Peace was still in grade school when Skeet fell into big-time trouble that derailed both his own life and eventually, in ways subtle and corrosive, his son’s. Skeet liked to take little Rob with him on his sidewalk rounds, interactions whose rhythms of parlay Peace found too appealing. Skeet considered penmanship to be among life’s highest virtues, preached academic rigor to his preschool-aged boy-and taught him to use his elbows in a street fight. Peace grew up in the dangerous slums around Newark, where his adored father, Skeet, was a day laborer and small-time drug dealer. He went to Yale, Class of ’02, and excelled at difficult pursuits-molecular biophysics and biochemistry cancer research-while navigating the stressful problem sets posed by a background unimaginable to most Ivy League students. He took college math and science courses in high school and was the leader of his class, chosen to resolve student conflicts. By junior high, Peace was the sort of kid who read Light in August for fun. At home, when his mother read him books, he had them memorized after the first time. By age three Rob Peace was known at day care as The Professor, for his vivid, searching mind. Rare is the joy of encountering a superb new book and with it a memorable real-life literary character. The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League
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