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Reviews tagging 'Violence'
Ida B. the Queen: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Ida B. Wells by Michelle Duster
4 reviews
displacedcactus's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
Ida B. Wells is one of my favorite historical figures, so what a treat to have a book written about her by her great-granddaughter... and then the audio is also read by that same great-granddaughter! Duster's pride at her ancestor's legacy really shines through as she talks about what Wells went through, and what she achieved.
This is not a traditional biography. Rather than giving an exhaustive, chronological accounting of the facts of Wells' life, the book hops back and forth throughout her life to focus on different events, and then draw either parallels to recent/current events, or talk about how her work continued past her death. I'll admit that I didn't really see a rhyme or reason to why things were presented in the order they were in -- it might have made more sense if I was reading the physical or ebook, if there were visual cues? Either way, I enjoyed it, despite the fact that the non-linear nature means that some things got repeated a few times because they were related to several topics. This does make the book feel more personal, because if you were relating stories about your own great-grandmother across several hours, you probably would also loop back around to reference things you'd mentioned earlier.
I feel like this book would be a great introduction to Wells' life, work, and legacy. By tying Wells' activism to civil rights and feminist causes throughout the 20th and 21st century, Duster shows how relevant her ancestor's work was to the generations who came after her, and how it will continue to be relevant in the future. It's also told in a really approachable way. Most chapters were 5-15 minutes on regular speed audio, so it's the sort of thing you can dedicate a few minutes to a day if you're not a big reader.
This book doesn't shy away from the realities of racism and sexism (see content warnings section), but it also doesn't go into excruciating detail. I feel like it would be appropriate for teens and maybe even emotionally mature tweens, as long as adults are prepared to discuss the difficult subject matter with them.
This is not a traditional biography. Rather than giving an exhaustive, chronological accounting of the facts of Wells' life, the book hops back and forth throughout her life to focus on different events, and then draw either parallels to recent/current events, or talk about how her work continued past her death. I'll admit that I didn't really see a rhyme or reason to why things were presented in the order they were in -- it might have made more sense if I was reading the physical or ebook, if there were visual cues? Either way, I enjoyed it, despite the fact that the non-linear nature means that some things got repeated a few times because they were related to several topics. This does make the book feel more personal, because if you were relating stories about your own great-grandmother across several hours, you probably would also loop back around to reference things you'd mentioned earlier.
I feel like this book would be a great introduction to Wells' life, work, and legacy. By tying Wells' activism to civil rights and feminist causes throughout the 20th and 21st century, Duster shows how relevant her ancestor's work was to the generations who came after her, and how it will continue to be relevant in the future. It's also told in a really approachable way. Most chapters were 5-15 minutes on regular speed audio, so it's the sort of thing you can dedicate a few minutes to a day if you're not a big reader.
This book doesn't shy away from the realities of racism and sexism (see content warnings section), but it also doesn't go into excruciating detail. I feel like it would be appropriate for teens and maybe even emotionally mature tweens, as long as adults are prepared to discuss the difficult subject matter with them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Racism
Moderate: Racial slurs, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Child death
Minor: Rape and Classism
Because Wells was so outspoken about lynching, the subject comes up a lot, and multiple lynching incidents are discussed.scarroll178's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Violence, and Racism
zombiezami's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
A wonderfully approachable biography with beautiful illustrations.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Murder, Sexism, Hate crime, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Rape, Death of parent, Child death, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Classism, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: War and Slavery
Lynchingbookmaddie's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
3.5
This is such a gorgeous and bright book, literally and figuratively. It celebrates the life of Ida B. Wells and other historical and contemporary figures who she worked with and inspired. The illustrations, by the amazing Monica Ahanohu, are gorgeous and filled with life and energy.
I didn’t know much about Ida B. Wells prior to starting this book, and I loved learning about her life, filled with both tragedy and joy, and amazing activism and civil rights work. This is a great coffee table book that provides both in-depth information and remains a light read. However, I did find the format to be confusing at times—the structure of this book doesn’t follow a linear timeline and instead incorporates a variety of viewpoints and storylines from chapter to chapter. Some information was repetitive, which I found annoying in such a short reading experience. There is also a section at the end that highlights contemporary civil rights activists, which is helpful to those who may have been ignoring current events of the last year or so. But to anyone else, it seemed a bit elementary and surface-level.
Even so, I think this is a great place to start if you want to learn more about Wells, whose work truly makes her an American icon. Duster provides a very unique perspective, as the great-grandaughter of Wells, and I loved reading about her family stories and the work that they have done to ensure Wells’ legacy is protected. This is a lovely introduction to a woman and an ongoing movement, packaged in a beautiful, colorful book filled with amazing illustrations. What’s not to love??
I didn’t know much about Ida B. Wells prior to starting this book, and I loved learning about her life, filled with both tragedy and joy, and amazing activism and civil rights work. This is a great coffee table book that provides both in-depth information and remains a light read. However, I did find the format to be confusing at times—the structure of this book doesn’t follow a linear timeline and instead incorporates a variety of viewpoints and storylines from chapter to chapter. Some information was repetitive, which I found annoying in such a short reading experience. There is also a section at the end that highlights contemporary civil rights activists, which is helpful to those who may have been ignoring current events of the last year or so. But to anyone else, it seemed a bit elementary and surface-level.
Even so, I think this is a great place to start if you want to learn more about Wells, whose work truly makes her an American icon. Duster provides a very unique perspective, as the great-grandaughter of Wells, and I loved reading about her family stories and the work that they have done to ensure Wells’ legacy is protected. This is a lovely introduction to a woman and an ongoing movement, packaged in a beautiful, colorful book filled with amazing illustrations. What’s not to love??
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Violence
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