White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son by Tim Wise

Book Review
by Alina Mattison

Tim Wise wrote the book White like Me based on the book Black Like Me.  Black like Me is about a man who takes medicine to make his skin darker to look like a black person where as the book White like me is about a white man who is adamant about defying racism. Both of the books are discussing the issue of racism. The book white like me is very interesting because it is about a white person sticking up against racism. Usually the people who are adamant to talk about how racism is really bad are black people or people who are not white.

The point of this book is to tell people about how big of an issue racism is in America. Wise talks about why he decided to be a civil rights activist. In his book there is not particularly one main point. He never states what the main point of his book is. This book is more about the reflections of his life and why he is and believes the things he does. Even though there is not a “main point” so to say, Wise make the reader think about why it is important to be anti-racist. I thought it was a different way of writing because usually the author has one main point to their book. Wise had a different way of writing which did not include one main point to the story.

It is really interesting how Wise organizes his book. The beginning of the book discuses his life. He talks about his family and what is going on when he was growing up. The first part of the book is more of a biography of his life. The second have of the book is a compilation of his life stories. He tells stories about when he is young and stories which are more recent in his life. I thought this was a really good idea to do for the book. Telling stories about his life where Wise has come across racism made the reader feel more up close and personal with what was going on. It made you realize why racism is so bad and why people should fight against it. He was able to organize his thoughts and show the reader first hand why he is a civil rights activist. He discuses how whites should not be automatically privileged right from the start.

Wise talks about his family and how they had an impact on him. Many of the story he discuses in his book deals with his family and what they thought about racism. In particular he talks about his mom. He basically says he is the way he is today because of his mom and her attitude towards racism. Wise says it is inevitable for people to not be one-hundred percent anti-racist. He has a great story which illustrates his idea. He said when his mom was getting older, she started to get dementia. She had to be taken to a nursing home and be taken care of because she was no longer capable of taking care of herself. Even though his mom was strongly against racism her whole life, the racist side of her came out when she was in the nursing home. Wise said she started calling her nurses, which were black, racists name and being quite derogatory of towards them. This was a sad story in his book but it proved a point the was getting at. He goes back to how people can never be completely anti-racist and this story backs up his idea completely. There were other stories in the book about his family and how they impacted his life. Every story he discusses in the book were helpful in further exposing why he wrote the book. He was able to inform the reader why it is so important for people to fight against racism through his stories.

I did not choose to read this book, it was a book I was assigned. For this section I think I would have wanted to read this book over the other available books though. It sounded like an interesting book and I was wondering what is was about because it seemed like it would discuss interesting subjects. I was not sure what the book was about because the cover makes it sound like Wise was a privileged or wealthy kids growing up. It sounded like it would be an interesting book to read and I am glad I was able to read this book out of this section of the books available.

I thought Wise carried out his idea and task very well. He gave enough back ground information about himself and then supported it with stories explaining why he felt the way he did. He made it clear to the reader why he felt so adamant about the civil rights movement. He provided stories and thoughts which made the readers realize what is so wrong with racism. I thought he did a really good job carrying out his task. even though there was not a main point to the book, he showed why it is important for people to try and not be racist and participate against racism.

I thought this book was OK. It had a bunch of interesting information, but at times it seems a little bit redundant. I think he should have had more of a main point to his story. The book was more of a biography about his life and why he is the way he is today then a story. It was entertaining to read but at times it was repetitive. It is not a book I would re-read but I thought its was thoughtful information to read.

Wise, Tim. "White Like Me"

Book Review By: Stephanie Lamp

In White like Me it’s kind of hard to see Tim Wises’ main point for writing about this specific topic. He writes about numerous experiences he has gone through and explains why he feels so strongly about being an anti-racist man, but never flat out says “this is my main point.” So if I had to give the main point for White like Me I would say it’s to inform us, the reader how racism is still and always will be a big deal. Wise wants us to not forget the fact that racism is such a horrible thing; he wants us to try and change that through the little things we can do.


Wise starts his book explaining his life a bit, talking about his family and the schools he went to. He doesn’t really start giving specific occasions that he has gone through until the last few chapters of the book. In the first chapters he mostly states his opinion on racism. How he loathes it, and wishes things could be different, criticizing whites all along the way. How horrible white people are and how right when their born they already have a automatic privilege into this world.


I chose this book thinking it was something completely different then what it was. I assumed that this story would be about a man who grew up in a royal or upper class family, and how he saw himself have more privileges then other races around him. White like Me turned out to be the exact opposite of my assumption of this book. He wasn’t a poor man but definitely wasn’t royalty. To be completely honest I don’t think I would have chosen this particular story if I knew it was going to be the way it was. White like Me wasn’t a horrible story, once you read into it more. I would explain it as a difficult read. Wise tends to be very repetitive in this, as a was reading the first few chapters he was pretty much saying what he had said in the first chapter, just worded differently, or added something else here and there.


I think Wise covered the material he wanted to cover perfectly, was it interesting while reading his material? No! to be completely honest I don’t like the way Wise wrote this book. I think he could have caught more interest from the reader if he used more experiences and stories of times when he had seen first hand racism going on. Those are facts people can’t argue with facts, they can on the other hand argue with opinion. I think that’s why he’s criticized so much for writing this book. Not only is he looking down on his own race, but he’s constantly stating his opinion on that matter. Wise I’m sure is a very wonderful man, and I respect him for all the great things he’s doing by bringing awareness to young adults and teens about racism. I just think he could have written this book a lot differently.

Firoozeh Dumas. Funny in Farsi. Random House, New York: 2003.

Book Review By: Jaquelyn McEwen

Funny in Farsi (Random House, New York:2003) is the humorous memoir of Firoozeh Dumas, an immigrant. In her book she tells the many stories that impacted her life growing up Iranian in America. Dumas’s story telling skills are entertaining and captivating for the reader. She has an innate ability to get a point across in a theatrical way and is also able to keep the seriousness of the situation. In the memoir she tells of the little things that she had to get used to being an immigrant and the misconceptions that came with not knowing the American language. Dumas also touches on happenings in her home country that made being an immigrant hard (Iran Hostage Crisis 1979). Dumas starts her memoir when her and her family first arrived in the United States at the age of seven.

The book shows that Dumas is a skilled writer and can be read by anyone. The language used in this book was very descriptive and set the scene well. For example, in one chapter she touched on the multitude of loose weight quick schemes offered in America. While reading of the numerous methods her uncle used I was able to visualize what was going on. This also made the things happening in the book quite funny and I constantly found myself laughing out loud.

Dumas’s writing style also showed how eccentric her family was in comparison to the Americans they encountered daily. She dedicated many of the pages of this book just describing how different her culture views the importance of family compared to the majority of America. Dumas was also able to explain in several occurrences in the book, how her loud family both embarrassed her and made her who she is today. She states in the later chapters of the book that her husband married her not in spite of her family but because of them.

Dumas clearly states (in the afterward) that she did not write this book because she had accomplished any great achievement, but she wrote it because she felt that everyone has a story to tell. Even though she many not feel she accomplished anything great I feel differently after reading this book. She became successful and overcame the many odds that were against her being an Iranian immigrant. Throughout the pages one can read time and again several occurrences that would have held most people back. Dumas on the other hand never gave up and always worked towards achieving a greater goal. One chapter, in particular, stands out to me in demonstrating this point “Girls Just Wanna Have Funds.” While I found this chapter humorous (like many of the other chapters in the book) she made a clear point that one must work hard for there goals, literally. In this chapter she tells of the many jobs that she acquired after worrying she would not be able to afford college at the age of fourteen. This chapter not only kept one laughing, but showed how difficult it was for her as an immigrant to find a good job.

Dumas also was able to portray several different aspects of American culture that she was able to experience. I felt that she was able to illustrate the problems her and her family faced like the multiple schemes (e.g. get rich quick games and loose weight quick) and other recreational activities (e.g. theme parks [particularly Disneyland], summer camp, and vacations) that they encountered in America without being offensive.

I really appreciated that Dumas took a more humorous approach writing about the several culture shocks she experienced moving to another country. It was refreshing and made reading the book easier. Unlike other immigration stories that I have read that make their point by focusing on all the horrible things that were happening Dumas was able to bring light to a sensitive subject. Instead of in a sense dreading what I was going to read next I looked forward to what she had to say. Her ability to use humor definitely worked to her advantage. It made the book fun and a page turner.

My one complaint about this book comes from its lack of chronological order. She jumped around a lot in the book making it hard for me to have a good reference to the time it was occurring. I don’t know if she did this because she felt that the specific date of certain stories was irrelevant and her point was really just what was happening. She did, however, put the dates for important happenings (e.g. first coming to America-1972, going to she the Shah-1977, and the Iran Hostage Crisis-1979).

I choose to read this book after I looked up some additional information on it. After reading several reviews about the book and Dumas’s uncanny ability to incorporate humor I thought it would be an enjoyable read. I was not let down. While the book is small it is packed with funny, serious, and “You’re mother-in-law said what?!” stories.

Overall, I feel that Dumas’s book was very well written and made several impacting points. She was able to show the treatment she received from her Iranian descent before complications with Iran and then after and she made, once again, a funny but powerful point in describing the injustice her family (and fellow Iranians in America) faced: “One kid throws a spitball and the whole class gets detention” (118). While it was here the book took a more serious turn she quickly turned it back to her funny light hearted style and kept optimism.

I personally have never read any books about Iran or Iranians. I found this book to be a nice intro to the culture and not so “in your face” about it. Dumas, allowed the reader to be comfortable and did not put blame on anyone to cause feelings of guilt. The reader was able to formulate their own opinions about the topic. The book was to the point and Dumas does not try to confuse the reader with extreme language. I feel that this is a good book to read that will not take you forever to get through.

Piri Thomas. Down These Mean Streets. Vintage Books, New York: 1967.

Book Review By: Jaquelyn McEwen

The coming of age is a hard time for many young men and women. They often find themselves in that awkward stage of no longer being a child yet not quite an adult and still trying to find which avenue suites them for their journey into adulthood. Piri Thomas, in his memoir Down These Mean Streets, tells the hardships and troubles he had in discovering himself, a dark skinned Puerto Rican (from a family that did not want to admit the African descent) on the streets of Spanish Harlem. This book was published by Vintage Books, New York in 1967. This book is lyrical and allows the reader to feel like they are with Thomas on his rocky road to a better life.

I chose to read this book mostly because the title caught my attention. I then looked up further information about the book and was able to read the reviews by others who had read the book. This just confirmed my decision since the majority of reviews were positive and praised Piri Thomas for his work. Also, when looking up information about the book I was able to see that it was about a Puerto Rican man. Since I did not know much about this culture I thought the background of the book would be different and new to me.

The language in the book made it both authentic and difficult to understand. Since I do not speak Spanish I found myself constantly flipping to the back of the book to look up what a word meant. I felt that this made some of the passages loose their power. It was distracting. Yet, I must say that when he would use Spanish words instead of just English it gave the sentence a sense of realness. It made the reader feel as though they were there listening to the conversation. The use of language made his work original.

The book was organized in a manner that was easy to follow. Thomas kept the book chronological. He built up on the chapters and often came back and elaborated on things that the reader my not have found that important. He wrote the book in a more conversational style. Instead of just telling his story, he reacted it and wrote down the scenes. Some of the time it felt like one was reading a script to a movie instead of someones memoir. Just in the beginning chapter one was able to see his unique style.

Piri Thomas was able to not only tell about his own life, but also touch on the extreme difficulties for minorities in America to make something of themselves. He vividly depicts the difficulties growing up in Spanish Harlem. He allows the reader to see that the choices are not as clear cut as we would like to think them to be. While many feel that if one wants to do something with their life they decide to do so and do it. Thomas shows that it is not this way. On the streets he time and again tells that status is everything and its all about what gang you’re a part of to ensure a good status. He also elaborates on the accessibility of drugs and how the dealers get you hooked and one is no longer able to function without them. He also shares how one bad choice to keep ones tough reputation can quickly wind down to homelessness, desperation, and eventual prison.

Even though Thomas was able to turn his life around in prison and eventually make something of himself many of the youth in the ghettos of America don’t have this same happy ending story. Thomas claims that he wrote this book to bring awareness to the situation these children face when they reach the crucial coming of age time. He wanted to allow other Americans see the desperation the poor of the country are in and how there needs to be a focus on helping these children get out before the get in. He also feels that the cut back in the government should not take away from community programs or the education of the children. Although I did not get this from reading the actual content of the chapters, Thomas clearly states it in his Afterward.

Another topic strongly brought up throughout the book was the awareness of ones race. Thomas wrote about experiences where he was thought to be of a different race and treated with less respect or times where his race caused hazing by other bullies. He also wrote about an experience as a young adult and having the ability to work on a ship that traveled the world. He states that he felt this was his time to see fair treatment outside of the United States, instead he found that it did not matter where one was, skin color made a difference on the way one was treated regardless. Thomas also states, in his Afterward, that all children are born with some intelligence and that is not determined by their skin color. I thought this was a valid point and agree.

Even though I was not a fan of the overall writing style (mainly because I don’t know Spanish and had to constantly look up definitions) I feel that Piri Thomas was able to show several different problems the poor face growing up in the ghettos while telling his own personal testimony and triumph. I feel this book is proof that everyone has something the say that can contribute to society. Overall I feel that Piri Thomas has written a very informative book when on reads between the lines.

Lewis, John and D'Orso, Michael. Walking with the Wind, Simon & Schuster: New York, 1998.

Book Reviewed by: Mary Kneefel

Walking with the Wind, A Memoir of the Movement, by John Lewis with Michael D’Orso gave a unique account of the civil rights movement of the 1960’s. Lewis’s own stories and charismatic nature, made this autobiography worth reading. His story is presented from many angles that are often overlooked to someone unaware about the civil rights movement. The message in the conclusion can clearly been seen. He makes no wild claims or statements, and gives an accurate account. He shares a lot a personal information that transforms the book, and enables the reader to empathize with him.

Although the book did not truly seem to start until the second half, once he became immersed in the civil rights movement, it was necessary to see his life as a child, and how he lived with his parents in Alabama. No one can deny Lewis’ passion, however, he presented it in an almost neutral sense that does not deter the reader. Stories of lining chickens up and preaching to them, gives great insight as to his character at an early age. His earliest experiences, which motivated him to pursue activist work, built up into the climax, his march from Selma to Montgomery. Prior to this point, he covered Diane Nash’s desire to do the “march on Alabama”, and the 16^th street bombing. There however are random spots in the text where he first mentions his attractive friend Julian, and how he was his wife wanted him to spend time with Lewis so he could not cheat on her. Then it proceeds to talk about how soul music was being introduced. Two paragraphs later he began recalling some previous relationships, before he had gotten married. Immediately after it seemed he went right into talking about the mock elections, and their turnouts.

It is obvious as too how he needed to include his journey to Africa, but it seemed to take a lot of text until he mentioned why it was so important. He says it was to make a global issue, rather than just in the States. But it did not say how he changed the protest in anyway. Also it seemed a little strange, how he chose to incorporate Malcolm X into the book. The book never really discussed how he felt about him, or why he was so different. I know from previous knowledge, what a radical he was, but he seemed to support the their movement as well.

However, to Lewis’ credit, he explained the behind the scenes aspects of activism well. For example, it was very helpful that he also referred to each worker, and which group they associated with, i.e…SNCC, or SCLC. Prior to reading this book, I naively grouped all civil rights workers into one large category. It was interesting to learn about other big players in civil rights, other than Martin Luther King Jr., and how each group seemed to have slightly different goals.

I was moved in Lewis march from Selma. I could sense his feeling of abandonment when the SNCC would not march alongside him. He used words well to produce vivid images, describing the smugness of the police, Sheriff Clark in particular, and the injuries the protestors endured. Even little details about how tear gas was, and how he burned their eyes, and they had to vomit for hours. I admire his strength in not giving up on his goals, even after enduring such a hard hit. I believe he expressed his emotions appropriately, in his tone throughout these chapters as well. I seemed to have felt some joy as he mentions that ABC network made a special bulletin showing the images, and videos of the march. The shock the audience experienced helped their organization in a powerful way. I could not help but to feel happy for him, even though this happened almost 50 years ago.

In addition for how the different black people viewed different things, he incorporated whites as well. He discussed the self-esteem issue many African-Americans felt, when white volunteers would throw themselves into the work. Also he mentioned the resentment of people from both races, when couples would marry interracially. It was even surprising to me to learn how the Klansmen attacked and killed white people who were present at some of the rallies. He countered the helpful white individuals to the racist KKK members, and would account for statistics on their actions. This greatly helped shaped the idea that the movement was a complex ordeal that requires both races to coexist and support one another.

In the closing chapter he goes over the flaws of the movement. He reiterates the problem of society is not the people of that society, but its system. He never once insults white people, even after cruel beatings. He is clear, that it would be a racist movement without whites’ involvement. He eludes that this is still an ongoing problem and that it can only be fixed if everyone chooses to recognize that society must unite. To be one means to reach everyone’s potential in all areas of live, and support each other.

It seems a little strange that a civil rights activist did not choose to write a book about the cruelty he endured, but wanted to expose the flaws in his own system. To show the hardships people had to work though, and that it was not simply completed after the Voting Law was passed in 1965. He gives advice how to even improve our society at this point. The mere fact that he is so loving and lacks resentment is the true testament for what he spent his life working for, and continues to work. The book is quite long, but delivers an important message, and is worth the time to read.

Inceidents In The Life of a Slave Girl by Harriett Jacobs

Book Review by Stephanie Lamp

Harriet Jacobs is a young slave girl explaining her story as a slave. She didn’t set out writing this book for money like most writers. She wrote it to help better our understanding on slave life during that time period. Two women who helped her hide out towards the end of her escape from her plantation convinced her to write this book. She was anxious at first but finally ended up writing this story for us to read.

In this wonderful story, the Author, Harriet Jacobs is explaining her life as a slave girl. She definitely didn’t live an easy life; it was full of hardship, death, and pain. Her story also portrays the great relationship she had with God. Through all the hardship she went through she never turned her back on God. Jacobs is trying to explain to us how she had a horrible life but doesn’t want us to pity her at all. Throughout the whole story she says numerous times how she’s not writing this book for pity she just wants to explain her story so others will know about it. It saddens me that she even has to defend herself about the things she went through just because she is so used to people assuming she is lying so others will feel sorry for her.

She organizes her book very well, for a woman who had no formal education. She starts off her story explaining how she didn’t even know she was a slave until she was six years old, just because of the simple fact that her mother shielded her from it. For the most part she had a good slave life, or as good as a slave’s life could be. Her master kept her inside doing the household duties like; cooking, cleaning, and sewing. She was grateful for not having to work out in the fields, but her master was a horrible man. From there she goes to explain the great adventures she lives through on her journey to freedom.

I chose to read this book not really sure what I was getting myself into. While I was reading it I really enjoyed the story she was telling. I loved getting the opportunity to hear about her life and see how she explained the trials she experienced. I would absolutely recommend this book for anyone interested in this time period to read.

Jacobs does an amazing job of keeping the readers interest though out the book. The way she gives every detail almost makes you feel as if you were experiencing these things right along with her. She lived a very difficult life but also had various pleasant times along with the difficulties. Her children were away from her for the majority of their lives but she still kept in contact with them, and never gave up hope that they would all be together again. Their grandmother also kept their love for her strong, so when they finally saw her again they were not bitter, but instantly loved her. I think by her writing this story, it expands the people’s minds reading it. I know I didn’t know half the things she explained. She tells the absolute truth rather than sugar coating things here and there; she wants the reader to know everything! God guided her through everything she had to go through; sometimes it’s hard to understand why he lets all these things happen to good people but eventually one day we will find out. I think the reason she went through her life as a slave may have been so that she could tell her story to others so we can have a better understanding of how these people lived.

The Infortunate: The Voyage And Adventures Of William Moraley, An Indentured Servant, by William Moraley

Book Review by Makala Portis

After reading, The Infortunate: The Voyage And Adventures Of William Moraley, An Indentured Servant, by William Moraley, edited and with an introduction by Susan E. Klepp and Billy Gordon Smith, I got the impression that the editor wants to show how important William Moraley was because not a lot of people know who he is. People know who Moraley's contemporary Benjamin Franklin is and William has most of the similar values. William put an impact on how people view the life of an indentured servant. It's not sugar-coated, it's real and he shares his struggles that he had.

William Moraley's autobiography begins in England during the 18th century. William was the only born child to a clockmaker and his wife. William is a very educated man who was taught in Latin, Arithmetic, Music, and Dance. When William's dad died he left all his property to his wife and left his son only with some clock making tools and a little bit of money. After this Moraley travels to North America and becomes an Indentured Servant and serves a five years.

When he gets there he is sold to a clockmaker who lives in Burlington. After a while he gets tired of working for his master and wants to move to Philadelphia. He mentions this to his master but he is not very happy to hear this and is against it. William takes matters into his own hands and runs away. He doesn't get very far until hes caught and sent to jail. After this he is sent back to his master were he finishes his servitude.

He has different views of things that people wouldn't necessarily agree with. One being is that he viewed woman as property. He envied slaves because they were able to have a family and not have to deal with money. William had different views on people with different ethnicity's. He was a very social person and got to know peoples background and their story. He shared his view on slaves and Native Americans.

William returns to New castle after struggling so much. He moves in with his mother who got married three times after his father died. Three years of living with his mother she dies. In 1743 William Moraley publishes his autobiography, and dies in 1762.

William is a very interesting man who had a hard life. I would recommend this book for anyone who likes to get to know about different people and who wants to read a good book. It has its amusing moments and also describes how someone from long ago dealt with certain situations and got through them.