Book Review: The short and tragic life of Robert Peace: A brilliant young man who left Newark for the Ivy League

• DOI: 10.1177/0734016815570475
• Author: Matthew P. West,Timothy Griffin
• Published date: 01 June 2015
• Date: 01 June 2015
• Subject Matter: Book Reviews

throughout the book in a sensible manner. Generally speaking, the author was able to depict a hard-

to-reach population to express the way of life of drug robbers.

In conclusion, the book offers the backgrounds of drug robbers—stickup kids—primarily

through the tales of two participants, in which certain behaviors of these criminals were attempted

to be explained through sociological theoretical concepts. This book is strongly recommended to

those who are interested in the lifestyles of drug robbers, particularly of Latin descent, especially

young readers as this was a quick, intriguing read. Taken into consideration, t here is a greater

emphasis on personal tales than theoretical explanations, which produces a greater connection

with the participants, which is further enhanced by the Spanish dialogue. The book does not con-

tain heavy theoretical jargon and presents itself in an understandable manner for those laypeople

wishingtoreadthebook.

Hobbs, J. (2014).

The short and tragic life of Robert Peace: A brilliant young man who left Newark for the Ivy League.

New York, NY: Scribner. 416 pp., $27.00, ISBN 1476731902

Reviewed by: Matthew P. West and Timothy Griffin, University of Nevada, Reno, NE, USA

DOI: 10.1177/0734016815570475

In The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy

League (2014), author and biographer Jeff Hobbs recounts the life and untimely death of his friend

and former roommate at Yale University, Robert Peace. Beginning as the quintessential rags to

(possible) riches story, an extremely intelligent and disciplined Robert Peace struggles to over-

come the obstacles placed before him: poverty, a father in prison for murder, and a premature

necessity for autonomy in a world of limited opportunity and racial exclusion for the young

African American male. Peace, in many ways, inhabits two separate lives, each somewhat mod-

eled after his respective parents. His father was a smart, respected, and resourceful drug dealer

eventually convicted of a brutal double homicide. Although never explicitly stated, Robert’s

deep-seated connection with his father is illustrated in part by his obsession with proving his

father’s innocence. Although Robert inhabits his father’s life, he inhabits his mother’s dreams.His

mother, stoical concerning her own disadvantages, works a succ ession of mundane jobs and fore-

goes most luxuries in hopes of securing a different trajectory for her son—specifically, higher edu-

cation and a life outside East Orange, New Jersey.

Due in large part to his mother’s efforts, Peace attends a private high school and excels acade-

mically and athletically, competing impressively in water polo, despite having never previously

been taught to swim. A donor to the high school is so impressed by Rob that he offers to pay for

his college tuition, and, after graduation, Rob attends Yale University. The shadow of his father soon

casts itself, however, as Rob begins dealing substantial amounts of marijuana to a receptive Yale

student body. Nonetheless, he ostensibly fulfills his mother’s dreams for him, pursuing a degree

in molecular biophysics and biochemistry.

The majority of the money he makes from dealing he saves or uses to support his ever-struggling

mother. After he graduates, he uses part of his savings to move to Brazil; the event serves as a cusp

preceding his steady decline. Upon returning, he finds himself broke and begins to drift: He becomes

a teacher at his old high school, an employee at an airport, and, of course, he continues to deal mar-

ijuana. In the end, he falls far short of the expectations and hopes of his mother, his friends, his

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