Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High (Paperback)

by Melba Pattillo Beals (Author) "IN 1957, WHILE MOST TEENAGE GIRLS WERE LISTENING TO BUDDY Holly's "Peggy Sue," watching Elvis gyrate, and collecting crinoline slips, I was escaping the hanging..." (more)
Key Phrases: gonna integrate, Central High, Little Rock, Mother Lois (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The author forcefully recalls how, at age 15, she and several other black teenagers were chosen to integrate Little Rock's Central High following the passage of Brown v. Board of Education.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up-Beals, one of the nine black students who integrated Central High School in Little Rock, AR, in 1957, tells an incredible story of faith, family love, friendships, and strong personal commitment. Drawing from the diaries she kept, the author easily puts readers in her saddle oxfords as she struggles against those people in both the white and black communities who would have segregation continue. Her prose does not play on the sympathy of readers; it simply tells it like it happened. She shares the physical, mental, and emotional torture and abuse she suffered at the hands of teenagers and adults. She also shares the support, the encouragement, and the help she received from both whites and blacks. While the book's length may discourage younger readers, those who begin it will find the reading easy and fast. This abridgement of the author's 1994 adult title of the same name is fascinating as well as enlightening and honest.
Valerie Childress, J.W. Holloway Middle School, Whitehouse, TX
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Washington Square Press (February 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671866397
• ISBN-13: 978-0671866396
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (128 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,280 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #3 in	Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Regional U.S. > South
  #18 in	Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Sociology > Race Relations
  #77 in	Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling voice..., June 12, 2001

By	Susan Keller (Aliso Viejo, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an amazing book, compellingly narrated through Beals' diaries from her youth. Her first-person experience of one of the highly-charged, ugly parts of American history opened my eyes to the reality of and struggle against racism that exists even to today. I was horrified and humbled that events such as those experienced by Beals happened within relatively recent history. I fell in love with Beals' grandma - a woman of true wisdom, integrity, and encouragement. My hat off to Melba Patillo Beals for an amazing, compelling narration of our history. Thank you for helping me see through the eyes of a strong and struggling child walking into the face/voice/fist of hatred.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for teaching, October 27, 2004

By	M. Adams "zimzies" (NM United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Warriors Don't Cry (School & Library Binding)

This is an excellent book about the Little Rock 9 told by one of the students.

The details are excellent and it gives a REAL account of the torture the students went through, and the depths to which people can sink and how terribly they treat each other.

I was glad to see an account of one of the MAJOR events in the American Civil Rights struggle which did not play down what happened, nor sugar coat it. People need to know what happened, and what it was like for the participants. This book will tell them.

I highly recommend this book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beals' story is a must-read, November 3, 2001

By	Jeannine E. Murphy (Plattsburgh, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Warriors Don't Cry (School & Library Binding)

I have used this book in the classroom with 11th graders with wonderful results. The poignant story of a young girl, full of heart and courage, and how she survives Little Rock's hate-filled Central High School arouses tremendous emotion in the students. Beals holds back little and her firsthand account of the Little Rock Nine's integration to an all-white school is a terrific commentary on human strength and dignity. Social studies parallels are easily drawn with this novel as well.