Reviews

Black and British: A Forgotten History by David Olusoga

jcoetree's review

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challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

noonjinx's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative medium-paced

5.0

Really good. I learned a little about the slave trade at school in the 1970s but there’s a whole lot of myth busting and extra history here that was completely new to me. The book made me depressed, frustrated and angry, but never bored. The quotes from the defenders of slavery and the racist establishment even beyond WWII were particularly horrifying.
 
Olusoga’s writing is wonderfully vivid which stops all of the quotations and historique reference from weighing the narrative down. I listened to the audio version and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith’s narration is perfect too (as always).

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mximlay's review against another edition

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challenging dark hopeful informative medium-paced

5.0

emmaryan's review against another edition

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informative slow-paced

4.0

drjoannehill's review

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4.0

This is an immense book (and took me a long time). Well worth it. However, having just finished, my main thought is I'm a bit disappointed it sort of ran out of steam around the 1970s and didn't give a better history of more recent times, just a brief skim.

seclement's review

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5.0

This is a comprehensive, engaging, well-written book covering several centuries of black Britains, race relations, the Commonwealth and empire, and slavery. It is a very long book, especially for a popular history, but Olusoga is an excellent story teller so it is engaging all the way through. Unlike a lot of popular history books, I felt while reading it that Olusoga is an actual historian with expertise in the methods of historical research, as his commentary comes with appropriate caveats about the quality of information, the norms of the time in which events took place, etc. It's not a sensationalist book at all, in stark contrast to the books of people such as Niall Ferguson. He does let facts get in the way of a good story as needed, in other words. I learned so much in this book that I didn't know before, but for me the most fascinating bits were toward the beginning (complexities of domestic slavery law or lack thereof and how that affected behaviour of people and decisions of courts) and toward the end (WWI, WWII, and civil rights era history of black Britains, migrants, and American GIs). My one criticism is that the book is indeed too long, even if it is interesting. A lot of the middle bit could have been edited down. To give you an idea: I listened to the audio book, which is 24 hours long. It's not until hour 21 that he even gets to WWI, so he spends 20 hours talking mainly about 1700-1914, and a mere 3 hours talking about the rest. I know he is a historian so the earlier bits may be more interesting to him, but he does spend quite a bit of time illustrating his general points with very long, detailed stories about particular people in history. It's great that, for the most part, these particular people are not all that well known, but I do think it could have done with a bit of editing to make the book more accessible to a wider audience who may not be interested in a 600+ page tome. Although I suppose that is exactly why there is a documentary of the same name that complements the book. This is definitely worth a read, especially if you are British, American, or resident in any of the Commonwealth countries. Much of it is a shared history, and one that is worth better understanding and remembering.

melbsreads's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

Content warnings: racism, racial slurs, slavery, colonialism, war, death, hate crimes, violence, police brutality, rape, physical abuse.

This has been on my TBR pile since I first heard about it, so obviously when I saw a copy in a Waterstones in Scotland last year, I picked it up straight away. And then I promptly put off reading it for about six months because it's chonky and I was intimidated. 

Anyway. It was definitely chonky and it was definitely a one-chapter-at-a-time kind of a read. But it was fascinating. I particularly liked the early chapters, covering the Roman occupation and the medieval period because I've always been really interested in racial diversity in the Roman empire and how that changed in Britain after the Romans withdrew. 

As interesting as the sections on the Georgian and Victorian periods were, they did also drag somewhat. There was a lot of talk about the establishment of settlements in Sierra Leone, about the impact of the US Civil War on British cloth production and the economy in general. And as a result, the experiences of Black Britons somewhat fell by the wayside. 

And then it felt like the 20th century was rushed through at high speed? That being said, I think the chapter I found the most engaging was the discussion of Black American soldiers and their experiences in Britain during WWII. But then the story basically jumps from WWII and Windrush to the present day, with a brief mention of the 1980s on the way. And given that we got at least 100-150 pages on the end of slavery in Britain and its impact socially and economically, I feel like the second half of the 20th century could have been given a LITTLE more time than it got... 

So overall, this was an excellent read. But I still feel like there are significant gaps in my knowledge and that kind of bums me out. 

mylacarmen's review

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challenging informative sad slow-paced

5.0

eireannlalor's review against another edition

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5.0

So clear, informative, and horrifying.

notanniewarren's review against another edition

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challenging informative sad slow-paced

4.0

Wow wow wow wow. Everyone should read this wonderful, informative, lively, fascinating book. I can't even imagine the amount of research that went into this book and I'm immensely grateful to Olusoga for doing it. This is definitely one that I'll revisit on future, maybe a chapter here and there to remind myself. The only thing I found difficult about it (other than some of the horrific facts and stories, obviously, of which there are many) is how long it is - not a criticism of the book at all, because it's all killer no filler and I get the impression that it could have been twice or three times as long. More a criticism of myself and my inability to stick with historical tomes - but I did it, and feel all the more informed for it. 

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