Thomas C. Fensch

The Man Who Changed His Skin Thomas C. Fensch

"The Man Who Changed His Skin" is the first complete biography of John Howard Griffin. Griffin journeyed from Texas to France alone at 15, to study, in 1935. When the Nazis invaded France, he helped get French, German and Austrian Jews to safety. Before he was 21, he was on Gestapo death lists. He returned to the U. S., joined the Air Force and was stationed on a remote island in the South Pacific. His eyesight was damaged in a Japanese air attack and he became blind for 10 years. Suddenly his eyesight came back. He then turned his skin black and traveled throughout the south in 1959-1960. His subsequent book, "Black Like Me" became an instant American classic and has been published in 65 countries. Griffin's personal diaries and journals are quoted extensively. This biography is published during the 50th anniversary year of "Black Like Me."