Before George Floyd, before Rodney King, there was Michael Stewart; a young, gifted, black artist who was killed by NYC transit police on one fated night in the 80's. This book is about Michael and his life before that night and then what happened after that night and the overall aftermath that ends with white men crowing, killers still working, and family and friends in shattered pieces, never to be put together again, always remembering and talking about Michael.

This was a very good, well-written, well-researched [I had no idea that THIS story was one of the inspirations for Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing, and I know I will look at that movie with new eyes, now that I know the story of Michael Stewart] , but ultimately very difficult book to read, especially right now as the "powers-that-be" [that are also morons but I digress] try and erase the history they do not like or agree with, ESPECIALLY Black history. We need to read books like this [and others like Toni Morrison and Isabel Wilkerson books, both who are mentioned in this book as well] to remind us that we ALL need to fight to keep this from happening. VOTE! Never forget. Say their names! Preach their histories and stories. Always.

Dion Graham is one of my favorite narrators and he does an excellent job here in reading this difficult story. I loved listening to him tell this story and I highly recommend listening to him read this very important book!

Thank you to NetGalley, Elon Green, Dion Graham - Narrator, Celedon Books, and Macmillan Audio for providing the eBook and audiobook ARC's in exchange for an honest review.

Green brings your 1980’s NYC and the NYC art world to the forefront, portraying it’s harsh reality versus the fantasized version that is often depicted. Michael’s circled include greats of the NYC art word, including Warhol, Madonna and Basquiat. Green weaves this history with one we are still dealing with-police brutality against African Americans. This novel sets the stage of Michael’s last days, taking you through his arrest and murder using eyewitness statements and the recorded paper trail. Then through the investigation, indictments, trials, and unfortunate but not surprising conclusion. As you read, the book invokes many emotions in the reader, namely anger. Green never states what he thinks, letting the reader absorb the information, statements, and interviews from those still around today. He lets the reader decide and form their own opinion. My opinion? The cops certainly used excessive force that caused his death either from the injuries, lack of care, or both. They were never he’d accountable (no surprise at all) and continued on with their life. I would love to think so many years later this would change, but sadly we see every day that it hasn’t, and with this political atmosphere, won’t for a long time.

🎨The Man Nobody Killed by Elon Green is a comprehensive account of Michael Stewart, a young Black artist and model whose life was tragically cut short. This book provides a deeply detailed narrative of the aftermath of his death, shedding light on a system that failed him.

At just twenty-five, Michael was exploring 1980s New York, a city bursting with art, music, and activism. But in 1983, he was brutally beaten by New York Transit Police. There were plenty of witnesses, yet justice was never served. A jury acquitted the officers who took his life, exposing a justice system that too often protects those in power rather than the victims.🎨

🕧This book doesn’t just recount a painful chapter of history. It forces us to ask: How much has really changed? We say history teaches us lessons, but are we truly learning? If justice is repeatedly denied, who is responsible? Justice delayed is justice denied, but what happens when it never comes at all?🕧

Thank you, Celadon Books, for this book.

Real Rating: 4.5* of five

Elon Green's followup to <i>Last Call</i>, again centering the life and murder of someone very much not like his cishet Jewish self, gets the tones of his subject's life and murder spot-on.

It's a gift not all have. I think his evident curiosity about people, the whys that drive them to the wheres that force us to hear about them, shines through in this exploration of all parties to this crime. Stewart, a young man of borning fame for a talent still developing, does not have much of a documentary footprint outside his still-early recognition from the downtown Manhattan art scene. He is of necesity flattened in affect thereby; he had little time and no special reason to leave behind a trove of thinking, essays, manifestoes; he is known only because his death interrupted his rise to Basquiat-levels of celebrity. It doesn't change the outrage vented by the white establishment liberals on the MTA-cop murderers, it doesn't alter by a jot the klieg-lights-and-klaxons that the murder of young Black men by white men set off, only to subside as the relentless slopping of the media trough with more acceptable outrages that refocus attention away from systemic racism accomplishes its task.

Michael Stewart died in vain. His death did not stop cops from killing other young Black men on the regular, nor dissuade the occasional white amateur from trying it...getting tried...getting off.

Elon Green doesn't shy away from the ugliness inherent in this story. He uses the limited materials about the victim to flesh him out as much as possible. It's just that the system itself, the perps it's enabled, the horrors of living in a world that views your existence as a provocation deserving of death, has a much larger footprint. It's thus that the system and its publicity becomes the focus of the book (hence my docked half-star). That might leave the reader wondering why Stewart got such prominent billing on the cover. Because we are accustomed to centering the white person(s) over the victims of color, we're accustomed to the perps (eg <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Chauvin" target="_blank">Derek Chauvin</a>) getting media attention. It was his fate to be the killer cop who ignited, finally, #BlackLivesMatter and #SayHisName...could as easily have happened with one of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Ahmaud_Arbery" target="_blank">Ahmaud Arbery</a>'s murderers, or <a href="" target="_blank">Michael Stewart's</a>. Follow those links, white people. Look at the titles of each article. Think about what you are seeing. Really <I>THINK</I>.

I assume you're sentient and I don't need to spell it out for you.

It's an infuriating read. I wanted the results not to be the results. It is history so of course I was disappointed. But, and all y'all who "just can't, too hard," with these books on difficult topics, think about how supremely spoiled and privileged a stance that is. Michael Stewart and his mother couldn't just ignore it. They had to live it, she lived it until she died.

Does it still feel too hard? Or can you use that rage, outrage, sympathy for a mother who outlived her child, to power some practical resistance? The US is sliding into a new era of sanctioned violence against those They hate. Does that not seem important enough to do actual work to oppose?

I loved Elon Green's last book, Last Call, and this was a similarly fantastic piece of reporting, highlighting a case I wasn't aware of and how it touched so many pieces of 80s NYC culture that have stuck longer in the cultural memory. This was an excellent of reminder of how much the current moment we're living in still historically rhymes with what's already happened.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the eARC.

At this point I am just screaming into the void. I did not know this story, but I am glad I know it now even though it is utterly devastating. This book bis heartbreaking and deals about so many terrible things that happen in our society.

The Man Nobody Killed: Life, Death, and Art in Michael Stewart's New York by Elon Green tells the story of Michael Stewart, a young artist and model in NYC , who died in 1983 as a result of police brutality, that was rampant in the 1980s. It reveals the gross malpractice of the parties involved.

Due to the perseverance of several actors in the story including Stewarts’s family, friends, the press and artists who supported the investigation, inconsistencies in the behavior of those involved, medical records and accounts of the incident were revealed. The author is able to weave the political climate and arts scene of NYC at the time. While no one was convicted in this case, ultimately, this along with similar events inspired films, movies and works of art including this book and remain in the record of our history.

I had the good fortune to be able to read and listen to this book at the same time. For a non-fiction book, loaded with medical and case facts reads like a novel and is easy to understand. In addition, the narration by Dion Graham was set at a great pace and tone and I was able to seamlessly switch between both the audio and print without issue.

Thank you, Celadon Books, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. All Opinions are my own.

Rating: 5 Stars
Audio Release Print Pub Date: Mar 11 2025

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This is an absolutely incredible, heartbreaking story of a victim of police brutality. The book does an excellent job portraying the potential greatness of Michael Stewart before it was unnecessarily snuffed out by evil men.

This was such an interesting read! It is definitely out of my usual area of reads but I found myself deeply fascinated with learning about Michael Stewart! This story tells the tale of a young black artist in the 1980’s!

It touches on topics such as police brutality, systemic racism, bias, and more! This book does not only cover Michael Stewart but a multitude of individuals! The research and passion truly shines through while you are reading this book.

5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Just for the record before I came upon this, I had never heard about this story and it is one that should be talked about.

The Man Nobody Killed by Elon Green is a gripping and thought-provoking true crime book that delves into the mysterious case of a man named Michael Sorge, who was killed but somehow never officially died. Green expertly blends investigative journalism with a deep exploration of the human psyche, creating a compelling narrative around the bizarre circumstances surrounding Sorge's death. The book is filled with rich details, twists, and a focus on the complexities of the justice system. Green's storytelling keeps you hooked, and his ability to uncover hidden truths makes this a must-read for true crime enthusiasts. It’s a fast-paced, captivating journey into a case that raises important questions about justice, memory, and identity.

Green has written an amazing, heartbreaking, infuriating book about the life and death of Michael Stewart, a member of the art community on the Lower East Side of New York City in the early 1980's. I had not heard, or don't remember, the details of Michael's beating and death and was fascinated to learn in the author discussion at the end of the audio that Green hadn't either and had run across the details on the internet. Through interviews and court notes and documents, Green unwinds the fateful night that Stewart encountered the Transit police on the NYC subway, how his beating and death impacted the artists around him, and how his family and friends fought for justice for years. I was enthralled from start to finish. I both read and listened to this book to try and decide which format is best for my patrons and highly recommend both since Mr. Green's writing flows so well on the page and Dion Graham's narration is stellar. A huge thank you to Elon Green, Celadon Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the early access to this extraordinary book.

Green does a great job of capturing the atmosphere of New York City and the climate of the country at the time and how these played into Michael Stewart's murder. He manages to bring in a wide cast of characters without bogging down the book or losing the emotional connection with Stewart's story. Instead, all the additional characters and related stories serve to magnify the significance of Stewart's death and show the wide-ranging effects it had. If, like me, you hadn't heard of Michael Stewart before, this book is an essential read.

*The Man Nobody Killed* is a powerful and deeply moving exploration of systemic injustice, creativity, and resilience. Elon Green’s writing masterfully captures the heartbreak and outrage of Michael Stewart’s tragic death while honoring the vibrant energy of the 1980s New York City art scene that fought for his story to be heard. It’s a poignant reminder of how far we’ve come—and how much further we need to go—in confronting the failures of the justice system. This book is a must-read for anyone who values justice, art, and the voices that demand change.

I still feel like I was reading half a story, like there were so many more details and additional materials off-stage.

This deep dive into a murder by police in New York City shone a light on how little has changed in the forty plus years since the death of Michael Stewart, a man nobody killed but who died at the hands of NYPD officers. I am very interested in the history and culture of New York City and this book will make a fine addition to my personal collection and to the shelf at my library.

Thank you, Celadon Books, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I just finished The Man Nobody Killed: Life, Death and Art in Michael Stewart’s New York, by Elon Green.

This book will be released on March 11, 2025.

This book is about the 1983 killing of Michael Stewart. Stewart was a black up and coming artist in New York who was killed by the police when they brutally attacked him in the process of arresting him for graffiti.

There were many witnesses to the killing and six police officers were indicted. But, thanks to the failures of an incompetent medical examiner, the prosecution wasn’t able to get any convictions. This book did a very good job exposing the failures of the system in this case.

I give this book a B+. Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, a B+ equates to 4 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).

This review has been posted at NetGalley, Goodreads and my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews

I finished reading this on October 5, 2024.

In The Man Nobody Killed, Elon Green delivers a harrowing exploration of systemic racism through the story of Michael Stewart, a young Black artist whose life was tragically cut short by police violence in 1983. Green meticulously pieces together Stewart’s life, the violent circumstances of his death, and the cultural ripple effects that followed. Stewart’s beating at the hands of New York Transit Authority police—allegedly for tagging a subway wall—sparked widespread outrage, galvanizing the art world and civil rights activists alike.

Green does more than recount a grim chapter in New York City history. He forces readers to confront uncomfortable questions about accountability, power, and the cyclical nature of injustice. Despite the ensuing investigations and protests from high-profile figures, no officers were convicted, exemplifying the persistent failure of the justice system to serve marginalized communities. Green’s narrative transcends the specific tragedy of Stewart’s death, instead framing it as a recurring nightmare in American history, inextricably linked to other cases of police brutality.

This book urges us to reflect on the cost of human lives when systemic forces remain unchallenged. By weaving Stewart’s story with the vibrant yet turbulent downtown New York art scene, Green presents a portrait of hope clashing with horror, leaving readers with a lingering sense of outrage and sorrow. This was a difficult read, and I feel it would be misplaced to attach a star rating to such a poignant and heart-wrenching narrative.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the opportunity to read and review The Man Nobody Killed prior to publication.

I knew nothing about Michael Stewart and was glad I got to read this book. It does a fantastic job in bringing the case to light and does the story respectfully. I thought Elon Green wrote this well and was able to learn about this tragedy.