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katrinarose's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
On a surface level, I enjoyed this book. Tons of anecdotes on just about any topic, there’s something for everyone. These stories are interesting to discuss and I can see myself bringing them up in future conversations. However, I don’t feel like there’s a very cohesive argument. Sometimes snap judgements are good, sometimes they are bad. There’s lots of studies discussed but it seems like they’re just thrown in an individual curiosities not part of the whole book. There were several times I found myself wondering “now why has he been discussing this random thing for 10 minutes” and then there’s a weak connection to the thesis (which itself is weak).
I appreciated the unconscious racism discussion but I didn’t like how it led straight into apologizing police brutality. Yes, police officers face a lot of pressure in high-stress situations that causes their ability to make sound judgements break down, but let’s not ignore the fact that the police force in America attracts people who are racist and violent, and there are plenty of studies to show this.
Overall not a bad book but I feel like it missed out on another round of edits to make it more cohesive.
I appreciated the unconscious racism discussion but I didn’t like how it led straight into apologizing police brutality. Yes, police officers face a lot of pressure in high-stress situations that causes their ability to make sound judgements break down, but let’s not ignore the fact that the police force in America attracts people who are racist and violent, and there are plenty of studies to show this.
Overall not a bad book but I feel like it missed out on another round of edits to make it more cohesive.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, and Murder