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The Man Nobody Killed: Life, Death, and Art in Michael Stewart's New York
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The first comprehensive book about Michael Stewart, the young Black artist and model who died after an altercation with the police in 1983, from Elon Green, the Edgar Award-winning author of Last Call.
At twenty-five years old, Michael Stewart was a young Black aspiring artist, deejay, and model, looking to make a name for himself in the vibrant downtown art scene of the early 1980’s New York City. On September 15, 1983, he was brutally beaten by New York City Transit Authority police for allegedly tagging a 14th Street subway station wall.
Witnesses reported officers beating him with billy clubs and choking him with a nightstick. Stewart arrived at Bellevue Hospital hog-tied with no heartbeat and died after thirteen days in a coma. This was, at that point, the most widely noticed act of police brutality in the city's history. The Man Nobody Killed recounts the cultural impact of Michael Stewart’s life and death.
The Stewart case quickly catalyzed movements across multiple communities. It became a rallying cry, taken up by artists and singers including Madonna, Keith Haring, Spike Lee, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, tabloid legends such as Jimmy Breslin and Murray Kempton, and the pioneering local news reporter, Gabe Pressman. The Stewart family and the downtown arts community of 1980s New York demanded justice for Michael, leading to multiple investigations into the circumstances of his wrongful death.
Elon Green, the Edgar Award–winning author of Last Call, presents the first comprehensive narrative account of Michael Stewart's life and killing, the subsequent court proceedings, and the artistic aftermath. In the vein of The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace and His Name is George Floyd, Green brings us the story of a promising life cut short and a vivid snapshot of the world surrounding this loss. A tragedy set in stark contrast against the hope, activism, and creativity of the 1980’s New York City art scene, The Man Nobody Killed serves as a poignant reminder of recurring horrors in American history and explores how, and for whom, the justice system fails.
At twenty-five years old, Michael Stewart was a young Black aspiring artist, deejay, and model, looking to make a name for himself in the vibrant downtown art scene of the early 1980’s New York City. On September 15, 1983, he was brutally beaten by New York City Transit Authority police for allegedly tagging a 14th Street subway station wall.
Witnesses reported officers beating him with billy clubs and choking him with a nightstick. Stewart arrived at Bellevue Hospital hog-tied with no heartbeat and died after thirteen days in a coma. This was, at that point, the most widely noticed act of police brutality in the city's history. The Man Nobody Killed recounts the cultural impact of Michael Stewart’s life and death.
The Stewart case quickly catalyzed movements across multiple communities. It became a rallying cry, taken up by artists and singers including Madonna, Keith Haring, Spike Lee, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, tabloid legends such as Jimmy Breslin and Murray Kempton, and the pioneering local news reporter, Gabe Pressman. The Stewart family and the downtown arts community of 1980s New York demanded justice for Michael, leading to multiple investigations into the circumstances of his wrongful death.
Elon Green, the Edgar Award–winning author of Last Call, presents the first comprehensive narrative account of Michael Stewart's life and killing, the subsequent court proceedings, and the artistic aftermath. In the vein of The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace and His Name is George Floyd, Green brings us the story of a promising life cut short and a vivid snapshot of the world surrounding this loss. A tragedy set in stark contrast against the hope, activism, and creativity of the 1980’s New York City art scene, The Man Nobody Killed serves as a poignant reminder of recurring horrors in American history and explores how, and for whom, the justice system fails.
288 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication March 11, 2025
About the author
Elon Green
4 books171 followersElon Green has written for The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, and The New Yorker, and appears in Unspeakable Acts, Sarah Weinman’s anthology of true crime. "Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York" was his first book and won the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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October 2, 2024In The Man Nobody Killed, Elon Green delivers a harrowing exploration of systemic racism through the story of Michael Stewart, a young Black artist whose life was tragically cut short by police violence in 1983. Green meticulously pieces together Stewart’s life, the violent circumstances of his death, and the cultural ripple effects that followed. Stewart’s beating at the hands of New York Transit Authority police—allegedly for tagging a subway wall—sparked widespread outrage, galvanizing the art world and civil rights activists alike.
Green does more than recount a grim chapter in New York City history. He forces readers to confront uncomfortable questions about accountability, power, and the cyclical nature of injustice. Despite the ensuing investigations and protests from high-profile figures, no officers were convicted, exemplifying the persistent failure of the justice system to serve marginalized communities. Green’s narrative transcends the specific tragedy of Stewart’s death, instead framing it as a recurring nightmare in American history, inextricably linked to other cases of police brutality.
This book urges us to reflect on the cost of human lives when systemic forces remain unchallenged. By weaving Stewart’s story with the vibrant yet turbulent downtown New York art scene, Green presents a portrait of hope clashing with horror, leaving readers with a lingering sense of outrage and sorrow. This was a difficult read, and I feel it would be misplaced to attach a star rating to such a poignant and heart-wrenching narrative.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the opportunity to read and review The Man Nobody Killed prior to publication.
Green does more than recount a grim chapter in New York City history. He forces readers to confront uncomfortable questions about accountability, power, and the cyclical nature of injustice. Despite the ensuing investigations and protests from high-profile figures, no officers were convicted, exemplifying the persistent failure of the justice system to serve marginalized communities. Green’s narrative transcends the specific tragedy of Stewart’s death, instead framing it as a recurring nightmare in American history, inextricably linked to other cases of police brutality.
This book urges us to reflect on the cost of human lives when systemic forces remain unchallenged. By weaving Stewart’s story with the vibrant yet turbulent downtown New York art scene, Green presents a portrait of hope clashing with horror, leaving readers with a lingering sense of outrage and sorrow. This was a difficult read, and I feel it would be misplaced to attach a star rating to such a poignant and heart-wrenching narrative.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the opportunity to read and review The Man Nobody Killed prior to publication.
October 5, 2024
You can also see this review, along with others I have written, at my blog, Mr. Book's Book Reviews.
Thank you, Celadon Books, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Mr. Book just finished The Man Nobody Killed: Life, Death and Art in Michael Stewart’s New York, by Elon Green.
This book will be released on March 11, 2025.
This book is about the 1983 killing of Michael Stewart. Stewart was a black up and coming artist in New York who was killed by the police when they brutally attacked him in the process of arresting him for graffiti.
There were many witnesses to the killing and six police officers were indicted. But, thanks to the failures of an incompetent medical examiner, the prosecution wasn’t able to get any convictions. This book did a very good job exposing the failures of the system in this case.
I give this book a B+. Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, a B+ equates to 4 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).
This review has been posted at NetGalley, Goodreads and my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews
Mr. Book finished reading this on October 5, 2024.
Thank you, Celadon Books, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Mr. Book just finished The Man Nobody Killed: Life, Death and Art in Michael Stewart’s New York, by Elon Green.
This book will be released on March 11, 2025.
This book is about the 1983 killing of Michael Stewart. Stewart was a black up and coming artist in New York who was killed by the police when they brutally attacked him in the process of arresting him for graffiti.
There were many witnesses to the killing and six police officers were indicted. But, thanks to the failures of an incompetent medical examiner, the prosecution wasn’t able to get any convictions. This book did a very good job exposing the failures of the system in this case.
I give this book a B+. Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, a B+ equates to 4 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).
This review has been posted at NetGalley, Goodreads and my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews
Mr. Book finished reading this on October 5, 2024.
November 2, 2024
This is a perfect book for the current times. It brings to light the systemic racism that many still face today and uses an empathetic approach to get the reader to identify with the character and the unfortunate events that unfold.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews