A review by hagiasophia
Assata: An Autobiography by Assata Shakur

dark emotional informative medium-paced
I don't like to give memoirs star ratings, because I feel weird passing judgement on somebody's life story. That being said, I thought this was a very well done memoir. I read this after reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X  this summer & it was a great follow up to the history discussed in that book, as I saw how things had progressed and changed since Malcolm X's time. However, Assata's story is different in many ways and uniquely her own. She does not dwell or draw out her trauma, but describes it point-blank and continues the narrative. I enjoyed the structure of the narrative, which alternated between a description of her trial and imprisonment and the story of her childhood & young adulthood. It kept you engaged and wondering how she got to the present moment. It didn't go into depth on some topics I was curious about, but that is probably for the sake of privacy or secrecy, which makes sense. I definitely recommend it to anybody interested in the history of Black liberation movements in the US or anyone with an interest in Assata Shakur's life story.
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