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The Crooked Places Made Straight

Reflections on the Moral Meaning of America

Hardcover
$30.00 US
5-1/2"W x 8-1/4"H | 12 oz | 12 per carton
On sale Jun 16, 2026 | 224 Pages | 9798217058983

From Senator Reverend Raphael G. Warnock, a sermon in the public square on the issues that plague us most

Senator Reverend Raphael G. Warnock is a transformational voice in Congress and the pastor of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, and for the semiquincentennial of America, he exhorts us to reach for the highest and noblest aspects of our national character. Senator Warnock argues that we suffer not from a paucity of resources but from a poverty of moral imagination.

His sermon on the book of Isaiah draws from ideals resonant in his own faith and all the great faiths and other moral traditions, offering a bold vision of how to live and relate to one another in the land. A moral topography, he calls it, a geopolitics that centers love and justice, or as Dr. King would so often say, the beloved community. The Crooked Places Made Straight examines six crises at the center of American life: voting rights and voter suppression, gun violence, mass incarceration, the persistence of poverty, dark money in politics, and the climate emergency.

This is not a naive faith, either. As Senator Warnock writes: Isaiah is no stranger to frustration with institutional leadership. He knows well the perils of public corruption, sophisticated legalized bribery, and a political class more interested in preserving its own power than in serving the people. . . . He’s fed up with political leaders who are focused on their own gain at the expense of the people. “Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves,” he says.

For Senator Warnock, democracy is the political enactment of a spiritual idea. A vote is a kind of prayer. The Crooked Places Made Straight is his inspiring vision for a more just and equitable America where communities thrive with hope and possibility and every child has a chance.
Praise for A WAY OUT OF NO WAY:

“Sparkling . . . In nine engrossing chapters, Warnock offers a narrative of an extraordinary life, from impoverished beginnings in Savannah to his arrival on Capitol Hill. Along the way, he reflects with considerable candor and insight on the meaning and importance of faith, truth-telling and political and social redemption.” —Raymond Arsenault, The New York Times Book Review

“Raphael Warnock’s inspiring memoir arrives just in time to remind us that even in our darkest days, America offers at least as much hope as despair.” —Charles Kaiser, The Guardian

“Warnock’s story is indeed the new American story. Only this time, Horatio Alger hails from the projects . . . reads like a Who’s Who of Black America . . . riveting.” —Tammy Joyner, The Washington Post

“Full of tales about Warnock’s upbringing in a public housing project with 11 siblings and two doting parents, and the go-getter gumption it took to rise to one of the nation’s most important pulpits.” —Greg Bluestein, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Georgia’s first Black senator reflects on family, faith, and democracy . . . A thoughtful celebration of a spiritually rich life.” —Kirkus

“A compelling, insightful memoir that details an extraordinary journey. A remarkable preacher—now politician, who uncharacteristically chooses to take his famous Atlanta pulpit with him to Washington.” —Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy

“In A Way Out of No Way, U.S. senator Raphael Warnock—at once pastor and public servant—demonstrates why he is one of our nation’s most dynamic moral leaders.” —Stacey Abrams, politician and author of Our Time Is Now

“Senator Rev. Raphael Warnock lives his life with a sense of mission guided by his faith. As a preacher standing in the legacy of the King family at Ebenezer Baptist Church and as a United States senator, Raphael Warnock is helping build a better Georgia and America. Warnock’s life is a sermon that we get to witness in his remarkable book, A Way Out of No Way.” —President Jimmy Carter

“Raphael Warnock is a tireless advocate for justice and a true inspiration for countless people, including me. Whatever hope exists for our democracy is traceable to everyday heroes, like Warnock, who are guided by a powerful moral compass and who refuse to surrender to the forces of injustice no matter how long the odds.” —Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow

“A story of love, courage, and abiding faith—of a man who has grown into the crown Morehouse College placed above his head. A Way Out of No Way is a powerful sermon from beginning to end. Read it as a prophetic witness and as the story of a pastor who now walks the corridors of power to speak truth and to act on behalf of the least of these.” —Eddie S. Glaude Jr., author of Begin Again

“This book is a harbinger of hope in what sometimes seems like hopeless times. Whether you know him as Senator Warnock or Pastor Warnock, his is a remarkable journey that will touch, enlighten, and inspire you.” —The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church and author of Love Is the Way and The Power of Love

A Way Out of No Way brilliantly captures the life and upbringing of one of the most unique and inspiring figures in American life over the last half century. Before he blazed a path to Washington, Reverend Senator Warnock charted a course worthy of history books in the quiet dignity of Black sacrifice and struggle, rising from poverty to one of the nation’s foremost pulpits, and now, the Senate floor. This is Black Bildungsroman meets the American hunger for justice, and what a majestic story it is.” —Michael Eric Dyson, author of Long Time Coming

“Warnock’s extraordinary book shows us the way forward to a multiracial democracy in America filled with the children of God.” —Jim Wallis, inaugural chair of Faith and Justice at McCourt School of Public Policy, founding director of the Georgetown University Center on Faith and Justice, and author of America’s Original Sin
Senator Reverend Raphael G. Warnock serves as the senior pastor of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church of Atlanta. He also has served at the Sixth Avenue Baptist Church of Birmingham, the Abyssinian Baptist Church of Harlem, and the Douglas Memorial Community Church of Baltimore. Senator Warnock holds degrees from Morehouse College and Union Theological Seminary. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., a lifetime member of the NAACP, and the former chairman of the board of the New Georgia Project. He is the author of The Divided Mind of the Black Church and the picture book Put Your Shoes On & Get Ready!, illustrated by Temika Grooms. In January 2021, Warnock became Georgia’s first Black senator. View titles by Raphael G. Warnock

About

From Senator Reverend Raphael G. Warnock, a sermon in the public square on the issues that plague us most

Senator Reverend Raphael G. Warnock is a transformational voice in Congress and the pastor of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, and for the semiquincentennial of America, he exhorts us to reach for the highest and noblest aspects of our national character. Senator Warnock argues that we suffer not from a paucity of resources but from a poverty of moral imagination.

His sermon on the book of Isaiah draws from ideals resonant in his own faith and all the great faiths and other moral traditions, offering a bold vision of how to live and relate to one another in the land. A moral topography, he calls it, a geopolitics that centers love and justice, or as Dr. King would so often say, the beloved community. The Crooked Places Made Straight examines six crises at the center of American life: voting rights and voter suppression, gun violence, mass incarceration, the persistence of poverty, dark money in politics, and the climate emergency.

This is not a naive faith, either. As Senator Warnock writes: Isaiah is no stranger to frustration with institutional leadership. He knows well the perils of public corruption, sophisticated legalized bribery, and a political class more interested in preserving its own power than in serving the people. . . . He’s fed up with political leaders who are focused on their own gain at the expense of the people. “Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves,” he says.

For Senator Warnock, democracy is the political enactment of a spiritual idea. A vote is a kind of prayer. The Crooked Places Made Straight is his inspiring vision for a more just and equitable America where communities thrive with hope and possibility and every child has a chance.

Praise

Praise for A WAY OUT OF NO WAY:

“Sparkling . . . In nine engrossing chapters, Warnock offers a narrative of an extraordinary life, from impoverished beginnings in Savannah to his arrival on Capitol Hill. Along the way, he reflects with considerable candor and insight on the meaning and importance of faith, truth-telling and political and social redemption.” —Raymond Arsenault, The New York Times Book Review

“Raphael Warnock’s inspiring memoir arrives just in time to remind us that even in our darkest days, America offers at least as much hope as despair.” —Charles Kaiser, The Guardian

“Warnock’s story is indeed the new American story. Only this time, Horatio Alger hails from the projects . . . reads like a Who’s Who of Black America . . . riveting.” —Tammy Joyner, The Washington Post

“Full of tales about Warnock’s upbringing in a public housing project with 11 siblings and two doting parents, and the go-getter gumption it took to rise to one of the nation’s most important pulpits.” —Greg Bluestein, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Georgia’s first Black senator reflects on family, faith, and democracy . . . A thoughtful celebration of a spiritually rich life.” —Kirkus

“A compelling, insightful memoir that details an extraordinary journey. A remarkable preacher—now politician, who uncharacteristically chooses to take his famous Atlanta pulpit with him to Washington.” —Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy

“In A Way Out of No Way, U.S. senator Raphael Warnock—at once pastor and public servant—demonstrates why he is one of our nation’s most dynamic moral leaders.” —Stacey Abrams, politician and author of Our Time Is Now

“Senator Rev. Raphael Warnock lives his life with a sense of mission guided by his faith. As a preacher standing in the legacy of the King family at Ebenezer Baptist Church and as a United States senator, Raphael Warnock is helping build a better Georgia and America. Warnock’s life is a sermon that we get to witness in his remarkable book, A Way Out of No Way.” —President Jimmy Carter

“Raphael Warnock is a tireless advocate for justice and a true inspiration for countless people, including me. Whatever hope exists for our democracy is traceable to everyday heroes, like Warnock, who are guided by a powerful moral compass and who refuse to surrender to the forces of injustice no matter how long the odds.” —Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow

“A story of love, courage, and abiding faith—of a man who has grown into the crown Morehouse College placed above his head. A Way Out of No Way is a powerful sermon from beginning to end. Read it as a prophetic witness and as the story of a pastor who now walks the corridors of power to speak truth and to act on behalf of the least of these.” —Eddie S. Glaude Jr., author of Begin Again

“This book is a harbinger of hope in what sometimes seems like hopeless times. Whether you know him as Senator Warnock or Pastor Warnock, his is a remarkable journey that will touch, enlighten, and inspire you.” —The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church and author of Love Is the Way and The Power of Love

A Way Out of No Way brilliantly captures the life and upbringing of one of the most unique and inspiring figures in American life over the last half century. Before he blazed a path to Washington, Reverend Senator Warnock charted a course worthy of history books in the quiet dignity of Black sacrifice and struggle, rising from poverty to one of the nation’s foremost pulpits, and now, the Senate floor. This is Black Bildungsroman meets the American hunger for justice, and what a majestic story it is.” —Michael Eric Dyson, author of Long Time Coming

“Warnock’s extraordinary book shows us the way forward to a multiracial democracy in America filled with the children of God.” —Jim Wallis, inaugural chair of Faith and Justice at McCourt School of Public Policy, founding director of the Georgetown University Center on Faith and Justice, and author of America’s Original Sin

Author

Senator Reverend Raphael G. Warnock serves as the senior pastor of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church of Atlanta. He also has served at the Sixth Avenue Baptist Church of Birmingham, the Abyssinian Baptist Church of Harlem, and the Douglas Memorial Community Church of Baltimore. Senator Warnock holds degrees from Morehouse College and Union Theological Seminary. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., a lifetime member of the NAACP, and the former chairman of the board of the New Georgia Project. He is the author of The Divided Mind of the Black Church and the picture book Put Your Shoes On & Get Ready!, illustrated by Temika Grooms. In January 2021, Warnock became Georgia’s first Black senator. View titles by Raphael G. Warnock