Rating: 
Summary: Account of past mistakes. But not the entire truth.
Review: I am an African-American female who was raised by a single, divorced, struggling mother. My father existed only at the periphery of my life, usually at his convenience. Because I also know what a struggle it is to exist as an African in America, I have little sympathy for the author. He grows up in a two-parent, middle-class home. He receives an education and home-training. But that isn't enough. He still deserves payback for being Black. He destroys other peoples' lives because of his special racial "problems." He rapes defenseless women, committs crimes against innocent people, and abandons children he has fathered. And now HE'S angry and wants to holler! I think the author is a real jerk. His behavior is not justified. He does not acknowledge the contribution he made to his own pain. Many people experience discrimination, bigotry, and hatred by others who don't fully understand their differences, but they don't use that as an excuse to go on a rampage of negative behavior. So why the four star rating? Nathan McCall is a good writer. With his next book, "What's Goin' On," McCall acknowledges his evil past (due to public outcry) and the dehumanizing treatment he inflicted on his past victims. With "What's Goin' On," The author eventually shows the ability to see beyond the safety net of yelling RACISM when he is forced to take responsibility for his own negative actions. I would like to know whether the author is using part of the profit from this book to pay overdue child-support. I don't like McCall as a person. But I will continue to read his books because it IS interesting to see a different perspective of coming-of-age in America.
Rating: 
Summary: DISTURBING TRUTH
Review: MAKES ME WANNA HOLLER stayed with me longer than any other book I've ever read. It's the story of a life like nothing I'd ever imagined and it gave me nightmares for weeks. This book is extremely well-written, so much so that you feel the pain of the victims, moreso than that of the writer. McCall writes about his misspent youth, the drug culture, fights, robberies and gang rapes, in which he participated. He's truthful about his failure with marriage and women in general. He even discusses being arrested and his time in prison, where he worked on his writing craft. Then he questions why main stream America doesn't want to accept him with open arms. It's amazing that through all of his wrongs, this book offers no hint of shame or repentance. He's not the epitome of "a young black man in America". He's an ex lowlife who doesn't know it. He's the kind of person that's easy to hate. But because of his honesty in his subject matter and his excellent writing ability, I think this book is a masterpiece. It should be required high school and college reading. MAKES ME WANNA HOLLER is definitely an eye opener.
Rating:
Summary: A TRUE LIFE
Review: When I first pick up this book I thought it was boring, but then I saw that it started to get intresting and I can relate to what the author is saying about this if you want a book about black life back in time and want to know about prsion life than this is the book for you. you will not want to put this book down or you might want to read it again and again.this is the best book I read that is real about life.
Rating:
Summary: most profound book i've read
Review: Reading the other reviews of this book, and seeing that many reviewers wondered where McCall's self-judgement or remorse came in, I don't think this book would be the same if McCall spent 400+ pages whining about what mistakes me made. He lets the errors of judgement and difficulties of life stand out glaringly clear to all of those who should choose to read them. This was one of the most profound, important books I've ever read for several reasons. One, it helped me understand the black male psyche from one point of view (mccall's) but when paired with other "prison" writings (cleaver, malcolm x) can help a non-black person understand the difficulties that black males go through in this society. Two, I teach in a poor neighborhood in NYC and this book helped me understand a lot of the mental stress and strain young children are under. When living amongst an oppressed people, where money/status/power/priviledge/mobility are slim, the tricks and games humans will play on each other to get ahead/survive may seem crazy or illogical to those of us who don't live that life. To those that do, it is real. I was better able to understand the pressures of being black, and the different masks black men wear, by reading this book. Three, this book shows how difficult it can be to turn around from past mistakes/actions, but how one must continue. McCall's life could've turned out so differently. He kept fighting and made it so he could have a "piece of the pie" and actually provide something to his children, and show his parents all their help was not totally lost, and prove to himself that he could do it. He said, after serving three years in prison, that he believed he could do anything if he made it out alive. That belief was tested at times when he went through difficulties at various workplaces, with his women, or in the transition back into society from prison. He even went so far as to think for a second that prison was an easier place to be (monastic) because there he could focus entirely on himself, and all threats were known entities. Four, this book helped me at a time in my life where i felt (feel) the walls are closing in on me. My problems are not so deep as McCall's, but i know what it feels like to feel that there are NO options, or the few you have are all bad, and you must simply do the best you can, keep thinking, keep struggling. This is a story of a spirit unwilling to throw in the towel, determined to carry out the strength that miraculously keeps it alive, striving, growing, despite all odds. I will never forget this book. For those who say it ought to be required reading, I agree. It is an amazingly honest memoir. I'm not disappointed in McCall for not showing "remorse" or appearing contrite about what he's done. He lets his words speak clearly to us, showing us that he has learned from his mistakes, otherwise he'd be unable to sit down and write a book as honest and powerful as this one.
Rating:
Summary: The road less traveled
Review: I read this book some time ago and found it to be one of the best reads ever to learn what life can be like for a young black man in America. It's disappointing to read the negative reviews which place blame on this man for his lifestyle. I don't disagree with this thought but the point of this book is to share a lifestyle leading to crime and back, and to analyze what his influences were that led him there. McCall came from a two-person middle class background, hardly a ghetto environment, but he still drifted into a life of crime. If ever a book shows the peer influence while in high school, this is it. After he had shot a man and was waiting at the police headquarters, he shares his thoughts as the realization of what he has done hits him. Also, while walking across a college campus after his prison term, he recognizes a victim of one of his "gang rapes". The remorse he feels is interesting as is his inability to try and confront and apologize to this person. Truly, Mr. McCall was remorseful of his bad deeds and now recognizes how this period of crime almost ruined his life. This book also shows what life in prison is like and you watch McCall start to realize how easy it would be for him to fall in this trap. But the last part of the book, and clearly the most controversial, deals with his life after he lands a good journalism job and is required to function in a world in constant touch with the white community. He does a good job of showing the difference in cultures and how he struggles. Clearly, McCall is a bitter man and even he doesn't understand totally why. It reminds me of the MTV shows "Real World" and "Road Rules" where the black males tend to be distant and have a tougher time communicating with their roomates. There's two ways to look at this book. One, use this book to reaffirm your stereotype of the black community and culture. Two, learn what goes on in the mind of a black man growing up in a confusing environment to him and how he deals with it. It's your choice. I choose to learn about his lifestyle and find ways to make such individuals more productive in today's society.
Rating: 
Summary: The author should NOW write about victim compensation.
Review: I read this book some years ago and was more impressed then than now. Unlike most authors, Mc Call actually admits that he was a an active participant in a gang rape. To actually have such a violent and humiliating crime published in one's own autobiography, the author would have to be very honest, insane or a liar. As hideous as some parts of this book, I still gave this book to my nieces, daughters and other young Black impressionable females who seem to mindlessly believe anything a Black man tells them. Some months after my adolescent niece read McCall's works, she confessed that she completely broke ties with a young man she had been dating because he showed a lot of Mc Call's tendencies. Some years later, this same young man has impregnated several different women, 3 of which gave birth to his children in the same week (while he was unemployed). Today, he is doing a life sentence in prison for violent crimes. As disturbing as Mc Call's work is, I have used it for good. Every mother should know where her son is at night. Also, blaming white people for your problems is no reason for McCall commiting the same sins (color casting, rape and robbery). Finally, if Mc Call committed all the crimes he claims, he should now publish a NEW novel covering his efforts at some form of victim restitution to the individuals, businesses and others he has violated in his past. Well, how about it, Mr McCall?
Rating: 
Summary: Makes me wonna scream!
Review: I read Nathan McCall's book when it came out in 1995. On the one hand, here's a guy who became a gang-banger, thug and all-around menace to society, eventually serving time in prison for armed robbery, but eventually got on the right track and is now a reporter for the Washington Post. Good story. When I first read the book I was impressed. Not anymore. McCall describes a life growing up in a solid, lower-middle-class family. In his early teens, he joined a gang. Soon, he participated in the gang-rape of a young girl. Eventually, he graduated to burglaries, holdups and gang fights, shooting a loaded pistol at unarmed teens. His political conscience awakened by the Black Panthers, which ultimately led to his racist hatred for white people, which he uses as justification for the barbaric acts perpetrated by him and others against whites. For example, he once fired a sawed-off shotgun into the suburban home of a white family watching TV, and then ran off without knowing (or, apparently, caring) whether anyone was hit. Instead of taking responsibility for his actions, admitting to his mistakes, and trying to warn impressionable young black men NOT to make the same mistakes that he made, McCall tries to show that it was "racism" that caused him to make the choices he made. By the end of the book, it seems he wants to reader to be impressed with his generous decision to "forgive" white people. Forgive them for what? What did "Whitey" ever to do him to make him become a gang-banging, gang-rapist thug? How did that white suburban family provoke him into firing a sawed-off shotgun into their home, possibly seriously injuring (if not killing!) someone inside? It is obvious that McCall was an angry young man. However, instead of delving into the real sources of his anger and dealing with it in a constructive way, he uses his anger, as well as his racism (let's call a spade a spade) to justify his criminal past. Negro, Pu-LEEEZE! I would have had more respect for him had he just owned up to his mistakes, as opposed to trying to justify his actions via "Whitey." "Makes Me Wonna Holler" makes me wonna scream.
Rating:
Summary: Makes Me Wanna Holler : A Young Black Man in America
Review: this is a geat book for anyone how wants to know the truth of how people were really treated in lif in this book nathan mccall really gives birds eye view of his life once u start reading this book u just dont want to stop
Rating:
Summary: Makes me wanna holler/ Makes me wanna holla
Review: Growing up in the hood can be difficult, especially for Nathan McCall. He's seen and done it all from gang beatings, to murder, robbery, and rape, but he can only keep his head above the water for only so long. He gets arrested and becomes a rehabilitated man as where he writes his own novel in prison, which is the very same exact book that you probably have in your hand. This book is a fantastic one which describes many of todays problems with gangs and bad neighborhoods such as the one in the book. I give it and A+, ahmen!
Rating:
Summary: I can relate
Review: I have heard friends talk about this book and speak about how angry Mr. McCall sounds in his book, but I have completely different opinion. At this exact moment I feel the same way Mr. McCall felt while working in mainstream America and about how blacks cannot be aggressive in the workplace. Another thing I can relate to is how blacks have to be perfect and whites are allowed to make all of the mistakes in the world. What really inspired me bout this story was how it took prison to turn around Mr. McCall and his life. I am glad that I read this book it gave me a lot of perspective in my life and where I should be focusing my energies.
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