The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace Book Reviews

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Rob Peace. A troubling look into a troubled life. The book raised a lot of questions in my mind about how many lives seem disposable all across this great land. The author did a great job of introducing Rob to a large audience. May Rob rest in peace. Finally.

Insightful look into urban culture. We'll done Mr. Hobbs! Couldn't put this book down.

A painfully difficult read. There were times when I almost wanted to stop reading this book! The title alone let's you know that Rob is going to die young. The writer makes you want to shake Rob and say "what the hell are you thinking, man?" Nevertheless, it was a great story! Probably could have been written a bit better but I live a good story!

Addiction. The tragedy of addiction afflicts people regardless of sex, race, intelligence, income, or geography. My take away is that addiction is what brought down this special young man. The author painted a very descriptive narrative of the protagonist in his book, speaking at great length of his family, traits, etcetera, but never addressed the affliction of addition.

Great book. I couldn't put it down. Greek tragedy set in modern times. A must read.

Hits So Close To Home. As someone who was raised in Newark, born 2 months after Rob, trained for high school sports at Saint Benedict’s, is a police officer who often works directly across the street from Saint Benedict’s in the courthouse in which Skeet was convicted, and is all too familiar with the community in which Rob lived; this book hits incredibly close to home. I would like to thank the author for capturing the the community as well as sharing with us the story of Rob‘s life.

Really great book to read. I had to read this book for a college course at UNLV regarding motivation for school, and life courses after a college education etc. Although I find the ending to be so sad, I did think that it was a great book to read. It really puts into perspective what families go through to get to college, where their family is from, how people and places influence you, how hard single mothers have to work to get their son out of the bad neighborhood influences, etc. I own this in a physical copy and I do recommend this book to read for sure.

The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace. Excellent done! Although a tragic story, one that contains a myriad of "life-long" lessons.

Short & Tragic Life of Robert Peace. Solid writing about an incredibly sad story....that had no where to go but where it went. Such a talent wasted was Shawn Peace; the incredible good things he should have been able to accomplish in his short life. Yet the pull of his past was too strong. Nature vs nurture??? Still, a losing battle. Tragic. But beautifully researched & written.

Untrustworthy. Untrustworthy biography from a struggling writer from Yale. Paints the Peace family in a negative and inauthentic light. The book is only interesting because of the ridiculous subject matter - Yale grad turned low level drug dealer gets murdered. But the author doesn't really know Rob Peace and, therefore, does a terrible job at portraying Rob Peace. I don't recommend this biography to anyone. It's simply the author's subpar job at trying to get money to pay off student loans. Too bad the image of Rob Peace suffers along the way.

The short and tragic life of Robert peace. I hope this book will become required reading for high school students and teachers. Having taught myself in an academic magnet school with a predominantly white population intermingled with academically talented black and minority students, I never really understood the struggles required for these students to fit into both worlds. This book captures that struggle and also captures the enormous pull to return to a world that is known. Heart and home, even if it is poverty, drugs and gangs, is difficult to replace. The better more secure world is a world you don't really know or feel a part of.

AMAZING. I have the physical book and I couldn't put it down. I received it as a Christmas gift almost 2 years before I read it and let me just say I was missing out. This book was amazing. I laughed, I cried, I felt like I knew him. I've lived and grown up in New Jersey all my life and the fact that all of this took place no more than 30 minutes away from me breaks my heart even more. Rest In Peace Rob Peace. ❤

Brilliant young man. This was a wonderful book but with a tragic end. If only we were all more like Shawn. So smart, caring and a hard worker. His mother raised a great man. We all make mistakes and no one is ever perfect. We all need to realize how lucky we are and how we are raised. Life is so short and we take so many things for granted. We the public are also quick to judge others and we never look at judging ourselves. Jeff, thank you so much for telling us this story. Has there been any arrests? It seems like the police just shoved this under the rug. Someone out there knows something and hopefully it will come out. Maybe dateline or 20/20 will pick this up. Hopefully whoever ended Shawn's life is feeling very guilty and regret.

A Must Read!. There aren't words sufficient to describe what an incredible read I discovered when coming across this book. So well written that I found myself stopping to pick up the phone multiple times per day to encourage others to take the journey through Robert Peace's life. No matter who you are, you're sure to find remnants of your life intertwined in his, or those who shaped his life, in some way. A great insight into the psyche of someone who's story is a reflection of many of our nation's youth.

The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace. All I read is non-fiction and I have read hundreds of books. This book was so well written, so incredibly interesting, that you felt like you were walking along side Rob all thru the book. I could not put this book down. A hard to believe true story, so sad that you had to keep telling yourself that this a true story. Thank you.

Absolutely Stunning!!!. This is a MUST read for absolutely everyone!!!! I could not put this book down from the first word to the very last and enjoyed it all immensely!! This book is nothing short of Amazing!!!

Good book. I chose this book based on the title and premise alone. It was well written and shows the internal struggle of a young man in a rough city. I was amazed by his goals and upset with his choices all of which culminated into tragedy.

A Brilliant Telling of a Complicated Story. Jeff Hobbs has done an incredible job of telling the story of Robert "Shawn" Peace. His friendship with Rob doesn't cloud his objectivity and he tells the story as it happened from the voice of those involved. A truly gifted writer telling an incredible and moving story of a real life lived and ended too soon.

Amongst Those. I personally would like to thank Jeff for telling this remarkable story........ A story that's rare but not totally uncommon in the black community. My best friend (since 1967) had a much similar story. He was a blessed with a photographic memory, great charisma, street smarts beyond his years and an inspiration to all who knew him. Like Rob, his genius allowed him to academic excellence in high school and college. His street smarts made him a lot of money. Like Rob, he just couldn't make the transition...... Like Rob, his life ended prematurely and tragically. He died of a suicidal drug overdose the same year (1979) we graduated from college. I finished this book through tear filled eyes. I ending up loving Rob as I loved my friend and was heart broken all over again. Thanks Jeff,,,,,,,for Rob was amongst those with a very special and rare gift..........the gift of being a genuinely great person.

The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace. Hopeful, then sad.

Perfect title. I honestly wasn't prepared to like this book as much as I did. I had never heard of Robert Peace so why would someone want to write a book about some guy who lived (and died) in Newark, NJ? Well, let me tell you, from the moment his parents meet and this little boy us born, you're rooting for him, you become attached (almost responsible) for him and react to the sadness and horrors of his childhood. So much weight this little boy carries with him straight into manhood who doesn't, or can't, see the hole he's spiraling into. Tragic is his life and tragic is his death. I want to thank DaJeff for putting the puzzle of his life into a book that is so worth reading.

Excellent. Good read. I recommend this book.

Product of Newark. This man went to my high school years before me & every faculty member spoke very highly of him. It's a shame that young brothers still can't shake the call of the streets. I for one, can say Newark isn't friendly but it's safe to say that the best you make of it, the easier life can.

One of the best & saddest stories I've ever read. Was lucky enough to spot this in my little Florence, CO library. It was so well written & the story so gripping, I fell in love with reading all over again. I had been plodding through books, not as interested, not finishing, etc., due to major life changes. As a lifelong voracious reader, this book was just the thing I needed to change it around & I am now re-reading some of my favorite authors' titles. Thank you Jeff Hobbs.

The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace. The paradox of Robert Peace is the promise and paradox of our nation. We are a nation of people with hopes and dreams of a better future. But the Devil is in the details. Those hopes and dreams are too often left unrealized. As some citizens enjoy the privileges of the promise, so far many more reach for the promise but are defeated by forces beyond their control. There are no easy resolutions to the disparities wrought by race, class and economic inequalities. For many, these are invisible in their lives. For far too many of us, they are all too visible, tangible and too often deadly. The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace is the tale of a good man, a gifted man, a well educated and well loved man who could not escape the forces of poverty, ignorance, greed and hate.

Captivating. I bought this book because I mentor 2 young boys in Baltimore city whom are bright and hopefully college bound. My job as I see it is to remove them from the block as much as possible so that the opportunity to gain outweighs the magnet that the ghetto possesses. In any event this book is masterfully written, I couldn't put it down.

A riveting and important biography. What will be your legacy? This book is a great reminder that tomorrow is guaranteed for no one, no matter how intelligent.

Rob Peace. While I thought the start of this book very interesting, it began to get more and more dragged out. Tragic life, in some ways. But necessary, in no way. From my perspective, a totally wasted gift that Rob threw away. He seemed to have every chance to give himself and his mother a good life, but he refused ultimately to let go of the baggage. The only person I felt sorry for in this story was his mother. She was the one who gave all and never had a chance.

Riveting, but missing something. I listened to the audiobook for hours because a friend who recommended the book mistakenly alluded to his death by suicide and that was puzzling. I listened to a well written and highly descriptive portrait of two communities, both of which I know, as a Yale graduate and faculty at Rutgers Newark. I expected this vivid portrayal of a brilliant, caring, streetwise young man to descend into depression, rumination, guilt and the suicide that I was expecting. As the author stated, “we didn’t know Rob.” It seems to me that his risk taking and indifference to danger were a slow suicide fueled by guilt over his father, his sense of being the outsider at Yale, his anger at the racism he constantly experienced, as well as depression and addiction. Although these feelings can be inferred from the vivid chronicle of events in his life, the absence of Rob’s introspection and meaningful dialogue with friends and family lead us wondering what was really going on inside of Rob Peace.

To the point. A sweet tragic story of what it was like to live and die in the oranges next to Newark, NJ. Growing up super smart, poor and black. This is a story well told. It was a good read of a good story. The “on and on” background dissertations from time to time seemed to me as if the author was putting as many words as possible on the page. This did not further my enjoyment of the read. I felt I needed to plow thru to the other side of these to many words to get to the rest of the story. Bravo on this second published book by this author. Perhaps your third could be more direct and to the point.

What an appropriate title for a book!!. I read the book wanting not to get to the end because of the outcome. Thank you for painting a full and complete picture of a complex and tragic young man. So sad

Thank you. Thank you, for telling such an amazing story. Bringing Rob's life to the world, I will be sharing this book with all my friends. Also, I'll be buying the hard copy to keep on my bookshelf so my son can read it when he's older.

SO GOOD!. It's such a tragic story... I couldn't put it down until the end.

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