One
of the reasons I love my work and by extension my life, is that I come
across the most amazing people! A case in point is writer, David Grann.
By a circuitous route, I got to work with him on restoring images he
thought he would need for the book he was writing, "Killers of the Flower Moon" (link Below). It turned out he only used one of the images I restored, Tom White, Sr. (below) but it was fun being part of the process.
David Grann ~ "Killers of the Flower Moon"
photo by Styrous®
At the time I didn't know the title nor had any knowledge
whatsoever of the substance of the book but I knew the man he was writing about was an FBI agent and the grandfather of Tom Bruce White III.
I've known Tom for over forty years and had no idea of the shocking
conspiracy his grandfather
discovered as I researched the book which was published last month.
It was an educational and astonishing experience for me. What I discovered is an absolutely mind boggling true events story about a series of murders of Osage Indians.
The story follows the investigation by Tom Bruce White, Sr. an agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation at the time under J. Edgar Hoover.
This was the FBI's first major case, and a young J. Edgar Hoover wanted it solved. Hoover needed the sturdiest and most incorruptible of agents to head up the investigation. He chose Tom White, from Texas. White’s father was the local sheriff in Austin, so he grew up in a home attached to the county jail. He and two brothers eventually became Texas Rangers.
Looking for a more stable life, White became an F.B.I. agent. With the team he assembled, White went undercover, infiltrated the Osage world and exposed the reasons for the murders and who the murderers were.
There is in-depth coverage by Jon D. May about the conspiracy and results of the investigation by the FBI on the Oklahoma Historical Society website (link below).
After almost four years, the book by Grann was finally published and earlier this month, we received our copy of the book with the title page autographed by him.
My sincere thanks to Tom White III, his brother John White and his cousin Kathlene Liles who provided invaluable photographic research.
photographer unknown
photo restoration by Styrous®
used in the published edition of the book
This was the FBI's first major case, and a young J. Edgar Hoover wanted it solved. Hoover needed the sturdiest and most incorruptible of agents to head up the investigation. He chose Tom White, from Texas. White’s father was the local sheriff in Austin, so he grew up in a home attached to the county jail. He and two brothers eventually became Texas Rangers.
The Texas Rangers - 1905
Tom Bruce White, Sr., center
photographer unknown
photo restoration by Styrous®
not used in the published edition of the book
Looking for a more stable life, White became an F.B.I. agent. With the team he assembled, White went undercover, infiltrated the Osage world and exposed the reasons for the murders and who the murderers were.
There is in-depth coverage by Jon D. May about the conspiracy and results of the investigation by the FBI on the Oklahoma Historical Society website (link below).
Tom White, Sr. with J. Edgar Hoover - September 29, 1967
photographer unknown
photographer unknown
photo restoration by Styrous®
not used in the published edition of the book
After almost four years, the book by Grann was finally published and earlier this month, we received our copy of the book with the title page autographed by him.
David Grann ~ "Killers of the Flower Moon"
title page autographed by David Grann
photo by Styrous®
My sincere thanks to Tom White III, his brother John White and his cousin Kathlene Liles who provided invaluable photographic research.
David Grann ~ "Killers of the Flower Moon"
Acknowledgement page
photo by Styrous®
"Killers of the Flower Moon" has made it onto the Book of the Month Club, which is a United States subscription-based e-commerce service that offers a selection of five new hardcover books each month to its members.
Published by PenguinRandomhouse
April 20, 2017
ISBN-13: 978-0385534246
Oklahoms’a Own ~ Revisiting The "Reign Of Terror" On The Osage Nation
Oklahoma Historical Society ~ Osage Murders
Thanks, David!
Styrous® ~ Friday, May 5, 2017
No comments:
Post a Comment
PLEASE NOTE: comments are moderated BEFORE they are posted so DO NOT appear immediately.
Thank you.