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yashandbooks's review against another edition
emotional
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Beautiful and strong writing.
missyjohnson's review against another edition
3.0
took me longer to read than what the kindle estimate was because I had to stop and think about what was written so often. oh but for our differences to be celebrated and not divisive.
wetsmoke's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars.
This was a beautifully written book that isn’t so much about politics as it is about humanity.
This was a beautifully written book that isn’t so much about politics as it is about humanity.
jeffcarlson96's review against another edition
5.0
Audiobook is incredible and Coates is a master with words and storytelling. This is a must read. Here are some of my favorite quotes:
“Not even Jackie Robinson was Jackie Robinson all the time.”
“Here is what I would like for you to know: In America, it is traditional to destroy the black body—it is heritage.”
“I am sorry that I cannot make it okay. I am sorry that I cannot save you -- but not that sorry. Part of me thinks that your very vulnerability brings you closer to the meaning of life, just as for others, the quest to believe oneself white divides them from it.”
“I have raised you to respect every human being as singular. And you must extend that same respect into the past. Slavery is not an indefinable mass of flesh. It is a particular, specific enslaved woman whose mind is as active as your own, whose range of feelings as vast as your own, who prefers the way the light falls in one particular spot in the woods, who enjoys fishing where the water eddys in the nearby stream, who loves her mother in her own complicated way, thinks her sister talks to loud, has a favorite cousin, a favorite season, who excels at dress making, and knows inside herself that she is as intelligent and capable as anyone.”
“Not even Jackie Robinson was Jackie Robinson all the time.”
“Here is what I would like for you to know: In America, it is traditional to destroy the black body—it is heritage.”
“I am sorry that I cannot make it okay. I am sorry that I cannot save you -- but not that sorry. Part of me thinks that your very vulnerability brings you closer to the meaning of life, just as for others, the quest to believe oneself white divides them from it.”
“I have raised you to respect every human being as singular. And you must extend that same respect into the past. Slavery is not an indefinable mass of flesh. It is a particular, specific enslaved woman whose mind is as active as your own, whose range of feelings as vast as your own, who prefers the way the light falls in one particular spot in the woods, who enjoys fishing where the water eddys in the nearby stream, who loves her mother in her own complicated way, thinks her sister talks to loud, has a favorite cousin, a favorite season, who excels at dress making, and knows inside herself that she is as intelligent and capable as anyone.”
salyarmor's review against another edition
4.0
It was powerful and heartfelt! This letter to his son captivated what he went through being a black child, teenager and adult in America. The trials and tribulations he endured. The fears he had but did not want to pass on to his son although his son might come upon those same fears himself. The lessons he learned and the advice he gave to his son were meaningful in the sense that he can only give so much advice but his son will find his own path. He describes how no matter what he will always be a black man in America, a place where people are convinced that they're white. Black bodies are beautiful bodies and should never submit their original self, their one of one, to defiling and plunder. What made this one great was that it was a letter to his son.
lesegod's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0