Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

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

4 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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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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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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wlreed312's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative slow-paced

5.0

 This was absolutely fantastic. The narratives of the three protagonists were heartbreaking, awe inspiring, sometimes lovely and sometimes frustrating. They were all so deeply human. The history is fascinating. The writing is lovely and engaging. Wilkerson is a wonder. I don't often buy nonfiction books because I try to save my purchases for books I know I'll reread, but I think I'll make an exception for this. Truly wonderful, as is Caste.
 
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