Wreck Your Heart: A Review of All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir

All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have seen many reviews and even jokes on social media about how some of the best books can wreck a reader emotionally and yet they will still love it. Personally, while some books had certainly played with my emotions, I have never really felt emotionally wrecked by a book that I ended up loving… until this book that is. Ms. Tahir has written an absolutely amazing work of fiction that reflects on grief, generational trauma, anger, and the dreams that we all hope to fulfill, but aren’t always able to.

All My Rage centers around three Pakistani-Americans.  The first is Noor (which rhymes with lure), a young woman who is obsessed with indie rock music of the 1990s and 2000s and is hoping to escape the small fictional town of Juniper, located in California’s Mojave Desert, and go to college.  Salahudin, also known as Sal, is a young man who likes literature & poetry and has a talent for writing, but a recent tragedy in his life hangs over everything he does in this book.  While Noor and Sal have been friends since grade school, by the time the book starts they have had a recent falling out that strains their relationship.  The third character is Misbah, the mother of Sal and an auntie of Noor’s, who owns and manages the Clouds Rest Inn motel that she and her family lives at in Juniper.  Her life story is told in flashbacks throughout and her story weighs heavily on the main story of Noor and Sal.  

It’s hard to describe how good this book is without spoiling it.  Needless to say that both Noor and Sal are harboring secrets from each other.  And though they draw closer to each other as the story moves forward, their secrets collide with each other in a spectacular fashion.  Noor and Sal care deeply for each other, but their inability to share their secrets with each other will have disastrous consequences.

This book played with my emotions in a way few other books ever have.  There was one part about halfway through the book where I was actually clenching my jaw in anger over an unjust situation.  There’s also a side character whose casual and blatant racism towards Noor and Sal made me seethe with, well, rage.  And the pain and loss that Noor, Sal, and Misbah go through in their lives genuinely moved me.  Ms. Tahir’s skill at crafting an emotionally wrenching book is undeniable and is a key selling point for this book.

I wish I could go into more detail, but to do so would spoil many of the key plot points and character developments of the book.  Suffice it to say, this is one of the best books of 2022 and you owe it to yourself to read this.  I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

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History At Its Finest: A Review of Black Reconstruction by W.E.B. Du Bois

W.E.B. Du Bois: Black Reconstruction by W.E.B. Du Bois

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

While the history of the American Civil War is quite well known by most Americans thanks to some amazing books and documentaries, the decade-long period immediately following it known as Reconstruction is little known and little understood by most. In fact, thanks to ahistorical mythologies like the “Lost Cause” narrative, Reconstruction has been painted as a dark period when corruption was rampant and Southern state governments, run by Freedmen and Northern carpetbaggers, ran roughshod over people’s rights. The historical record shows that this couldn’t be further from the truth, yet this insidious myth persists. Fortunately, there are also plenty of books that have been written to push back against this narrative and establish the true history of Reconstruction. While many such books have been written in recent years, nearly all of them owe an enormous debt of gratitude to this book, one of the very first systematic histories of the period to tell the story truly. What makes this a must-read for anyone interested in Reconstruction is how W.E.B. Du Bois centers Black Americans in this tale. In this book, Mr. Du Bois makes the strongest case for what has been said by others before: that Black Americans, the enslaved as well as the free, were their own greatest liberators and Reconstruction’s greatest reformers.

While W.E.B Du Bois is best known today as the author of such works as The Soul of Black Folk and one of the founders of the NAACP, he was also the first Black men in America to receive a doctorate from Harvard.  Published in 1935, this book is the culmination of some of Du Bois’s scholarly work, which he had been hitting upon at different times in his scholarly and popular articles decades before.  Starting with an examination of the condition of both enslaved Black people and their White enslavers in the Antebellum South, Du Bois takes his reader on a journey through the 20 year period that encompassed both the Civil War and Reconstruction.  At each step, he shows through critical analysis of the sources available to him at the time how Black Americans’ own actions were what drove many of the key changes of this period.  For example, with so many enslaved Black Americans escaping to Union lines and many of them as well as freedmen from the North eager to join the Union Army, their actions put pressure on Pres. Lincoln and the Union to transform their Civil War objectives from solely from preserving the Union to also pursing abolition.  Du Bois also shows how Black lawmakers during Reconstruction were the prime agents in the creation of the South’s public school system for both white and black kids after the war, a reform that would stay in place long after White Southerns had forcefully and violently suppressed political power.

Du Bois also addresses some of the criticism of this period, particularly the corruption that Black lawmakers were accused of partaking.  While not deny that there were cases of bribery and corruption, Du Bois helps to put it in the context of the time, which was an incredibly corrupt period in American history in general, and shows how oftentimes the corrupt actions of white lawmakers was far greater than anything Black lawmakers did.  Not only that, but Du Bois constantly reminds readers that Reconstruction was an extraordinarily violent time with many atrocities committed against Black Americans.  Racial terror and the undermining of America’s first attempt at multiracial democracy was the goal of groups like the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups.  Du Bois makes the argument that the Civil War never really stopped after Appomattox Courthouse, but morphed into a racial war of white supremacists targeting Black Americans.  Indeed, thinking of the racial violence through that lens and using Du Bois’s analysis, Du Bois may not have had the words for it in 1935, but readers who are even casually versed in the history of modern warfare can recognize the resemblance of the Klan’s violent tactics as similar to the Vietcong during the Vietnam War or the Taliban during the war in Afghanistan.  Sadly, as Du Bois shows, the North quickly grew weary of sustaining a military presence in the South and abandoned the project after 1876, a pattern America would follow in Vietnam and Afghanistan using similar arguments (“They got to learn to stand on their own feet eventually”) and having similarly tragic results.  Du Bois analyzes the reasons for the North’s withdrawal in 1876 and shows how it opened the door not just to the end of Reconstruction and Black Americans’s political power for decades, but also how it opens the door to the segregated America that follows soon afterwards.

One weakness of this book though lies in Du Bois’s Marxist background.  By the 1930s, Du Bois was firmly moving in a Marxist direction and he uses Marxist language and thought in his analysis throughout this book.  While this class approach to analyzing the period provides intriguing insights, I do feel as though Du Bois could stretch his Marxist analysis at times.  For example, while an alliance between Black labor and poor White labor in the South could have transformed the history of the period, I have doubts that large numbers of Americans could even conceive of society in such class conscious ways at the time.  Yes, Karl Marx was alive and organizing in Europe at the time and had written The Communist Manifesto in 1848, but his magnum opus, Das Kapital, was published in 1867 and I doubt his ideas had spread quickly enough in America at the time to have any effect.  I could be wrong, but to me Du Bois too often applied a class analysis that Black and White Americans would not have recognized during this period.

Overall, though this book is nearly 90 years old now, Du Bois’s strong analysis and exceptional historical writing provides a gold standard by which all other histories of Reconstruction should be judged.  Library of America has once again done an enormous service to American literary history by publishing this seminal work once again.  I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in American history in general and Reconstruction in particular.

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Timeless Advice, Dated Text: A Review of Choosing Civility by P.M. Forni

Choosing Civility: The Twenty-Five Rules of Considerate Conduct by P.M. Forni

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For the first two decades of the 21st century, American culture has been characterized by a coarsening of our civil society. Politics and politicians have become more ideologically polarized and prone to see opponents as enemies to be totally destroyed rather than as the loyal opposition. Adding fuel to the fire has been social media, which through anonymity and filter bubbles has led to less tolerance and patience with those who disagree with us. To our credit, Americans have recognized this declining civility and this book offers some timeless advice, even though its text is a little dated.

Dr. Forni co-founded the Johns Hopkins Civility Project in 1997 and promoted civility as both an academic and public lecturer until his death in 2018.  This book is one of the early products of that work.  Broken into three parts, Dr. Forni examines the societal and philosophical necessities for civility in daily life in the first and third parts, but also expands the definition beyond just speaking respectfully to others.  To Dr. Forni, civility also includes our actions towards others, towards animals and the natural world, and how we treat ourselves.  The bulk of the book’s value comes in the second part where Dr. Forni lays out his 25 rules for civility.  Each rule is accompanied with a couple of short pages on why the rule is important and some real-world examples of its use (or lack of use).  With such advice as “Accept and Give Praise”, “Respect Other People’s Time” and “Don’t Shift Responsibility and Blame”, it is hard to find fault with any of his advice.  This book has already helped me to reflect on some of my prior actions and resolve to do better in the future, which is what all advice books such as this should aim to do. 

That said, this is a book that was first published in 2002, so some of the text is a little dated.  For example, Dr. Forni calls cell phones “portable phones”, talks about using your own credit card to pay for long distance calls, and since social media platforms such as Facebook didn’t yet exist, he only makes a passing mention of civility on “internet message boards.”  As much of our current concerns about incivility in society center around behavior on the internet, it is a shame that such a good book is too old to directly address the topic.  And though much of Dr. Forni’s advice could be applied to this sphere, it would be nice if someone would come along and update this text.

Incivility is a national issue, as evidenced in its most extreme form in the Capitol Insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.  The solution to this will not come from government, but rather from society and individuals working together to show mutual respect to our neighbors and their views.  While the text of this book is in need of updating, its advice is absolutely timeless.  It’s easy to read size and format also means that this is a relatively quick read, though I would concur with Dr. Forni’s advice that you try to read this book at a slow pace and mull over everything that has been written.  Overall, I highly recommend this book to everyone looking to improve civility and respect in our society.

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A Necessary Book: A Review of How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As the Trump era comes to a close and race relations, among many other things in this country, have reached a new low, especially after the summer of Black Lives Matter protests last year, people of goodwill have been looking for ways to break the country and themselves free from America’s white supremacist past and present. One of the newest paradigms shifts in thinking about achieving racial equality in America is antiracism, yet few know what exactly this means. In this wonderful book, Dr. Kendi not only illuminates the deeper meanings and workings of antiracism, but also charts his own personal development into antiracist work.

Like the book So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo, Dr. Kendi talks about racism and antiracism both from experience and from deep academic research.  His previous work, Stamped from the Beginning, would be an excellent book to read before this one, along with Ms. Oluo’s.  However, what distinguishes this book from other recent works of antiracism is both the deeper insight’s and definitions Dr. Kendi explores, but this is a book anchored in his own humanity, humility, and self-reflection.  Almost every chapter has some personal anecdote that leads into his antiracist point and many of them are critical of his own faults and failings earlier in his life.  Thus, by reflecting on his own past failings, Dr. Kendi invites his readers to explore their own past failings where they have failed to treat others, particularly BIPOC and LGBTQ+ people, with equal dignity and respect.  As Dr. Kendi explored his own development towards antiracism, I even found myself reflecting on my own failings and resolving to do better in the future.

It can be too easy for people to point out racist ideas, acts, or policies, but it is much more difficult to point to our own racist thoughts and actions and work to improve ourselves.  Dr. Kendi’s excellent, well-though out and deeply reflective work, can help all of us to do so.  There is a reason why this book has been on a lot of antiracism reading lists and I have no criticisms to give this book.  For anyone who has read So You Want To Talk About Race, Stamped from the Beginning, or other antiracism works, you must read this book next.

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Everything is Better: A Review of Factfulness

Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World--and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The news seems to always be filled with bad news. Even without the threat of COVID-19, the news is littered with stories of violence, illness, and death. While this may be a more dramatic story, it unfortunately hides the major story of the last 50+ years: that on nearly every indicator (health, education, the economy, etc.) the world has made an extraordinary amount of progress. Enter Hans Rosling and this wonderful book to correct the misperceptions of the affluent "West".

This book could've easily fallen into a trap of pure humanistic triumphalism, but Mr. Rosling has done more than just list a series of good news items that are routinely missed. He also challenges our preconceived notions about why things are terrible in the world and addresses why we think that way too. At the same time, each chapter is filled with strategies about how one can reorient their mind and try to think of the world both positively and rightly.

This is a wonderful book filled with great charts and figures. A few of them have to be walked through by the author, but once you see where the data is pointing after the first few chapters, it is easier to predict where the other sets of data are pointing. What is most invaluable is how Mr. Rosling tries to make his reader drop the typical "West vs. the Rest" or "Us vs. Them" mentality and instead think of the world as on four different economic levels. This allows one to see the incredible progress the world has made in closing so many gaps on so many levels. Today, most people in the world do not live in extreme poverty, though it still exists. And that brings up another great point about this book, which is Mr. Rosling's use of maxims to illustrate his points. One of his most memorable is to think of the state of the world as "bad, but getting better." It's a little more complicated than that though, but I do not want to spoil anything for you.

One thing I will say about this book is that at times he seems to bash on the media a bit too much. Granted, Mr. Rosling does humbly admit that he is probably too harsh on the media, but it still stands out. Also, this is not a book that I would read alone. This is a book that demands to be read and discussed with other people so that you don't just tuck all these facts away into your brain and carry on. The good news about that though is that this is a very accessible book. Both experts and lay readers should have no problem sifting through the data presented in this book.

Whether you are looking for a respite from all of the doom-and-gloom news about COVID-19 or not, this is a book that you should read to better understand just how much better things are in the world today. I highly recommend this book to all readers, not just those interested in current affairs.

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"So Runs the Stereotype": A Review of Whistling Vivaldi

Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do by Claude M. Steele

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Stereotypes may be the bases of many jokes and misunderstandings, but they can also be the bases for more negative consequences. That is the overall gist of this interesting look at stereotype threat, as it is labeled in the book, and how it can affect everyone negatively.

Prof. Steele has made his career as a social psychologist by researching just how negative stereotypes affect people in numerous ways. From academic and athletic performance to, perhaps, societal ills, Prof. Steele slowly builds up his case over the course of this entire book. Some of his research is incredibly eye-opening, such as the fact that negative stereotypes can affect anyone, depending on the stereotype you're talking about. Black students may feel pressure to perform in areas like math where, stereotypically, African-Americans are not perceived as being good at. White athletes may feel pressured to performa athletically in a sport where, again stereotypically, white athletes are not perceived as being very good in. And if nothing is done to address this anxiety, even in a minimal fashion, subconscious pressure pushes these groups to perform worse than their peers. It is all very intriguing.

And yet, there is this "No, duh!" quality to all of these revelations. After presenting some of his first research, a reader could guess at the future research results using only anecdotes and personal experience. While all of this is fascinating, nothing is particularly jaw-dropping. Also, while Prof. Steele points out how stereotype threat affects individuals and groups, he largely shies away from extrapolating any overarching societal consequences from his work. This may be due to professional caution, but, if his research is true for the broader American society, than stereotypes and stereotype threat could be a source for numerous societal ills. Lastly, while his work is interspersed with little nuggets of advice here and there, I would have liked a better concluding chapter with more straightforward advice on how to counteract stereotype threat. I'm sure educators in particular would like more detailed advice so as to be better, more balanced teachers in the classroom.

Overall, this is a good book that I would recommend to readers interested in stereotypes and how they can negatively affect us and our fellow citizens.

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The Kids are Alright: A Review of The Death and Life of the Great American School System

The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education by Diane Ravitch
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

For almost three decades now, Americans have been testing a number of different reforms in public education. Some of these reforms include vouchers, charter schools, standardized testing, national standards, and merit pay for teachers. And yet, every single one of these reforms has failed. Why is that? Can public education be reformed? Does it even need to be reformed? Diane Ravitch, an education policy expert who has worked for and advised U.S. Presidents since George H.W. Bush, examines each one of these reforms in detail and shows not only why they have failed, but some of the subversive laissez faire ideologies that have propelled them and will not let them go, no matter how much data is brought forth.

Despite my rating, this book is actually great. Ms. Ravitch is thorough in her research and, admirably, is willing to point out when she was wrong. For example, she was once a supporter of national standards that were a part of Pres. Obama's Race to the Top reforms. However, after examining its effect and reception, Ms. Ravitch is willing to say that national standards are not what's best for our country's public schools. I don't fully agree with her on this point as I think the problem with national standards has been with the process of their writing and implementation, which was top-down and heavy-handed, not with the idea itself. That said, Ms. Ravitch goes about destroying all of the latest education reforms with a fine toothed comb. By the end of this book, I couldn't help but wonder if it was ever possible to reform public education. Not only that, but considering other measures of learning in public education, I think we can legitimately ask if we actually NEED to reform public education. There are problems for sure, especially with the achievement gap between white and minority students, but as Ms. Ravitch points out over and over again, that may be due more to poverty and systemic racism that have perpetuated the wealth gap between whites and minorities.

So, why does this book get only three stars from me? Because this is one of the most policy-wonky books written for a general audience that I have ever read. Ms. Ravitch digs in really deep into her research, making some of the chapters long and tedious. By the end of the book, I was completely exhausted by all the different facts and figures that were presented. This book is a tough slog and should not be approached lightly.

Public education is not a good that we consume like food or movies. A good public education is a right that everyone is entitled to. This book is not only a sharp critique of recent education reforms, but a passionate plea for returning public education to its local and democratic roots. States and localities should lead the way on education with the federal government playing a role in supporting equity between rich and poor school districts, as it originally was when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 was passed. Teachers should be trained and treated as professionals, like a doctor or a lawyer. And any major reform MUST have buy in from teachers, administrators, and the local community. At least, that is Ms. Ravitch's recommendation. However, after reading this book, I am inclined to believe her. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in public education reform. Just know that this book will be a tough slog and, thus, you should set aside any other books before tackling this one.

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