Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word 1st Vintage Books Ed Edition

by Randall Kennedy (Author)

86 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0375713712

ISBN-10: 9780375713712

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It’s “the nuclear bomb of racial epithets,” a word that whites have employed to wound and degrade African Americans for three centuries. Paradoxically, among many black people it has become a term of affection and even empowerment. The word, of course, is nigger, and in this candid, lucidly argued book the distinguished legal scholar Randall Kennedy traces its origins, maps its multifarious connotations, and explores the controversies that rage around it.

Should blacks be able to use nigger in ways forbidden to others? Should the law treat it as a provocation that reduces the culpability of those who respond to it violently? Should it cost a person his job, or a book like Huckleberry Finn its place on library shelves? With a range of reference that extends from the Jim Crow south to Chris Rock routines and the O. J. Simpson trial, Kennedy takes on not just a word, but our laws, attitudes, and culture with bracing courage and intelligence.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Provocative. . . . engaging and informative.” —The New York Times

“Should be required reading. . . . This little book deserves to be read especially if we seek better understanding of ourselves and others.” –The Dallas Morning News

“Demonstrates a key truth about the N-word. . . . it tracks our racial history and stars in a slew of court decisions that reveal large truths about bigotry and free expression.”–Philadelphia Inquirer

“A detailed, well-researched book. . . . Kennedy boils centuries of usage–in conversation, literature, legal proceedings–down to the most pertinent and instructive.” –San Francisco Chronicle

From the Inside Flap

It's "the nuclear bomb of racial epithets," a word that whites have employed to wound and degrade African Americans for three centuries. Paradoxically, among many black people it has become a term of affection and even empowerment. The word, of course, is "nigger, and in this candid, lucidly argued book the distinguished legal scholar Randall Kennedy traces its origins, maps its multifarious connotations, and explores the controversies that rage around it.
Should blacks be able to use "nigger in ways forbidden to others? Should the law treat it as a provocation that reduces the culpability of those who respond to it violently? Should it cost a person his job, or a book like Huckleberry Finn its place on library shelves? With a range of reference that extends from the Jim Crow south to Chris Rock routines and the O. J. Simpson trial, Kennedy takes on not just a word, but our laws, attitudes, and culture with bracing courage and intelligence.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product details

Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Vintage; 1st Vintage Books Ed edition (January 14, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780375713712
ISBN-13: 978-0375713712
ASIN: 0375713719
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 86 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #133,308 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #238 in Books > Textbooks > Social Sciences > Anthropology
- #657 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Sociology > Race Relations > Discrimination & Racism
- #737 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Anthropology > Cultural

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DeistMan

Outstanding treatment of a troublesome word

June 7, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

As Doctor Kennedy states: "... ******* can mean many different things, depending upon, among other variables, intonation, the location of the interaction, and the relationship between the speaker and those to whom he is speaking."

Bigots will continue to hate others because of their skin color or ethnicity. A word, any word, is not going to make or break a racist. Context is everything.

There are those who believe that African Americans may use the word in question with no problem whereas no one else may. Why? Does a white woman or a Chinese man automatically become a racist by using the word? Does context mean nothing?

Perhaps a reader of the book cannot even say the title if they are white whereas if black, they get a pass?

This is absurd and the sooner we see its absurdity, the faster we will move passed bigotry and ignorance.

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Craig H. Eyler

Fascinating and well-written, take a look

January 10, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I liked the idea that someone would write a book with this title. Not because it would shock or offend, but because this word (which I'm not going to use in my review) to this day has the ability to shock, injure and horrify nearly everyone and some of its power really ought to be drained away. This book is a good place to start. The usage of the word is traced from its origins right up to its usage In the present day. I have always felt that hearing 'grown-ups' using a ridiculous phrase like 'the n-word' makes them sound about three years old. Like the way we kids used to describe 'dirty' or swear words in hushed tones. It's sounds pathetic. I certainly don't advocate the open usage of the word, but a thorough understanding of its origins and usage over the centuries just might allow us to take it down from its pedestal and throw it in the trash where it belongs. Lenny Bruce used to do a bit, on stage back in the late 50s and early 60s, that tried to show that keeping this word in the shadows only allowed it to keep its bizarre 'power' over people. Check it out, it's an eye-opener.

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Sweet Virago

Excellent book!

October 13, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Out of curiosity I looked up the history and origin of the n-word on the internet. 6 hours later and I wanted to know more, so I bought this book. Save yourself the 6 hr Internet trouble and just start with Mr. Kennedys book. Its an interesting, factual, non-judgemental approach to a touchy subject matter. This is the type of book that should be taught in high school. Excellent read!

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The00Walrus

Great history

January 27, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Very interesting book on the etymology of the word. Great history lesson

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Marc Levitt

Five Stars

January 8, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Great seller and product. This is a history of the offensive word.

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Doug Ackley

Mostly a history of African American abuses.

October 23, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Good, but I expected more conversation about the complexity of the term and its diverse applications.

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Kelvin

A MUST READ!!

July 5, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Fantastic in its analysis of the most controversial word in the English language...highly recommended.

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Amazon Customer

A book for and about the ages!

August 4, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Excellent. Informative book which I have referenced before in both my college and high school classes.

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