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domeniqueh's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, this talk was inspiring, invigorating, empowering, and arresting. Just a few quotes to make you think... "Increase the shame index of America," "We don't do mistake very well," "if you don't learn to be shameful about shameful misbehavior you'll keep doing that behavior over and over again," "We have to create that cultural moment where apologizing becomes okay."
A Perilous Path is a must read, a must re-read, and a must re-re-read. Thank you Sherrilyn Ifill, Loretta Lynch, Byran Stevenson, and Anthony C. Thompson.
A Perilous Path is a must read, a must re-read, and a must re-re-read. Thank you Sherrilyn Ifill, Loretta Lynch, Byran Stevenson, and Anthony C. Thompson.
beefer's review against another edition
5.0
Thought provoking conversation by some very prominent minds. Incredible dialog!
sjbshannon's review against another edition
3.0
Made a few good points. Some of the points are narrow and deserve some pushback though.
erintby's review against another edition
4.0
I appreciated reading this brief conversation between these 3 incredible individuals. I especially enjoyed the few glimpses into Bryan Stevenson's childhood. This quote from him has stuck with me: "Hopelessness is the enemy of justice."
elsiebrady's review against another edition
4.0
Such a great conversation! It seems at times like a hopeless pursuit: Justice and equality for all, yet Bryan Stevenson reminds us, “injustice prevails where hopelessness persists”. They are many issues that go beyond racism, demonstrating that many of the concerns affect both black and white but we often relegate “the” issue to blacks. They address disparity in housing, transportation, access to health care and mental health services. Bryan points out that many of our kids growing up in poor neighborhoods experience violence and trauma at home and in their community before they even start school at 5 or 6. If we, as a community, aren’t addressing that trauma it will only get worse as they work through our public education. No wonder they turn to drugs as a release from that trauma. I’m so glad to see many are having these conversations. I want to be part of the solution!
alisse's review against another edition
4.0
This is a published conversation between the four headlining authors—lots of reflection on the current state of US government, justice issues like mass incarceration, redlining, racism. I found the dialogue helpful, although many of the statistics were familiar. I think for anyone not familiar with how systemic racism is currently affecting our country, this is a much-needed read. I’d be interested to know if there will be an audiobook—the format obviously would work well, but is the conversation already available publicly? Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary review copy.
laurenkd89's review against another edition
5.0
This book - a conversation between four of the most prominent minds in criminal justice working today - affected me profoundly in ways that are difficult to describe. This discussion, led by NYU Law Professor Anthony Thompson and including former AG Loretta Lynch, NAACP Legal Defense Fund President Sherrilyn Ifill, and Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson, spans the issues of race, class, slavery, lynching, education, housing, and more in roughly 100 pages.
Other reviewers have said that all of these folks are speaking in an echo chamber, but they must have missed the point of this. Of course they're an echo chamber - they're four Black civil rights practitioners who have witnessed the same systemic inequality and racism across the United States and have gathered the same takeaways from their personal and professional experiences. Hearing from these similar but unique perspectives cements the fact that there are clear solutions and actionable items to address these pervasive issues.
As always, the perspectives that made me most emotional were Bryan Stevenson's. His words are incredibly powerful - he's one of those people who is infinitely quotable and wise. I know that I will come back to his reflections over and over, particularly his response to Thompson's last question on how to remain hopeful. This book is worth it for that story alone.
A Perilous Path was available from my local library for free on Hoopla and I read it in the span of a few hours, and I cannot recommend it enough - if anything, to energize and galvanize you.
Other reviewers have said that all of these folks are speaking in an echo chamber, but they must have missed the point of this. Of course they're an echo chamber - they're four Black civil rights practitioners who have witnessed the same systemic inequality and racism across the United States and have gathered the same takeaways from their personal and professional experiences. Hearing from these similar but unique perspectives cements the fact that there are clear solutions and actionable items to address these pervasive issues.
As always, the perspectives that made me most emotional were Bryan Stevenson's. His words are incredibly powerful - he's one of those people who is infinitely quotable and wise. I know that I will come back to his reflections over and over, particularly his response to Thompson's last question on how to remain hopeful. This book is worth it for that story alone.
A Perilous Path was available from my local library for free on Hoopla and I read it in the span of a few hours, and I cannot recommend it enough - if anything, to energize and galvanize you.
amylee218's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a transcription of a talk that took place on February 27, 2017. Although there were no new, ground-breaking ideas on how to further achieve racial and social justice, the discussion is so important. As a teacher, I am glad that they focused on the role of schools, and reforming them so that kids are not expelled or suspended. Making schools the focal point of the community, and a place for entire families to receive services.
The underlying concern of this book was the election of President Trump and the rollback of human rights. Reading this now, during the BLM movement, shows how right they were to be worried and how much work needs to be done.
I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.
The underlying concern of this book was the election of President Trump and the rollback of human rights. Reading this now, during the BLM movement, shows how right they were to be worried and how much work needs to be done.
I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.
thecolorcodedlife's review against another edition
5.0
tl;dr Review:
A brilliant read that not only lays out the issues intertwined with race, inequality, and the law but provides the groundwork for how we can make things better.
Full Review:
Do you ever read certain books and at different parts just have to sit back and be like “Holy shit” or even the more succinct “Damn”?
That’s how I felt at various points while reading this transcript of the discussion held between Sherrilyn Ifill, Loretta Lynch, Bryan Stevenson, and Anthony C. Thompson. Outside of Lynch and maybe Ifill, these names may or may not ring a bell. To provide some context, Ifill is the president of the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Lynch was the former US Attorney General, Stevenson wrote the book I keep meaning to read (Just Mercy) about the death penalty and is the Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative. Last, but not least, Thompson is a professor of clinical law at NYU’s School of Law and is the faculty director at their Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law.
Suffice it to say that these people know about which they speak (unlike certain other current “leaders” of our country). Though my time in law school shined a light on the systematic racism and inequity in our laws and how they are applied, this book took that knowledge one step further.
Not only did this book break down a variety of issues, but it also highlighted the personal and historical experiences of major events like the civil rights movement and segregation, as well as ongoing problems such as poverty and our current legal framework that’s steeped in racism. The book even went further and talked about housing discrimination, the xenophobia currently plaguing our country, how we handle policing, and more as it laid out how these themes are all inextricably linked.
Thankfully, the authors didn’t just provide us the history and knowledge of the ongoing problems. There’s also plenty of discussion on why being informed is critical in these times, but also how we can change things.
While not exactly a light and breezy read, it’s an impactful and important one and I highly recommend it.
I give this book 5 out of 5 thumbs up.
A brilliant read that not only lays out the issues intertwined with race, inequality, and the law but provides the groundwork for how we can make things better.
Full Review:
Do you ever read certain books and at different parts just have to sit back and be like “Holy shit” or even the more succinct “Damn”?
That’s how I felt at various points while reading this transcript of the discussion held between Sherrilyn Ifill, Loretta Lynch, Bryan Stevenson, and Anthony C. Thompson. Outside of Lynch and maybe Ifill, these names may or may not ring a bell. To provide some context, Ifill is the president of the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Lynch was the former US Attorney General, Stevenson wrote the book I keep meaning to read (Just Mercy) about the death penalty and is the Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative. Last, but not least, Thompson is a professor of clinical law at NYU’s School of Law and is the faculty director at their Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law.
Suffice it to say that these people know about which they speak (unlike certain other current “leaders” of our country). Though my time in law school shined a light on the systematic racism and inequity in our laws and how they are applied, this book took that knowledge one step further.
Not only did this book break down a variety of issues, but it also highlighted the personal and historical experiences of major events like the civil rights movement and segregation, as well as ongoing problems such as poverty and our current legal framework that’s steeped in racism. The book even went further and talked about housing discrimination, the xenophobia currently plaguing our country, how we handle policing, and more as it laid out how these themes are all inextricably linked.
Thankfully, the authors didn’t just provide us the history and knowledge of the ongoing problems. There’s also plenty of discussion on why being informed is critical in these times, but also how we can change things.
While not exactly a light and breezy read, it’s an impactful and important one and I highly recommend it.
I give this book 5 out of 5 thumbs up.
steamedcheese's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
This book was interesting because of the format (like a written out podcast) and the content. However, it was not unique or special. The experts are having a conversation reflective of all political discourse in the US. The book also tended to lack concrete examples, which can be expected of a book with such a conversational style. However, the examples offered in the book are given little to no context. The assumption that the reader will understand these references makes this book inaccessible on a deeper level.