Vernon Can Read! - Softcover

Jordan Jr., Vernon E.; Gordon-Reed, Annette

Softcover

ISBN 10: 046503697X ISBN 13: 9780465036974

Publisher: Civitas Books, 2002

Synopsis

A number-one Washington Post bestseller, this memoir is the unforgettable story of a life and its times. As a student in Atlanta, Vernon Jordan had a summer job driving a white banker around town. During the man's afternoon naps, Jordan passed the time reading books, a fact that astounded his boss. "Vernon can read!" the man exclaimed to his relatives. Nearly fifty years later, Vernon Jordan, long-time civil rights leader, adviser and close friend to presidents and business leaders, remembers the sweeping struggles, changes, and dangers of black life during the civil rights revolution.After attending a predominantly white college in the Midwest and graduating from Howard University Law School, Jordan dedicated himself to the civil rights movement. He led the drive to register black voters in the South and was president of the National Urban League, one of the great civil rights organizations of the era, where he was instrumental in integrating American businesses and providing economic and social support to the expanding black middle class. He survived a white racist's assassination attempt and later became a pillar of America's legal, corporate, and political worlds.But Jordan's life was shaped in his early years, and this book is also a moving testament to the family whose support and courage provided the framework for his achievements. Vernon Can Read! chronicles a life of courage, pride, sacrifice, style, and accomplishment.

About this title

About the Author

Vernon E. Jordan, Jr, a major figure in the American civil rights movement, is now a managing director of the investment firm Lazard Frères & Co. -- Annette Gordon-Reed, author of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings , is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School and a professor at New York Law School.

From AudioFile

Jordan came to national attention as a civil rights leader--head of the Voter Education Project, the United Negro College Fund, and the Urban League. He is now a prominent corporate attorney and an advisor to such political figures as former President Bill Clinton. This memoir takes us from his childhood in Atlanta, Georgia, through the early 1980s. This may be a case where listening is better than reading. Jordan has a rich and melodious voice; he reads clearly, and where needed, with much emotion. It's hard to imagine a better reader of his sometimes humorous, sometimes painful, but always moving story of life before, during, and since the Civil Rights movement. R.E.K. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Edition details

• Publisher: Civitas Books
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 046503697X
• ISBN 13: 9780465036974
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 343