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niksinabook's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
4.0
edininny's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
chrliesangel28's review
informative
sad
slow-paced
4.5
I switched to audio since non fiction is easier for me on audio. I learned so much in this book and feel like this should be part of history in high school. I also learned so much I hadn’t learned in history. Highly recommend.
marcymurli's review
4.0
This is a tremendous book on so many levels. If someone reads this book - cover to cover - and is unable to understand why reparations for slavery isn't a national priority, I can't image what's wrong with them. And that's essentially why, I suppose, this book is so threatening to so many Americans who are worried that if young people are exposed to it, they'll be proponents of reparations.
The book is really smart about conveying history in a very practical way, often backed up with data, that connects the economic conditions of African Americans to the past. In so doing, it does a brilliant job illustrating structural and systemic racism as intertwined with capitalism. The chapters on the sugar industry and traffic in Atlanta are especially powerful.
This really should be required reading for all Americans, but I know that's a pipe dream.
The book is really smart about conveying history in a very practical way, often backed up with data, that connects the economic conditions of African Americans to the past. In so doing, it does a brilliant job illustrating structural and systemic racism as intertwined with capitalism. The chapters on the sugar industry and traffic in Atlanta are especially powerful.
This really should be required reading for all Americans, but I know that's a pipe dream.
rest15resistance's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to it on audiobook, and with that said, it is one of the better audiobooks that I've heard. There are many different writers and speakers, including Nikole Hannah-Jones. The book is great, but it's not just a book, it's history, well-researched and outlined for easy consumption. Although, the subject matter is heavy. I love history. This one almost reads like a textbook, but a good one. If you ever wanted a definitively summarized history of African-Americans or Black folks in America, this is a good primer or refresher if you are a history buff and already know a lot (like me) It definitely includes many accounts of specific individuals and events that I hadn't heard before. It's interesting material, but you also just have to sit with it for a moment and take it in doses. Not to mention, the timeline runs all. the way up through the murder of George Floyd. This is truth, and the story is still unfolding.
kumarj's review
4.0
Incredible book. I waited too long to read it but found it quite powerful, illuminating and approachable. It’s frustrating how much of what is contained in the book was not a part of my education growing up, I hope it’s included as curriculum in places that haven’t banned it already. My primary qualm was the repetitiveness of some of the points and how not all essays seemed to be written with others in mind. It definitely felt like a series of independent essays rather than one cohesive narrative. It was still incredible and I feel like I could read much much more about centering the Black experience throughout history, American history in particular.
jordanlamagna's review
5.0
This book is a collection of essays that discuss the ways in which the first kidnapped people were brought over from Africa in 1619 has effected history and current day life in the US.
This project and this book are masterfully assembled. This information is incredibly important for Americans to know, and should be taught in schools. So much of our history has been presented to US schoolchildren in a gilded cage. However, we should all be taught this very real history.
Some of the most impactful moments in this book were the poems and short essays from actual enslaved people. It really showed the inhumanity that they had to endure.
I implore you to read this book.
This project and this book are masterfully assembled. This information is incredibly important for Americans to know, and should be taught in schools. So much of our history has been presented to US schoolchildren in a gilded cage. However, we should all be taught this very real history.
Some of the most impactful moments in this book were the poems and short essays from actual enslaved people. It really showed the inhumanity that they had to endure.
I implore you to read this book.
fern_mollett's review
5.0
This book is an expanded version of The 1619 Project featured in The New York Times Magazine, 2019.
Another amazing book that opened my eyes to the realities of racism and slavery in America. There is so much to learn, not just from history but from people today and experiences from today.
This collection of essays spans topics like the myth of racial progress, infrastructure and traffic, self defense laws, slavery, relations with Indiginous populations, fear of Black people creating laws, and Black wealth . There's also a lot of really great poems inspired by historical events. I learned about historical events that I didn't know anything about or knew very little about including Sit-Ins, the 1985 bombing of the MOVE house in Philadelphia, and the realities of just how many laws were founded in slavery to support white supremecy.
Definitely get a copy of this.
Another amazing book that opened my eyes to the realities of racism and slavery in America. There is so much to learn, not just from history but from people today and experiences from today.
This collection of essays spans topics like the myth of racial progress, infrastructure and traffic, self defense laws, slavery, relations with Indiginous populations, fear of Black people creating laws, and Black wealth . There's also a lot of really great poems inspired by historical events. I learned about historical events that I didn't know anything about or knew very little about including Sit-Ins, the 1985 bombing of the MOVE house in Philadelphia, and the realities of just how many laws were founded in slavery to support white supremecy.
Definitely get a copy of this.