The Other Wes Moore: Part III–Epilogue

by Wes Moore
Two children, both named Wes Moore, grew up in similar circumstances in Baltimore, but one ended up in prison while the other won a Rhodes Scholarship and became a respected business leader. In this book, author Wes Moore explores the challenges and choices that led him and the other Wes Moore to have two radically different fates

Here are links to our lists for the book: Introduction–Part I, Part II, Part III–Epilogue
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. pragmatic
    concerned with practical matters
    Powell, in his pragmatic way, wanted what I wanted: A fair shot.
  2. sporadic
    recurring in scattered or unpredictable instances
    When he was growing up, Wes would occasionally follow his mother to the New Metropolitan Church on Sunday, but even on his sporadic visits, he never felt any connection.
  3. tenuous
    weak or unstable
    The situation at home had become even more tenuous.
  4. overt
    open and observable; not secret or hidden
    Cheryl’s drug problem had become more consuming and overt.
  5. trepidation
    a feeling of alarm or dread
    After seven months, Wes met his graduation from Job Corps with as much trepidation as excitement.
  6. brusquely
    in a blunt direct manner
    The plainclothesman in front of her flashed a badge, showed a search warrant, and brusquely asked Mary for permission to enter.
  7. gentrification
    change in poorer areas due to an influx of wealthier people
    But just blocks away from their uncle’s house, scattered evidence of gentrification — driven by the looming presence of Temple University — had started to manifest.
  8. intimidate
    make timid or fearful
    Despite my being on my second internship with him and seeing him every day, the mayor still intimidated me.
  9. genuflect
    bend the knees and bow in a servile manner
    Every time I stepped into his office, I felt the need to genuflect.
  10. unassuming
    not arrogant
    The office reflected the man — hugely impressive and unassuming at once.
  11. rapacious
    excessively greedy and grasping
    Even a legacy as ugly as that of Cecil Rhodes — a nineteenth-century imperialist, white supremacist, and rapacious businessman — could be turned around and used by a person like me, someone Cecil Rhodes would've undoubtedly despised, to change the world that Rhodes and people like him had left for us.
  12. egregious
    conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible
    It was obviously a far more egregious situation, but I could sense faint echoes of Baltimore and the Bronx in the story of these townships.
  13. candor
    the quality of being honest and straightforward
    Her candor and exquisite simplicity framed the rest of my trip and helped me better understand the land I was living in.
  14. camaraderie
    the quality of affording easy familiarity and sociability
    The camaraderie, intensity, and passion for the job, and the sense of duty to something larger than myself, was something I had missed desperately.
  15. nonpartisan
    free from party affiliation or bias
    The nonpartisan fellowship also gave me the chance to learn from the other fellows, an impressively diverse and talented group from all over the country.
Created on Tue May 12 20:14:34 EDT 2015 (updated Thu Jul 03 00:14:45 EDT 2025)

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