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A review by linds29
Soledad Brother: The Prison Letters of George Jackson by George L. Jackson
3.0
Rounded down from 3.5
His voice is as powerful, clear, and passionate as everyone says it is. There are many nuggets that either felt incredibly accurate or constituted good food for thought. His commitment to education and liberation is phenomenally impressive. However, at least half of the book is lost between his intense misogyny and apparent dislike of his family, especially his parents. He focuses more on the real stuff, his extensive critique of capitalism and nods toward prison abolition rhetoric, in the second half of the book as he starts writing his lawyer and other women that surprise him as being "intelligent," including Angela Davis. I'm sure there's a persuasive hot take out there about how focusing on the rampant sexism and intellectual elitism in his letters is reductionist, shallow feminism, etc., but I've unfortunately yet to come across it.
"...too many times, too many of us choose to live the crippled existence of the near-man, the half-man. Well, I don't care how long I live. Over this, I have no control, but I do care about what kind of life I live, and I can control this. I may not live but another five minutes, but it will be five minutes definitely on my terms."
His voice is as powerful, clear, and passionate as everyone says it is. There are many nuggets that either felt incredibly accurate or constituted good food for thought. His commitment to education and liberation is phenomenally impressive. However, at least half of the book is lost between his intense misogyny and apparent dislike of his family, especially his parents. He focuses more on the real stuff, his extensive critique of capitalism and nods toward prison abolition rhetoric, in the second half of the book as he starts writing his lawyer and other women that surprise him as being "intelligent," including Angela Davis. I'm sure there's a persuasive hot take out there about how focusing on the rampant sexism and intellectual elitism in his letters is reductionist, shallow feminism, etc., but I've unfortunately yet to come across it.
"...too many times, too many of us choose to live the crippled existence of the near-man, the half-man. Well, I don't care how long I live. Over this, I have no control, but I do care about what kind of life I live, and I can control this. I may not live but another five minutes, but it will be five minutes definitely on my terms."