 2008-08-25 - This is a must read
There were times when I read this book I was in a fury with rage, when I was completely dumbfounded, flummoxed, horrified, disturbed (deeply) by another chapter of our good country's history. Yet there were also times when I was proud of those portrayed here who were moral and just -- folk who sought to cleanse the countryside of those who thought nothing of life, except to take advantage of it until there was nothing more to give. This richly researched, sharply written book is an essential read.
2008-08-20 - Powerful and disturbing - a must read.
As an historian, I have long been aware that slavery did not end the evils perpetrated on black people in this country, but I never realized the full extent. Although this book is at times repetitious and disjointed, it is a powerful narrative of a period in American history arguably more disturbing than ante bellum slavery. It's as though all the humane slave masters have been replaced by Simon Legrees and Bull Connors. The complicity of corporate America and the emergence of industrial slavery make the situation even more problematic. This book needs to be read by all who want to fully understand the ramifications of history on race relations in this country and should be required reading in high school and college classrooms.
2008-08-19 - Slavery by another Name
Just started the book,but understand now why progress is so slow.The black americans have had the government standing on their backs since day one.If you have any evidence of African blood you need to know your limitations.
2008-08-10 - Why did it take so long?
I hope Mr. Blackmon's book sells well. He has documented a piece of history of which too many of us were unaware. I pretty much agree with the other five-star reviews, so I won't echo them in mine.
Born in New York City in 1930 and raised there, as a child I accompanied my parents on annual trips to back country Georgia to visit my father's racist, redneck family. I saw first hand the discrimination and humiliation of the Jim Crow South as well as the abject poverty of the sharecropper system. I remember seeing the stripe-suited chain gangs along the roads and my parents explaining that those men were "jailbirds." However, I was totally ignorant of the conditions of slavery in the mines and of how African-Americans were "convicted" and sold.
I'm probably not qualified to judge the quality of the author's research, but the quantity was certainly impressive. Therefore, I was quite surprised that a reporter for the Wall Street Journal would mistakenly attribute (on page 111) "a more perfect union" to the Declaration of Independence. If Mr. Blackmon reads these reviews, I hope he will accept that small bit of constructive criticism in the spirit in which it was written as I truly appreciate and applaud his important work.
2008-07-30 - Outstanding!
This is a painful but necessary read. It puts meat on the skeletal knowledge we have of the Jim Crow era and illustrates just how nasty the southern half of the US was... explaining a lot about some of the current backwardness there as well.
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