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froggin_around_'s review against another edition
3.0
This is a very good book on history, but sometimes fails when it comes to discussing some Marxist concepts. It also ignores any contribution of Black women to the Black struggle, which was rather disappointing.
grahamcifelli's review against another edition
5.0
Feels so surreal to finally finish this I've been with it for so long! Wild parts were hard to understand and ramble at some points this book has fundamentally changed how I view the world
rmuthiah's review against another edition
4.0
In this seminal work written in the 80s, Robinson gives a sweeping history of the development of Marxism and traces its complicated relationship with the Black experience. This is a dense and challenging book to get through. I'm sure that there was a lot I didn't grasp, but I came away with much more insight into the development of Marxism and some of the ways that it didn't/doesn't adequately account for the situations faced by many Black people because it is based on a set of European assumptions. Robinson is favorably inclined toward it, but his main point is to establish the uniqueness and importance of the Black radical tradition in contrast to Marxism.
breadandmushrooms's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
nick_jenkins's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. Still processing, and tbh, I feel I understand what Robinson means by 'racial capitalism' much better than I understand what he means by 'the Black radical tradition, but this is just such a fertile, unique, and intellectually invigorating book. It is dense, and probably suits the needs and interests of social or economic historians more than intellectual or cultural historians, but for me it is extremely valuable.
emceeawkward's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
5.0
Anyone who calls this insufficient or that it’s marxist criticisms are from someone who doesn’t understand Marxism is a white chauvinist pig who thinks of Marxism as a law and principle rather than a science and theory needing development and expansion
frankied1's review against another edition
4.0
I thought this was a challenging read! Super interesting and I think reading CLR James and Hobsbawm previously aided my understanding of it. I think it was a pretty Trotskyist book but was interesting in showing a wide range of thoughts and both the similarities and differences of thought within the Black Radical Tradition.