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kevin_shepherd's review against another edition
4.0
Add bell hooks to my list of favorite authors. Her assessment of American class hierarchy is spot on. And while I don’t necessarily agree with all of her countermeasures, I don’t take umbrage with them either. 4 big stars.
achilleanshelves's review against another edition
5.0
Much more accessible and readable than most academic texts; bell hooks was and will always be an icon.
camigonzari's review against another edition
5.0
I’ve read a fair amount of bibliography on race and gender discrimination and the impact they have on different social spheres. But this book is one of the very few that explains in a thorough way how discrimination and subjugation cannot be fully understood without intersectional dynamics between race, gender and class. It explains how class discrimination is deeply intertwined in society, so much so that it’s considered “normal behavior”. I fully recommend it.
jwsg's review against another edition
1.0
I was quite disappointed by this book. I had bought this during one of my mad sprees through the Barnes and Noble section on sociology, along with the NYT' Class Matters and Barbara Ehrenreich. I'd expected an insightful and personal take on class issues - and indeed the book started promisingly enough - but it eventually turned into a rant dressed up as as series of intellectual essays. Painful.
amandakitz's review against another edition
4.0
bell hooks never fails to deliver piercing critical analysis and this book is no different. She weaves her own story and perspective into this series of essays to bring it to life, while each step of the way showing the myriad ways class intersects with racism, sexism, religion, and other influences in our culture. Her style is accessible and academic, clear and scholarly without being aloof, and the book is short enough to be reasonable for the average person.
Some folks expressed disappointment in the lack of citation and I wished she had directly addressed felony status disenfranchisement and the prison industrial complex, but having read her other works, it's clear that her arguments are based in decades of writing and research as one of the foremost thinkers on these subjects and not lacking foundation. This book is not meant to be her academic opus but clearly serves a function as an accessible, unencumbered introduction to class consciousness. I can recommend no better place to begin a journey toward class consciousness in the US.
Some folks expressed disappointment in the lack of citation and I wished she had directly addressed felony status disenfranchisement and the prison industrial complex, but having read her other works, it's clear that her arguments are based in decades of writing and research as one of the foremost thinkers on these subjects and not lacking foundation. This book is not meant to be her academic opus but clearly serves a function as an accessible, unencumbered introduction to class consciousness. I can recommend no better place to begin a journey toward class consciousness in the US.