“Ethelene Whitmire has presented a great gift to readers, rescuing a fascinating character from the mist of history and presenting his story in vivid detail and graceful prose. The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram more than lives up to its title, reminding us that the struggle for freedom is a tale worth telling from as many angles as possible.”
—Jonathan Eig, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for King: A Life
The dramatic and heartrending true story of one remarkable young man’s account of love in the time of war, by a celebrated historian of untold Black stories.
(Viking Press, 2026)
PRAISE
“…a vivid glimpse of queer Black life at an exceptionally tumultuous historical moment.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Ethelene Whitmire has rescued the astonishing story of an American scholar who crossed a war-torn continent and whose life was nearly erased. The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram is at once deeply researched and grippingly told, a testament to survival, love, and the human spirit.”
—Laurie Gwen Shapiro, author of The Aviator and the Showman: Amelia Earhart, George Putnam, and the Marriage that Made an American Icon
“Love, war, and madness.... A sympathetic portrait of an extraordinary man.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Russell Jordan offers a solid narration. His even voice carries the narrative along effectively without false drama.”
—Kirkus Reviewson The Remarkable Life Reed Peggram’s audiobook
“(Whitmire) recreates a lost prewar world, tracking him from the U.S. to Paris, Copenhagen and ultimately to extreme danger in Italy, showing us his intellect and charm—as well as his naivety and emotional instability.”
PRESS
The first African American to head a branch of the New York Public Library (NYPL), Regina Andrews led an extraordinary life. Allied with W. E. B. Du Bois, Andrews fought for promotion and equal pay against entrenched sexism and racism and battled institutional restrictions confining African American librarians to only a few neighborhoods within New York City.
(University of Illinois Press, 2014)