About this item
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the governor-elect of Maryland, the "compassionate" (People) , "startling" (Baltimore Sun) , "moving" (Chicago Tribune) true story of two kids with the same name from the city: One went on to be a Rhodes Scholar, decorated combat veteran, White House Fellow, and business leader. The other is serving a life sentence in prison. Selected by Stephen Curry as his "Underrated" Book Club Pick with LiteratiThe chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his.In December 2000, the Baltimore Sun ran a small piece about Wes Moore, a local student who had just received a Rhodes Scholarship. The same paper also ran a series of articles about four young men who had allegedly killed a police officer in a spectacularly botched armed robbery. The police were still hunting for two of the suspects who had gone on the lam, a pair of brothers. One was named Wes Moore. Wes just couldnt shake off the unsettling coincidence, or the inkling that the two shared much more than space in the same newspaper. After following the story of the robbery, the manhunt, and the trial to its conclusion, he wrote a letter to the other Wes, now a convicted murderer serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. His letter tentatively asked the questions that had been haunting him: Who are you? How did this happen?That letter led to a correspondence and relationship that have lasted for several years. Over dozens of letters and prison visits, Wes discovered that the other Wes had had a life not unlike his own: Both had had difficult childhoods, both were fatherless; theyd hung out on similar corners with similar crews, and both had run into trouble with the police. At each stage of their young lives they had come across similar moments of decision, yet their choices would lead them to astonishingly different destinies.Told in alternating dramatic narratives that take readers from heart-wrenching losses to moments of surprising redemption, The Other Wes Moore tells the story of a generation of boys trying to find their way in a hostile world.
About the Author
Wes Moore is an Army combat veteran, social entrepreneur, and national bestselling author. His first book, The Other Wes Moore, became an instant New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller as a story that conveys the importance of individual decisions alongside community support.
Wes graduated Phi Theta Kappa from Valley Forge Military College and Phi Beta Kappa from Johns Hopkins University. He completed an MLitt in International Relations from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. Wes served as a paratrooper among the elite 82nd Airborne Division in the United States Army and retired as a Captain after having participated in a combat tour of duty in Afghanistan.
Wes has been featured by USA Today, TIME Magazine, People Magazine, "Meet the Press," "The Colbert Report", "The View," MSNBC, and NPR, among many others. He is a consistent news contributor to programs such as Morning Joe, Hardball with Chris Matthew, NOW with Alex Wagner, Andrea Mitchell Reports, and many others. He has also hosted programs such as "Beyond Belief" on the Oprah Winfrey Network, as well as two shows on PBS: "American Graduate Day 2014" and "Coming Back with Wes Moore", for which he was the Executive Producer.
Today, Wes Moore's mission is to help young people succeed and make the right choices through education and awareness alongside the support of their parents, teachers, and mentors. Moore is the Founder and CEO of BridgeEdU, an innovative college platform that addresses the college completion and job placement crisis. BridgeEdU reinvents the freshman year in a way that engages students in real-world internships and service-learning opportunities in addition to core academic classes.
Wes is also the author of a new book, The Work, which was released in January 2015. The Work picks up where The Other Wes Moore left off and follows Wes's journey to the point where he discovered meaning in his work through service. While detailing his own path to purpose, The Work also profiles a dozen other inspiring people who have found their mission by uplifting their communities.
Currently, Wes lives in Baltimore with his wife and two children.
