A review by upgirlcd
In Search of Bisco by Erskine Caldwell

5.0

This poignant reminder of how poorly African Americans were treated and viewed in the "Deep South" at the dawn of the Civil Rights movement affected me deeply. I am a Caucasian female, born in the '60's, in northern Michigan, so far removed from the heart of the racial tension and tribulation. I read with renewed shock, the true accounts Mr. Caldwell got first hand from white and black folks alike. I am angry at the awful attitudes and behavior of the majority of white folks. It hurts me to think they really thought and acted that way toward anyone of color. When he interviewed black people throughout his book, the theme of kindness first, giving despite poverty, and statements such as "the only real difference I see between me and the white man, is the color of my skin." Mr. Caldwell did no sugar coating in any of his accounts. He really was only looking for a boyhood friend named "Bisco". He found instead, some of the worst racists in the form of "fine upstanding white citizens" that I think could ever be found. He was called a n-lover more than once. He knew white racists were so closed to change, and the truth about race not making someone less than human. He knew change was coming, in a slow,heating volcanic motion. God bless you Erskine Caldwell for your words--true,beautiful and painful as they were to this reader.