Thunder of Angels: The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the People Who Broke the Back of Jim Crow [Paperback]

I have waited for a long time to read about the determination of Montgomerians, who were truly the catalyst for the American Civil Rights Movement. The Thunder of Angels tells that story in an excellent manner. Not only do we hear about the struggles and work of the heroes, the authors interview local men who were members of the Knight Riders and give us their perspective of the fight for freedom by these amazing Montgomery citizens who became the boycotters. The Knight Riders were as cowardly determined to maintain the status quo as the boycotters were determine to set themselves free. Little did the boycotters know that by gaining the right to be respected on a public bus, they were changing the world. Mr. Williams' records of court proceedings gives us a chilling look at a system that was flawed to maintain segregation. If there is a Father of the Civil Rights Movement, it is Mr. E.D. Nixon. He was a strong, determined courageous man who worked for a long time to be at the right moment in history to do his work. The involvement of Clifford and Virginia Durr, a brave white couple who risked more than any of us would consider risking to assist their fellow citizens. All of their work in the Montgomery Bus Boycott is chronicled in the incredible narrative of that historic time in 1955. We also, are reminded of the unquestionable brilliant legal mind of one of America's greatest federal judges, The Honorable Frank M. Johnson. A brilliant,young jurist who saw what was on the horizon and bravely did his job. The Durrs and Judge Johnson were victims because of their stands but continued to do what was right.

How proud I am to be a native Montgomerian looking forward to celebrating the 50th Anniversary of The Montgomery Bus Boycott in December. I was fortunate enough to have the honor of meeting some of these heroes. Mr. Williams and Mr. Greenhaw have given us a remarkable tool in The Thunder of Angels to use as a guide to celebrate the anniversary of a movement. I am proud to know that the American Civil Rights Movement began in my hometown by my neighbors and their story is told by my fellow Montgomerians.

Finally, these authors have given us the real story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. They have provided a readable, well-documented history, which stays alive through the personal stories of the participants (on all sides) of this historic struggle.

I used to be a reporter in Montgomery and have done a fair amount of research on the bus boycott, including hours of taping interviews with E.D. Nixon.

No other authors to date have done as good a job in fairly representing the contributions of ALL the people who made the boycott happen, including Nixon, who learned his organizing skills from A. Phillip Randolph's Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters; JoAnn Robinson, who courageously led efforts to publicize and organize the actions; Johnnie Carr, who still holds forth today as president of the Montgomery Improvement Association; Rosa Parks, who provided the catalyst and quiet, steel-like strength; Virginia and Clifford Durr, and other white folks of Montgomery who helped; and, of course, Revs. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Ralph David Abernathy; and the many drivers, organizers, and just plain folk who made it happen. We also learn of the level of humiliation heaped on African-American bus riders under the Jim Crow practices. But the authors also give us a rare glimpse at the mindset of those who sought to sustain the system of segregation. We ride with Ku Klux Klansmen through the streets of Montgomery, as they reminisce about their actions.

This is truly a remarkable book, and I heartily recommend it for all who are interested in this pivotal moment in American history.

Tom Gardner

Although it is pretty early in the new year I suspect that "The Thunder of Angels" just might be one of the best books I will read in 2006. Donnie Williams and Wayne Greenhaw have the uncanny knack of transporting the reader right back into the middle of the historic events that were taking place in Montgomery, Al back in 1955 and 1956. More importantly, the authors introduce us to E.D.Nixon, a humble Pullman car porter and largely unknown figure up to this point, who in myriad ways over a period of two decades helped to create what we all know today as the civil rights movement in America. "The Thunder of Angels" reveals the untold story of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. You cannot help but be struck by the courage and determination displayed by so many people during those troubled times in Alabama's Capitol city.

If ever there was an unlikely figure to lead such a historic movement it was E.D Nixon. As a young man he learned first hand the hard life of a sharecropper. Determined to make a better life for himself, E.D. Nixon found work as a baggage porter in Mobile in the mid 1920's. Shortly thereafter he landed a job as a Pullman car porter. The new job gave young Mr. Nixon the opportunity to travel to a great many U.S. cities including Chicago, St. Louis, San Francisco and New York. Growing up in a segregated city like Montgomery, he naturally assumed that Negroes were treated in the same way everywhere else. But in his travels he discovered that this simply was not the case. He saw firsthand that blacks were faring substantially better than he had been led to believe in many towns and cities across America. He quietly vowed to do whatever he could to instigate change in this beloved Montgomery. He bided his time and in December 1955 the Rosa Parks case presented itself. Because so much of the groundwork had been laid over the years by E.D. Nixon the emerging leadership of the Black community in Montgomery as well as the black man in the street correctly sensed that the time was right to demand change in their city. It proved to be a knock-down, dragged out fight but the storied case of the Montgomery Bus Boycott would go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

I found "The Thunder of Angels" to be one of those books that I simply could not put down. This one held my interest from cover to cover. There was so much new information that I have never seen anywhere else. I learned about many courageous men and women, black and white, the famous and the not so famous who rose to the occasion and demanded an end to segregation in Montgomery. What happened there would have a profound effect on the history of race relations in America. "The Thunder of Angels" is a "must" read for all students of U.S. history. Very highly recommended!!!