I read this book via Audiobook, and the narration was wonderful. However, I do feel like I missed some of the interactive elements in the book with this medium.
Michael narrates the story of America in a largely humorous way, but he conveys the seriousness, anger, sadness, and grief in his narration when it hits the hardest.
Halfway through, when he told the story of how former slaves once owned their enslaver’s land, and then had it ripped away, I cried. The emotional tempo of this book is perfect. Harriot can go from making you laugh to making you infuriated to making you cry within a single chapter.
To the reviews that say “this isn’t anything I haven’t learned in school”. I highly doubt you read past the first chapter. There isn’t a single school in the country that covers everything Harriot has. I’d bet money on it.
I truly believe that if books like this and the 1619 project were read in schools, we would be much farther along as a society.
Addressing the #1 critical review on Amazon:
The #1 critical review of this books states that she has read 10% of the book (not even halfway through the second chapter) and that she thought the book was misogynistic for not mentioning any women.
Firstly, this is not true. Secondly, this book is 15 hours long. Less than an hour of reading is nothing. Harriot mentions many important Black women in this book. While I’m sure there is more to be said about many people in this book and those not mentioned, that’s a bit of a tall order for a book that’s already, apparently, too long for many to finish reading.
by JapaneseStudentHaru