Luther King Jr. wrote called Stride Toward Freedom (published in 1958)--along with several resources he mentions in the back of the book. This is one fascinating well-rounded glimpse into how we got closer as a country- a country moving toward the brotherhood that King envisioned. We have a long way to go, but this book tells how Martin Luther King, Jr. helped us as a nation - take one huge step for man kind, in a direction to help us love our neighbor- the way the bible tells us we can.

Finding Hope Through Fiction
Book Club Servant Leader

As a kid growing up in a quiet northern California suburb, the early days of the civil rights movement in the late 1950s came only as close as our black & white TV screen and the occasional photo-spread in LIFE magazine. Richard Doster brings those images to real life in Crossing The Lines, his second novel set in the south.

Crossing The Lines continues the story of newspaper reporter Jack Hall whose big break comes when he is asked to join the sports writing team of a major Atlanta daily. Because he had some experience reporting on the "negro" community at his previous paper, Hall's editor sends him to Montgomery, Alabama to report on a minor incident involving a woman who refused give up her seat in a WHITES ONLY section of a city bus.

There's news out of Montgomery that there might be a short-lived bus boycott and Hall agrees to go, despite the protestations of his wife.

"I seem to possess an unusual background; I guess I'm one of the few reporters in the world who's actually seen a boycott, who's been to a Negro church, and interviewed a Negro pastor."

Hall meets a young Martin King, a young pastor who impresses the cynical newspaperman with his faith and quiet demeanor. The two form a relationship built on mutual benefit and Hall becomes an eye witness to some of the civil rights movement's most pivotal events.

Doster weaves his fictional characters into stories of actual events so seamlessly that it is difficult to know where reality ends and fiction begins. The dialog given King and others is historically accurate based on the author's exhaustive research.

As he sees and learns more about the struggle for justice, Jack Hall also confronts long-held racial stereotypes held by the white Christians with whom he goes to church, including his wife Rose Marie who can't understand why people are making such a fuss.

Doster gives his fictional characters honest feelings and doubts. The dialog between reporters in the newsroom is a bit tamer than I suspect it really is, but other than that, Crossing The Lines is a good read that opened my eyes to an important period of American history I didn't realize I had missed.

Here's what I like: to be thoroughly entertained while I learn something worth knowing.

Crossing the Lines provided me with that experience. I heartily recommend it to several populations: 1) boomers happy to relive that era when "our" music and other cultural phenomena began hitting the scene; 2) younger readers who might not know the background of the birth of rock 'n' roll, country music, blues and other sounds the South contributed so mightily in the 1950s and '60s; 3) Southerners (and wannabes) nostalgic for a period when the South rose again to take leadership in important ways, including literature, music and -- certainly -- social justice and opportunity for all; 4) both black and white readers interested in reviewing incredible events and the brave people behind them in an era when America was on the cusp of major change in race relations; 5) all readers who enjoy a fabulous yarn, a literary masterpiece and a novel whose characters, events and settings stay with you long after you reluctantly finish the last page.

Did I leave anyone out? Hope not...Crossing the Lines is really THAT good! It's fiction that matters, which -- let's face it -- can't be said about all novels.

Carolyn Curtis

Crossing the Lines: A Novel
Once again, Richard Doster has authored a book that stirs the emotions and challenges the intellect - what more could one ask for? He brings to life historical events from my youth that provided new insights and motivated me to study the history of the civil rights era and great Southern novelists further. Brilliantly weaving together topics of social justice, sports, music, publishing, and literature with a heart breaking tension within the fictional Hall family, this book keeps you thinking long after you finish the great read!

Crossing the Lines by Richard Doster is the sequel to Safe at Home, but it's not necessary to have read that volume in order to fall in love with this rich characterization of the South in the 1950s. Jack Hall is moving with his wife Rose Marie and son Chris to Atlanta after their home was bombed because of their association with a black baseball player. Jack initially takes a position at a newspaper but then begins a magazine with two friends to emphasize the South that the world isn't seeing. In the midst of Civil Rights movement, relations between black and white are strained in the deep South and in the Hall household. Jack meets various important figures, including Martin Luther King Jr, of the movement which opens his eyes to the injustice facing blacks and makes him question what's right and what should a good man do. I loved this book and didn't want it to ever end. By introducing the concept of a magazine, Doster is able to include fascinating stories about the birth of Rock and Roll and Nascar and an essay by Flannery O'Connor about Southern literature. Jack and his friends begin the magazine because they realize that the North and the rest of the world think of Southerners as angry, racists. They want to emphasize the wonderful and beautiful things about their beloved home while gently introducing controversial topics. The South still suffers from some of this misconceptions, and
Doster tackles each one smoothly. There are so many books on the market now about the South during the Civil Rights era that are filled with white characters who are 100% for the rights of blacks, but Doster reflects a more accurate history in the Hall family. Rose Marie thinks that individual blacks are okay, but doesn't want them dating her son, eating in the same restaurant or using the same bathrooms. Chris is ferocious in his defense of his black friends. Jack is caught in the middle. He has many friends who are black, but he has a hard time understanding why things need to change. The book is told through Jack's eyes, and the reader sees his gradual understanding of the injustice his friends face every day. This book ends in 1960 with much more to come in the Civil Rights movement, and I look forward to travelling to that era with the Hall family again soon.

I was happy to pick up a book written in first person, my personal favorite style. Add into that a conversational tone and a wonderful storyline and I was hooked. Crossing the Lines is set in the racially tense period of the 1950's, right in the south. The author chose to weave fiction and fact, having his characters story compatible with historical details. This was one of those books I wished I could sit and read in one sitting without any interruptions...

Although it is a sequel, Crossing the Lines is radically different than the simple, subtle story in Safe at Home. Because of the incidents in the previous book, Jack Hall accepts a job at the Atlanta Journal to cover the Atlanta Crackers baseball team. But when legendary Journal editor Ralph McGill sends Hall to Montgomery to cover rumored bus boycott, things start to get crazy.

The rest of the novel follows the Hall family in Forrest Gump fashion as they interact with the movers and shakers of the Civil Rights movement as well as leading cultural voices of the South. Hall befriends or interviews everyone from Martin Luther King Jr., Furman Bisher, John Lewis, Sam Phillips (record producer and founder of Sun Records), B.B. King, Johnny Cash and Flannery O'Conner.

To be honest the story started to get lost beneath the weight of the historical encounters. This was a page turner for me because I love the South, I'm from Georgia, so I was intrigued by the stories of Ralph McGill and Furman Bisher at the Atlanta Journal, I'm a huge fan of Flannery O'Conner and have a great respect for Martin Luther King, Jr. I also love history. Doster wants to paint a true picture of the south, the good with the bad, the grace with the depravity. In this he makes an extremely compelling argument. He also was meticulous in his research bringing historical figures to life on his pages. The interview with Flannery O'Conner was particularly exceptional.

The books are a stark contrast, one presenting the microcosmic picture of the small town south during the Civil Rights movement, the other gives the macro view. In final analysis I think that Safe at Home has a much more broad appeal for anyone and stands as an excellent contribution to southern fiction. Doster is certainly a writer to keep your eye on and I can't wait to see what he spins out next.

This is an ambitious novel. It required extensive research, a realistic perspective, keen writing, and considerable nerve to make it what it is. If you enjoy the work of a good storyteller, it is a great read.

Set in the early days of the civil rights movement, Crossing the Lines is a story of both outward and inward struggle told by a man who has already experienced its bewildering fallout in his personal life. It is open, insightful, and without condemnation for those who grappled honestly with the storm clouds that were breaking over the status quo. And it foreshadows the high personal cost of non-violent resistance to those who practiced it.

The story is seen through the eyes of Jack Hall, the able Atlanta Constitution news reporter as well as in the ruminations and observations of the magazine editor he becomes. The tension and uncertainty of those days plays out in the Hall family, just as it does in Montgomery, Birmingham, and Atlanta. It is a supremely spiritual, even Christian, story.

While Doster makes no pretense of presenting a full-orbed view of a complex man like Martin Luther King, he provides clarity about King's vision and his radical--and startlingly biblical--beliefs and tactics. This novel provides insight into an important time in history and it highlights the struggle to think Christianly in the conflict between culture and the biblical construct. As a daughter of the South who came to adulthood in the civil rights era, I find that tension especially interesting and challenging.

Other reviewers have done a good job of outlining the story. The purpose of this review is to say that if you like thoughtful, well-written fiction--historical or otherwise--Crossing the Lines is a book you should read. If you delight in the turn of a phrase and imaginative word choices, you will find particular pleasure in Doster's writing.

And if you haven't read Richard Doster's first novel, Safe at Home, read that one too.

Crossing the Lines by author Richard Doster, is the sequel to Safe at Home, but it can easily stand by itself. When reading this book I was transported back to a time before I was born, but Doster did such a good job of depicting this era and the events surrounding it, that I feel as if I've stepped into a time machine and experienced it all again for myself. Not that anyone would want to experience the events of those days. Doster's main focus is on the Civil Rights Movement and it all starts with Rosa Park's refusal to take a seat at the back of the bus. The character of Jack Hall reports on these events and eventually meets Martin Luther King, Jr.

The language is vulgar and takes a bit of getting used to, but unfortunately is necessary to honestly portray the people of the time. This book was entertaining and knowledgeable. It covers so many aspects of the South during that time (music, sports, writers, etc.) that it is difficult to talk about just one thing. It does not take you to the death of Martin Luther King, which surprised me, but instead focuses on the courage of those African Americans who stood up for their rights and by doing it as representatives of Jesus Christ. Their behaviour (if it was accurately portrayed in this book and I believe it was), showed the world how to act in the face of adversity, how to glorify God when you are persecuted.


This is an important book for your teenager to read and if you somehow missed the '50's or you slept through your history classes, you need to read this book too!

The turbulent 50's and segregation vs. integration in the South. What happens when you take actual events (Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr, integrating Little Rock) and insert a fictional reporter and his family into the events. Richard Doster takes us on a ride back to the 50's and brings those events alive. It took me just a few chapters to get into the book, this is book #2 and I haven't read #1 so I had to get acquainted with the family and what they had gone through in #1. But, it didn't take long for me to get very interested in the family and the events going on. I got some amazing insight into some of the events like Rosa Parks and the bus strike that happened as a result, and the Little Rock 9. So much so that I actually took it upon myself to do further research. I plan on getting book #1 "Safe At Home" and having my kids read these as part of their high school American History. These books are that good at making history come alive.