Customer Reviews

Making Friends With Black People

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

 

 

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.

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.

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).

Nick Adams, a standup comedian, gives us his wild and funny look at race relations in America in his book, MAKING FRIENDS WITH BLACK PEOPLE. His chapters are lists of what white people who want to get to know black people should and should not do. He discusses the use of the N Word, which is especially appropriate in today's world where the most derogatory term applied to black people gets slung around rather carelessly. He advises white people that under no circumstances should they ever feel free to use that word because if they do, they will surely be in BIG trouble. He talks about "soul" food and how dreadful chitlins are but he doesn't leave it there. He delves into other cultures and trots out some of the rather disgusting things they eat, such as fermented shark meat and squirming octopus tentacles. Adams does an in-depth discussion of hip hop and the rappers who make the music. Movies don't escape his attention either; neither do those who win Oscars and why. Affirmative Action has its own chapter about why its not reverse discrimination.

It was enlightening and helpful that he did not leave out Indians. He discusses their near extinction through genocide and their struggle to maintain their languages and customs. Adams is correct when he says most Americans never think about the plight of Indians. He admits that he probably wouldn't remember either except he's married to an Indian.

Nick Adams says America has never had a real dialogue about race relations. If Americans could have honest discussions about race, perhaps the problems of race in America would not be so pervasive and poisonous. The humor this man uses diffuses the issues so that you can see them without the anger that race discussions in America usually bring about, which is wonderful. Even his book cover is amusing. This is indeed a book that all Americans should pick up and read. It might seriously - in a very hilarious way - change how they feel about other cultures in this country. It's too bad this book can't be made a mandatory read for all Americans.

Reviewed by Alice Holman
of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers

I bought this book in Scotland, on a deployment. It was the perfect conversation starter for a diverse crew from not so diverse places. I read the book, then passed it on to a white girl in my berthing who kept asking very odd/inappropriate questions. When she got through with the book it had actually helped her to realize why some of the things she said were totally inappropriate and rude, and why she got the odd "are you really that dumb stare"? Unfortunately she was from a non-diverse area and had very rarely had any interaction with non-whites prior to joining the Navy, so she learned something about race relations in a very non-threatening way, and we kept just kept passing the book on. I'm off that ship now and last I heard, that book was still there.

In this book Nick talks about the placement of African American fiction being delagated to the far "Southside" of a book store. It is never prominently placed near John Grisham up front. Well I picked up this copy from the library where it was prominently placed up front. I read the first chapter which was filled with the "N" word and put the book down thinking that I probably wouldn't finish it. Nick got the last laugh when my basement flooded completely soaking the book. Realizing that I was going to have to pay for it anyway, I let the book dry out and read it. It was one of the funniest books that I've read this year.

I thought this book was really funny. I don't laugh out loud while reading too often. However if you are thinking of buying this as a guide of some sort, I'm sure if you do a search on google or something you'd come out better. He pretty much kinda just goes on a rant for 200 something pages. There were a few little helpful things, but eh...

I'm not black "per se" but some of my best friends are black people so I was totally "down" with what this man was talking about. It was very well written and exposed a lot of myths regarding people of color. But it did leave me confused on how to make friends with Oprah which is sort of why I bought the book.

Just finished the book, not funny at all. Typical, stereotypical topics - white people can't dance, white people can't use the 'n' word. Also, some strange theories (i.e. his belief that white women think they can have any black man they want, that white women believe if they give a black man a chance he'd jump at it. Maybe some white women do believe this, but it's the first I've heard of it - possibly just his interpretation.) The only section that was remotely interesting was when he talked about BET, their warped views, un-organization, general disinterest in gaining mass viewers, and bounced cheques (it was probably the only time I laughed). Everything else was sub-par.

Nick starts off doing his racial comedy bit in the guise of giving white people advice on how to be friends with black people, but drops even that flimsy pretense within a couple of chapters. This is about 150 pages of hilarious, insightful observations on race relations in the US in the 21st century, but it isn't much of a guide to making friends.

It is a very political book, and I don't agree with Mr. Adams' politics, but it was a great read nonetheless. I would have given it five stars if he hadn't twice made references to events in Arkansas, but said they happened in Arizona. For God's sake, he LIVED in Arizona. Doesn't he know the difference?

One of the most unintentionally funny parts of the book: he assures us that no black man will ever be president.