Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf

I began reading the ebook edition of Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf on May 4th, which coincidentally marked the 56th anniversary of the Kent State Massacre. 

Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf is a work of nonfiction, written in graphic form, which I thoroughly enjoyed reading, because it contains visual imagery along with written details about the Kent State Massacre. This gives readers the perfect overview regarding the events leading up to the Kent State Massacre, the event itself, and the eventual aftermath without giving overwhelming amounts of information to the reader to absorb and digest.

The artwork and writing are both well done for Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf. Kudos to Derf Backderf for all of his thorough research into the Kent State Massacre, which he details at the end of his book along with copious footnotes. 

Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf is riveting for history buffs wanting to learn more about the details of the Kent State Massacre and 

My favorite quote from Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf is: "No shooter, official, or politician is held accountable for the Kent State shootings." I found this deplorable. Four unarmed students died and nine unarmed students were seriously injured by the National Guard during the Kent State Massacre. These deaths and injuries should have never happened based on what I read in this book. Derf Backderf's book describes the epic f*uk up on the part of the politicians, military, other government entities for their part in the Kent State Massacre.

Below is the publisher's summary for Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf:

"Derf Backderf takes us back to the age of the Vietnam War, Richard Nixon, Woodstock, and the Cold War and explores, in words and images, a scene of tragedy: the campus of Kent State University, where National Guard Troops attacked unarmed protestors and killed four students (Allison Beth Krause, age 19, Jeffrey Glenn Miller, age 20, Sandra Lee Scheuer, age 20, and William Knox Schroeder, age 19).

On May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard gunned down unarmed college students protesting the Vietnam War at Kent State University. In a deadly barrage of 67 shots, four students were killed and nine shot and wounded. It was the day America turned guns on its own children—a shocking event burned into our national memory.

The fatal shootings triggered immediate and massive outrage on campuses around the country. More than four million students participated in organized walkouts at hundreds of universities, colleges, and high schools, the largest student strike in the history of the United States at that time. It was a day that shocked the nation and helped turn the tide of public opinion against America’s war in Vietnam.

A few days prior, 10-year-old Derf Backderf saw those same guardsmen patrolling his nearby hometown, sent in by the governor to crush a trucker strike.

Using the journalism skills he employed on My Friend Dahmer and Trashed, Backderf has conducted extensive interviews and research to explore the lives of these four young people and the events of those four days in May, when the country seemed on the brink of tearing apart.

Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio is a moving and troubling story about the bitter price of dissent—as relevant today as it was in 1970."

I am giving Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf a rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!