The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore (2.5 stars)

This book has an interesting premise - two boys share the same name and grow up in the same rough neighbourhood in Baltimore. One becomes a Rhodes scholar and works on wall street, the other goes to gaol for shooting a cop in a jewellery robbery. Why?

Moore examines his early childhood, and that of his namesake. Some of the early passages were cringe-worthy with Moore giving a Brady-bunch portrayal of arguments between his parents:

"Wes, he needs to learn what is acceptable and what is not!" My father agreed, but with a gentle laugh, reminded her that cursing at a young boy wasn't the most effective way of making a point.

But for the most part, Moore describes both upbringings, their choices and key events, well. The author claims to not know what made the difference between his life and the other Wes, but it is fairly obvious - the upbringing, education, and (relative) wealth of his mother. When author-Wes was heading down the drugs/gangland path his mother moved neighbourhoods, worked two jobs, and eventually pooled together enough money to send him to an expensive military academy. After some initial rebellion author-Wes settled into academy life, and excelled.

In contrast, the other Wes looked up to his drug dealer half-brother, and his mother was powerless to stop his slide into dealing and violence.

An interesting book, and a pretty good first book, but it felt a little lacklustre. The author also put me off side with a self-centered brag about his travels and achievements at the end of the book:

I've climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and felt how quickly the dense Kenyan heat at the base of the mountain transforms into the chill of its snowcapped peak, where deep breaths are hard to find. I've worshiped with thousands of other Christians in the Yoido Full Gospel Church, the world's largest Christian congregation, in Seoul, Korea. And I've...

2.5 stars