Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith

55 reviews

raebelanger's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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tlh239's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

A beautifully written excavation of the history of slavery, Jim Crow, and racism in America. The book is shaped around visits to major historic sites, with the author using those conversations and visits to interrogate our thinking and communicating about slavery. He also weaves in well sourced and convincing counterpoints to teach the reader the lie, so they can recognize it as false when they encounter it again. 
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condls27's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

An absolute must read for everyone. So beautifully written and engaging. I recommend reading with a highlighter and some tabs. 
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hellavaral's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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smileymiley550's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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ckozik1017's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative tense medium-paced

5.0

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kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Powerful. Compelling. Devastating. I learned a lot I didn’t know about myriad locations around the country (and world) that were and still are institutions of slavery and oppression. There’s a lot to unpack and reckon with about our history as a nation in this book and I think it’s worth the discomfort to know more about the nation’s real history. 
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overthinkereading's review against another edition

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challenging informative medium-paced

5.0

"What would it take - what does it take - for you to confront a false history even if it means shattering the stories you have been told throughout your life?"

How the Word is Passed fundamentally is a shattering of many stories, both those of the official record and those of legend and lore, in pursuit of the truth at the core of United States history: that slavery was central to our founding and is inextricable from every aspect of historical and contemporary American life.

Despite the (for some, painful) deconstruction inherent in Smith's work, he takes great care with presenting his research and experiences. It is obvious he brings a level of humanity, compassion, and artistry amid this reckoning, and even during the most harrowing passages of the book, his writing is profoundly beautiful.  (His experience as a poet is evident especially in descriptions of place).

To answer the question, "What would it take to confront our false history?" we ought to start here, with this book. Highly recommend.
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lizziaha's review against another edition

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4.5

Prose written by a poet is just so lovely. And it was interesting to see how a story takes shape: the twists and turns, the reconstructions and the lies. The way that place holds such a deep meaning, and that place is imbued with history. The way that we are still molding history, that our current actions are both informed by history and become history. This book is part of that story that we tell about history. One particular section that I (a white southerner educated in the public school system) plan to revisit is Smith’s discussion of the South’s rallying cry of States Rights and how the story diverges from the history. 
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zosiablue's review against another edition

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challenging informative sad medium-paced

4.25

Incredibly powerful and personal. The author visits sites around US (and one in Africa) to explore those places' relationships with slavery. Most of the history I didn't know, including the chapter about the cemetery a mile from my parents' house, one I drove by every day on my last visit. The Angola prison section was especially shocking to me; I didn't know there was a gift shop attached to the prison mocking its cruelty. I also appreciated how the author was open about his own gaps here - parts he didn't know or details he focused on that later he realized weren't important. Smith is a poet, so occasionally the writing got a little purple, but not enough to detract. An important book.
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