Picture Los Angeles in spring 1992: a city simmering with rage after the not-guilty verdict for the officers who beat Rodney King on video. Riots erupt—thousands of fires rage, over a billion in damage, neighborhoods turn into battlegrounds with gunfire between protesters and storeowners. More than 12,000 arrests, 2,400 injuries, 63 lives lost. But Rising from the Ashes doesn’t just recount the headlines; it pulls you into the human core.
At the heart are three stories that capture the tragedy’s complexity. Rodney King, the Black motorist whose videotaped beating sparked outrage. Latasha Harlins, a 15-year-old Black girl shot by a Korean American storeowner over a juice bottle—a killing that aired tensions between Black and Korean communities. And Edward Jae Song Lee, a Korean American shot dead in the unrest, his family forever scarred. These aren’t abstract figures; Yoo makes them real with intimate details that hit hard.
Award-winning author Paula Yoo, drawing from her Korean American roots, layers in a minute-by-minute timeline. Hear from police dodging bullets, firefighters battling infernos, journalists on the front lines, business owners defending stores, and activists pushing for change. Black-and-white photos bring the smoke-filled streets to life. It’s comprehensive yet personal, covering the racism breeding gang violence and economic divides long before the verdict.
This isn’t dusty history—it’s a mirror to ongoing struggles with police brutality, interracial tensions, and urban inequality. Winner of the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award and starred in Horn Book, Kirkus, it’s praised for its “kaleidoscopic account” of before, during, and after. Reading it feels like piecing together a fractured city’s soul.
Whether you’re studying the LA riots for school, reflecting on 90s America, or just want a gripping nonfiction read, this hardcover grips from page one. Keep it on your shelf for those deep conversations about race and resilience in the U.S. At around 400 pages, it’s thorough without dragging—ideal for book clubs dissecting pivotal events. Dive in and see how one city’s fire reshaped the nation.
