Reviews tagging 'Genocide'

Kasta: Korene našej nespokojenosti by Isabel Wilkerson

55 reviews

maurob0ros's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Incredibly informative book about the dark history of the United States and how are caste system compares to others. An uncomfortable read, but one that will deepen and widen your view of race/caste relations in this country and others. If I were teaching US history or sociology, I would make this a core book in my class. It’s up there with. “A people’s history of the United States “. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Slavery, and Violence

plethora's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

Isabel Wilkerson expertly presents the reality of North America in an unmistakable new light through drawing connections to both India’s and Germany’s caste systems. In a stark, honest, and objective compilation of historical events around the world, Wilkerson shows America who they are, and leaves the reader to decide what to do about it.

I have not experienced such an enlightening reframing of cultural norms since Chanel Miller’s “Know My Name”. Every person in the western world, and perhaps beyond, can benefit greatly by reading this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, and Colonisation

Moderate: Ableism, Suicide, Mass/school shootings, War, and Classism

cal_the_queer's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, and Police brutality

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Antisemitism, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting

alerasaul0's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring medium-paced

4.0

it's a tough read, the chapters where she describes the ways caste is upheld and then gives multiple examples of how modern America did these things is stomach churning. 
Isabel is not flinching in her critiques of racism and how it is upheld but also has hope for us to fix things.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Antisemitism, and Classism

annalisenak97's review against another edition

challenging hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

Absolutely top five of the most important books I'll read this year, maybe ever. Wilkerson offers ample evidence that the US is built on a caste system based on race and compares the American caste system to the castes in India and Nazi Germany. It's so SO compelling and makes a lot of sense, fitting the pieces of our current political landscape together. Wilkerson writes beautifully, and her quality of writing makes a heady concept digestible, accessible, and un-put-down-able. This book was oftentimes difficult to read because of the atrocities it describes, but it's our responsibility to face our history and to have the courage to learn, grow, and change. This work is an excellent tool to help its reader start doing that work. And ultimately it provides hope through radical empathy. Incredible scholarship.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, and Police brutality

useyourgoodeye's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

This book took me 16 days to read because I had to step away from it a lot to process it fully. Very eye opening and there is a movie out called Origin about the book that I'll be watching soon (Hulu). This is a very difficult and emotional book to get through. It requires you to examine your own life and the lives of others at a level which can make you uncomfortable, sad, and angry. Totally worth it though. It should be used in colleges across the world as required reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

hannahwinston's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective tense slow-paced

4.0

Whatever you think you know about the origins of racism/classism/caste, this book goes even further.

While I knew a lot about the American Caste, I did not know how much it influenced Nazis. There were several lines that blew my mind but this one, about selling souvenirs from lynchings during the Jim Crow Era, knocked me off my feet:

“This was singularly American. Even the Nazis did not stoop to selling souvenirs of Auschwitz, wrote time magazine many years later.”

The biggest takeaway/reminder:

“Evil asks little of the dominant caste other than to sit back and do nothing. All that it needs from bystanders is their silent complicity in the evil committed on their behalf.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

readandfindout's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

4.0

Style/writing: 3.5 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Perspective: 4 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Misogyny

meaghanelizabook's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, Slavery, Police brutality, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism

micaelamariem's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

 found this book to be very educational, motivational, and eye-opening. It was interesting, though brutal, to learn the full scale of the history of caste in america and how awful we can be as humans. I think everyone could benefit from reading this. However, though I agree with Wilkerson on everything including the politics of today, I can see how it might polarize people to where they’d miss the point she’s trying to make. I also think the cohesiveness of the narrative could have been better. Still, overall a great read of a dark history and startling present! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic