kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Powerful. Compelling. Devastating. I learned a lot I didn’t know about myriad locations around the country (and world) that were and still are institutions of slavery and oppression. There’s a lot to unpack and reckon with about our history as a nation in this book and I think it’s worth the discomfort to know more about the nation’s real history. 

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lizziaha's review against another edition

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4.5

Prose written by a poet is just so lovely. And it was interesting to see how a story takes shape: the twists and turns, the reconstructions and the lies. The way that place holds such a deep meaning, and that place is imbued with history. The way that we are still molding history, that our current actions are both informed by history and become history. This book is part of that story that we tell about history. One particular section that I (a white southerner educated in the public school system) plan to revisit is Smith’s discussion of the South’s rallying cry of States Rights and how the story diverges from the history. 

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wifeslife's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

5.0


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jaiari12's review

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challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0


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rachbake's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Stunning. Should be required reading. 

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juliana18's review

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0


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madradstarchild's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective sad medium-paced

3.75


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caseythereader's review

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

 - I'm not sure if there's anything I can add to the discussion of HOW THE WORD IS PASSED, other than to concur with everyone that yes, this book is as vital and as good as everyone says it is.
- I learned a lot from this book: even if you're read a lot of history and antiracist literature, there's still more to excavate, and Smith brings it all up.
- Smith's inclusion of his personal experiences while visiting the sites in this book keep it from becoming a dry historical text. It does exactly what the sites are trying to do: bring the past into the present because it has never left us, as much as many of us try to pretend it has. 

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sarahaf712's review

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5.0


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erica_palmisano's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.5

Thoughtfully framed, well-narrated, personal yet very relatable, this book is a great entry in the Rethinking American Racism canon. I hope it inspires a lot more ways/instances of sharing the history of slavery in the US. 

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