Snow-Storm in August: The Struggle for American Freedom and Washington's Race Riot of 1835 Paperback – Illustrated, April 9, 2013

I was unfamiliar with Mr. Morley's CIA books when I accidently discovered and read this fascinating history. The details which he must have gleaned from contemporary news accounts, private correspondence and legal records add a setting, historical and physical to this really outstanding work.It is thrilling to read his style which isn't that of an armchair scholar but more like a narrative of Capote-like true crime. His dogged research combined with his skillful writing bring life to these little known events.Snowstorm is a departure from Morley's usual topics but it is such an outstanding piece of work that it makes me want to call out for more history revealed and explained from America's past.I will now read some of Mr. Morley's other work but I will long for more attention and appreciation for Snowstorm so that he might turn his hand to similar events of the past.

A well written book about a forgotten, and bloody time in the history of America - in Washington, D. C. When most Americans and foreigners hear the term "riots" the images of the 1968 riots, and more recent riots (incited by African Americans) are conjured up; but, America has a long history of riots that were incited by whites against other non-white ethnic groups. For example, the Snow Riots is about the Irish rioting and destroying African American businesses. As citizens of the world, we must know the whole story of any country - pleasant or unpleasant - if we're to make this a better world for all children. PS: this book is a good companion to reading about the Bloody Red Summer (riots) during the early 1900s - Jim Crow Era.

The book focuses on Washington in the 1830s and the tensions that developed with the abolition movement. The book follows Beverly Snow, Francis Scott Key, and the Anna Thornton household, and has some digressions to tie in historic figures of the day. The stories interlink and provide details of everyday life in the capital city. For the most part, Morley presents what he knows and when he has to speculate, makes clear what is surmise vs fact. The storytelling is done well and has prompted me to read more about some of the characters and events that get referenced.I wonder if Morley wrote this book sequentially. During the first half he used a few too many clever turns of phrase. No, the advertisement was not committed to hot lead -- that printing process had not been invented. Some phrases just seemed unnecessarily sesquipedalian. Sometimes I felt that Morley wanted to make sure that I knew that his Verbal SAT was much better than mine. I had to look up the following:demimondefaro banktendentioustraducedcofflesaluybriousjacoseclaquesexecratedI thought that the writing got better as the book progressed -- perhaps Morley was caught up in the stories. I certainly did.

Jeff Morley did a terrific job of making history read like a novel and most importantly, bringing to light a little known part of slave/black history. The book gives also a picture of what our nation's capital (Washington City) was like in the 1830s. Fascinating picture of life in those times with characters like Francis Scott Key who I knew little about save his writing of the Star Spangled Banner. Morley uses the diary of Anna Thornton most effectively to accurately reflect the goings on of the time. I highly recommend this book -- for ficton and non-fiction readers alike

I do not often write book reviews... I think this might be my first since high school. I first learned of the book when I heard the author on the Kojo Nnamdi show last year. I love history, and I love DC and I really love DC history especially the hidden history of the city. The history that is not part of most text books that focus on big names and big moments. Sometimes the most interesting stories are of ordinary people going about there ordinary lives that get caught up in giant moments in time. And that is exactly what Snow-Storm in August captures. A city and nation in transition. Work keeps me very busy but I found the story so captivating I finished it in 3 nights because I could not put it down. If you like to learn history, then you will like this book.

This book brings to life a time in our American history which is not well known but is important. It gives us an understanding of the effect of slavery on America and especially Washington, D.C. in the 1830's. The conflict between slave owners and the abolitionist movement was beginning to build. This conflict would be one of the causes which lead to the Civil War.The book is well written and very readable. I recommend it.

The title of the book overstated the story line: it seemed more like a narrative profile of 4 main characters. However, it was ultimately informative as to America's racial climate in the mid 1800s, and revealing as to Francis Scott Key's intellectual keenness, political astuteness, and his greatly flawed moral code of racism. Morey's account deconstructed my positive image of Keys, which I have shared with my grandchildren. I enjoyed the author's account of Beverly Snow's epicurean talents, as did my Men's Book and Gourmet Group.

A phenomenal look at what one might call the "adolescent" years of the nation's capital, its growing pains, as it were, while the city and its residents -- on both sides of the racial divide -- deal with the racial baggage that accompanied them when they settled in what they all believed would be the seat of a progressive government of the still-young union. Very much worth a read.