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Warriors Don't Cry : Searing Memoir of Battle to Integrate Little Rock

Warriors Don't Cry : Searing Memoir of Battle to Integrate Little Rock

List Price: $14.00
Your Price: $11.20
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Emotionally Moving
Review: Warrior's Don't Cry is a riveting tale about nine students who fight with their life when they integrate into Central High. Once you start this compelling story, there's no stopping. From the very first page, you seem to sympathize with Melba Beals as her journey as a black girl in a white society became more and more frightening. Eight black students, along with Melba, spent one year in a battle to integrate Central High, and with their courage, faith, and amazing strength they helped shape the civil rights movement. You can't imagine the horror of just one day in that school these children, who were 15 and 16 years old, faced punching, kicking, being pushed down stairs, and bombs thrown at them, and that was just a good day. I encourage everyone, young and old, to read through this memoir of Melba Beals. This account shows students of hope, faith, and strength emerging from a place of hate, violence, and terror. This book encourages all never to give up and that if you stick with the pain, you will see the rewards. The risks of these students are so very inspriational to all. Melba beals writes a sif this sheer unimaginable event happened with me in it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Phenomenal Tribute to Warriors of the 1950s
Review: "Warrios Don't Cry" gives a new perspective to those who did not experience integration during the 1950s as an adolescent. Melba Pattillo Beals brings the reader into her day to day battle with people fighting to see her fail. Beals, whether writing in her diary or weaving her memoir, brings you into her vicious battle: face to face with her foes. I can feel the joy in Melba's heart on her dates with Vince and the terror in her soul when she is almost attacked as a child. This story reached out and brought me into Little Rock Nine's reality that school is a battlefield and not a surreal world of wonder. As a white person, I am ashamed of the atrocities committed by teachers, citizens, and students alike. Yet, as a human being I am honored to see such strength in young men and women in the face of human evil. Such strenth is inspiring to me seeing that I have nowhere near such adversities. I particularly loved that Beal spared no details; her shortcomings were as noted as those of her enemies. Beyond that, Beals allowed you to walk with her down the hallways of Central High; you can picture this proud, stone-faced warrior moving from class to class impassive to the barrage of "cat-calls" and pencil attakcs. This book is not only a tribute to the Little Rock Nine and the amazing feat accomplished, but a tribute to human determination and strength found from deep within the soul. Melba shows the triumph over her soul over the malvelonce of others.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Inspiring Endurance
Review: In Warriors Don't Cry, Melba Patillo Beals gives a first-hand account of the integration of Little Rock's Central High School. She explains in detail the cruel and belligerent attempts the white students made to remove the "niggers" from their precious, supposedly superior school. Melba's life was drastically changed from the ordinary careless life of a 15 year old girl to the life of a warrior- merely struggling to survive. Even some of "her people" disapproved of the integration, even though they would be the ones to benefit in the end. The world was against her, but encouragement from Melba's mother, grandmother, and a guard named Danny pushed her along. In the midst of her troubling experiences, her faith in God only grew stronger. Melba kept a daily journal telling what she experienced throughout the day and how she was really feeling, despite what she was showing on the outside. Excerpts from this journal prove that Melba was becoming very wise beyond her years. The dedication that this young girl had to rescuing her neighbors from discrimination and her devoted service to God is truly inspiring.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Eye-Opener
Review: Warriors Don't Cry, by Melba Patillo Beals, is a shocking story of the nine black students who integrated Little Rock's Central High School. The novel is an autobiography of the author's struggles as she integrates the former all-white high school, and the other eight students' challenges are discussed as well. The story is based on Beals's diary entries from when she was sixteen, as well as newspaper clippings her grandmother saved up that related to the integration. In the book, Melba suffers physical and verbal abuse from her fellow students, parent raids of the school, and a near hanging by a lynch mob. Melba, however, never gives up because of her strong faith in God and the support of not only her family, but also of her many admirers from around the world who have read of her bravery. Warriors Don't Cry is very inspirational, because the students go through trials that the average person would never dream of, and they continue to fight their circumstances so that future generations of black people will have the same rights as whites. Melba's wisdom and faith in this novel prove to be well beyond her years, and leave the reader feeling as though he has experienced her struggles as well. I personally have never read a better non-fiction novel than this, and recommend this book to anyone who wants to have his eyes opened and who wants to be inspired.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: "Warriors Don't Cry"
Review: I enjoyed reading the book, Warriors Don't Cry, by Melba Beals because of the courage that the characters demonstrated and sacrifices that they made. The book is a true story about nine African American students integrating Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in the late 50's. The nine students, who were also known as the Little Rock Nine, were highly discouraged against attending the school. The students sacrificed their own lives in able to have freedom for them and for the future of their people. They gave up their normal teenage life, lost all their friends, and lived in fear that they might be hurt or that one of their family member's might be. Reading this book and seeing all the sacrifices that they made and everything they endured helps the reader understand how strong the Little Rock Nine were. The diary entries that were written by the author, Melba Beals, and the media coverage that is in the book also enables the reader to better understand what some of the people were going through. Throughout the book the characters demonstrate love, friendship, commitment, and courage. They demonstrated courage by not giving up when some of the white students set them on fire, spit on them, pushed them, and kicked them, but that still did not stop the nine students from striving for their dream of integrating the high school. I thought this was an excellent book that let the reader into the minds of the Little Rock Nine and helped them understand what life was like for them.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A great Book for Everyone
Review: Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Beals was a very intriguing book. No matter what the other students did to her, she kept going strong. The book made me want to strive to be better. To be a better person, to be more caring, and to appreciate everything that I have.
After reading the book I had new insights about life in the late 1950's and the early 1960's. I didn't have any idea how horrible things were for the African Americans during that time period. The Little Rock nine was part of a grueling attack. No one wanted those nine students at the school. I now appreciate being able to walk into my school with no problems. I know I can walk into my school with out being pushed or the back of my heals walked on. Everyday I walk in those front doors, I feel safe. I can not imagine what it would feel like to walk into a school where you know you are not wanted. Where you know no one wants you to succeed but you know that's the only thing there for you to do.
Another reason I enjoyed the book was because of all the great description. As I was reading the book I could see each and every event take place. The description was so clear, at times I felt as if I was experiencing the horrible events. The book was an easy read which helped to understand the book and to get so involved. If there had been a lot of words, I did not know, the book would not of have the same value because I would have to look up words for their meaning.
I also like the book because it was a true story. You got to hear first hand what it was like out there in the battle. I learned so much about history in the book. I am not a big history buff but this history was very interesting. I found myself not wanting to put down the book.
If you are looking for a great book, and easy read and to learn something new, I strongly recommend Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Beals.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Great Book About Integration
Review: I think Warriors Don't Cry is a great book for many reasons. First of all this book has inspired me to stay strong and go for what I want to achieve. Everyday for a year Melba Patillo Beals and the other students who decided to integrate into a white high school in Little Rock, Arkansas had to face horrible people who torched them both physically and mentally. The black students would have to walk through the hallways with people shouting races comments, eggs thrown at them, people spitting on them and much more. This book has opened my eyes to how the world is not perfect and how horrible integration was like in the mid 1900's.
Second, I thought the reading level of this book was good for eighth graders and up. The book was easy to understand yet it is very informational to one who does not know much about the days of integration. For instance I did not know much about the violence or racism during the time of integration until I read the book.
Third, the author had also kept my attention throughout the entire book. Each incident the author told about was never dragged on too long. There was always a point to Melba's story as well. The author also used many universal techniques in the book to bring out the characters or to help describe a situation. The book kept my attention by having more than one thought about people, such as the book was not only just about the cruel southerners at the time, but it was also about how one white boy opened up to Melba and tried to help her out as much as he could.
The last thing about the book that I liked was how the author brought everything together at the end of the book. The book was about Melbas life during her years as an adolescent. However, the book was published years after the integration had taken place. The book was well planned by having the events be in chronological order. There was also one chapter at the end of the book that did a great job at summarizing what Melba has done since the last day she had attended the high school in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A Not So Searing Memoir
Review: I was interested at the beginning of this book. As the reading went on though, I discovered its repetition. I knew that this wasn't intentional by the author, since the whole incident itself was repeated over and over and over until the moment where I knew that no real climax would happen in this book. I found this book very dull after the first 100 pages. I recall saying outloud when something different happened, "Yes! Something's going to happen!" Yet, when I turned the page, I was utterly disappointed at seeing that nothing had changed. This book, which was meant to show true evil and hatred only showed me that self-pity really can string out over a 312 pages. The way she explained caucasians was most likely deserved in her town at the time, though it truly sadened me to hear her go along telling me that being white was degrading, selfish, and bad. If you have an insomnia problem, I'm sure you'll get your cure with this downgrading book. It also pains me that this woman, well into adulthood, had the need to get revenge from her ex-husband. I believe it was the lines saying this: "Seven years later John and I split up because he had been a farm boy who wanted a wife to putter about the house and have babies. I wanted to be a news reporter." You would think revenge of this kind could be settled in a different way instead of writing a autobiography which happens to degrade her white ex-husband. This book was one that I could have gone 150 or 200 pages and I would still be reading the same thing over and over and over. I hope that if you want to test my opinions on this book, rent it from a library, do not buy it. It would be a complete waste of money.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A book about courage and sacrifice
Review: Living in a world full of freedom, Melba Patillo Beals (author) shows how she can live a life full of hatred and discrimination. She shows how she can sacrifice her own life to have freedom for the future generations to come. She and her nine fellow African American friends, show what being courageous is about.

Melba Patillo Beals gives up her social life to the extent that she cannot do anything but try gradually to integrate her High Scool. She takes all the pressure whether if its being spat on, getting kicked on the shins, being chased daily, hearing threats daily or not being accepted at all.

Melba shows all the people what life is like if you are not accepted as a teenager or a citizen of the United States. She shows how everyone needs the nurture and freedom to live and be accepted in the econmony. She tries to live her life, even thought the segragationists do not let her.

I reccomend this book to anyone who like autobiographies full of interesting diary entries. And anyone who believes that their freedom is the most important part of their life to the extent that they will sacrifice even all of their social life.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A great book about courage and sacrifice
Review: This book reveals the courage and sacrifice that nine girls make in order to give peace and equality for their future generations. Melba Patillo Beals shows how she can be an outstanding teenager by sacrificing her fun, partying, friends, and also all of her social life for the peace and equality she deserves as a free teenager living in the United States of America.To me, this book is showing how someone living in the same society as me can live a different live full of struggles, hatred, and ignorance. How can she live with having noone to be on her side and say thank you for helping us gain the freedom. Melba has to go through hell in Little Rock High School, from being chased with a knife, getting threatened, being kicked in the shins daily, she deals to never give up and stay the little warrior she is because that is what matters most to her.Like her grandma has told her, Warrriors Don't Cry!!!


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