In her Fire in a Canebrake, Laura Wexler describes a major event in mid-20th century American race relations, long relegated to the closet of the American conscience. In doing so, Wexler not only deftly describes the event – ​​the 1946 Moore Ford lynching – but incorporates it into our understanding of the present world and the past, retaining the complexity of doubt and deception that surrounded the event when occurred, and that still confuses it in historical documents. By also deftly navigating these currents of deception, Wexler is able to not only represent them to the reader in full form, but also historicize this confusing documentation in the context of some larger historical truths. In this way, and by refusing to give in to the desire to conclude by drawing easy but inherently flawed conclusions about the individuals directly responsible for the 1946 lynching, Wexler demonstrates that she is more interested in the larger historical picture than in the single event to which she refers. dedicates his text. And, in doing so, he rebukes the doubts of those who question the importance of "bringing into light" lynching, giving his writing a powerful motivation and purpose that supports his narrative and the public's attention to it . This motivation and purpose are most prominently evident in the quality of Wexler's writing, made exceptional by his scrupulous awareness throughout the text, first, of such fundamental aspects as setting and character introduction, and, secondly , of the overarching threads, for example, of national and state politics, which set the broader stage for the story. In her text, Wexler briefly mentions a leading NAACP figure, Walter White, underscoring his biting statements regarding lynching, a... means of paper... illusions, not just about who the lynchers are. they were, but also regarding the identity of the victims (230) and, worst of all, whether or not the central issues of Moore's Ford lynching have been resolved, and have passed. In this sense, the conclusion on these issues encourages falsehood, precludes justice, and causes the public to let go of things that should not be let go – and this, aside from the lynching itself, is one of the greatest possible mistakes (244 ). It is by refusing to conclude, then, that Laura Wexler achieves the greatest success in her extraordinary narrative, and is able to successfully navigate the lies and deceptions of a confusing historical event by skillfully presenting them in the context of larger historical truths. , Laura. 2003. Reed Fire: The Last Mass Lynching in America. Scribe; 2004. Print