Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

BY Wilkerson, Isabel ( Author ) [{ The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration By Wilkerson, Isabel ( Author ) Oct - 04- 2011 ( Paperback ) } ] by Isabel Wilkerson

25 reviews

zetiacg's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

Beautifully tragic and hopeful at the same time. An amazing historical account and an incredibly personal, intimate look at the great migration that shaped the US. I learned and grieved so much.
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steelydan's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

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lauryn_bedford1's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

I’d read an excerpt from Wilkerson’s Caste for an undergraduate sociology class. Back then, I was enthralled with her way with words. So, of course, years later, I picked this up. 

It had a slow start, especially with the back and forth between the three main characters. At times, Wilkerson’s wording is bit clunky, too much, a little self-congratulatory. But, overall, she presents the migrants’ stories in a beautiful retelling. It’s nothing short of masterful. It does become a bit of a slog to read when the migrants have settled into their respective destinations. Even writing this right now, having just finished the book, I’ve forgotten most of what each character went through. It’s a big book (around 530 of actual book) so of course the details get lost. And then, Wilkerson piles on extra chapters of information not directly germane to the characters. Most of them span around 70 years so I’ll give myself grace. But, this book is a wonderful piece of history of education. Just yesterday, I found out that it’s not actually black people that factor into property value decreasing. I learned what a pullman porter was. How Black people hopped trains to make it to the North. “Little” things like this made this read worth it. 
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kemmie's review against another edition

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informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.75

Toni Morrison described this book as "profound, necessary and an absolute delight" and I agree whole heartedly. This book is a treasure I stumbled upon at a bookshop and has given me in the three weeks it took me to finish it a history lesson years in class could never deliver. Easily one of the best non-fiction books I have ever read. I have learnt so much and understood so much about people miles away from my country of birth. I think everybody needs to read this book. It will tug at your heart and at the end so many things will make sense. It tells a very necessary story of the lives of so many African Americans and somewhere along the way you will find yourself deeply invested in the lives of the 3 main characters used to tell the story of so many others of their time. A definite slow burn and it may feel lengthy but it is definitely worth every minute spent reading it.
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mysterymom40's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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dcdc's review against another edition

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hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

4.5

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princxporkchop's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.25

A crucial archive of Black culture and history that's unfortunately weakened at times by its liberal academic sensibilities, particularly with its adherence to respectability politics and the lionization of war criminal Barack Obama.
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snipinfool's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

The Warmth of Other Suns chronicled the Great Migration of African Americans moving to free themselves from the Jim Crow laws in the South. Their journeys began around 1910 and were thought to be mostly completed by 1970. Prior to 1910, only one percent of African Americans lived outside of the South. Afterward, approximately forty-seven percent of this population lived in the North or West. Those in power did whatever they could to deter people from leaving. Once those who left arrived at their intended new city, they found that additional roadblocks made it difficult to begin their new lives. Isabel Wilkerson’s detailed saga told the stories of some of those who were able to make the change for a better life. She focused on the lives of three people, one woman and two men. They came from different states and moved to different parts of the country, but their reasons for leaving were the same. Ms. Wilkerson told their stories starting from their teenage years and followed them throughout their lives. Woven between their stories were additional anecdotes of those who migrated north and west.

I had never heard of the Great Migration. The bravery and tenacity of the people in these stories were written in these pages. Parts of the book were painful to read because of the cruelty inflicted by those who held the power. Ms. Wilkerson masterfully crafted her words to convey their pain and struggle. This book is 793 pages (Kindle edition), but I flew through their stories. I wanted to read the account of their move and hoped they found the life they wanted. Many of the stories told here will stick with me for a very long time. This is a very important part of American history that should be taught and studied.
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cboll's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful informative slow-paced

4.25

It’s extremely fitting that this novel won a Pulitzer Prize. Isabelle Wilkerson is amazing and I’ll read anything she writes.
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jaiari12's review against another edition

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informative inspiring slow-paced

5.0

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