cdseleman 's review for:

Ida B. the Queen: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Ida B. Wells by Michelle Duster

3.0

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This is supposedly a biography of Ida B. Wells, but actually turned out to be a work that ties Wells' efforts into the present. Written by Wells' great-granddaughter, Michelle Duster focused not only on what Wells did in her time, but also on her legacy and where those efforts stand now. The overall message: her work isn't finished. I am very much a Type A person so it was a little frustrating to me that the book isn't written chronologically and there wasn't a clear reason why. There's an incredible timeline about halfway through the book ranging for hundreds of years that helps frame all of the book's content, but it was jarring to me that this wasn't located at the beginning of the book as a guide or the end of the book as a summary. The book was significantly shorter than it appeared. Only about 65% of the book was actually for reading and the rest was sources, index, and credits. It was definitely fun to learn about a woman whose name I've heard but I've never known what she did, and I was excited to be learning it from one of her descendants, but I think the book could have been more effective had it been organized a little differently.