Angela Davis: An Autobiography

Rating:
Summary: A Work of Its Time
Review: A careful, political work of its time that has more to do with that challenging time in 1960s and 1970s America. It was written before the the current celebrity tell all genre of autobiography and might be less boring for those reading it in conjunction with other works of or about the times. One could wish for a newer work to put this dynamic thinker and political activist's life into perspective thirty years after the publication of An Autobiography, but one should not blame the author for creating a work of its time.

Rating:
Summary: Inspiring
Review: Angela Davis stands in my perspective as one of the most accomplished women of the postmodern era. This autobiography draws from her childhood to her young adulthood. Her account of prison life offers an unsentimental analysis of the sexual habits of women in prison. One factor that prevents me from giving this memoir a 5-star is her abandonment of her personal life as a woman. She focuses entirely on the black power movement. In closing, this memoir can offer women the strength to fight injustice but encouraging them to first empower themselves.

Rating:
Summary: Don't get it twisted - A Powerful Book
Review: First off, for anyone who finds this book dry or boring, understand one thing: this is not pop fiction. You're not going to get neat drawn-out analogies that compares human struggle to a football game or any such nonsense. It's a very intelligent, articulate book that doesn't try to dumb down its message for the uninitiated. But it's also not rocket science. Read it with an open mind and any knowledge you may have of the 60's and 70's and you'll do just fine.

What is often misunderstood is that Ms. Davis did not like the idea of a 'personal' autobiography and was very reluctant to do the book in the first place. She didn't see herself as so special or disconnected in any way from the lives of the millions of struggling people that she and her struggle sought to better. So, she wrote a 'political' autobiography. Every facet of her own life that she chose to share with us is tied in some way to that struggle to bring dignity to the masses of human beings exploited throughout the world. What you walk away with after reading this book is how much she really does care the lives of people. It's not just a bunch of abstract ideas, neat theories, or some trivial intellectual excercise. It really is life and death issues. And she fought for the lives of many as if she would fight for her own.

I think the most important thing you walk away with, and what she wants you to walk away with, is a clear and powerful demonstration of just how much people can bring about real change when we work together collectively in mass and fight for what we believe is right. Time and time again, victory after victory, against what some would consider insurmountable odds, the will of the people were heard. Not because they elected some noble politician who changed it from within. And not because of the kindness of those in power. But because thousands of everyday people like you and me took to the streets and DEMANDED that obvious wrongs be made right. Anyone who takes for granted the 5-day work week, child labor laws, civil rights, humane working conditions, fair and equal compensation, should not take lightly the efforts of people throughout history like Ms. Angela Davis. We benefit from all those things because people got in the street, fought and died for those things. Check your history.

The bottom line is if you are looking for 'light' entertainment reading, you might not find it in this book. But, if you are politicially minded or even curious about the social environment of the 60's, this is a must read. If you care about the plight of black people and opressed people everywhere, get this book. If all you've ever known about revolution, black power struggle, and those damn communists is what you've read about in school or in the papers and you KNOW they're not telling the full story, get this book. Finally, if you know how messed up things are in this country but don't know what to do about it, your life will be changed by this book.

Peace!