The Other Wes Moore

Two kids named Wes Moore shared much more than a name; they shared remarkably similar circumstances. Both grew up father­less and had difficult childhoods; both hung out on street corners with their crews; both ran into trouble with the police.

How, then, did one grow up to be a Rhodes Scholar, decorated veteran, White House Fellow, and leading politician, while the other became a convicted murderer serving a life sentence?
Wes Moore, the author of this fascinating book, sets out to answer this profound ques­tion.

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 featured an article about a botched armed robbery in which a police officer had been killed. Two of the suspects had gone on the run. One was named Wes Moore.

After following the case to its conclusion, Wes Moore wrote a letter to the other Wes, now a convicted murderer serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. His letter asked the questions that had been haunting him: who are you? How did this happen?

Through dozens of letters and prison visits, over the course of years, Wes discovered that the other Wes had had a life not unlike his own.

Told in alternating dramatic narratives, The Other Wes Moore takes readers from heart-wrenching losses to moments of surprising redemption, and sheds a powerful light on modern America.