A review by questingnotcoasting
Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire by Akala

challenging informative inspiring sad medium-paced

4.0

This completely lived up to all the glowing reviews I'd seen. I meant to read it last month but didn't get round to it and I'm glad I didn't leave it any longer. Akala's writing is articulate, incisive and witty and he interweaves his lived experience with history so smoothly. He examines the way race and class intersect and builds a clear argument against the common misconception that the UK is a meritocracy. That in particular wasn't news to me but there was so much history here that I knew nothing about, including some fairly recent events. I just read Black and British by David Olusoga and I feel like the two books complement each other very well. I found them both really enlightening, especially in the way they dismantle the myths Britain has built around its history of colonialism and slavery. 
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