The Learning Tree - Hardcover

Parks, Gordon

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060132809 ISBN 13: 9780060132804

Publisher: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1963

Synopsis

Newt Winger is an African-American teenager living in rural Kansas in the late 1920s and early 1930s. He generally confronts the prejudices of the era with pride and an even temper, unlike his hot-headed friend Marcus Savage. As circumstances slowly pull Newt and Marcus further apart, Newt witnesses a murder – one committed by Marcus' father Booker. When Newt's decision to come forward as a witness leads to Booker's death, Marcus ambushes and confronts Newt with a gun – resulting in a vicious fight. Newt wins the fight but spares Marcus' life, only to watch helplessly as Marcus is shot and killed by a racist sheriff.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

"A fine novel."
THE BOSTON HERALD
Photographer, writer, and composer, Gordon Parks has written a moving, true-to-life novel of growing up as a black man in this country in this century. Hailed by critics and readers alike, THE LEARNING TREE tells the extraordinary journey of a family as they struggle to understand the world around them and leave their mark a world that is better for their having been in it.

About the Author

Gordon Parks (1912–2006) was the author of numerous books of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and photography, including The Learning Tree and A Choice of Weapons. He received a plethora of honorary degrees and awards, including the National Medal of Arts. He was also a film director and composer, and wrote the music and libretto for Martin, a ballet honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harper & Row, Publishers
• Publication date: 1963
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060132809
• ISBN 13: 9780060132804
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 303