First, I will state that I listened to the audiobook. My review is impacted by that.

This is a very well researched book. I do feel like it is a lot to take in via audiobook. Especially the beginning- before the shooting. The author goes into a lot of detail about all of those involved- injured, deceased, the guardsman, etc.... It is kind of overwhelming when listening.

I found it much easier to follow after the shooting and the aftermath. Of course, part of that is getting used to those involved. Also, being able to pair injury/role to the person made it a lot easier for me.

The event, and in some ways the aftermath even more so, was such a tragedy. The timing of reading this was especially impactful given that there were many college protests last year. Thankfully, a lot was learned from the Kent State tragedy.

Basically, if you know a lot about the Kent State tragedy OR are following along with a print copy, this audiobook is great.

If, like me, you knew some details but not a whole lot, stick to the print.

I received an advance audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wasn’t really what I had in mind. Thought it was okay. I already knew what happened but thought I would be more.

This is one of those stories we need to remember. It feels like something like this could never happen, even as we see the evidence of this kind of irrationality and violence today. The descriptions of the shootings were traumatic, but even more traumatic is the aftermath, which never really provided a sense of closure for the senseless killings. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me listen to this audiobook. The narrator was excellent.

Being a Brit I had heard of Kent State and seen the iconic photograph but that's all I knew. Now I think I know more about the unfairness of the justice system, the irresponsibility of so-called leaders and the vicious hatred some people bore towards unarmed children. And yes I do call them children because they had hardly begun to live.

Brian VanDeMark has written an absolutely stunning book that deserves a place on school curriculums in order that we are all aware of how a few bad judgements can have devastating consequences.

VanDeMark sets the scene of this tragedy in the context of the Vietnam War, the incursion into Cambodia, the actions of The Weathermen and other radical groups and juxtaposes it with the words of family, friends, students, professors as to who the students really were.

What broke my heart wasn't just the senseless killings of these children but the backlash afterwards (and that apparently continues). We are idiotic enough to believe that the internet invented trolling. If you think posting derogatory remarks is bad then ask yourself what kind of person takes the time to put pen to paper, marshal their thoughts and then post some vile remarks to the parents of the four students who died. That takes a sickness of a magnitude I can't begin to imagine.

Brian VanDeMark lays out the pain and suffering of all those involved that day including the guardsmen who were poorly trained, exhausted, leaderless and given the task of policing a student protest - none of which they'd been trained for. Add to that the hysteria of the day and the fact that the guards were given live ammunition, which the students hadn't been inforned of.

This was a senseless tragedy but one, given the gun laws in the US, that was merely waiting to happen.

I found this an exceptionally well researched and sensitively written book. I have not broken down in tears so often over any book I've read before.

Very very highly recommended whether you know about Kent State or not. I listened to the audio which was beautifully read by Daniel Henning.

Thankyou very much to Netgalley, Highbridge Audio and RB Media for the audio advance review copy.

I knew something happened and knew it as I'm interested in history and I listened to Ohio by CSN&Y.
But not lot more.
This is a story that should be told, a senseless killing of people who were protesting and how they were judged by the so called "silent majority" and there was never any justice for the death.
Thought provoking and informative. The narrator did an excellent job and I liked how it kept me listening.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Kent State: An American Tragedy

This was a magnificently written non-fiction of the incredibly traumatic and harrowing event; the Kent State Massacre. I will admit going into this book I barely knew the broad strokes of this incident. Recently I have been on a journey to expand my knowledge of history. Especially seeing the events of Palestine and protests happening at colleges across the US have had closely similar circumstances to this event and time of our history. Clearly, if we don’t acknowledge our past, we are bound to repeat it.

VanDeMark does a great job of disappearing in his work, and letting this story speak. I honestly had to remember at times this isn’t just a collection of people's testimonies of the event strung together in a meeting about this tragedy. VanDeMark lets the people involved in this tragedy truly be the story. Not only were they the focus, the people who were recounting the event were diverse – those sharing their accounts being a victim, standerby, shooter, lawyer, reporters, family and friends, etc. It was an excellent record of how the massacre affected the people involved. Something that desperately needs done with any historical crisis. As we humans are not only incredibly forgetful of our past, we can be very quick to erase it. Another way VanDeMark ‘disappears’ in his work is by showing a wonderful unbiased and balanced account of the people who created this horrific event; he does a great job at not painting the commanders and soldiers in a bad light. Letting the readers empathize with them and also create their own opinion of them

This story does not end with just the massacre. VanDeMark also follows the lives of the people afterwards. Showing the work done to remember and memorialize the event. Even including people in charge removing the ‘State’ off of Kent State University, to not be associated with the massacre, and then eventually adding it on again so as not to run away from the past. He talks about the family and friends who have and will mourn and remember their loved ones for the rest of their lives. He speaks about the victims that survived and how their lives were forever changed by the events in more ways than one.

This is something anyone with an interest in the subject should read. It was a thorough and unadulterated account of the Kent State Massacre.

I would like to listen to this and review it, but it will not play properly and I cannot delete and re-download. If it worked properly I would listen to it--gladly. Please either make it available to me again or else I will have to skip reviewing it.

This absolutely broke my heart. This was a measured, detailed account of the Kent State massacre and the events leading up to it, as well as its aftermath. I feel like I have a much better understanding of this event, and I’m glad I read it.

I went into this knowing very little about the tragedy of Kent State, and I learned a lot. That being said, I think this book could have been written in a way that was more intriguing, with a bit more of an overall thesis. This book went over the events leading up to the tragedy, the tragedy itself, and the resulting lawsuits that I didn't know existed. I was a bit confused because in the beginning the author spoke about a national guard member who 'confessed' to starting the shooting 50 or so years after the fact, but then the author didn't go much into this 'confession' later on. It also felt like the author kind of jumped right into the events of the shooting without much build up. I was a bit confused, but I was also listening to the audio while moving offices so I may have missed something.

The author did a great job of including excerpts from interviews of those involved or connected, really humanizing the loss of the four students and the after effects this tragedy had. I also have to commend the author for not using the infamous photo on the cover - I think the photo of the national guard members better show what this book is discussing, rather than the photo we all know from that day.

3.5 rounded up.

Thank you to HighBridge Audio and NetGalley for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I had just started high school when Kent State shootings took place - and since it was over 50 years ago, my memories have faded. This was a great retelling of the facts of the lead up to that day, the day itself, and the aftermath and what has happened since.

It started out a bit slow but it didn't take me long to really get into the narrative. The narrator was easy to listen to as well.

I would suggest that everyone listen (or read) this book so remember what really happened that tragic day. While the subtitle is An American Tragedy - I would suggest it should be An Avoidable American Tragedy.. I am only a state away and this has inspired me to make a trip to visit the memorial honoring the fallen.

I was given this by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own,

Thanks to HighBridge Audio and NetGalley for the digital audiobook. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I knew little about the Kent State shootings beyond that iconic picture and a blurb here or there in history books. I was much more familiar with the anti-war protests at the University of Wisconsin during the same time frame.

This book gives a comprehensive overview of the shootings, what led to them, what happened after. The fact that the National Guard was deployed to keep the peace and instead turned into a one-sided shootout is endemic of American society as a whole, and how in many ways, things haven’t changed.

The reader gets a much closer look at just how radical the late 1960s/early 70s were in the United States, especially on university campuses. Interviews with people on both sides of the aisle are interspersed throughout the book, not only talking about the events at Kent State, but the years after, leading up to modern day, and how that has shaped their lives.

Overall, I’m glad I listened to this audiobook to gather a more comprehensive looks at one of the most egregious cases of government overreach and brute force in our nation’s history. Sometimes, because the information is so detailed and comprehensive, the writing comes off as a bit textbook-like, but hey, the story needs to be told.

Narrator Daniel Henning did an admirable job.

I didn’t know much about the Kent State tragedy before this boon and listening to the story had my gasping and saying oh my god quite often. It’s a compelling story about a horrific event that could’ve been avoided and the narration was great.