The author followed the FBI, the police, the Klan and Sherriff Willis McCall as if everything they said and did was ordered from the almighty and couldn't possibly be wrong. He bought the party line and didn't make any waves. He didn't do any in-depth investigating. This was an overview of a life of a man who should be honored by all the world as an icon for justice, for all men. It was a great let down that the author didn't follow the reporting that had been done previously and refrain from writing in such a mean spirited manner. At least maybe some more people will know what this brave man did and stood for. He should be likened to Nathan Hale who said "I'm sorry I have but one life to give for my country." The book didn't say it but let all citizens unite and Remember " Respectfully yours, HARRY T. MOORE." Could anything be more eloquent or brave thatn that signature?

Having moved to Brevard County in 1991, just when the Harry T. Moore murder case was back in the news, and the fact that I pass the Moore Justice Center every day, I was anxious to learn about Harry T. Moore and happily picked up a copy of this book.

Harry T. Moore and his wife Harriette were murdered on Christmas Day, 1951 when a bomb exploded beneath their bedroom at their home in Mims, Florida. At the time of his murder, Harry Moore was the Florida coordinator for the NAACP and a founder of the Progressive Voter's League. As the title of book implies, Harry Moore was before his time, including his murder. Remember this happen before Rosa Parks, before Medgar Evers, before Dr. Martin Luther King and before Brown vs. Board of Education. The murderer of the Moores has never been found.

Green traces the life of Harry Moore from childhood to teaching to his efforts in helping to lead the Civil Rights movement in Florida. Along the way Harry Moore instructed his students how to use the ballot, before African-Americans could vote and Harry Moore's efforts in the investigations of violence (re: lynching) and murders of African Americans in Florida.

The most famous case that Harry Moore investigated was the Groveland Incident. The case involved the conviction of three African-Americans in the rape of a 17-year-old woman and the subsequent killing of two of the suspects by the Sheriff of Lake County Florida, Willis McCall, in an escape attempt. All the while, Harry Moore was fighting with the NAACP national organization to retained his position in the organization.

Green's biography of Harry Moore is sparse, though a lot of it could be contributed to lack of documents related to Harry Moore's life. I felt the book would have been more complete with more details on Harry Moore's internal fight with the NAACP national office and why Harry Moore's place in the Civil Rights movement has been lost.

At the end of the book, Green spends too much time tracing down former Klan members who claimed they knew who murdered Harry Moore. However, all these statements were dead ends. Ben Green's book is a good starting point to learn about a true Civil Rights pioneer.

As a Florida native, I feel Green well captured Harry Moore's Florida. Before His Time is educational, enteraining, and most importantly disturbing. We need to know in detail not only what Moore did but what ws done to Moore - and why. Green tells us. Despite the many horrors depicted in the book - and there are many - the book is ultimately life affirming: it is good to know that there were (are?) some Harry T. Moore's who have walked among us. Bravo, Ben Green.

GREEN HAS A BIG COW COUNTRY FOLLOWING. IN OTHER BOOKS HE TELLS OF VIRTUOSO PERFORMANCES IN AUCTION HOUSES, BRUSHY PASTURES, AND SMALL TOWNS WITH FIRST MONDAY HORSE SALES. NOW WE FIND GREEN ALL GROWN UP AND WORKING IN WEST TEXAS AS A VET. WITH LABORATORY EQUIPMENT AVAILABLE DURING WORLD WAR II, HE ANALYSES NOXIOUS WEEDS, FINDS SPECIFICALLY TOXIC SUBSTANCES, AND COMPOUNDS CURES RIGHT THERE. THIS IS PROBABLY NOT POSSIBLE WITH TODAY'S RESOURCES, SO THE ACCOUNTS IN THIS BOOK DO NOT RING TRUE TO ME. I'VE WORKED CATTLE IN A BRUSHY COUNTRY AND I'VE DONE SOME ORGANIC CHEMISTRY AND THE MORE I READ OF GREEN'S DOINGS, THE MORE SKEPTICAL I BECOME. I THINK GREEN MAY HAVE WORKED US TEXAS BOYS THE WAY CARLOS CASTENADA WORKED HIPPIES.