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A review by danni_faith
Otis Redding: An Unfinished Life by Jonathan Gould
2.0
I'm a bit torn on this. On the one hand it does do what the blurb says it does. The book discusses Otis Redding through the lens of the historical context of racism in the South and the cultural phenomenon of race music and its white audience. It positions Otis as a musician in conversation with other elements.
On the other hand about two thirds of this books is not about Otis. My problem is that this book is named Otis: An Unfinished Life but maybe 30% of the information is about him specifically/is related to him. As I'm pretty well informed on the issue of racism in the American South during the early 1900s, I didn't learn much in that regard, which is sad because that's a large portion of the book.
Overall, I appreciate how well researched the book is. I simply wish the book were not marketed as being a biography of Otis Redding. A better discription of this book is a general history, accounting race music and its musicians from 1900-1960s. In other words, I did not find its framing of Otis Redding to be useful or compelling.
On the other hand about two thirds of this books is not about Otis. My problem is that this book is named Otis: An Unfinished Life but maybe 30% of the information is about him specifically/is related to him. As I'm pretty well informed on the issue of racism in the American South during the early 1900s, I didn't learn much in that regard, which is sad because that's a large portion of the book.
Overall, I appreciate how well researched the book is. I simply wish the book were not marketed as being a biography of Otis Redding. A better discription of this book is a general history, accounting race music and its musicians from 1900-1960s. In other words, I did not find its framing of Otis Redding to be useful or compelling.