Rating: 
Summary: Simply amazing... a real account of heroism and justice!
Review: 5+ stars for this true story of a man who dared to reveal the horrors of our nation we try to hide. What a heroic task for a man not only to investigate the truth behind the racism toward the black race but also to publish the entire investigation and findings. This book aroused more emotion in me than any other book I've read. The fact that this horrific story is non-fiction makes this book a necessity to be read by all Americans. Truly a righteous attempt to bring the truth of racism to light. A victory for all who oppose racism!!
Rating:
Summary: A fantastic book
Review: I came across the edition released in the 60's. Thought that the topic was interesting. After I started I couldn't stop!!! Its the first non-technical book I have read in some time. Would read it again!!!
Rating:
Summary: wonderful book
Review: my literature class just finished reading this book i was not sure if i would like it or not but i really did. I think it was good how he did this to experience true racism in the south. i wonder how the book would differ if he did the same experience five years later? I think it was a good book and i recomend it to anyone who wants to sit down and read a good book about the truths of racism in the south during 1959.
Rating:
Summary: A true tale of racism
Review: "Black Like Me" was a really good book. It has some really great information on racism in the Deep South. The author, John Howard Griffin, wanted to feel what it was like as a black person in the South. He went travelling from city to city as a black person. He dyed his skin black, shaved his head and took some medicine to protect his skin from the dye. His whole book is a journal. I thought it was pretty good. I never knew that there was that much racism in America. I liked the book because it is uncut and really full of history. I think that if an 8th grader likes History or is interested in black history, this would be a good book for them. It is a great book for a Social Studies teacher who is making their class study the 1950's and/ or black history.
Rating:
Summary: excellent, very moving and insightful
Review: This book, about a white man darkening his skin to see what it was like to be black in the southern United States, was fascinating. I did not want to put this book down. I was horrified to learn of his experiences. How I wish that everyone, regardless of their colour, would read this book.
Rating:
Summary: A MUST READ!! Fantastic and true!
Review: I've read this twice--once in high school, once in my 40's and had the same reaction both times! I was in total awe of Griffin's bravery of taking on this challenge to become "black" and letting us share his experience and "awakening" us to our social problems still alive today. I've been in the south in the early in the mid '80s and the early '90s and was totally upset with the attitude of prejudice and bias. I see this almost daily where I live in different forms and don't appreciate it. I wish Griffin was still alive today as this well written novel could yet be updated still. I found in "Black Like Me" me cheering for Griffin, verbally advising him not to go into this area or that one, wanting him to "rescue" as many of his brothers and sisters and bring them to safety, out of prejudices way. The only question I have is, "Is there such a safe place?"
Rating:
Summary: Great for all readers
Review: John Howard Griffin's nonfiction story Black Like Me tells of this white man's firsthand account of dealing with racism in the deep south. This experiment of changing from the white race to the black race took place in the 1960s' when the United States was facing severe racial conflicts. He migrated to southern cities in search of knowing how it feels to be hated and discriminated against just because of his color. He encountered hate that he never knew existed changing from one race to another in a matter of several minutes. He soon learned what real hate feels like, and that it was not easy being a Negro in the south during this time. John Griffin's experience taught him many important lessons. He learned that their ministers preach sin and hell just as much as his, have the same puritanical background as his, and many more of the same qualities and ethical thoughts about life. He is trying to say that we are all equal, no matter the color of our skin and flesh. You should not judge a man by his race, but by the quality and depth of his true character and soul. He is stressing that Negroes should not be treated badly or unfairly just because of the simple fact that they are a Negro. Overall, he wants people to know that a black man is just as much of a man as a white one, and one day he has a dream that whites and blacks can live together without discrimination and hate. This firsthand account happened in the late 50's and early 60's in the deep south of the United States. It took place in several cities such as New Orleans, Louisiana and Jackson, Mississippi. It was experienced when the US was having racial problems such as the assassination of a Negro leader, and the morbid conflicts between the two dominant races. This book keeps the reader interested by making you wonder what will happen next, strange settings, and unbelievable encounters with racists. By embarking on this journey with Mr. Griffin, the reader feels as if they were rig! ht there, and they may even feel sympathy for him. At the end of the story you feel as if you know John like a close friend. After all, he shares with you an experience of a lifetime. I recommend this book to anyone interested in true stories and history. Though, I would not recommend it to children because of its profane language. Overall, I enjoyed this book because it tells of a man's pain and triumphs dealing with this hatred of the south. It also tells of a man's struggle to defeat this terrible fear that Negroes had to deal with. Finally, this story touched the depths of my heart because it made me realize that people really do endure this kind of unfair and unjust treatment.
Rating:
Summary: Everyone should read this book!:)
Review: Black Like Me, I just finished reading in my 8th grade English class and just today we were discussing it. The book was wonderful and I never knew that is what went on in the South back then. I only knew little bits and pieces until I read the book. I cannot believe it was a real account. I really think that everyone should read this book becuase it deals with racism and prejudice towards people of an "inferior" status. I mean, they are talking about racism against blacks, but it is not really that much different than if it were racism towards a Jew or Hispanic. This book is must read to anyone who has ever wanted to know what really went on behind closed doors in the South way back when.
Rating:
Summary: Sobering enlightenment
Review: Although some of the things that Griffin faced as a "black" man have changed (we no longer have separate drinking fountains or different lavoratories for blacks and whites), the subtleties of racism still pervade our culture, so Griffin's book remains pertinent. I was intrigued, among other things, to see Griffin changing shades of skin color to flip back and forth from the "white man" to "black man" appearances, recording the marked differences in the way apparently polite people displayed their true feelings when they suddenly saw him as a member of the "other" race. This is an easy book to recommend, and I only wish Griffin were still around to update his comments and give his observations of how America appears now compared to four decades ago; (his experimentation as a negro took place in 1959).
Rating:
Summary: Still relevant after all these years.
Review: Although it was written nearly forty years ago, this book points squarely and unflinchingly at unpleasant racial realities that are still too much with us. Taking to heart the axiom about "walking a mile" in the other guy's shoes, the caucasian Griffin altered his appearance in the late 1950's by the use of skin dye and hair treatment, so that he could spend a few weeks on the other side of the curtain of segregation that was an undisputed fact of life in the South. What he learned was not only profoundly eye-opening for him, but can be so as well for anyone who reads him sensitively today. As a light-skinned African-American who has spent much of my life among whites, I have often observed that perhaps only their becoming black could convince most whites of the reality, the pervasiveness and the persistence of racism in America. Short of that, I would heartily recommend this venerable classic by Griffin. Especially valuable is the Epilogue, in which the author recounts the experiences he had following the book's initial publication, when he was invited numerous places to expound his insights into America's "race problem." Time and again, he is exasperated to find that those seeking solutions to racial unrest and animosity ignore the perspective of knowledgable blacks, preferring the views of a white man who has briefly experienced blackness over those derived from decades of such experience. In this section of the book, Griffin also offers a superb brief for the value of the perspectives presented in black newspapers and other black-controlled media. His own brief sojourn into blackness had shown him that such perspectives on events are no less valid or "objective" than those coming through the mainstream (white) media, and often provide a healthy and necessary corrective to the latter. It remains true that no American can consider him/herself fully informed on the issues of the day without exposure to a variety of viewpoints, and Griffin's admonitions on the dangers of ignoring black perspectives are as true in 1998 as they were in 1958. A sobering read, highly recommended to anyone seeking insight into the still-troubled world of American race relations. It would be a grave mistake to assume that the realities Griffin describes in this book ended with the Jim Crow laws. The only reason I would not rate it a "10" is that Griffin is no longer alive to give it a proper updating.
| 
