Fabulous book, poor reader

I've lately been diving into many books on the history of race in America, and this one is by far the best I've come across. The writing is solid, the research is impeccable, and the interpretation is trenchant. I did, however, struggle with the reader. He mispronounces names, sounds alternatively bored or angry, and pauses oddly during sentences. I was tempted to give this book a miss due to the poor reader, but ended up being glad I stuck with it despite the sometimes cringe-worthy performance.

132 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

Missing Epilogue

Where is the epilogue? It's missing from the audiobook, and I submit--given the author's confessions about his own racist ideas in the introduction--it is an inherent part of the thesis. Leaving out the epilogue is a glaring omission. I feel as though I've been robbed of an important part of the book.

125 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

Good introduction, little depth

This is a fine introduction to the mistreatment of African Americans since 1492. However, since I am not an intro level student on the subject, I have some gripes. First, I realize this is a little bit of a nit pick, but I would've appreciated some recognition that this is the definitive history of /anti black/ racist ideas, not racist ideas as a whole. Aside from a brief exploration of Native American slavery in the first section, there is no discussion of Chinese Exclusion or exploitation of Native tribes. I disagree with Kendi's characterization of DuBois as naive and trying to persuade whites into anti-racism, considering his remarks in the preface of Black Reconstruction about how few whites will listen to him. I also think Kendi downplays the radicalization DuBois went through in the 1900s and 1910s that is visible reading his works from those periods. DuBois had a lot of internalized racism when he was at Harvard, but Kendi doesn't fully explore how much of that he shed. I think Kendi is also too harsh on William Lloyd Garrison, but simultaneously nothing he says is completely unfair about him. The Angela Davis section kind of falls apart towards the end as it becomes a drill through African American history from 1975-2008 and loses focus on Davis that the previous sections had held on their subjects. The sections on Cotton Mather and Thomas Jefferson were very good, however. I would give this book 3.5 stars, but these problems were glaring enough I couldn't round it up to 4.

53 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

Racism is found anywhere you want it to be

I will keep it brief because I am sure most people here already have their own dogmatic narrative regardless of reading this book or not. I read it with an open mind and as a person with an MA in Philosophy, I found a lot of logical errors that I couldn't get around. There are a lot of false dichotomies in the book. There are often many paths and thoughts to a sum in an intellectual equation. kendi often states there are only 2 or 3 ways a person can be on these issues. That is a text book definition of false dichotomy. There is also a lot of virtual signaling here that I personally view as narcissistic and arrogant. The book starts with an attack on Aristotle and what he and a few others have called "climate theory" this is a made up term mind you. Basically the thought here is that Aristotle was a bad man and if I lived in the 300BCE, I would be better. The reality is that you wont find any literature at that time in history that doesn't have some tribalism. The Greeks felt they were more enlightened than everyone, there is no newsflash here. Tribalism has always been a part of history even today as we see with American politics. Slavery and tribalism has existed in every corner of this world and still today. Just study MesoAmerican history pre Spanish or African history etc etc. There is this intellectually bankrupt idea by Kendi and others that everyone was sitting around roasting marshmallows when the Spanish and Portuguese arrived. Actually, many saw their arrival as an opportunity to get help through trading weapons or manpower to kill their enemies they were already in tribal conflicts with. A great example is the Tlaxcalan people helping the Spanish take down the Aztecs as they were tired of all the sacrifices and slavery that inflicted them at the hands of the Aztecs. Kendi cherry picks the brutal history of the world to eliminate any atrocities committed by people of color. Kendi has some great insight on current history and the aftermath of Jim Crow etc and I think he is right in many aspects pertaining. However, he is a train-wreck when he goes deep into history. Kendi himself also appears to subscribe to tribalism like most people, I also find this a bit nonsensical coming from people who educate on racism. The irony is lost I guess

47 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

Excellent book, tiring narration.

Excellent developmental account of racism in America. As an avid audiobook listener, I found the narration to be monotonous and tiring after a few hours. There is room for performance improvement.

89 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

very informative

I am very greatful to have pick this book by random. I learned so much. I knew some of the facts, which only kept my focus. yet, I wouldnt have looked at them from this angle.... which I def. agree. #Truth. It gets straight to the point. hits each point quickly. I had to go back in order not to miss a few key points in our nations history. I feel that it left some things out or didnt go into to much detail... maybe that was to keep on track and not get lost in another direction. I enjoyed every bit of it. thank you to the writer and speaker. Great job.

37 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

good book, passable narration

The book was well-researched. I learned a lot about the history of racism in America which was my goal. The narration was understandable, but a bit amateurish. The tone of voice changes at odd intervals, giving the impression that different recordings were spliced together. But once I got used to it it was fine.

21 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

I thought I wanted to know

In my personal quest to understand the source, intensity, and forms of all the energy associated with racism, I found this work to be enlightening. I will be re-reading it again before long. So much useful and well documented information from a perspective I am not privy to.

I found the author's bias sympathetic to radical anti-racists and critical toward non-violent anti-racists and assimilists distracting, tho not hard to understand. There are generations of frustration behind the emotions of anyone who is aware of racism from the inside out.

Maybe I find the author's bias distracting/annoying b/c what I read .. the way it's written .. challenges my belief that racism can be smothered peacefully; American culture can be cancer-free of all discrimination peacefully. Maybe I am uncomfortable b/c I don't want to know I'm wrong.

57 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

A Must Read for Anyone Seeking to Understand American History

By critically and carefully examining the intellectual raw material surrounding the founding and building of America, Ibram X. Kendi is able to trace the roots of so many ideas back their origins, revealing for the reader a complex web of ideas invented as post hoc rationalizations of current and future brutality, exploitation, and injustice. Kendi proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that unjust policies and practices are not merely the result of existing social realities and public opinions, but that public opinion is shaped by strategic racist rationalizations, deployed to justify existing practice and policy. Many of the ideas are not at all new, but are just reiterations of ideas that go all the way back to the beginning, ideas that have been stamped onto our collective consciousness and must be disrupted and dismantled every single day.

36 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

WOW

Where does Stamped from the Beginning rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Way up at the top!

Any additional comments?

Very eye opening book. I finished it feeling angry but motivated. I'll probably listen to this one again somewhere down the line.

16 les gens ont trouvé cela utile