Making Friends With Black People [Paperback]

Nick Adams (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Stand-up comic Adams takes a hilarious look at race relations in the U.S and the varied and often ridiculous ways we try to bridge the gap that exists between black and white cultures. He begins by examining the long and tortured history of the "N word" and why it's still not a good idea for whites to use it as casually as black stand-up comics. Adams goes on to the evolution of racial descriptors from Negro to Afro-American and black and takes on Ebonics. Rap music and the popularity of white rapper Eminem dominate the section on music and culture as Adams explores the American fascination with the culture of what's cool. Finally, in the section on politics and society, he tackles affirmative action, NASCAR, and other signifiers used to dodge deep racial tensions. Funny and astute. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Kensington (March 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 075821295X
• ISBN-13: 978-0758212955
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #527,196 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #73 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Holidays

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smart and hilarious., March 9, 2006

By 

Jesse M. G. Thorn - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Making Friends With Black People (Paperback)

Adams' breezy first book is full of insight and laughs. He tackles tough issues with a gentle tone, and by the end of the book, you'll regard him as *your* friend. A delightful read.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laugh Out Loud Funny, March 31, 2006

By 

Pat Powers (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Making Friends With Black People (Paperback)

I absolutely loved this book; I'm sending copies to everyone I know who loves a good book. You don't have to be any particular race to enjoy it, but you do need to have a good sense of humor and be in the mood to be thoroughly entertained. I am only puzzled as to why this man is not a huge star; anyone this talented should be a major player in Hollywood.

Besides being smart and funny, the man also has a heart. A portion of all profits is being donated to the Lupus Foundation in memory of his mother and aunt. So what are you waiting for-go buy it!

P.S. No, I don't work for the publisher and I never even heard of Nick Adams before I picked this up in Border's.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorites this year!, August 8, 2006

By 

Ratmammy "The Ratmammy" (Ratmammy's Town, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Making Friends With Black People (Paperback)

MAKING FRIENDS WITH BLACK PEOPLE by Nick Adams
August 8, 2006

Amazon Rating: 5/5 stars

I really loved MAKING FRIENDS WITH BLACK PEOPLE. I don't often give books a 5 rating, but I did for this book, not because it's a literary work of art but it was so entertaining and funny that I couldn't NOT give it a 5. Nick Adams is a stand up comic, and in MAKING FRIENDS WITH BLACK PEOPLE, he writes about the stereotypes that we grew up with in America about people of color, and along with it he describes in a very humorous way, many aspects about being black, white people dealing with black people, and all points in between. He gives humorous advice to white people on how they can get along and be friends with blacks.

The first chapter will either lure you in for more or turn you off. Chapter One is entitled "The N Word" and I was laughing out loud. In fact, according to Nick, his father's nickname for him since birth was "nigger", and Nick was actually the closest real name to it (his mother was not pleased that the father would repeatedly refer to the baby as "nigger").

Each chapter deals with different aspects of being colored: music, food, interracial dating, you name it. While most of the book is pretty light hearted, he does get serious at some points, talking about the injustices done to minorities in this country, including the plight of the American Indians and the Japanese Americans during W.W.II. Being Japanese American, I was able to relate to most of it, or at least I was able to understand his point of view, being a minority myself. But what I found exceptionally funny was his one section in which he tells all those other minorities that we can't compare ourselves to the black person, especially us Asians, whose only stereotype is "good at math". That had me laughing out loud!

Anyway, I loved this book, and had a good laugh throughout most of it. I think some people of the white persuasion may be offended with a few things in this book (or all of it). My husband however, who is white, seemed to enjoy the passages I would read to him, and pretty much agreed with all that Nick Adams had to say (except his comments on actor Conrad Bain).