Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.54 AVERAGE
4.54 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Everyone should read this book. I don't even know what to say about it so I'm just going to share a quote.
"Americans believe in the reality of "race" as a defined, indubitable feature of the natural world. Racism-the need to scribe bone-deep features to people and then humiliate, reduce, and destroy them-inevitably follows from this inalterable condition. In this way, racism is rendered as the innocent daughter of Mother Nature, and one is left to deplore the Middle Passage or the Trail of Tears the way one deplores an earthquake, a tornado, or any other phenomenon that can be cast beyond the handiwork of men. But race is the child of racism, not the father."
Honestly a hard read. There was a lot of anger projected by the author as he was talking to his son about his future and life as a black man.
what a poetic letter to a child. beautiful and thoughtful, with lessons that are specific to his black american son, but relevant to all readers to reflect on.
Some passages may stay with me for the rest of my life. Ta-nehisi reflects the black experience with poetry and ease while weaving in history and criticism.
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Disappointing.
I don't offer this rating in response to the content presented by Mr. Coates. The clear anger and pain that fuels this book is unquestionably valid. The inequity that remains in American society makes books like this essential and inevitable.
For me, it is the execution that is lacking. I would describe it as an unfocused, rambling stream of consciousness, except streams actually flow. The only thing resembling a cohesive thesis is Mr. Coates repeating the word "body" over and over and over.
When I first began reading this book, I was strongly reminded of [b:The Fire Next Time|464260|The Fire Next Time|James Baldwin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1632509721l/464260._SY75_.jpg|1129041] by JAMES BALDWIN, the same way the breath of a drunk reminds me of a good drink. I immediately went back and read the opening, My Dungeon Shook, for a second time. I was yet again blown away by the lyrical beauty and piercing insight of Mr. Baldwin. Any comparison between the two books as equals is an insult to the memory of one of the great civil rights champions in American history.
Do yourself a favor: read Baldwin instead of this.
I don't offer this rating in response to the content presented by Mr. Coates. The clear anger and pain that fuels this book is unquestionably valid. The inequity that remains in American society makes books like this essential and inevitable.
For me, it is the execution that is lacking. I would describe it as an unfocused, rambling stream of consciousness, except streams actually flow. The only thing resembling a cohesive thesis is Mr. Coates repeating the word "body" over and over and over.
When I first began reading this book, I was strongly reminded of [b:The Fire Next Time|464260|The Fire Next Time|James Baldwin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1632509721l/464260._SY75_.jpg|1129041] by JAMES BALDWIN, the same way the breath of a drunk reminds me of a good drink. I immediately went back and read the opening, My Dungeon Shook, for a second time. I was yet again blown away by the lyrical beauty and piercing insight of Mr. Baldwin. Any comparison between the two books as equals is an insult to the memory of one of the great civil rights champions in American history.
Do yourself a favor: read Baldwin instead of this.
Just... wow. More people need to be reading this. It’ll open your eyes to a lot more than you think you know or understand. I will never understand how people can say white privilege isn’t a thing. It is, it always has been.
Very poetic and enlightening. I recommend the audio read by the author.