All God's Children: The Bosket Family and the American Tradition of Violence

This is really two books in one, though they are tied together seamlessly. On the one hand, the book is a fascinating and detailed true crime study of Willie Bosket, New York State's most notorious criminal and considered to be their most violent and dangerous prison inmate. On the other hand it's a study of the origins of violence in America. Amazingly, the author was able to trace Willie Bosket's ancestry back to his slave ancestors, and in so doing trace the escalating evolution of violence and criminality in each succeeding generation of the Bosket family. The book begins in pre-Revolutionary times with a study of white violence in the region of North Carolina where Willie's ancestors were enslaved. The author persuasively argues that the primary origin of black violence is the tradition of white violence that was transferred to them from their former slave owners. For those who want to delve even deeper into the origins of this same tradition of violence as it existed with the Scotch-Irish in England and imported by immigrants to America's Southern Highlands in the 17th Century, see "Albion's Seed." If you saw Zell Miller's keynote address to the Republican Convention, and/or his subsequent interview with MSNBC's Chris Matthews, you saw a perfect example of this tradition of Southern Highlander violence. This book is a definite page-turner!

During the time when i read this book I was not just learning about a stranger but and actually part of me. I found out after the completion of the book that this was a story about my family's history. I founded the book to interesting and helpful. I read the book last year when I was seventeen. After reading it I passed it all to my peers hoping that they could learn something about themselves as well. I feel that this is a great book not for just African- American teens but all growing up and struggling in the inner-city. Also, this book should be as a tool to use in a social sciences classes. Because it helps people understand the differences between different ethnic groups. It answers alot of the questions that people have today. There is always a debate about slavery and the effects it caused. People argued that its in the past and it time to move on, but fail to realize that it still affects those same people who have yet to even come close to understanding who they are and where their from. All Gods Children is one part of the bridge that is being built to understand our surroundings and I'll recommend this book to any person that is willing to grow.

Excellent depiction of what the juvenile justice system in this country can do to a child. The historical perspective of violence has many interesting ramifications. One can argue that we can go back even further, to a time when England conquered the Scots and the Irish. Fox Butterfield has a very clear writing style, and he is non-judgmental in his prose. I recommend this book to any student, or anyone involved professionally with violence-prevention or criminology.

I borrowed this book from the library several years ago and remain so moved by it that I just ordered a copy for myself. As soon as it arrives I am going to read it again and then I will encourage every adult I know to read it. The book is poignant, illuminating, and heartwrenching. The writer's style as I recall was superb as he wrote it objectively and in a manner that allows readers to come to their own conclusions. I have never written a review of a book, and doubt I will again, but I was affected so much by this book I feel I need to let everyone know what an excellent book it is.

Fox Butterfield did an excellent job of detailing the horrific impact that past cultural, racial, and economic deprivation and oppression has had upon the lives of Americans both black and white. The Bosket Family is a sociologists dream because they fit the mold of the theory of "the trickle down effects of hatred and violence. The author details to the reader the hard truth that America has not just become a violent country it has always been a violent country and this is a truth that we as readers and citizens must come to accept and learn from. Butterfields depiction of the terrible cycle of violence within this writing is prolific, it is well documented and well researched. Five stars is must. This should be required reading for every criminal justice student in this country. Great Book!! Loved the historical background information.