Customer Reviews

Sugar of the Crop: My Journey to Find the Children of Slaves

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

 

 

Once, I started reading this book on the oral history of children of slaves, it was hard to stop. Each family whom shared their story were vivid and bittersweet to read. Sentiments left over from the Slavery era and segregation in the South are explored in way which can be compared to contemporary experiences through the Author's personal history with her family. Her journey to find herself is beautifully woven into the fabric of the stories she experiences. I really enjoyed this book and its content lead me to be intrigued to further wonder about this American transitioning period. Check it out!

M.

At first inspection this one seemed a little too heavy on the "huge wake-up" calls, and what "didn't make any sense." I thought educated people in 2009 had all this information.

But as I read on, (there was something in the voice so compelling I couldn't stop reading), I found many golden nuggets in Sugar of the Crop.

The title is great, and the cover most alluring. The research effort, the journalism, the storytelling, and particularly the tidbits of new information emerging through each interview were well worth the read. I happen to like more movement in a voice, however Ms. Butler's journalistic voice works well in delivering what reads like a story of stories. I think this is what I found compelling.

My own brows raised by the Appomaltox Nat'l Park visit...umm, took the slave quarters off the visitor's guide, turning them into restrooms! And the chapter on the Hayden's I really loved. (Incidentally where things picked up for me.) Just the way the visit is spelled out; the wife, and then Mr. Hayden, and Ms. Butler's growing disillusion, and whaala! She gets real, and then so does Mr. Hayden. Loved it.

Very, very good. Excellent book. I certainly have one place to carry Sugar of the Crops... to `my' family reunions!

A surprising page turner, Sugar of the Crop was far more than I expected. By giving us her own story, both of the research process and her father's cancer, Sana Butler puts these interviews into a context both absorbing and heartfelt. And the tales of these slave descendants kept hitting me in the face with facts almost purposefully kept from American history. If you're a believer in Post Traumatic Slave Disorder, prepare to be disappointed. If you're a believer in the dignity and honor of the Confederacy, ditto. All you'll get here are real people and their stories -- no mythology or overarching theories. Several glaring editorial errors keep Sugar of the Crop from being five stars, but hopefully these will be corrected in a future edition. Informative, entertaining, and rewarding.

This book would have benefited greatly from a strong editor. Sadly, the lack of one means that what could have been a good is merely OK.

I read the book because I was interested in the stories of the people Butler interviewed. There is far too little about them in this story and far, far too much about Butler's lost wanderings. She comes off as a little inept, which I suspect is a bit of a put on. I have seen her read from the book and she appeared very capable. I don't know why she wanted to present herself as fumbling and bumbling, but it weakens the book and makes it much less interesting. The tangents about her travels make little sense and provide no context. For example, the first paragraph about an interview with one of her subjects who lives in Las Vegas is entirely about a college friend who lives in California. It is a very strange inclusion in the text and only one of many.

There are at least two chapters in this book where entire sentences are repeated word for word, moved from one part of the chapter, but not removed from their previous position. A close reading before printing would have avoided this error. There are a few other errors and missteps like this throughout the text, like the casual and offhanded use of the word Nazi [a strange attempt at humor in a book with origins in injustice] or poor sentence structure. Again, I blame the editor. Did anyone proofread the book before it was printed?

The small parts that do contain the stories and recollections from the children of slaves are very interesting. The author's original impulse that there was much to be learned from their families was a good one. I would recommend the book for this information. I simply suggest that you skip through the rest of the story.

I felt like I rode along in the passenger seat while reading about Sana Butler's journey to find the children of slaves. Ms. Butler takes the reader along on her many travels and searches for folks with a story to tell. I learned through her writing, that the story often lies beneath the facts and sometimes great patience is required to learn the truth. Ms. Butler's ten years of research were well spent and presented in a readable, fascinating style.

I wasn't sure if i would enjoy this book - the subject seemed interesting but I thought - wow - this is probably going to be a dry read. I was very very wrong.

The author did an outstanding job in bring us in on the people that she documented along with her own journey in realizing the lost opportunities and her mission in trying to capture the 'voices' before they lost forever. What is equally sad - is she missed some opportunites in her own family.

The book kept me interested but felt a bit let down at the end of book - not feeling as if she completely fulfilled her mission but yet answering some key questions for us what/why/how the last several geneations from the slavery and legacy from that period. Even capturing how the youth of today might also have missed something by not having the history from that period to fully realize how we go where we are and what it really took.

How can a professional journalist with a BA from Georgetown and an MA from Columbia write so badly? My daughter bought "Sugar of the Crop" for me because she knew I'd be interested in the stories of the chldren of freed slaves, and a small part of the text does include some fascinating tales. The rest of is devoted to Sana Butler's extended road trip (mostly all boring), her own family relationships (sometimes interesting), and platitudes in the form of "astonishing conclusions" she reached during her decade-long research project (so shallow that she ends up sounding like an adolescent impressed with her own brilliance).
Before publishing your next book, Ms. Butler, please take my advice! (1) Proofread your manuscript. Better still, take a freshman English comp class where you might learn the difference between a comma & a semicolon, how to use perfect tense verbs, when to use "whom" if you feel you must, and other basic skills. (2) Give your manuscript to someone else to read. Even those of us who know how to write correct English miss errors at times, just because we're familiar with our own work. (3) Take an introduction to creative nonfiction class. Learn how to structure a narrative, how to create lively anecdotes, how to write the story of an interesting road trip, and how to cut the dead wood out of your story.
I find it hard to believe that this sad product is all you have to show for ten years of effort!

A fresh perspective. I was mesmerized and edified while reading this book. It answered questions I didn't even know I had with answers that surprised me. The author's ability to take the reader along on her journey and quest is told so well. Descriptions crisp and insightful. Personalities portrayed so well the reader feels like they were sitting in on the discussions. And, her willingness to share her own experiences that were happening while she was doing her research makes this such an honest work. It is truly a story that came from her heart. Even the difficult few mentions of the effects of slavery are shared in such a matter of fact manner that the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach did not linger. This is a rare book because of it's appeal to such a wide audience of readers.