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Summary: ANOTHER PIEDMONTER'S VIEW
Review: I was fortunate enough to be born and grow up in Piedmont, WV. I was also in the same class as author Henry Louis (we called him "Skip") Gates. I was the 1968 Piedmont High Class Salutatorian and he was the Valdectorian. Despite what Mr. Gates projects in his book, Piedmont was a "wonderful" place to grow up. I adamantly dispute his connotation of any racism in this town. In 1968, the citizens of Piedmont, although a very small town of 2,500 were very progressive. The fact that the foundation he received in Piedmont growing up which propelled him to the Director of Afro-American studies at Harvard should speak something of the childhood rearing and education he received in Piedmont. I am not aware of any restaurant or establishment that denied service to anyone of color. I personally entered many establishments with him and never once saw him denied service of any kind. Mr. Gates grossly misrepresents what was truly a great town to grow up in. I was very offended with his use of my name in the book without obtaining my permission and most importantly he greatly distorts a very close and loving relationship that I had with my Italian father. I felt that he mentioned several personal things about me and my family of which he had NO direct knowledge. I was disturbed to see that Mr. Gates put such a negative spin on a great place, just to "sell" a book for personal gain and recognition of his college position at Harvard. Buy it if you want - but buyer beware - this is a college professor who is writing because he is expected to publish or perish. Unfortunately Piedmont, WV happened to be in his sights. John M. DiPilato (Piedmont High School Class of 1968)
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Summary: Absolutely Wonderful....
Review: Mr. Gates invites readers into his world with a very detailed and rich account of his early childhood and the journey he took to become one of the most influential intellectuals of our generation.
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Summary: A Gone Community
Review: Personally, I had a heckuva time keeping track of all the various Gates and Coleman relatives, so I gave up after the first forty pages or so and just appreciated this memoir for what it is -- the story of a community that no longer exists but will be alive for generations through Gates' evocation of it for his children and, vicariously, the readers of this book. As a white age contemporary of Gates, I was impressed by the evenhandedness with which he tells the story of the often grudging desegregation of the late 50s and 60s in West Virginia, and surprised by the extent of black/white interaction -- sometimes positive for Gates -- in this small town, even in the days of segregation. That is obviously a function of small town life, but it struck me as more than in many parts of US life today, leading to the question I wondered about throughout this book -- whether 46 years after Brown vs. Board of Education we are more, not less, isolated by color in our social interactions in the United States. If so, that's a tragedy for all of us.
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Summary: Warm and funny and haunting and serious.
Review: So removed from my own experience but a story told with such grace, it will always be one of my favorite books. I read it when it was published some time ago and have not forgotten the real sense of place and people. As a white female wasp from New England, I'm not sure I understand why it affected me so. Lost communities that we gave up in the name of something else. On the one hand, it made me think there will always be a separateness and, on the other hand, that we all want the kind of community and gentle exchange that seemed at the heart of the people in this book. The use of the language is admirable - the writing - but it was what I took away about my own very different life that made the book memorable. It's a scholarly work in its way but simple, clear and classic.
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Summary: The struggle for Equal Rights
Review: The book showed what it was like to live in a predominantly white town. It showed the struggle that black people faced during the civil rights movement. I am from Georgia so a lot of things he describes in the book, are things I see everyday at home. There is still a lot of segregation in the south. I think this book would be good for someone to read if they wanted to learn about the fight the African-American people fought to survive during the movement.
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Summary: colored people part 2
Review: This is a good book that deals with segregation in the 50's and 60's as young Gates grows up and makes his transition into man hood through civil rights movements.
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Summary: Being Henry Louis Gates Jr.
Review: This is a great book. No doubt about it. For those who only know Skip Gates from his combatative role in the PBS "Wonders of Africa" series, this book will be a revelation. As a memoir of a young man growing up Black in the segregated south, there are some wonderful epiphanies for people who did not have that experience. As a peice of literary writing, it's a wonderful example of craft and spirit and talent. I don't always agree with the way in which Prof. Gates places himself in the politics of academia or the pronouncements he sometimes makes about being of color in these United States, but he sure tells a good story. Through sharing his early years, some of the complexities of the man are made understandable. I leave it to others to decide exactly what that means.
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Summary: Funny, yet thougt provoking!
Review: This memoir had me laughing throughout, but it was also though provoking. The descriptions were so vivid, you believed you are right there in that little town witnessing Mr. Gates live and the lives of his family. I gave the book to my mother and she loved it also. Coming from a small town in Arkansas, there were alot of similarites. This book was a departure from his normal intellectual writings but no less educational.
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