American Time Bomb: Attica, Sam Melville, and a Sons Search for Answers, Joshua Melville

Few stories are more central to understanding our history of racially biased incarceration and violent social activism than the life of Sam Melville. Melville was both reviled and admired as one of the most feared radicals in post-World War II history. His importance in the 1960s is widely recognized by historians and scholars as epitomizing the controversies, the promise, and the problems of the New Left.

This memoir by Melvilles son opens a window into the personal life of a legend, revealing the universal and all-too-human foibles motivating those driven to make change through violence. In the current political climate, at the fiftieth anniversary of the Attica Uprising, this nation grows increasingly interested in the racially biased incarceration and violent social activism that has shaped our nation.

There are few stories more central to both subjects than the life of Sam Melville, who was often called the Mad Bomber. American Time Bomb is a sons personal portrait based on years of investigation of Melvilles story and the history he helped to create.