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mscalls's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Violence, and Alcohol
danileighta's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent account of our innate need for collective joy and the orchestrated effort (and success) by elite, white men and women to suppress that joy in order to stave off rebellion and freedom for all. So glad I picked thus up as it helps me to understand social justice movements, Western religion, and classism in a deeper way.
I heard about the book during a training with White Awake (check them out!) and another important aspect of this book is watching the evolution of white people's various cultures slowly (but intentionally) moving away from joy, freedom of expression, and community to stoicism, restraint, and individualism.
Highly recommended for white folks who are seeking to understand whiteness, those seeking to dismantle the myth of white supremacy, anyone seeking to build community and movements, and history buffs in general.
I heard about the book during a training with White Awake (check them out!) and another important aspect of this book is watching the evolution of white people's various cultures slowly (but intentionally) moving away from joy, freedom of expression, and community to stoicism, restraint, and individualism.
Highly recommended for white folks who are seeking to understand whiteness, those seeking to dismantle the myth of white supremacy, anyone seeking to build community and movements, and history buffs in general.
ameyawarde's review against another edition
5.0
This was super interesting and when I get to a place where I can buy physical books again, I'm going to be getting this one. There was so much I want to go back and re-read!
readingofskoob's review against another edition
was reading for my in school book report, just couldn't do it, got to about page 60 something on my own.
merc22's review against another edition
3.0
really good but niche. i think it’s a tough one to really get excited about unless you really love the topic. maggie rogers recommended it so i had to read it
lspargo's review against another edition
1.0
I read Ehrenreich's "Nickel and Dimed" and I really liked it. This however, was really boring and I did not like it.
juburstein's review against another edition
3.0
Not the fun read I expected! Limited perspective and, ironically, a bit joyless
beaniegremlin's review against another edition
2.0
This book was not at all what I was expecting, but still had some interesting points.
What I liked:
- Interesting observations on the history of rituals and festivities lending themselves to protest and dissent.
- I enjoyed the commentary on how religion and class impacted collective rituals.
What I didn’t like:
- Overall the book was more Eurocentric than I would have liked. I was excited to get a taste of a wide swath of cultures and time periods, but the book was pretty narrowly focused on a European/Christian lens.
- The author showed a moment of awareness around this euro centrist slant about halfway through the book, but then proceeded to only dedicate one chapter to non-white culture. That was very disappointing.
- When the author did address non-European cultures, it felt like an afterthought, or like they were treated only in the context of how they come into contact with Europeans.
I wish the author had been more cognizant of writing a more well-rounded book of more diverse cultures, or had been more accurate in the naming of the book. Call it what it is— a European history of Collective Joy— instead of acting like all of human history should be looked at from the lens of white people.
What I liked:
- Interesting observations on the history of rituals and festivities lending themselves to protest and dissent.
- I enjoyed the commentary on how religion and class impacted collective rituals.
What I didn’t like:
- Overall the book was more Eurocentric than I would have liked. I was excited to get a taste of a wide swath of cultures and time periods, but the book was pretty narrowly focused on a European/Christian lens.
- The author showed a moment of awareness around this euro centrist slant about halfway through the book, but then proceeded to only dedicate one chapter to non-white culture. That was very disappointing.
- When the author did address non-European cultures, it felt like an afterthought, or like they were treated only in the context of how they come into contact with Europeans.
I wish the author had been more cognizant of writing a more well-rounded book of more diverse cultures, or had been more accurate in the naming of the book. Call it what it is— a European history of Collective Joy— instead of acting like all of human history should be looked at from the lens of white people.