college of charleston Archives - fundinmentalfundinmental

MY REVIEW

I wanted to read Among The Bros by Max Marshall, mostly, because I love to see the elite face the consequences of their actions. I’m not sure that was accomplished here.

Max Marshall did his research, documented at the end of the book. He did give me many details, but the writing didn’t get me involved. I felt it was like reading a text book. It’s hard to relate to characters who feel they are entitled, that no matter what they do it’s no big deal. Just boys having fun.

I felt Max Marshall glossed over rape and murder, concentrating on the drugs and the never ending parties at the College of Charleston.

I find it interesting that so many Fortune 500 executives, Supreme Court Justices, and presidents have been fraternity members. What does that say about them, especially after reading a book like Among The Bros. AND that is why I love to read a book like Among The Bros. Is all the secrecy surrounding fraternities because the members do not want the members actions exposed? How far is too far?

The book left a bad taste in my mouth….and I expected that, so Max did deliver.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos — 3 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

A brilliant young investigative journalist traces a murder and a multi-million-dollar drug ring, leading to an unprecedented look at elite American fraternity life. When Max Marshall arrived on the campus of the College of Charleston in 2018, he hoped to investigate a small-time fraternity Xanax trafficking ring. Instead, he found a homicide, several student deaths, and millions of dollars circulating around the Deep South. He also opened up an elite world hidden to outsiders. Behind the pop culture cliches of “Greek life” lies one of the major breeding grounds of American 80 percent of Fortune 500 executives, 85 percent of Supreme Court justices, and all but four presidents since 1825 have been fraternity members. With unprecedented immersion, this book takes readers inside that bubble. Under the live oaks and Spanish moss of Travel + Leisure ’s “Most Beautiful Campus in America,” Marshall traces several “C of C” boys’ journeys from fraternity pledges to interstate drug traffickers. The result is a true-life story of hubris, status, money, drugs, and murder—one that lifts a curtain on an ecstatic and disturbing way of life. With expert pacing and a cool eye, he follows a never-ending party that continues after funerals and mass arrests. An addictive and haunting portrait of tomorrow’s American establishment, Among the Bros is nonfiction storytelling at its finest.

Genre: Biography, Memoir, Mystery, NonFiction, Sociology, True Crime
289 pages, Hardcover
First published November 7, 2023 by Harper

ABOUT MAX MARSHALL

Behind the pop culture cliches of “Greek life” lies one of the major breeding grounds of American power: 80 percent of Fortune 500 executives, 85 percent of Supreme Court justices, and all but four presidents since 1825 have been fraternity members. It is a world that most people thinktheyknow about. But what really happens behind closed doors, especially on some of America’s toniest college campuses,islargely hidden to outsiders. AMONG THE BROS: A Fraternity Crime Story (Harper Books; on sale November 7), the first book byjournalist Max Marshall,exposes this elite world,examining both its allureand dark underside.

Marshall, who has written for places like GQ, Sports Illustratedand The New York Times, arrived on the campus of the College of Charleston in 2018 as a 25-year-old fraternity alumnus hoping to write about Xanax. He intendedto investigatea small-time trafficking ringthat resulted in the arrest of 9 young individuals, most whowere students or formerstudents at the college withties to the Greek system. The group’s ringleaderwas Mikey Schmidt, a 21-year-oldmember of the Kappa Alpha fraternitywho had just been sentenced to 10 years without parole.But as Marshall started reporting,it became clear that the scope of the crimes wasfar bigger than what was made public:homicide, several student deaths,a nationwide trafficking network,and the seizure of 21 million dollars’ worthof black-marketXanax.

Telling this full story the first time, AMONG THE BROStakes readers underthe live oaks and Spanish moss ofTravel + Leisure’s “Most Beautiful Campus in America,” tracing several“C of C” boys’ journeys from fraternity pledges to interstate drug traffickers. Marshallinterviewed more than 120 people connected to the case, including Schmidtand his attorneys, fraternity and college representatives, family members of the murder victim, and many others. The result is a true-life story of hubris, status, money, drugs, and violence.