Thomas Peele

"A complex, carefully constructed story of the development of the Black Muslim Movement and one of its most notorious leaders" - Kirkus Reviews

An "eye-opening narrative about radical religion and its consequences.Peele renders characters and scenes with rich detail and his chronicle of events surrounding Bailey's death unfolds with the seamlessness of a fictional thriller, would that were the case" - Publisher's Weekly

A "riveting account. Peele examines the broader context of the Black Muslim movement; the troubled socioeconomics of Oakland, where the cult recruited young black men , particularly ex-offenders looking for jobs; and the courage of a Black journalist willing to take on the Beys" - Booklist

A "riveting odyssey ... The intersection of three powerful stories:" the Beys, Chauncey Bailey, and the police - Essence Magazine

"This is totally chilling, incredibly strange material, and the book is sweeping, site-specific, and compulsively readable." - The Observer's Very Short List


About Killing the Messenger \| Blog \| About Thomas Peele \| The Chauncey Bailey Project \| Media \| Selected Source Documents
Reviews and appearances: CSPAN's BookTV Investigative reporter Thomas Peele talked about his book in which he recounts the murder of journalist Chauncey Bailey on August 2, 2007 in Oakland, California. San Francisco Chronicle: 'Killing the Messenger,' by Thomas Peele: review When journalist Chauncey Bailey was shot to death on a downtown Oakland street corner in broad daylight on Aug. 2, 2007, he became the first American journalist in a generation who was murdered stateside for doing his job. But as Thomas Peele argues in his urgent new book "Killing the Messenger: A Story of Radical Faith, Racism's Backlash, and the Assassination of a Journalist," Bailey's death isn't primarily a story about journalism. Instead, his murder was the inevitable end to a three-decade reign of terror perpetrated on the people of Oakland by the Nation of Islam offshoot cult that ran the health food store called Your Black Muslim Bakery. KQED Radio: Forum with Michael Krasny (radio appearance) We talk with Peele about his book, "Killing the Messenger: A Story of Radical Faith, Racism's Backlash, and the Assassination of a Journalist." Alice 97.3: Thomas Peele's "Killing The Messenger" Investigative journalist Thomas Peele works for the Bay Area News Group and is a lecturer at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism. His new book is "Killing the Messenger: A Story of Radical Faith, Racism's Backlash, and the Assassination of a Journalist." Listen to my interview with Thomas KPCC: "Killing the Messenger" investigates the murder of journalist Chauncey Bailey Five years ago in Oakland, journalist Chauncey Bailey was gunned down while working on a story for the Oakland Post. He was investigating the Your Black Muslim Bakery - later revealed to be a front for a variety of illegal activities. It was run by a cult-like group - an offshoot of The Nation of Islam. KALW: "Killing the Messenger": an investigation into the death of Chauncey Bailey (radio appearance) Thomas Peele was a reporter on what became known as The Chauncey Bailey Project. He's written a new book called Killing the Messenger about Bailey's murder and the history behind a Black Muslim cult that was tolerated by Oakland officials for decades. Peele sat down to talk about his work with KALW's criminal justice editor, Rina Palta. The (Youngstown) Vindicator: "Killing the Messenger" traces the roots of Black Muslim cult (review) In "Killing the Messenger," author Thomas Peele starts with a murder and digs around it until he has unearthed the history of the Black Muslim movement. He uncovers a story of America that only cracked the surface when a reporter was gunned down on an Oakland, Calif., street in 2007. The author is an investigative journalist for a newspaper in the East Bay area, which surrounds Oakland. As such, the story of Chauncey Bailey - who was killed by members of the Black Muslim cult - was right in his wheelhouse and he hit it out of the park. Kam Williams: Killing The Messenger Book Review Any Western journalist who's honest will admit that they're scared to write anything critical about Islam, since it doesn't take much to make a mullah put a price on your head. Consider the recent history. Everyone from novelist Salman Rushdie to Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard have had to go into hiding because of all the death threats they received after publishing material Muslims deemed offensive. And Dutch director Theo van Gogh was stabbed to death by a disgruntled fundamentalist because he made a movie about honor killings and other forms of violence still being perpetrated against innocent females in the name of Allah. Zuri Berry: In review: Thomas Peele's "Killing the Messenger" fills in the details To be a journalist and not know the story of Chauncey Bailey is tantamount to being a presidential candidate and not know the implications of Roe v. Wade. Surprisingly, its embarrassing how many journalists don't know Bailey's tale. And fewer know the details. That's why Thomas Peele's new book "Killing the Messenger: A story of radical faith, racism's backlash, and the assassination of a journalist" is such an important tome. It provides the background necessary for future historical context on a number of subject matters, including the exhaustively reported reasons why Bailey was murdered. And in true respect to the's book subtitle, the details of the murder and the culprits behind it spell out the radical history that influenced the violence against Bailey and the attack on the first amendment in doing so. Studio SPJ Podcast: Studio SPJ with Thomas Peele Bailey, the 57-year-old editor of the Oakland Post, was shot to death on Aug. 2, 2007 as he walked to work. The book tells the story of Bailey's murder, the history of the Black Muslim movement and the Oakland cult that his killers belonged to.	Read an excerpt from Killing the Messenger Buy Killing the Messenger From reviews of the book: "A complex, carefully constructed story of the development of the Black Muslim Movement and one of its most notorious leaders" - Kirkus Reviews An "eye-opening narrative about radical religion and its consequences.Peele renders characters and scenes with rich detail and his chronicle of events surrounding Bailey's death unfolds with the seamlessness of a fictional thriller, would that were the case" - Publisher's Weekly A "riveting account. Peele examines the broader context of the Black Muslim movement; the troubled socioeconomics of Oakland, where the cult recruited young black men , particularly ex-offenders looking for jobs; and the courage of a Black journalist willing to take on the Beys" - Booklist A "riveting odyssey ... The intersection of three powerful stories:" the Beys, Chauncey Bailey, and the police - Essence Magazine "This is totally chilling, incredibly strange material, and the book is sweeping, site-specific, and compulsively readable." - The Observer's Very Short List Contact Thomas Peele Thomas Peele is represented by Elizabeth Evans at the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency.