crankylibrarian 's review for:

Losing My Cool: How a Father's Love and 15,000 Books Beat Hip-Hop Culture by Thomas Chatterton Williams

3.0

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What does it mean to be a young black male today? Is hip-hop culture, with its emphasis on violence, sexism and anti-authoritarianism, the only way for black men to self-identify? Thomas Chatterton Williams answers with a resounding "No!" as he recounts his youth as the biracial son of a wise, intellectually demanding black father, who insisted on excellence, but also on a culture of community values and respect. Williams describes in unflinching detail how his youthful flirtation with "thug life" eventually gave way to a mature appreciation of what it truly means to be an African American man. A terrific book for fathers and sons to read together.