"In his quest for the truth about his iconic father and uncle and how the struggle that took their lives shaped his own, Jonathan Peter Jackson, Jr. has produced an epic story of family, race, enigmatic literary and political worlds, and the incalculable cost of revolution. Part memoir, part history, part novel, Notes of a Radical Son is a work of art: beautiful, honest, tragic, and unsettling. Destined to be a classic." --Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original "This fascinating and beautiful book by Jonathan Jackson Jr. lays bare some of the intimate and personal dimensions of the heroic Black freedom fighters of the 1960s.

From time with Jacques Derrida in Paris to the lovely Afeni Shakur (Tupac's precious mother), this fast-paced text brings to life a journey of a writer dedicated to the life of the mind and the world of an imploding empire." --Cornel West "This is a captivating coming of age story and epic family history at once. A gorgeously written journey through the crossroads of the twentieth century, as crumbling empires and freedom dreams collide, Notes of a Radical Son is filled with heroic figures of of twentieth-century social movements and intellectual life, yet it is also tender and intimate in its rendering of a global childhood with a deeply American root. It is an essential, masterful, and unforgettable book." --Imani Perry, author of Breathe: A Letter to My Sons "Through captivating novel-like storytelling, Jonathan Peter Jackson, Jr. shows the impact of his father's and uncle's violent deaths on him, the child unborn, through memories and experiences slowly unveiled to him and through things still unknown. His is a multigenerational family saga navigated through poverty, racism, and endless displacements, and candid, disturbing reflections on life and revolution." --Diane C.

Fujino, author of Black Power Afterlives: The Enduring Significance of the Black Panther Party "Jonathan Peter Jackson, Jr.'s Notes of a Radical Son is past and future braided into the present. More than memoir, more than history, it is a multilayered story that also weaves the dynamics of race, injustice, and working-class angst into a spellbinding narrative worthy of revolutionary minds." --Luis J. Rodriguez , author of Hearts & Hands: Creating Community in Violent Times.