Customer Reviews

Speaking Truth to Power

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a lovely, lovely woman and with what class does she tell her story! How unfortunate that we live in a country where sexual harassment is so difficult for men to understand, and yet so pervasively cruel and persistent! And how very unfortunate that such a man as Clarence Thomas now has so much power in our government, power that we know he can not be trusted with. But how surprising is that really, today? Respect for women is hardly a qualification for office in the US Government, and it may never be if we don't all work together to make that difference -- and it's going to be a lot harder than it should be.

Anita Hill is a clear, calm, concise writer with a powerful story to tell. It is not easy to speak Truth to Power, but it is an essential element of making a difference. I honor all those who take the risk. I know how difficult it can be. I also know how very important it is. Anita Hill did not choose to be harassed, and she did not choose to be a weapon, but when called, she responed, and she told the truth, as awkward as it was for her. For those who would ridicule her ordeal, I can only say that no one should have to tolerate the inappropriate sexual behavior that exists in the workplace. We know it exists on the highest level. We know better than to say it couldn't be true. And we know Anita Hill got no pleasure from answering such personal, humiliating questions. She did what was expected of her, and it was *her* integrity that suffered, *her* career that wobbled while Clarence Thomas triumphed. His judgement leaves a lot to be desired, IMHO. I honor the efforts of Ms. Hill to honor the truth of her experience.

I am so glad I read this book - it gave me insight into what a wonderful woman Anita Hill is in explaining the ordeal she went through in testifying at "the hearings." I must admit that at the time, I didn't believe Hill's testaments; she appeared nervous and uncertain whereas Thomas appeared very sure of himself, was outraged, and even went so far as to cry before the Senate Committee and television cameras. Of course, I now realize that was just an act.

Anyhow, I thought that after the hearings were over, Anita Hill went back home to Oklahoma and went on with her life, the ordeal forgotten. After reading this book, I had no idea that Hill endured further harassment from students at the university where she taught, faculty, the media, and people who never knew her nor she them. It was downright outrageous and disgusting.

Hill writes eloquently about her roots, her upbringing in Oklahoma, her years at Yale Univ. Law School, and her job at the EEOC where she worked under Clarence Thomas and the harassment she endured from him, her subsequent career change all the way up until the hearings. It's all interesting and worth reading.

Anita Hill is the catalyst for which the laws of sexual harassment have changed and claims for which are now taken very seriously. It is very unfortunate that she had to take such torment and emotional brutality as a result of it, as if harassment from Thomas wasn't enough in and of itself.

That Thomas is now sitting on the highest court in the land for life, knowing the content of his character and demeanor, is indeed disturbing. But I hope that deep inside he is sorry and feels the utmost remorse and guilt for his mistreatment of Anita Hill and all his other victims.

The truth always come out - maybe not today or tomorrow - but eventually it does. Thomas knows what he did, and the world knows what he did despite his "categorical" denials.

It is my hope that Anita Hill finds the peace and happiness she deserves. Her life will never be the same, as she herself admits, but unfortunately almost all movers and shakers's lives were and are forever changed.

An insightful and honest book, I recommend it highly.

Speaking Truth to Power is a watershed work of honesty and simplicity. One greatly overlooked point explains how she came to the attention of the Senate Committee overseeing the confirmation of Clarence Thomas as Supreme Court Justice. She was sought out because of common knowledge of her experiences by several Washington "insiders". No radical feminist, she -- Anita Hill was never sponsored by anyone but herself. She stood up for truth because her integrity demanded it of her. The "powers that were" filtered out all but what they wanted to hear. As a result, the "spin" of Thomas' supporters came through much louder and clearer than the truth. She suffered. She was maligned. Man or woman, Democrat or Republican, Caucasian or other, human beings who have ears to hear cannot help but identify with her struggle.

At the beginning of the book Hill writes, "I did not choose the issue of sexual harassment, it chose me." And that is undoubtedly true. Anita Hill is a household name and her name immediately brings to mind the issue of sexual harassment. Hill describes how the issue chose her in this book.
You can tell just how truthful this book is by the way in which it was written. This is not the best written book. But, Anita Hill puts on no airs, she just tells the truth and the way she saw it in a simple, understandable voice.
And the truth is, she was put through the ringer by people in power who did not want to a) acknowledge that sexual harassment is a problem, and b) change the current widespread problem of sexual harassment and thus change our current power structure.
It is interesting to note how Hill relates the problem of sexual harassment to other crimes committed against women which are also motivated by power and control. These comparisons ring a bell of truth.
Hill also writes about how at times, when one is a ethnic minority and a woman, one has to choose between honoring their gender and honoring their race. Her analysis of this is enough to read the book.
I recommend this book to those who are interested in getting to know the real Anita Hill, those who are interested in insider politics especially when it concerns problems unique to women, and those who are interested in the way that different minority groups bisect each other.
The reason I didn't give this book a higher rating is because, as I mentioned, it's not the most well written book. I feel that at times the writing was circular and repetitive. The words don't leap off the page. However, also, at times the writing is very direct and potent and say the truth in a manner that is clear and concise. At those times, ideas leap off the page.

Anita Hill proves that she was telling the truth with this book and I always knew that she was.

It's so sad that so many were able to demonize and scandalize this woman and her intentions, but in the end, the TRUTH always wins.

This powerful autobiography is a MUST READ, a book that you won't be able to put down or to forget. I'm so glad I read it.

I found this book fascinating from beginning to end. I had been riveted to the TV during the hearings, and it was the same with the book. I have always felt that Hill was treated shamefully by first Thomas, and then the Senate. She was thrust into a political nightmare she had not expected, and reading the details of events that occured confirmed not only that, but much, much more. She was courageous and amazingly kept her dignity through the most undignified arena one could find themselves. I'm so grateful she was given the opportunity to tell the complete and compelling story--I hope it did her a world of good. It certainly made my day!

I had high hopes for this book. But half way through, Ms. Hill becomes unbelievable. She wants us to believe she fought hard to keep her name out of the situation when Thomas was nominated, then she turns around and wants us to belive she fought just as hard to testify! Alot of the book was dry reading...legal talk. Despite it all, I DO believe her.

When this book first came out, I was drawn to the cover, because I knew that there were many messages for me in this book. Yet, I hesitated to read this, because I had not voiced what I felt about those hearings.

I actually looked over my shoulders, when I glanced through this book, before buying it, because I had decided that so many people around me demanded my opinion of this tragedy.

When I watched the hearing, while I sat next to others, for whatever reason I waited to say whether or not I believed Dr. Hill. I wanted to process it all, in the privacy of my own space.

Watching her, on many levels I related to her. Yet, I had some unanswered questions that reading this book, along with other books that reference this tragedy helped me to make my own decisions about what happened.

Dr. Hill put a voice to many of the challenges that I had, as professional African-American woman, who wanted to speak about many issues that too high a number of African-Americans refused to communicate. Before reading this book, I wanted to be free to speak against some socialized rules that I grew up with, that are common in African-American families. But, I wanted to communicate that I am proud of being African-American.

And as a result of reading this book, I gained tremendous courage to fully live my life's mission, which is to guide women and girls to earn trust in themselves.

To this day, as a journalist, if an editor argues against Anita Hill, I refuse to write for that paper.

Thank you, Dr. Hill.

The only problem with this book is that it brings back to life the anger and disbelief that I felt at the time of the hearings. Ms Hill is an excellent writer and has the ability to transmit the anguish that she experienced during this time. However, her gentle personality and honest demeanor come through in her writing, giving the reader a complete picture of what she experienced from her own unique perspective. It is important that our society be exposed to the other side of these hearings. I wonder if Clarence Thomas will take the time to read it. Apparently he prefers other types of literature.

One thing that we all wondered was: "Why did Hill wait until Thomas was being evaluated for a position on the Supreme Court to make these allegations?" And it turns out that she did not and only brought these issues to thefore when found by an investigation into Thomas' background.

There were also a lot of details that were not apparent about the nature of the trial: 1. The congressional hearings were NOT conducted by attorneys, and so the usual rules of courtroom conduct and gathering evidence were not adhered to; 2. Some of the detailed nature of the ugliness toward people that are caught in the middle of congressional hearings (the documentary on Susan McDougal was another example of how the sheer hostility that politicians can display toward anyone that gets in the way); 3. Details of the statements that Thomas made to her. It was also more clear that the environment in which she was working (a person-- among MANY others-- trying to get thhe letters of recommendation and make the ties that would get her a job somewhere) might have made her a lot more timid in telling Thomas where to go with his remarks.

On the bad side, I can say that Hill's tone was the faintest bit melodramatic-- and this makes me wonder just how serious the comment made to her were-- noting that she offered information about the content of his statements but not direct quotes.

All in all, the book is very balanced and level-headed-- if a bit more wordy than necessary. (It could have been shortened by about 50 pages without missing anything-- although it was not nearly the verbose disaster of, say something written by Ayn Rand. On account of this, I'm taking off one star.)