Reviews tagging 'Genocide'

Castas: As Origens do Nosso Descontentamento, by Isabel Wilkerson

41 reviews

hmbrokaw's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

4.0

A phenomenal look at what exactly caste is. Any yt person interested in anti-racism work should read this. It’s heavy and hard to read, but in all the ways it should be when reading about the oppression of billions. Don’t expect to feel good about yourself- expect to learn.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Genocide, Racism, Racial slurs, Slavery, and Death

lpfoley's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

A really brilliant take on the history of what it means to be Black in America and the social constructs that create and perpetuate oppression. Accessible, thorough, and inviting, Wilkerson walks the line between calling out the behaviors and attitudes that have created what she designated as a caste system in the US as well as discussing the broader pressures at work to sustain it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Genocide, Violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Medical trauma, and Hate crime

shoshin's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Sometimes, it's easiest to understand what is happening around you by finding a way to step outside it to describe it. Wilkerson does that brilliantly with this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Hate crime, Torture, Violence, Antisemitism, Genocide, and Murder

Moderate: Sexism and Classism

lizcastner's review against another edition

challenging informative medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, Misogyny, Deportation, Antisemitism, Child death, Police brutality, Slavery, and Xenophobia

leweylibrarian's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

"A world without caste would set everyone free."

People have been recommending this book to me for ages--I've even included it on many book displays--and now I know why. This truly should be required reading in America along with Stamped from the Beginning. The term racism really doesn't go far enough to explain this country's ills, but the argument that Wilkerson lays out for caste does. I learned so much and feel like this book really filled a lot of the gaps in my knowledge. Wilkerson does such an amazing job explaining such difficult phenomena in an accessible way, and now I feel like I need to buy a physical copy so I can reread it and mark things I want to remember and come back to later. This is one of those books that you continue to think about long after you finish it.

I also have to say I LOVE how the whole way through the abuse of Black people in America is compared to Jews in the Holocaust. I can imagine so many people HATE that comparison and think it goes way too far, and that's precisely why I love it. It goes exactly far enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, Genocide, and Antisemitism

griffnorby's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Murder, Torture, Antisemitism, Colonisation, Death, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Genocide

arthur_harris's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

This book pulls absolutely no punches. It lays out the facts of its subject matter with a kind of frank, unflinching look at the truth that is so constantly softened and blunted in history. Deeply, grimly informative on the true history of the Black experience in the United States. A harsh reality check for those - like me - who grew up with a whitewashed view of American history. While this book is a difficult read in many ways, that is part of what makes it such a necessary one. It forces the reader to examine the deeply ingrained racism baked into the foundation of America, and the subsequent role of the (non-Black) reader in that racist system. An absolutely vital piece of literature. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Police brutality, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Colonisation, Slavery, Blood, Medical trauma, Racism, Child death, and Murder

jess_westhafer's review against another edition

I felt like I got everything out of this book I was going to in the pages I read. The ideas started to seem redundant, and I didn’t feel the need to keep going. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Antisemitism, Violence, Slavery, and Torture

pollyflorence's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Violence, Slavery, Genocide, Antisemitism, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Police brutality, and Racism

youreawizardjerry's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Physical abuse, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Genocide, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Blood, Bullying, Body horror, Slavery, Violence, Police brutality, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Gun violence, Death, and Death of parent