Learning Tree [Mass Market Paperback]

Gordon Parks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 12, 1987

"A fine novel."
THE BOSTON HERALD
Photographer, writer, and composer, Gordon Parks has written a moving, true-to-life novel of growing up as a black man in this country in this century. Hailed by critics and readers alike, THE LEARNING TREE tells the extraordinary journey of a family as they struggle to understand the world around them and leave their mark a world that is better for their having been in it.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

"A fine novel."
THE BOSTON HERALD
Photographer, writer, and composer, Gordon Parks has written a moving, true-to-life novel of growing up as a black man in this country in this century. Hailed by critics and readers alike, THE LEARNING TREE tells the extraordinary journey of a family as they struggle to understand the world around them and leave their mark a world that is better for their having been in it.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett (June 12, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449215040
• ISBN-13: 978-0449215043
• Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 0.6 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #306,584 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Price of Knowledge, June 19, 2001

By 

Preston L. Allen "Author of JESUS BOY" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learning Tree (Mass Market Paperback)

This book was a great read. The "picture taking man," as Parks was often called, crafted a finely layered novel about coming of age in the years prior to integration and the civil rights movement. The book is sad, funny, and painfully true. It is a must for anyone who wants to understand the extent to which racism dehumanizes and destroys; and for anyone who wants to understand the meaning of courage and the unbreakable will of the human spirit.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Learning Tree by Gordon Parks, May 8, 2001

By 

Armen Mnazakanyan (Glendale, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learning Tree (Mass Market Paperback)

The Learning Tree by Gordon Parks shows the difficult life a black boy named Newton Winger goes through. At a young age, Newton learns how to deal with racism and prejudice, the attitude of cruelty against and individual. Growing up during the segregation period, Newt faces a lot of challenges a boy our age would not experience. Parks' attitude toward being prejudice about individuals keeps the reader to feel the anger by seeing the injustice done to his characters. He also shows that it is hard to change a point of view of an individual. During solitary confinement, a lot of misunderstandings happen and Gordon Parks shows how his characters deal with situation dealing with social issues and religion. Parks also wants the reader to understand that we live in a good world now and that everything is in peace, there are no such worries about life. Newt does a lot of activities that young teenager his age would do such as fight, argue, and on top of that go to school- which he succeeds in. By reading this book, one can understand the cruelty and injustice done to the characters and one can realize how precious life is today and we should be thankful to everyone. The Learning Tree is an outstanding book to read because it can make one think about life in the early 20th century and the 21st century today.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rereading a favorite!, March 3, 2007

By 

Danton McDiffett (Kansas USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Learning Tree (Mass Market Paperback)

I first read "The Learning Tree" in a college Literature for Adolescents class twenty years ago and recently reread it for a book discussion group. And I still love this novel. I regret that because of the language, which is certainly appropriate to its subject, I cannot teach it in my conservative school district. However, I can and have highly recommended it to my junior high students, with the language caveat. (On an aside, this book just shows how out of touch many college profs are with what literature we can actually teach in the public schools!)
As for the book itself, it tells a wonderfully interesting and entertaining story, full of the joy of long summer days with friends, the horror of murder, the fear of racial conflict, the blush of first love--and betrayal, and the hard road to growing from a boy into a man. For me, it suffers nothing in comparison to "Black Boy" and "To Kill a Mockingbird." Instead, it complements those novels as a vivid portrayal of growing up in America.
Read it!