Reviews

Assata: An Autobiography by Assata Shakur

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ktxx22's review against another edition

4.0

Becoming disillusioned from the government, police, Justice system is both wildly liberating but also wholly depressing and infuriating. I loved reading about Assata’s life and I’m happy she lives freely in Cuba and not locked away in the US that really tried to destroy her. I found this soo fascinating because she wasn’t a prominent leader or speaker in the panthers and had in fact left the party before the FBI tried to take her out. The biggest take away is that respect is earned not given freely. And if you want to communicate with someone about what they believe you HAVE to come to the table willing to listen and maybe have your mind changed. Highly recommend if you’re looking for a powerful autobiography.

gigireadswithkiki's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

This memoir is absolutely breathtaking from start to finish, but one of my favorite parts has got to be the poems that Assata Shakur adds in between chapters, scattered throughout her story. The poems are impactful and powerful, showing with lyrical clarity and deep emotion the intense struggles of her life. In conjunction to this, Shakur's life story, told through alternating story lines starting from her childhood and from her arrest on the new jersey turnpike in May of 1973, is so deeply momentous.

She doesn't shy away from the mistakes she has made throughout her life, owning up to her ignorance about the struggles of the Global South. I loved how much she stresses the importance of community building, purposefully seeking out political movements outside of the Black Liberation Army (notably the Red Guard in San Francisco) in order to highlight the ways in which different communities are, at their root, fighting for the same goal. This book is such an important read, both in this current political landscape, and as BIPOC continue to gather to overthrow capitalist regimes/power structures; Assata Shakur is an inspiration and this is definitely one of, if not the top, favorite memoir I've ever read.

fdlr's review against another edition

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challenging informative inspiring slow-paced

5.0

cadybooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Content Warnings

jdizzle's review against another edition

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5.0

This book is so incredibly well written and easy to read while conveying such important information. Everyone should read this, especially with the context that Assata is still wanted by the FBI with a bounty of a million dollars. Can be pretty heavy emotionally but definitely worth it. Not to mention the policy that is implied in her experiences, from communism to prison abolition, assata does not need to explain these issues as her lived experiences which she so expertly writes about are, in my opinion, enough to convince anyone.

I would easily give this book a 6/5 if I could