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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
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.
shelfimprovement's review against another edition
4.0
My husband commuted into Baltimore for work when the 2015 riots broke out. His office was not particularly close to the epicenter, but I do remember being very nervous about how easily things could spill out across the city. That being said, I wasn't aware of a lot of the finer details of the whole situation.
I think Five Days a very important book but I didn't love how it was structured, following several people over the course of the five days that Baltimore was on edge: a Black police officer, a city councilman, a woman in the public defender's office, the owner of the Orioles baseball team, the manager of a roller rink, and a woman who had been an activist since her own brother had been killed by a police officer several years before, and so on. I do think it's important to show the humanity of the people involved in the situation, and I think Moore did an excellent job with that. However, the chapters were often so short that I think it often weakened the overall narrative. I wanted to stay with each person a bit longer and really get to know them. By the time the book ended, I felt empathy for the people but I was a little disappointed that I didn't have more insight into some of the structural elements that created and escalated the situation.
That being said, I did read an ARC and the pub date was pushed back after the ARC was printed so it's entirely possible that things were finessed a bit for the final printing. And I do think this is a really important book to be reading alongside other antiracism books at this moment in time. I think there were many people who wondered if Freddie Gray might be the turning point...and then the nation sort of moved on. Five years later, we're at another moment that feels like it might be the turning point...and we need to remind ourselves not to move on this time.
I think Five Days a very important book but I didn't love how it was structured, following several people over the course of the five days that Baltimore was on edge: a Black police officer, a city councilman, a woman in the public defender's office, the owner of the Orioles baseball team, the manager of a roller rink, and a woman who had been an activist since her own brother had been killed by a police officer several years before, and so on. I do think it's important to show the humanity of the people involved in the situation, and I think Moore did an excellent job with that. However, the chapters were often so short that I think it often weakened the overall narrative. I wanted to stay with each person a bit longer and really get to know them. By the time the book ended, I felt empathy for the people but I was a little disappointed that I didn't have more insight into some of the structural elements that created and escalated the situation.
That being said, I did read an ARC and the pub date was pushed back after the ARC was printed so it's entirely possible that things were finessed a bit for the final printing. And I do think this is a really important book to be reading alongside other antiracism books at this moment in time. I think there were many people who wondered if Freddie Gray might be the turning point...and then the nation sort of moved on. Five years later, we're at another moment that feels like it might be the turning point...and we need to remind ourselves not to move on this time.
kacovarrubias's review against another edition
5.0
This book chronicles Baltimore in the days following Freddie Gray's funeral; Freddie Gray died after being police custody in April, 2015. The story is presented through the lens of eight Baltimoreans, and it's an important and heartbreaking book.
I learned of this book when I heard Wes Moore interviewed on Fresh Air. He made the point that Freddie Gray's destiny was set at birth. And in the author's note at the end, he writes:
"There is an unhelpful narrative that people like Freddie Gray somehow deserve what happens to them. That, if Freddie were living his life the right way, then he would not have had that encounter with the police in April 2015. However, every meaningful data point about Freddie point to how he was brought into this world and then how the world treated him, repeatedly and ruthlessly, throughout his life. From his mother's untreated addiction to lead poisoning to failed school, we chose Freddie's destiny for him."
I highly recommend this book.
I learned of this book when I heard Wes Moore interviewed on Fresh Air. He made the point that Freddie Gray's destiny was set at birth. And in the author's note at the end, he writes:
"There is an unhelpful narrative that people like Freddie Gray somehow deserve what happens to them. That, if Freddie were living his life the right way, then he would not have had that encounter with the police in April 2015. However, every meaningful data point about Freddie point to how he was brought into this world and then how the world treated him, repeatedly and ruthlessly, throughout his life. From his mother's untreated addiction to lead poisoning to failed school, we chose Freddie's destiny for him."
I highly recommend this book.
breinapugh's review against another edition
5.0
This book was such a great and timely read. It gives multiple perspectives on the Baltimore protests. Each one examines different views on the best way to get your point across (peaceful protest, riot, etc.). It really examined how so many people want the same thing but have different means to that end. It also shows how the frustration of a city can boil over in an instant. So great to read right now in this moment of unrest.