Book Review~ While The World Watched

 

While the World Watched by Carolyn Maull McKinstry is the story of how the bombing of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in 1963 affected the authors life and the lives of those around her.  It is a gripping first hand view of the difficulties of living in a very racial and prejudiced south.  Carolyn McKinstry walks you through the hardships she faced when her four friends died in the church bombing.  She shows puts into words the fear she lived in and the knowledge she felt that something needed to be done to make changes.

On page 73 Ms. McKinstry writes:

Lord, can we really bear this cross?

It was one thing to turn out heads when a building had been smashed. But now four girls had died.

This event proved a pivotal point in my life and in my church, and in the nation as well.

I enjoyed reading this book.  For me, it was very informative, because it is a piece of this country’s history I didn’t know much about. I appreciated that Ms. McKinstry wrote with honesty how the bombing affected her life from her childhood through adulthood. What is most striking about this book is that through all the hardships in her life, she learned the importance of forgiveness and loving her neighbors. 

If you are interested in our nation’s history then I know you will enjoy reading this eyewitness account of a hate crime that stimulated our country to begin making changes, for the better,  in the way we related to those of African American lineage.