Product details
- ISBN 9781469698540
- Dimensions: 203 x 127mm
- Publication Date: 13 Oct 2026
- Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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Called a “relevant nightmare of a book” upon its publication in 1963, If We Must Die tells the story of Black Korean War veteran Will Harris and what happens when he tries to breach the color line by attempting to register to vote in the segregated South. Harris’s act of courage ignites a nightmare of racial hatred, injustice, and violent retribution. His story exposes the cost of standing up to racism and fighting for dignity. Mocked and denied his right to vote by white bigots, Harris is later fired from his factory job for “voter fraud.” The last third of the book provides a sobering reminder of the systemic racial terrorism that was, and still is, rampant in America.
Junius Edwards (1929–2008) was an Army veteran, writer, and successful advertising executive in New York City. If We Must Die is his only novel. Sharon Monteith is Distinguished Professor of American Literature and Cultural History at Nottingham Trent University.
