laurenash's review against another edition
3.0
Would have been stronger with less perspectives. As the editor, I would've chosen the police officer, lawyer, family member, councilman, and I guess protester.
renwar96's review against another edition
5.0
Wes Moore has a way of writing that pulls you into the story and makes you feel like you're living it. This book is written in a different persons point of view in each chapter. It conveys their fears as they watch the city they live in get torn apart. It's very interesting to hear each persons perspective on the situation. If I see Wes Moore's name on it, I know it's a must read!
anitaofplaybooktag's review against another edition
4.0
This book follows the five days in the aftermath of Freddy Gray's death while in custody of the Baltimore police. As someone living in the adjacent county at the time, I can say the ramifications of this event roiled Baltimore. By and large, I thought Moore picked a really interesting way to show the events from varying perspectives from an African-American police officer to the owner of the Baltimore Orioles to the manager of a popular roller rink to the sister of a man killed by the police. Each person perceived the events slightly differently, and in their own way, tried to make sense of what happened and tried to help their city.
Moore summarizes his perspectives at the end of the book with a call to action.
This book was uniquely fascinating to me because I know a lot about the physical locations and many of the political players. So it is hard for me to really know how a reader outside of the Baltimore metro area would perceive it. The chapters are very, very short, with each one focusing on a different person. This gives the book a fragmented feeling, and I wonder if that might get confusing for some readers.
And obviously, there is a political message, and not everyone is going to agree with the conclusions. Moore focuses as much on poverty as he does on racism (which in Baltimore, a city where every leadership position is held by black people makes sense), but his final chapter has an academic tone to it and really doesn't talk about how change can be made when a city with so many murders is an unattractive location for economic development. Baltimore has a terrible reputation, and for a city with so many amazing physical assets and beauty, that is a hurdle that no one seems able to overcome. Post Freddy Gray and the consent decree, the police are policing much less and the murder rate has soared. What is the answer? The city is grappling with these issues as we speak which makes this book so gripping and topical right now.
Moore summarizes his perspectives at the end of the book with a call to action.
This book was uniquely fascinating to me because I know a lot about the physical locations and many of the political players. So it is hard for me to really know how a reader outside of the Baltimore metro area would perceive it. The chapters are very, very short, with each one focusing on a different person. This gives the book a fragmented feeling, and I wonder if that might get confusing for some readers.
And obviously, there is a political message, and not everyone is going to agree with the conclusions. Moore focuses as much on poverty as he does on racism (which in Baltimore, a city where every leadership position is held by black people makes sense), but his final chapter has an academic tone to it and really doesn't talk about how change can be made when a city with so many murders is an unattractive location for economic development. Baltimore has a terrible reputation, and for a city with so many amazing physical assets and beauty, that is a hurdle that no one seems able to overcome. Post Freddy Gray and the consent decree, the police are policing much less and the murder rate has soared. What is the answer? The city is grappling with these issues as we speak which makes this book so gripping and topical right now.
30something_reads's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
3.75 ⭐
This was a really compelling look into the days after the death of Freddie Gray in 2015 Baltimore. Moore outlines those 5 days through the viewpoints of 8 individuals whose lives intersected during these protests.
While informative, my biggest issue was the organization of these viewpoints. It often felt meandering and getting off track.
Still a very powerful recount of the oppression endemic to the communities in Baltimore.
This was a really compelling look into the days after the death of Freddie Gray in 2015 Baltimore. Moore outlines those 5 days through the viewpoints of 8 individuals whose lives intersected during these protests.
While informative, my biggest issue was the organization of these viewpoints. It often felt meandering and getting off track.
Still a very powerful recount of the oppression endemic to the communities in Baltimore.
ma912's review against another edition
5.0
Extremely well-told through individual stories. Extremely disturbing stories that are all-too common.
codyboteler's review against another edition
4.0
The writing is beautiful, the characters very real and the reporting extensive. My struggle with the book comes from the utility of some of the voices featured — while I understand the value of folks working to change the system from the inside, I can’t help but wonder if this book took too close a look at the inside, when so much of the story of the Baltimore Uprising is and was from the streets.