One of Jeff Hobbs’ roommates at Yale was a young black man from outside Newark, NJ. He was smart and personable, but kept to himself. He also dealt drugs the entire time he was a science major. Robert Peace lived a bifurcated life; he grew up on poor and mean streets without a live-in father and learned how to survive there and not call undue attention to himself. But he was also smart and talented so his stalwart mother worked several jobs and stinted for herself to make it possible for him to get a good education at St. Benedict’s. Later, he caught the attention of a wealthy donor who funded his 4 years at Yale.
Rob Peace’s life ended too soon and Hobbs takes it upon himself to dig deep into Peace’s childhood, his family, his friendships, his relationships with women and all the people who comprised his world from his youth through college and beyond. The book is The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace. It is a heartrending account of wasted talent and it lays bare how extremely difficult it is to overcome being poor, being black, and having no stable role models—and how one can physically leave one’s home neighborhood, but remain emotionally and mentally tied to it. I think Hobbs’ book is overly long and sometimes too detailed, but I don’t regret investing the time to read it.
