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Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights
On July 17, 1944, a massive explosion rocked the segregated Navy base at Port Chicago, California, killing more than 300 sailors who were at the docks, critically injuring off-duty men in their bunks, and shattering windows up to a mile away. On August 9th, 244 men refused to go back to work until unsafe and unfair conditions at the docks were addressed. When the dust settled, fifty were charged with mutiny, facing decades in jail and even execution.
This is a fascinating story of the prejudice that faced black men and women in America's armed forces during World War II, and a nuanced look at those who gave their lives in service of a country where they lacked the most basic rights.
"Starred Review. Sheinkin delivers another meticulously researched WWII story...[a] gripping, even horrific account of a battle for civil rights predating Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. An important chapter in the civil rights movement, presenting 50 new heroes. Ages 10-14." - Kirkus
This information about The Port Chicago 50 was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: Erica Miller
Steve Sheinkin was born in Brooklyn, NY, and his family lived in Mississippi and Colorado before moving back to New York and settling in the suburbs north of New York City. He went to Syracuse University where he studied communications and international relations. While he was there he spent a summer in Central America, where he worked on a documentary on the streets of Nicaragua. After graduating he moved to Washington, D.C., working for the National Audubon Society, before joining his brother in Austin, Texas, where they collaborated as screenwriters. After releasing their own movie he moved once again, settling in Brooklyn, NY where he began a new career editing and later writing.
Steve is the author of fast-paced, cinematic nonfiction histories, including Fallout, Undefeated, Born ...
... Full Biography
Link to Steve Sheinkin's Website
Name Pronunciation
Steve Sheinkin: SHINE-kin
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