While the Mississippi and Hudson Merge : A roman à Clef

‘I have written this book in the sincere hope that young African-Americans will read of Landsman Wilson Brown’s heroics and one day be inspired to write about some other little known African-American United States Naval hero, so that our impressive history as a people of struggle can be eventually freed from the prison of international historical obscurity.’ —Brandon Astor Jones Brandon Astor Jones is a remarkable person. He had only a very spotty education, not finishing the eighth grade. As a young man he became involved in a burglary/robbery that ended in a fatal shooting. He was convicted as an accomplice to the murder. By virtue of an astonishing amount of reading, he has become self educated – an autodidact. He is now a learned man. His essays on current topics have been published widely in Australia, the United Kingdom and America. He has now written this intriguing novel, a roman á clef, combining an actual episode in history with rich, imaginative fiction. Wilson Brown, an escaped slave, was indeed awarded the Congressional Medal of Honour for his heroic actions under the Command of Rear Admiral David Glasgow Farragut during the Battle of Mobile Bay. The novel depicts most graphically the life of African-Americans under slavery. Just as Wilson Brown was able to preserve his dignity and worth as a human being under extraordinarily trying circumstances, so too has Brandon resurrected his authentic self-hood.—Clifford J. Straehley, M.D., California, USA