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Reviews tagging 'Murder'
Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 by Ibram X. Kendi
11 reviews
readandfindout's review
4.25
Themes: 4.5 stars
Perspective: 4 stars
Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Police brutality, Murder, Hate crime, War, Violence, Death, and Rape
Moderate: Addiction, Torture, and Racial slurs
ksuazo94's review
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Sexism, Medical content, Murder, Grief, War, and Racism
Moderate: Addiction
nadia's review against another edition
3.75
I listened to the audiobook, and while I've heard others praise this edition highly — and it was awesome to hear so many different Black voices — I just don't think this format was the right one for me to take in this material. Admittedly, I wasn't in the best mood while listening to most of it — which definitely didn't help given the subject matter — but I struggled to focus and gel with some of the chapters, especially a lot of the earlier ones.
I go back and forth between thinking the book was incredible because of its breadth and variety and thinking it was trying to pack in almost too much that I've left it not really remembering any details, which is what I went into the book hoping for. Again, this could be because I listened to the book as opposed to reading the words from a page.
I was a big fan of the structure — 10 parts spanning 40 years and each chapter spanning 5 — and it was fascinating travelling bit by bit from the 17th Century all the way to the present day. I also appreciated the occasional poems mixed in with the essays!
I think I might have preferred a series of books in a very similar style, but with some of the essays going more in depth, and perhaps them having a little bit more of a narrative thread through them.
All in all, a book that's definitely worth your time! My rating is heavily based on my personal enjoyment in the moment.
Note: Around 75% in, there's a chapter on Zora Neale Hurston. I skipped most of it for fear of spoilers of Their Eyes Were Watching God.
Graphic: Slavery, Violence, Colonisation, Racism, Death, Murder, and War
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Death, Murder, Hate crime, Trafficking, War, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Religious bigotry, Classism, and Police brutality
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Genocide, Child abuse, and Drug use
Minor: Transphobia, Pregnancy, Suicide, Pedophilia, Infertility, Mass/school shootings, Antisemitism, Alcohol, Homophobia, and Ableism
stevia333k's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Religious bigotry, Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Classism, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Colonisation, Police brutality, Sexism, Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Trafficking, War, and Violence
sydapel's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Police brutality, Murder, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, War, Violence, Racism, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Hate crime, Drug use, Mental illness, Torture, Rape, Colonisation, and Sexual assault
mydearwatsonbooks's review against another edition
Graphic: Kidnapping, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Death, Grief, Murder, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Racial slurs
Mention of several celebrities and prominent figures who have committed rape and/or sexual assualtgabi_tron's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Murder, Colonisation, Confinement, Police brutality, Racism, Slavery, and Violence
sherbertwells's review
3.0
“The hero of this drama is Black people. All Black People. The free Blacks; the uncloaked maroons; the Black elite; the preachers and reverends; the doormen and doctors; the sharecroppers and soldiers—they are all protagonists in our epic adventure.
Spoiler alert: the hero of this story does not die.
Ever” (235)
“When we are creating a shared history, what we remember is just as revelatory as what we forget” (4)
“Together, despite the odds, we have made it this far. The powerful essays and poetry in Four Hundred Souls are a testament to how much we have overcome, and how we have managed to do it together, despite our differences and diverse perspectives.
Yet. I am not convinced that we are our ancestors’ wildest dreams. At least not yet” (391)
Graphic: Racism and Slavery
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Hate crime, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexism, and Torture
Minor: Addiction, Medical content, Medical trauma, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
serendipitysbooks's review
5.0
It’s a community history, a compilation of eighty essays, each by a different author. The authors came from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines; this is not a book authored solely by academic historians. Some essays focused on a person, some an event, some an object, others an idea. I loved the variety of topics, styles and voices. Each essay covered a five year period and they were arranged chronologically which gave the book a flow, a sense of historical progression and a cohesiveness. The essays were divided into ten sections, each of which ended with a poem that reflected on the preceding essays. I’ve never seen this done before but I thought it was very effective. The poetry brought a different dimension and I wished some visual arts had been able to be included also.
Another thing that really stood out is the way most, if not all, essays explicitly linked the events of the past with those of the present. This is not a book of dry facts from the past; this is history that clearly explains the present, and sadly indicates the way things have not changed as much as they ought.
It’s very hard to review such a diverse collection. Personally I especially enjoyed the essays that looked at the 1600 and 1700s since it’s a period of US history that I’m less familiar with. Michael Harriot’s essay on the Reconstruction era really stood out because of it’s honest language, language that differs from that found in most history books. They talk about racial unrest; he talks about terror cells and a war being waged to create a white supremist state. Tera W. Hunter’s exploration of the Shermantown neighbourhood also caught my eye.
Four hundred years of history may sound a daunting read but it’s not. All the essays bar one are between 3 and 5 pages, meaning this can easily be read, slowly but steadily, at the rate of one essay per day - a pace that would allow plenty of time for reflection.
Unique and Unmissable.
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Slavery, and Violence