You Can’t Kill a Man Because of the Books He Reads by Brad Snyder is an essential addition for readers interested in civil rights history, legal battles, and the intersections of race, politics, and literature. This meticulously researched work chronicles the harrowing case of Angelo Herndon, a young Black Communist Party organizer unjustly convicted under an antiquated slave insurrection statute. Snyder paints a vivid picture of the legal, social, and literary networks that rallied to Herndon’s defense, bringing together figures like Benjamin J. Davis Jr., Langston Hughes, and Whitney North Seymour.

The book provides both a legal thriller and a snapshot of 1930s America, highlighting how Herndon’s case forced the Supreme Court to recognize the importance of free speech and assembly. Snyder’s writing captures the complexity of Herndon’s transformation—from a condemned man to a celebrated literary figure in Harlem—before his ultimate fall from public grace. This title offers both scholarly depth and narrative drive, making it an excellent recommendation for readers exploring the history of civil liberties or the role of literature in activism.

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

I just finished You Can’t Kill A Man Because Of The Books He Reads: Angelo Herndon’s Fight for Free Speech, by Brad Snyder.

This book will be released on February 4, 2025.

In 1932, Angelo Herndon, an 18-year-old black man who a member of the Communist Party and the leader of Atlanta’s Unemployed Committee, led a protest of about 150 people at the county courthouse, demanding that Depression-era unemployment relief was increased. Less than a couple of weeks after his peaceful protest, and a meeting with government officials, he was arrested on trumped-up charges of attempting to incite insurrection, which, like today, is punishable by death (at least for anyone who was not the President of the United States at the time).

Herndon had spent years enduring arrests on trumped-up charges prior to this incident, due to his political beliefs. He was ultimately charged under Georgia’s insurrection act, which dating back to slavery, had been used as a key tool to be used against those who participated in slave revolts. After emancipation, it was revised in 1871 and, while there had never been a successful prosecution under the revised act, it was used as a weapon to threaten blacks from organizing, as well as labor groups.

Herndon was sentenced to 18-20 years on a chain gang. That was the equivalent of a death sentence, as no person had ever survived even ten years.

The book did an excellent job covering the trial and the extensive appeals that resulted in the case going up to the Supreme Court twice before his conviction was eventually overturned.

I am hoping that this book will eventually also be released as an audiobook, since I would also like to be able to listen to it.

I give this book an A. Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an A equates to 5 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 13, 2024.