I thought I would spend the month of April delving into the literature that has made me the person I am today.
1] In this list you will find some of my favorite books, but you will also find books that I appreciate and books that I would recommend although they may not be my favorite.In high school These are books that changed my way of thinking or my way of looking the world. These are books that helped solidify the core of who I am.
2] These books are in order of the theme that I came away with not alphabetical by title or author.
About this book:
If there was any one man who articulated the anger, the struggle, and the beliefs of African Americans in the 1960s, that man was Malxolm X. His AUTOBIOGRAPHY is now an established classic of modern America, a book that expresses like none other the crucial truth about our times. "Extraordinary. A brilliant, painful, important book."
Publication Date: first published 1966
If there was any one man who articulated the anger, the struggle, and the beliefs of African Americans in the 1960s, that man was Malxolm X. His AUTOBIOGRAPHY is now an established classic of modern America, a book that expresses like none other the crucial truth about our times. "Extraordinary. A brilliant, painful, important book."
Publication Date: first published 1966
Why this book:
My history teacher in high school made us do a research paper a semester. They were hand-written freshman and sophomore year and typed junior and senior year. Just in case you don't want to do the math that's 16 two to four page papers over the course of four years. We got to choose our topics. That's 16 different topics that I got the pleasure of delving into...hmmm...the ones I remember Nellie Blythe, Egyptian burial practices, Japanese culture, Fat Man and Little Boy, Marie Curie and Malcolm X. I remember Malcolm X the most as it was the one that I knew the least about.
Through his book I learned about that fine balance of being proud of one's heritage and culture and letting that pride take over your existence in horrible ways. I also learned that it is never too late to change your mind when you learn that you are wrong. Sadly, I also learned that sometimes when you follow your heart and do what's right people will turn their back on you; people will try to steal your vision and cause you harm. People hate change, especially people who are closest to you.
So, a couple of years ago and book came out about Malcolm X. It's supposed to have less of an agenda than this book, which was written posthumously. I've bought it. I started reading it. I'm interested, but this book doesn't hold a candle to the way the autobiography made me feel when I first read it all those years ago.
My history teacher in high school made us do a research paper a semester. They were hand-written freshman and sophomore year and typed junior and senior year. Just in case you don't want to do the math that's 16 two to four page papers over the course of four years. We got to choose our topics. That's 16 different topics that I got the pleasure of delving into...hmmm...the ones I remember Nellie Blythe, Egyptian burial practices, Japanese culture, Fat Man and Little Boy, Marie Curie and Malcolm X. I remember Malcolm X the most as it was the one that I knew the least about.
Through his book I learned about that fine balance of being proud of one's heritage and culture and letting that pride take over your existence in horrible ways. I also learned that it is never too late to change your mind when you learn that you are wrong. Sadly, I also learned that sometimes when you follow your heart and do what's right people will turn their back on you; people will try to steal your vision and cause you harm. People hate change, especially people who are closest to you.
So, a couple of years ago and book came out about Malcolm X. It's supposed to have less of an agenda than this book, which was written posthumously. I've bought it. I started reading it. I'm interested, but this book doesn't hold a candle to the way the autobiography made me feel when I first read it all those years ago.
I'm not a big fan of autobiographies, However, this book is one I'd truly like to read. I can't quite explain it . . . Thank you for highlighting it, I'll be adding this to my list to read. (:
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