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mpetc618's review against another edition
5.0
Still reading this riveting book! Its a who's who in old Hollywood before they were Hollywood. His passion for fighting injustice is so visceral, that it puts you on the edge of your seat.
So I am almost done reading this book and I am actually a little sad about that. No part of this book lags and I was reading the latter portion during one of my favorite TV shows.
This memoir deserves to be in the collection of history books in regards to the civil rights movements. He is very detailed about the ups and downs of the inner workings of the Civil Rights Movement and its leaders. His account about the Kennedy administration and their timid involvement with the movement is pretty accurate to what Howard Zinn had described.
This book is a must read!
So I am almost done reading this book and I am actually a little sad about that. No part of this book lags and I was reading the latter portion during one of my favorite TV shows.
This memoir deserves to be in the collection of history books in regards to the civil rights movements. He is very detailed about the ups and downs of the inner workings of the Civil Rights Movement and its leaders. His account about the Kennedy administration and their timid involvement with the movement is pretty accurate to what Howard Zinn had described.
This book is a must read!
jgtruesdell's review against another edition
4.0
Very engagingly written, I found the book entertaining and easy to read. I had no idea that he was so intimately involved in the Civil Rights movement and the detail he gave about the movement I think is very important from a historical standpoint. I did find him pretty wrapped up in himself and all that he had done, like he was the movement and everyone else including Dr. King were just bit players. I also didn't realize how extremely left wing his politics are, to the point where I don't think he is seeing the big picture anymore. All that aside it was a good book and for the information on the Civil Rights movement alone, it is definitely worth reading.
tamgperkins's review against another edition
5.0
What a phenomenal biography! Not only a world renowned singer and actor but also a passionate activist. He has lived 5 lives in one.
saroz162's review against another edition
4.0
Great memoir. I knew very little about Belafonte beyond his famous performances and a few civil rights headlines, so I was really pleased that the majority of the book focused on his activism and the relationships he built or burnt in a somewhat single-minded pursuit of equality. (I particularly enjoyed his unconventional, and very human, portrait of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) He doesn't shy away from his own ego, but he's smart enough, in most places, to admit where he made mistakes. It starts to feel a bit glossy and shallow toward the end, post-1970s, when Belafonte seems to have mostly mutated into a celebrity ambassador and producer; he's less willing to be critical of his own stance, and more interested in knowing how long his influence was felt in both the activism and entertainment communities. By that point, though, the rest of his story has been so strong, he's earned it.
libswagmenter's review against another edition
4.0
Wow. What an incredible life. It took me a long time to get into this book because the first part is his early life and development as singer/actor Harry Belafonte. This is important, of course, but I came for civil rights activist/humanitarian Harry Belafonte, which dominates the second half of the book. I found it really poignant to read about the development of the civil rights movement as it feels like a resurgence is happening through Black Lives Matter and other groups. Overall, I found this book really inspiring.
readandchill23's review against another edition
5.0
I might need to take a week and chew on this. Harry's entire account was history before my eyes and ears.