Ikwezi reviewed Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
Review of 'The Warmth of Other Suns' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Magnificent
622 pages
Published Dec. 24, 2010 by Random House.
4 stars
(41 reviews)
In this epic, beautifully written masterwork, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson chronicles one of the great untold stories of American history: the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities, in search of a better life. From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America. She interviewed more than a thousand individuals, and gained access to new data and offical records, to write this definitive and vividly dramatic account of how these American journeys unfolded, altering our cities, our country, and ourselves. - Back cover.
AliCorbin reviewed Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
Review of 'Warmth of Other Suns' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
A much bigger group than I'd expected - a round dozen of white, middle-aged+, liberal women. And Bruce. The only man in the room, the only one who was a product of the Great Migration, and even the only native Portlander. It was almost too big a group to hold a discussion.
On the plus side, the language of the book was beautiful, verging on poetic. While it didn't say much that most of us already knew, it did tie all the info together. The three separate narratives interspersed with historical data was seen as either a needless distraction or as a clever way to build narrative tension. On the minus side, some saw the book as overly long and in need of paring. And repetitious. As if she was afraid that you couldn't remember the facts that she'd told you in previous sections.
unicorndeburgh reviewed Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
Review of 'The Warmth of Other Suns' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
This is the story of the migration of African Americans from the rural south to the north and west. Between 1915 and 1970, about 6 million people moved, often risking violence by leaving, even into the 1970s. Wilkerson found 3 individuals to represent this journey, and weaves their stories in and out of the more general history.
You know when you're reading a suspenseful novel, and the author is switching between different story lines, and you flip ahead to see what happens next to one character? Well, this history had me doing that. Wilkerson gives you the history, but roots is so firmly in individuals, families, and places that it lives and breathes. I'm a lazy reader. I rarely read nonfiction, and mostly read novels that have a plot that pulls me along. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and the tales woven through it are still in my mind 7 …
This is the story of the migration of African Americans from the rural south to the north and west. Between 1915 and 1970, about 6 million people moved, often risking violence by leaving, even into the 1970s. Wilkerson found 3 individuals to represent this journey, and weaves their stories in and out of the more general history.
You know when you're reading a suspenseful novel, and the author is switching between different story lines, and you flip ahead to see what happens next to one character? Well, this history had me doing that. Wilkerson gives you the history, but roots is so firmly in individuals, families, and places that it lives and breathes. I'm a lazy reader. I rarely read nonfiction, and mostly read novels that have a plot that pulls me along. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and the tales woven through it are still in my mind 7 months later.
Isabel Wilkerson won a Pulitzer prize as a journalist, and this book was picked as one of The New York Times Book Review's 10 Best Books of the Year — deservedly so.
