Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

82 reviews

plethora's review against another edition

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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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drought_season's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.25


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cal_the_queer's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative reflective sad tense

4.5


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alerasaul0's review against another edition

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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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fanchera's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

4.75


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epiphanii's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective fast-paced

4.25


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annalisenak97's review against another edition

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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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useyourgoodeye's review against another edition

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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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zombiezami's review against another edition

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emotional informative slow-paced

2.75

I’m unsure why this book has become so popular. The theory the author puts forth is somewhat incoherent and is held together by a bunch of anecdata. I’m glad I read it so that I can be aware of its presence in the zeitgeist, but I got very little of the actual content. The author contends her little with colonization in her book, which I feel is a huge absence. She seems like the kind of person who wants to “save the soul” of America, when I’m over here shouting #landback. At the end she gives an impassioned plea for everyone to just be exposed to the true nature of US history, that that would cause everyone to wake up and fight for justice. I really don’t think that’s the case.

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chaoticnostalgia's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.5


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