Summer Book Binge on Non-fiction Authors

I can't seem to stop seeking books by certain authors...

especially when an author is a pro at non-fiction writing. I just finished Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America. I had previously read (and not loved, though respected) Larson's Dead Wake, all about the sinking of the Lusitania, and at the end of this past school year, I read In the Garden of the Beasts, which was all about an ambassador in Hitler's Germany (the early years!).

Larson has an interesting alternating style, by which I mean he likes to switch back and forth, from chapter to chapter, from one "side" of the story to another. This has the potential to enliven the pace, but in the aforementioned books, sometimes this only served to drag out incidents that I thought could have been handled more quickly. Certainly, if I had done a tenth of the research that Larson does when writing his books, I would be loathe to cut anything out, but for the sake of moving the plot along, I wonder if more sacrifices could have been made...

With that said, I REALLY liked The Devil in the White City, which also followed the alternating style, although this generally stuck to two storylines, which I thought tightened the focus and made for a more compelling read. (Now, if I was a historian, I might balk at this, as many critics did, but as someone who appreciates a good story, I liked it!)
The premise is that the story follows the development of two men:

Burnham

architect Daniel Hudson Burnham, the director of the fair and builder of such important structures as Union Station in Washington DC (and, in his lifetime, the tallest building in Chicago), and the serial killer doctor Henry H. Holmes (who had many other aliases), who used the fair to enrich himself and his hunting grounds.

This was also a story anchored to its place, as Chicago plays such an important role, reflecting the insecurities, promise, and growth of the men. I thought the development of the characters, setting, and story arc was such that I didn't want to stop reading, and I found myself learning something new and fascinating on each page.

The "White City" of the Columbian Exposition

Additional factors probably led to my appreciation for this book. First of all, I knew nothing about the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition (i.e. the World's Fair), and I was fascinated by all of the notable people who took part and all of the "inventions" that came of trying to outdo the French, whose previous world fair gave birth to the Eiffel Tower. I also didn't know that the fair built a whole city (painted white, hence the name) within the city, and that these structures, while built by some of the most prominent architects in the USA, were only meant to stand for 6 months! Moreover, I learned a lot about building, business, labor, and medicine at the turn of the century, and how easily standards were set and left unenforced. Finally, in this era of Criminal Minds, its hard not to want to read about serial killers (before people really knew what they were).

Reading this made me want to look up another set of authors I love, Stephen D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, who wrote the Freakonomics series. I hadn't read When to Rob a Bank yet, as seemed to be more of a "collection" than a coherent book, and I really wanted more of the interesting narrative that I found in the Freakonomics books. However, in listening to the audiobook in short bursts while gardening and cooking, I found that short, blog-like segments were perfect. (And yes, much of the content came from the blog, so you can read much of this and newer content there).

With that said, I agree with many of the reviewers who skewered the book for being too random. It is. But if you, like me, go into reading with the expectation of a serial genre, then the book is a nice injection of Freakonomics into your day. If you are looking for something you can pick up for a while, read some interesting facts, studies, and anecdotes, and then hear Levitt and Dubner's wry and interesting observations, then this is a good book. And, I'll point out, the original Freakonomics series was still a fairly random collection of chapters (albeit longer, more coherently researched chapters), so I'm not sure I'd be trashing the authors for a lack of coherence.

So if you want an in-depth study of the 1893 World's Fair (or anything else for that matter), pick up an author like Larson. If you want some more RANDOM, but just as fascinating discussions, then pick up Levitt and Dubner.

First Quarter Reading List

Some people have been asking me what I've read so far this year 

Especially as we approach holiday book season!

Unfortunately, given that much of my reading has been through the library app and $1-$2 book deals on the Amazon Kindle app, I can't say that I have a lot of "new" books to recommend, but I will share some of the older books that I've gotten around to with a brief rating/recommendation--in reverse order, starting with the latest books I've read.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
The story of Achilles and the Trojan War from Patroclus' point of view. I was definitely intrigued by the love story between the two--which created its own set of problems--and the way that "men" were shown with all their flaws, even as the gods who participated in the story were just as flawed. This book does not shy away from sex (nor is it particularly graphic), but I could see this being an issue for people who wanted to include this with a study of The Odyssey. However, for those who like Greek gods and heroes, this story is an interesting take on how the world might have looked to the Greeks (if, in fact, they did meet with Gods and Goddesses).

Uprooted by Naomi Novik
This was one of those books I got because both the e-book and audiobook were available at the same time (and the author of Wicked wrote a favorable blurb), so I could listen in the car (or while washing  the dishes) and then switch back to the e-book version to continue quietly.
Note: the audiobook was TERRIBLE! The reader sounded like she was a robot with an Eastern European accent, except when she read the parts of possessed people--and when I heard the animation in her voice, I kind of wanted everyone to be possessed from that point onward.
Anyway, I didn't realize this was a fantasy book at first, but much as I tend not to like fantasy fiction, I liked this story. It was kind of a coming of age tale/adventure, complete with all the heroic archetypes (mentor, elixir, slaying the beast, etc.). The best part of this was the nature of "the Wood," the everywhere and nowhere villain of the story.

We Should all be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
This was more of an essay than a book, but it was powerful. It is also a TED talk! (This is the same MacArthur genius grant winner who has the famous "The Danger of a Single Story" TED talk...I shall be looking for more of her writing!)

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti
I read this as part of the Big Library Read program (and because of this, the ebook and audiobook were available at the same time). It is a part mystery, young adult book, but it still worked for me (maybe because I teach young adults). The audiobook was AMAZING! The reader really embodied Hawthorn, the female protagonist, and I appreciated the voice she gave to the supporting characters. I also appreciated the author's use of symbolism and voice, and the way she didn't shy away from real issues faced by teenagers. I also liked that I didn't always like the main character, who was realistically selfish and somewhat understandably critical of everyone--who were, after all, contributing to her miserable state as an outcast.

Auschwitz: A Doctor's Eyewitness Account by Dr. Miklos Nyiszli

This book has been around for a long time (and it's pretty short), but I learned some new information about Dr. Mengele from this, as well as how the Sonderkommando worked. What was most interesting to me was the foreword of the book, which kind of criticizes the men in these units for NOT rebelling against the Nazis sooner. While it kind of offended me, as I read the story itself, I could see how hard the Nazis worked to keep people from rebelling, and how insidious the persecution of the Jews was, slowly stripping them of their humanity and life force until, as the doctor said, many welcomed death. A fascinating survivor account.

The Radium Girls by Kate Moore

The true story of the women who painted radium dials on watches during and after WWI. I was horrified to learn of the "lip point" technique they were encouraged to use, which basically had them eating radioactive paint--and then the systematic denial by the companies that they could be at fault for the health problems (to put it mildly) encountered by the women after the fact. I loved how the author committed to telling the story from the girls' points of view.

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

This was the first of my ebook/audiobook experiments, as I found that I would want to keep reading as I shuttled the kids and myself to and from school. After reading (and loving) David and Goliath on audiobook and Outliers in paperback, I wanted something else by this author. This is an interesting look at how "trends" explode, and what makes something "tip" into--or out of--popularity.

David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell

This audiobook explored what makes "the underdog" such an obvious winner. If you want to think about how weakness can become strength and vice versa, its an interesting read. I especially enjoyed the chapter on class size, though I would argue that in some classes with special needs, 20+ students is too many!

How many books can you read with a new baby?

A lot.

When you have a Kindle app that allows you to use a black screen and white text in low light, you can turn awful nights up with the baby into secret read-a-thons.

Thank goodness for my local library's participation in Overdrive, which allows me to download (free, borrowed) e-books. Here is a short list of books I e-read since Fiona's birth, up through the late part of summer (hey, I often skipped around). I'm happy to discuss ANY of them beyond my crude rating:

The Martian by Andy Weir
Super-funny and suspenseful sci-fi adventure. I bet the movie is awesome.

Dead Wake by Erik Larson
I never knew it could take so long for a damn boat to sink. Some facts were cool, but otherwise my nonfavorite nonfiction.

American Jezebel by Eve LaPlante
Nonfiction: The trial transcripts were the best part. Anne Hutchinson kicked butt. The author less so.

Irena's Children by Tilar J. Mazzeo
Totally true story. Called the female Oskar Schindler, but she was much more of a boss. She didn't have money, and she withstood torture to protect her children and families from the Nazis. Then the Nazis tried to blow up Warsaw. Very cool, well-researched story.

One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus
Such a guilty pleasure novel. This is based on a real offer to make peace, during which a Native Chief offered to trade horses for 1000 white women (as wives) to help bring a new generation peacefully into the white man's world. What if some crazy women really did it? I bet it would go down like this. (Oh, and there's a sequel coming soon!!)

The Girl Who Came Home: A Novel of the Titanic by Hazel Ganor
Loved how the narratives came together. I could see a movie version of this someday. And who doesn't like Titanic stories?

The Lunching: The Epic Courtroom Battle that Brought Down the Klan by Laurence Leamer
I learned a lot about the Klan, and how hard it is to overcome racism in America.

The Bees by Laline Paull
This was sold to me as a dystopia...and it is, but it is LITERALLY about bees. I'd love a science teacher to weigh in on the science in the book (fictionalized, as the bees are sentient), but other than that, I was a little bugged out.

Last Train to Istanbul by Ayse Kulin
A holocaust novel with a unique twist, as a Turkish family deals with prejudice inside their family and country while trying to save Jews from Hitler's reach. (Rumors there is a movie...?)

Broken Angels by Gemma Liviero
A novel that weaves together the story of a Jewish woman, reluctant Nazi, and Polish child. Very cool.

Elsewhere by Richard Russo
The author's memoir focused on his mother, who you get the sense was both wonderful and not quite right....who'da thought a Pulitzer winner comes from such interesting people ;)

Kindred by Octavia Butler
Sci-fi time traveler meets Roots. How would a woman of the 1970s handle going back to slave-state Maryland to save her white slave-owning ancestor? This book offers no easy answers. Oh, and that mystery of how her arm gets stuck in the wall? SOOO cool, and it came with a critical essay at the end that made me want to reread the whole novel to appreciate it even more.

Freakonomics by Steven B. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
LOVED this book. You will never look at data the same way!

SuperFreakonomics by Steven B. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
LOVED this book. Where else will you find out how a street prostitute is like a mall Santa?

Think Like a Freak  by Steven B. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
 Can you tell I loved the series so much that I gobbled all three of these?


Happy reading!

EDIT: I completely forgot to include the hard copy books I managed to read!

A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father by Augusten Burroughs
Not as good as Running with Scissors, but this is an interesting story of growing up with a (likely sociopathic) distant father. As a teacher, I squirmed when I read about how his mother took him out of school to hide from his father on several occasions, and I worry about how many stories that might require similar intervention are likewise hidden behind seemingly free-spirited parents.
I also wondered at the relationship between Burroughs' father and mother. Granted, much of their origin story is second-hand and skewed through the eyes of Augusten, but it made me wonder how someone could be so deceived as to the nature of another. If you like watching Criminal Minds, you might find this story psychologically intriguing.
 
The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens

I'm not a big "mystery" reader--in the sense of a genre-specific book--but I really liked this story of a college kid who procrastinates until he goes to a nursing home out of desperation to find an interview subject--and finds more than he bargained for. The characters and conflicts felt real, and even the protagonist's quest to find out the truth felt authentic (until about 3/4 of the way through the book, by which point I didn't care). Joe Talbert is a protagonist you can't help but root for, especially with his troubled family life, and Carl Iverson is a fascinating character of focus, accused of a horrible murder and claiming he wants to tell "the truth"--which isn't a simple case of innocent or guilty-- before the end of his life.
And, unlike many mysteries/thrillers, this story wasn't super predictable (until the very end, but again, I didn't care by then). This was a great beach read, but also an inspiring read in general.

I lost count

The title implied that there were six, but it felt like more...

At least the authors were thorough, giving not only the details of the spies themselves but of the people who worked with and around them. In George Washington's Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved the American Revolution, Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger gave a detailed accounting of the actions of the New York "Culper" ring of spies, as well as the details of other related actions.

I confess I didn't know much about Benedict Arnold before reading this book, and this gave me a much clearer picture of who he was and why he did what he did. I also learned more about Nathan Hale, who is much honored in CT, though the way the authors tell it, he seemed like a poor choice for a spy who was destined to be caught.

Anyway, if you thought spying was all James Bond, this book puts those notions to rest. These great spies in American history were great precisely because they were relatively ordinary men (and one mystery woman) who lived pretty ordinary lives, except for the fact that they were sharing everything they took care to overhear with the revolutionaries at great expense to their personal safety. 

Few people think of there being spies during "old" wars, but it was apparently common. In fact, I was surprised by how quickly the British spies confessed to spying, with the understanding that typically they would be returned in trade for someone from the other side. (That is how one famous British spy lost his life.) In fact, the British said they lost because they were outspied!

It was interesting to see how important intelligence was to America winning the war for independence, and while it was great to see so many excerpts from real letters, my only complaint was that sometimes these letters and profuse details slowed the "story" down. However, given that these were real people, this book does a great job providing a basis for its assumptions about their feelings at the time by supporting the narrative with such evidence. I also liked the epilogue, which elaborated on the theories of who the mystery female agent was since the original publication of the book.

So, if you are interested in the American Revolution, spying, historical research, or even how invisible ink came to be, then this is a great book for you.

Happy reading!

Aww Nuts

So, remember how I started picking some books based on their covers?

If you look at the cover of Penny Marshall's memoir My Mother Was Nuts, you'd think it was going to be a very funny book. It was not.

For those who don't know Laverne and Shirley or Big or A League of their Own, Penny Marshall is an actress/director who is incredibly funny and talented...on screen. Amazon had good reviews, but the top review on Goodreads seems to tell the story (albeit less generously).

I know English teachers are supposed to like books (and I did finish it, because I spent $2 on it and because it did get a little more interesting in the middle, when I learned about how some TV shows and movies are made), but I thought this was terrible. Penny Marshall led this AMAZING life, knows all these famous people, and yet the story read like: "I did this. And then I did this. This guy was there. He was really funny."

I know she worked with a ghost writer, and I don't know their qualifications, but I'd have to conclude that either the ghost writer wasn't very good, Penny Marshall insisted on creative control, or she did so many drugs that she couldn't remember any details that would have made this memoir feel like a life. 

In fact, reading an interview with her reads a lot like the book. It's the exact same stuff. It's a shame, because she was the first woman to make a $100 million dollar film, and with that kind of achievement, I wanted to know more about the BARRIERS she faced. Really, the struggles she has are glossed over, including her pregnancy in college which caused her to drop out and get married. Her whole life is turned upside down, and the way the book reads, it's like she had some stale Raisin Bran for breakfast.

I did find it interesting to read how A League of Their Own was cast, as I love that film. I love that Tom Hanks wanted the part so badly, and that the character of Kit was cast before Gena Davis (they dyed the hair so they would even look remotely like sisters). I loved hearing about how Jon Lovitz ad-libbed so many of his great lines in that movie (like telling the cow to shut up). All of that trivia was interesting.

This was a very fast read (I knocked it out in a few hours) and not very difficult. If kids want to know why smoking and doing drugs and having unprotected sex is bad, they might be interested in this, but I'm guessing most teens will pass. And unless you really, really love Penny Marshall (I do), I'm guessing many adults would pass too.
But if you want to know about how Penny Marshall got where she did, if you don't want to read the online summaries of the fun facts about her movies shared in her book (like how Marky Mark became Mark Wahlberg on her watch, or how she rode around France with Art Garfunkel), then this book is for you!

Happy reading!

Have Mercy!

What sold me was a review that said it would be a great companion to To Kill a Mockingbird...

I didn't realize that the majority of Just Mercy took place in Monroeville, Alabama, where Harper Lee was raised, or that this too involved the story of a black man wrongfully accused and convicted of a crime.

Unlike Atticus Finch, however, the protagonist of this story is the author, a black lawyer who is keenly aware of how unjust the system as. Race is thus always an element of this story, even when the people Stevenson defends aren't black, as he encounters his own challenges as a black attorney in Alabama (and other places across America).

With that said, this was not as "heavy" a book as it could have been. I really enjoyed reading it (couldn't put it down), and couldn't wait to find out what happened in the "main" story of his defense of Walter McMillian, a black man who had two strikes against him: success and a white girlfriend. When the local sheriff couldn't find a suspect for the murder of a beloved young white girl, he jumped on the chance to arrest McMillian once someone pointed the finger in his direction. At least that is how the book tells it...and in this memoir, Stevenson shows how much evidence had to be ignored to try and convict McMillian. (I don't think I'm spoiling anything by sharing one shocking example: his entire family was with him at the time of the murder! But their alibis didn't count when stacked against the testimony of a white criminal looking to make a deal!)

And this was all happening in Harper Lee's hometown, a place that celebrated the "justice" seen in the movie by using its courthouse to lure English majors and lawyers to spend tourism money. The irony is not lost upon Stevenson, who sees that the racism, classism, and even sexism portrayed in the novel is still alive and well in the modern day despite Harper Lee's indictment of the system.

As much as I wanted to know what happened, I liked how the author interrupted this story to share some of the other cases he worked on. At first I thought it was a poor conceit, but as he reviewed these other cases, it became clear he was showing, through example, just how unfair the system is to the poor, the too-young-to-know-better, the mentally ill, young mothers, and people of color. I read this book on my Kindle app, and found myself highlighting paragraphs that either shocked me (the statistics about how much we spend on prison vs. education weren't new to me, but were still shocking) or touched me.

Thus, when we returned to McMillian's story, the unfairness of it all was less shocking. His story--while an egregious example of injustice--was then framed as just ONE example of all the injustices occurring in our nation today. It also showed how "political" the law is, with district attorneys, judges, and politicians afraid to put what is "right" before what is popular for the sake of votes, money, and ease.

The story is also incredibly inspiring. The author came from humble beginnings, attended Harvard law, started a nonprofit practice to defend the defenseless (at a time when money was being cut to provide people with a defense....kind of like today!), and ended up winning all sorts of awards in addition to successfully arguing in front of the Supreme Court!

Maybe I'm the only person who would pick this as a beach read, but I found this to be well-paced, and interesting on both an academic and "popcorn" level. And, as has been the trend, apparently I picked a book that is being made into a movie! (Check out the handsome actor who will play young Bryan!)

Michael B. Jordan, who will star  in the movie, release date TBD.

 

While there are definitely disturbing facts in the book, nothing is so graphic that I would say this is not appropriate for high school. In fact, I think a young adult audience would connect with Stevenson right out of college and appreciate the look "behind the scenes" of our American system, which teenagers are already skeptical of. Oh, and I think adults would really like it too :)

Happy reading!

Barely Breathing

Definitely crying when I finished this one...

Whereas it took me a week to finish my last "for fun" book, it only took me a few hours to read When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi (and contributors).

The author with his wife and daughter.

As you will no doubt read in the book jacket, this is the true story of Paul Kalanithi, before and after his diagnosis with stage IV lung cancer at 36 years old. In fact, he died while working on the book in March 2015, and so his wife writes his final chapter.

But it isn't so much the story that is remarkable (though I love that he shared his journey to find himself, dual majoring in biology and English, and even earning a masters in English before deciding to become a doctor). What is interesting about this book is the voice and perspective, written as a "convert" in so many ways--from scholar to healer, from doctor to patient--though he never forgets to sprinkle in the wisdom from his favorite authors along the way. He found inspiration in poets and writers, especially those with medical training ("I took meager solace in knowing that William Carlos Williams and Richard Seltzer had confessed to doing worse, and I swore to do better. [...] Technical excellence was not enough.")

The author at work.

I personally loved learning about what doctors, and more specifically what neurosurgeons have to go through to become "doctors," and Kalanithi is very candid about how hard it is to keep perspective that patients are people when overwhelmed by responsibility. Although he seems to gloss over some episodes that could have been elaborated on more (like how these pressures drove his good friend to suicide), given that this is an unfinished book, it's pretty compelling.


I loved how connected to literature the novel was. In fact, the author confesses that "it was literature that brought [him] back to life" after being confronted with the certainty of death (though not the certainty of when that death would come). Paul wanted to know what makes life meaningful, and believed that poetry, literature, and language were essential to life. 

His wife, Lucy, writes in the epilogue, "Paul confronted death--examined it, wrestled with it, accepted it--as a physician and a patient. He wanted to help people understand death and face their mortality." (You can watch a short interview with her below.)

So, if you are looking for an inspirational true story, if you have been pondering what makes life worth living, if you are interested in medicine, if you know someone struggling with cancer, or if you just want a good cry, I would say this is a great book for you.

Happy reading!

Reading for Work

So, you know how you just want to read for pleasure?

I know, we all want to kick back and read Harry Potter or The Hunger Games and eat Cheetos, but sometimes we have to read for work. And if you are lucky, you love your work enough that this reading isn't such a chore.

Over the past few days, I read three books on writing centers: Richard Kent's A Guide to Creating Student-Staffed Writing Centers: Grades K-12, Ben Rafoth's anthology A Tutor's Guide: Helping Writers One to One, and Pamela Farrell's classic High School Writing Center: Establishing and Maintaining One. They all came in from Amazon (I know, the evil empire) around the same time, and I plowed through them hoping to find the "answers" to what a writing center is supposed to look like.

But here's the secret: books don't give you answers! Now, before everyone revolts and starts bringing torches and pitchforks to teachers' houses, let me clarify: books give you the information, the benefit of other people's experiences, and the tools to help YOU find your answers.

True, none of these books by themselves had everything I needed, but by reading all three, I found many of the tools I needed to continue my work preparing for the fall.

I'm sure most of you won't read these, but I thought it was important to share that while adults read for pleasure and to stay informed, they also read for very practical purposes (like reading the CT DOE guidelines for applying to renew teaching certifications...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz). And while reading for work isn't always fun, if you really want answers, then the reading is worth it. Having "done the reading" is rewarding.

So, if any of you are doing "required" reading and cursing about it, just think about how rewarding it will be when you finish...and remember that if you let yourself, you may just enjoy it!

Happy reading!

It's Between Me and...

If you haven't heard of Between the World and Me,

then you need to enter the conversation.

Ta-Nehisi Coates memoirish book is only about 150 pages, but it took me a good week to read. It is dense, and often it is raw, and it raises questions and truths about America that make all of us uncomfortable. It is heavy reading, but the way the author intertwines the personal with the abstract keeps this book from feeling overly academic or preachy.

The author and his son, as a baby.

The book is written as a letter to his son, though the open nature of the letter means that everything he says is between the world and him. (I know kids, duh!) The title also clearly references prominent African American author Richard Wright ("And the sooty details of the scene rose, thrusting themselves between the world and me"), and in many ways echoes Wright's Black Boy, revealing what it means to grow up black in America...but including the diversity of the experience as well as the unfortunate unity that comes from race.

Richard Wright

And what I found interesting is that the author calls into question this whole idea of race. Throughout the book, he both explicitly and implicitly argues that race is a construct, an invention of those who would be part of the "white" race to grant and deny power. The combination of narrative, history, and current events makes this argument persuasive.

Being what many people would consider a white woman, I felt profoundly conflicted about the novel. I can never truly empathize with the author or his experience, but I feel guilt and shame on behalf of the system that privileges me. I felt guilt about how I benefit from the perverse race situation in America, and then I felt almost angry that the author wasn't providing answers, but seemingly only blame. But then, as I finished the book, it became clear that HE didn't have the answers. The point of writing this as a letter was to share his frustration, his struggle, and his wisdom as he searched for the best answers he could.

So, as I'm at a loss for words trying to better describe this book, let me share with you some of the passages that stuck out/stuck with me.

 "The point of this langauge of "intention" and "personal responsibility" is broad exoneration. Mistakes were made. Bodies were broken. People were enslaved. We meant well. We tried our best. "Good intention" is a hall pass through history, a sleeping pill that ensures the Dream."

"At the onset of the Civil War, our stolen bodies were worth four billion dollars, more than all of American industry, all of American railroads, workshops, and factories combined, and the prime product rendered by our stolen bodies--cotton--was America's primary export. [...]Here is the motive for the great war. It's not a secret."

"The killing fields of Chicago, of Baltimore, of Detroit were created by the policy of Dreamers, but their weight, their shame, rests solely upon those who are dying in them. There is great deception in this. To yell "black-on-black crime" is to shoot a man and then shame him for bleeding."

"She alluded to 12 Years a Slave. 'There he was,' she said, speaking of Solomon Northup. 'He had means. He had a family. He was living like a human being. And one racist act took him back. And the same is true of me. I spent years developing a career, acquiring assets, engaging responsibilities. And one racist act. It's all it takes.'" 

If you search the internet, you will find it abounds with quotations from this book; it is that poignant. (You can also find a lot of videos of interviews with and talks by the author.)

This is a book I would recommend to many people (whether they want to read it or not). I think to conversations I've had with students about race in our little part of Connecticut, and this book really helped me think differently about the words I use when talking about "race" with students. It made me think about how I might inadvertently be reinforcing corruption in the name of keeping things civil...it just made me think.

So, if you are interested in "race" in America, if you have ever felt powerless, if you are a person who likes to be challenged, and if you want to read quality writing, then this nonfiction book is for you.

Happy reading!