Riveting ... Freedman tells a surprising and rare history of Black and Jewish Americans fighting against racism and antisemitism, often side by side, in a Northern city before the civil rights era. His brilliant profiles of these local heroes are gripping and, in many ways, the spine of the book ... Freedman gives us a dramatic retelling of the backdoor dealings at the convention over the language of a civil rights plank.
Appealing ... Freedman offers an intimate and fine-grained depiction of Humphrey’s early life and fledgling political career, as well as a revealing portrait of Minneapolis, a city of both gut-wrenching racism and creative civil rights initiatives ... Mining an archival trove of personal letters, Freedman renders Humphrey as a torn young man ... Weaves in the stories of two of Humphrey’s allies.
Freedman's account, with its you-are-there immediacy, will absorb history enthusiasts and anyone interested in the early years of the civil rights movement. He restores Humphrey to his rightful place in American politics, and reminds readers that America's battles over access and equality have deep roots in a long, anguished past.
This is a big claim to make of the man and the moment, so it is to Mr. Freedman’s credit that by and large he makes his case thoughtfully and persuasively. It helps that he is such a fine writer, telling his story with clarity and empathy ... Mr. Freedman nicely balances the drama of the convention hall with the broader postwar context of civil rights. He spends a lot of time, to good effect, detailing the shocking extent of racial prejudice and anti-Semitism in 1940s Minneapolis and within the Democratic Party. Only at the end of his narrative is the reader left wanting more. What happened after the speech is sketched out in just 20 or so pages of epilogue.
Scrupulous and involving ... A deep-breath kind of spotlight, a much-needed assessment of the man and his lifelong passions ... Freedman’s book is elaborately sourced and annotated. His Acknowledgements section starts out silly and quickly becomes preposterous ... But the finished product speaks for itself: short of a full-dress volume to enhance or supplant Arnold Offner’s thoroughly excellent biography from 2018, this is the best insight into Humphrey’s true significance in the new century.
Gripping ... Freedman’s powerful and well-documented account makes a strong case for Humphrey’s rehabilitation. Yet he ends too abruptly to explain the Minnesotan’s legacy ... But Freedman’s reassessment of Humphrey’s beginnings is a valuable starting point to more effectively assess his contributions to American life.
Freedman opens and closes the book with vignettes about Humphrey’s later life, including his accomplishments as a U.S. senator, the criticism he endured for supporting the Vietnam war, his campaign against Richard Nixon in the 1968 presidential election after a tumultuous nominating convention in Chicago that catalyzed riots and police brutality, and his struggle with cancer. An illuminating look at an important yet overlooked facet of American history.
Incisive ... The behind-the-scenes details of turning points throughout Humphrey’s career are captivating. Policy wonks will revel in absorbing glimpses of Sam Rayburn’s parliamentary wizardry, Dixiecrats’ machinations, and Harry Truman’s back-and-forth support for desegregation. The workings of journalism and politics in the pre-television, pre-internet age, when national conventions were a hotbed of political action, with millions of people captivated by their radio broadcasts, are also conveyed. Into the Bright Sunshine is astute in capturing pivotal moments in American political history.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay[/caption]
