num_pages: 325
description: A daring and brilliant new novel that explores race and class in 1950s America witnessed through the experiences of Nat King Cole and his driver Nat WearyHoward is a talent to watch. Washington Post Book WorldThe war is over the soldiers are returning and Nat King Cole is back in his hometown of Montgomery Alabama for a rare performance. His childhood friend Nat Weary plans to propose to his sweetheart and the singer will honor their moment with a special song. But while the world has changed segregated Jim Crow Montgomery remains the same. When a white man attacks Cole with a pipe Weary leaps from the audience to defend himan act that will lead to a 10-year prison sentence. But the singer will not forget his friend and the sacrifice he made. Six months before Weary is released he receives a remarkable offer: will he be Nat King Coles driver and bodyguard in L.A.. It is the promise of a new life removed from the terror violence and degradation of Jim Crow Alabama. Weary discovers that while Los Angeles is far different from the deep South it a place of discrimination mistrust and intolerance where a black maneven one as talented and popular as Nat King Coleis not wholly welcome. An indelible portrait of prejudice and promise friendship and loyalty Driving the King is a daring look at race and class in pre-Civil Rights America played out in the lives of two remarkable men.
language: English
title: Driving the King
publisher: Harper