Uncle Tom's Children [Paperback]

Richard Wright (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: HarperCollins (1991)
• ASIN: B000OESO4G
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Richard T. Wright holds a Ph.D in biology from Harvard University and is professor emeritus of biology at Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. He is the author of numerous scholarly articles and is widely sought as a lecturer in biology and ecology.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars racism stripped naked, March 20, 2000

By 

T. Bekken (Austmarka Norway) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Uncle Tom's Children (Perennial Library) (Paperback)

Uncle Tom's Children is probably one of the most brutal books ever written on the topic of racism and racial oppression. The stories sneak their way into the far back of the reader's mind, and forces one to confront the racism latent within oneself. That is by no means a small feat for a book to accomplish, and it makes the reading both painful and powerful, sa well as infinitely rewarding. Personally, I don't recall ever having seen the ugliness of racism so brilliantly treated in any other work of literature, bar none. The addition of the autobiographical sketch and the extra story in some editions of this book is just a bonus, and does not decrease the value or importance of this masterpiece.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting Masterpiece of Social Exposure and Racial Injustice, January 12, 2007

By 

Juilan A. Dotson "stealph2" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Uncle Tom's Children (Perennial Classics) (Paperback)

If white people today have any doubts of the harsh treatment of blacks in the 1900's, read this book. As a matter of fact, read the first 20 pages.
I teach this book to my 10th grade English class and my kids love this book! It is an easy read because the stories are so gripping, and the dialogue is written in the southern vernacular of the time. The main reason why high school students need this book now is because not only are the black students losing sight of the past and appreciation for the efforts of black people, but the white students are unaware of the greatest crime in American History after slavery, Jim Crow Ethics. The Hispanic students, Asian students, African students, Indian students and countless other students from different parts of the world also need to read literature that enhances their knowledge of the brutal history of Americans.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Powerful stories about injustice, March 6, 2006

By 

K.A.Goldberg (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Uncle Tom's Children (Perennial Classics) (Paperback)

This 1938 collection of short stories by Richard Wright (1908-1960) was the first book the author had published. Wright had a remarkable talent for description, and he makes the reader feel as if alongside the main characters as the stories play out. These stories detail racial discrimination and oppression in the Deep South during the 1930's. I particularly liked his story about a flood that led to blacks being conscripted at gunpoint to work on the levee (and a tragic shooting that followed), plus his story about a planned hunger march that went against the wishes of the local (racist) government. Each story attacks southern racial injustice in a concise and powerful manner.

Two years after this book was published, Wright burst into fame with NATIVE SON, and he followed a few years later with BLACK BOY and THE OUTSIDER. This collection of short stories isn't Wright's best work, but it demonstrates the author's budding talent.