Customer Reviews

Black Like Me: The Definitive Griffin Estate Edition

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I picked this up completely on a whim after hearing someone mention it online. It is absolutely an amazing work. To really get a feel for how far this country has come in 50 short years, and to really understand how far we have left to go, you need to read this.

As a white male, I've always been offended by the term 'white privilege', because it implies that I somehow didn't work for what I have. But having read this, I can finally appreciate it. My 'white privilege' has nothing to do with me not working hard and not deserving the things that I have accomplished. I have worked hard, and I do deserve those things.

But these are things that blacks never had the opportunity to do. No matter how smart they were, no matter how well dressed, or well spoken, no matter how *white* they tried to appear to blend in, they would never be given the opportunity to prove themselves on their own merits. Their opportunities were taken away before they ever had a chance to even attempt to do grab them.

And while I can definitely appreciate how far we have come in a relatively short time, I am now able to see with a fresh new perspective the things that are still wrong with our thinking today.

Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin should be required reading for America. It challenges and troubles the reader. Mr. Griffin's bravery in embarking upon such a strange quest is most appreciated yet puzzling. The information he gleaned about the deeper aspects of African-American life in racially-divided America is on target. Instead of glossing over the realities of the plight of a brown-skinned person in America, he confronted it head on. I wonder if I will ever see an America that could read and discuss such a book with a deep desire to understand another person's world?
Barbara Peters, Author (Adulterous Heart ISBN:978=1442188105)

I bought this hard cover version of the book. The cover is helpful to remember when reading. And this version has a number of pictures in the middle that current paperbacks do NOT have that really give insight into the reality of the story. Recommended.

I read this book in the 70's while in high school. It has to be one of the best books I have ever read. And the book that made me appreciate the life long work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I am a white woman who was raised in the coal regions of Pennsylvania. At the time there were no people of color (any color) in my small town. Most were of Irish/German/Polish ancestry. I never saw any form of racism UNTIL I picked up this book.

This book opened my eyes and made me understand a LITTLE bit of what life was like during the 50's and still are like for some to this day. We need to take a lesson from this man. If I could I would give this book 1000 stars.

A previous reviewer suggested that this book should be required reading in high school. When I was in high school in the '60's, it was required reading for my class. I don't recall much about that year high school any more, but I remember this book. I couldn't put it down then, and although I haven't re-read it in all these years, I still think about it to this day. That is the mark of an incredible book. Read this book and allow it to seep into your pores. It will change you forever. And I WILL be re-reading this book.

John Howard Griffin, after convincing a doctor to make his skin darker using a combination of pills and tanning beds, lived for a month in various places in the South as an African American. When this book, which is essentially his journal of that time, was published in 1959, I imagine this was groundbreaking and also extremely controversial. Griffin's simple descriptions of the way he is treated as a white man and the way he is treated as a black man speak volumes about race relations in our country.

By its nature, the book/journal meanders a little, but I found Griffin's musings after the story is publicly known particularly thoughtful and incisive: "The mail poured in, hearteningly favorable and moving. Most people in other areas, including the Deep South, understood, though the situation remained uncomfortable at home. Our townspeople wanted to 'keep things peaceful' at all costs. They said I had 'stirred things up.' This is laudable and tragic. I, too, say let us be peaceful; but the only way to do this is first to assure justice. By keeping 'peaceful' in this instance, we end up consenting to the destruction of all peace - for so long as we condone injustice by a small but powerful group, we condone the destruction of all social stability, all real peace, all trust in man's good intentions toward his fellow man."

Recommended for its unique and interesting perspective on the lives of Americans.

This book had a profound effect on me as a teenager back in the 70's as part of a psychology class in high school. I've just listened to it - all 7 hours. I am moved once again.

It is amazing to think about the courage that John Howard Griffin had in order to turn himself in to a black man so that he could truly experience the racism of the South in the late 1950's. His writing is powerful as he details in diary-form his journey and the people that he encounters - both good and bad.

It is also amazing to think about how far we as a country have come in our race relations. Although there are still serious injustices and inequalities in the US today (2011) as it relates to blacks and whites, we as a nation have come a very long way. This book is a profound reminder of how far we have come.

I strongly encourage anyone who wants to develop a keener understanding of the human psyche and to develop a stronger sense of empathy to not only read but to listen to this book as I have just done. (Note: I was not able to find the audio version on Amazon. I found it at my local library - a pleasant surprise.)

Black Like Me is an "eye opener" to what it was like to be a black person in the deep south in the 1950's and the 1960's. I recommend this book to anyone for general information concerning the prejudice that was exhibited toward the black people of this nation. Great book and a great writer!

This book is more than a study of social and racial tension,it is real, illuminating and depressing. Though the events in the book happened over 50 years ago, there are still whites who have the attitudes portrayed within the pages. I recommend this to anyone wanting to see the truth. This really happened folks.

I loved black like me. It was a wonderful story that really opened my eyes to what life used to be like, and made me thankful that life has changed so much since then.