F.H.M. Murray: First Biography of a Forgotten Pioneer for Civil Justice (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: enlarged vision, promotional flyer, innocent blacks, Niagara Movement, New York, Morris Murray (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

LOVED the book! It's a missing, ENDLESSLY fascinating link to the history of Hollywood. Thank you for researching and writing it!! I hope it's been widely well recieved, as it deserves to be. -- Ralph Eggleston, Director/Production Designer, Pixar Animation Studios --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Description

F.H.M. Murray: First Biography of a Forgotten Pioneer for Civil Justice is the inspiring life story of a remarkable civil rights advocate.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 324 pages
• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (July 24, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1419641190
• ISBN-13: 978-1419641190
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,589,210 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW!!!, September 7, 2007

By	T Thomas (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Father of Hollywood: The True Story (Paperback)

I finished the book a while back and WOW! So interesting to read how Hollywood/LA started out as 'nothing' and built up to what it is today. Very well done, interesting, entertaining and I still think would make a wonderful mini-series or 2 part documentary for the Biography channel!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting book chronicles the birth of Hollywood and the west, October 31, 2007

By	Beth Cholette "doctor_beth" (Upstate NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Father of Hollywood: The True Story (Paperback)

The title of this book refers to Hobart Johnstone "HJ" Whitley, the primary developer of Hollywood and many other towns in the American west in the late 1900s. HJ Whitley was author Gaelyn Whitley Keith's great-grandfather, but Keith chooses to write the book from the perspective of her great-grandmother, Gigi. With the help of Gigi's journals, Keith uses the first-person voice to take on her great-grandmother's persona and to offer an account that is part memoir, part history, and part love story.

The opening chapter of the book chronicles HJ's younger years, including his tragic childhood and his early business dealings. In Chapter 2, however, Gigi is introduced, starting with her first meeting with HJ. The story then serves to expand on their life together, from the early courtships days to their first homes in Dakota and Oklahoma to their eventual move to California. As their lives progress, so does HJ's role in western development, as he was an instrumental founder of many towns along the railroad line in the Dakota and Oklahoma territories. However, HJ and Gigi both shared the dream of living in California; once they realize this dream, HJ not only founds Hollywood but also ensures that it will be a thriving, growing community, eventually setting the stage for the movie industry.

I found this book to be an interesting glimpse into a part of American history with which I was previously unfamiliar. However, Keith's overly flowery, somewhat juvenile writing style tended to be a bit of a distraction at times: she is quite over-the-top in her descriptions of Gigi's beauty and charm, the extent to which Gigi and HJ are head-over-heels in love, and the scope of seemingly endless HJ's achievements. But given that the author is, after all, writing about her own great-grandparents, her rather biased presentation can be mostly forgiven here. For those willing to overlook the book's lack of sophistication, this is an engaging story about a little-known historical figure.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting perspective on Hollywood, September 24, 2007

By	Anissa Stringer - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Father of Hollywood: The True Story (Paperback)

This is the book to read if you're interested in a personal account of how Hollywood became what it was what it is today. The memoir is written from the perpective of the author's grandmother --wife of the "father" of Hollywood. I actually found this book more interesting for the look at what life was like just a few generations ago for women than anything else, though it was a priviledged life. Of course, don't we all like to read about the lives of the very well off?!