Amazing Grace : Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation, The

Rating:
Summary: Truly Amazing
Review: Kozol is the conscience of America. His ability to blend an emotionally-charged account of inner-city life with cold, hard reasoning and facts is truly amazing. This book will move you unlike you have ever been moved. Learn why he is one of the most respected and well-known voices for social justice in the nation. Moreover, learn why children love him. Again and again, Kozol continues to amaze me!!

Rating:
Summary: its a good book
Review: this is good book for people of all ages to read because i can open your eyes to see what is going in he inner cities of America.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing? Yes, but.....
Review: I read this book for my Educational Sociology class in Grad. school. It was the first I had heard of Jonathan Kozol. Apparently I had spent my entire undergraduate career with my head under a rock. Having finished AG, I have since moved on to Ordinary Ressurections.
Kozol does a remarkable job of introducing us, the middle class, to a world that we would otherwise never see. AG is an extremely powerful portrayal of the impoverished lives that some children live. That being said, it is also extremely biased against the middle and upper classes. Kozol uses every opportunity to throw methaphorical dirt on anyone and everyone possible.
Kozol wants his readers to come away angry at the society which has abandoned these children to live lives filled with hunger and violence. And well we should. But he also wants his readers to come away feeling guilty and ashamed for living in a warm house while others are not. This book is important and worth reading. However, it should be read with a grain of salt; hopefully one big enough to conteract the chip on Kozol's shoulder.

Rating:
Summary: A great attempt at exploiting cheap emotion!
Review: Johnathan Kozol is exceptional at whining and over-dramatizing events. I have personally visited Mott Haven and I am surprised at how different the area is from Mr. Kozol's description. Crime and murder is not rampant. The Bronx is not some desolate wasteland that stands as a testament of a failed civilization, as Mr. Kozol portrays it as. For those interested, check out (the taft high school website) to see the high school Mr. Kozol continually whines about. You will see that the school is more than decent; its recent debate program with 300+ student participation clearly undermines the false description Mr. Kozol presents. I am saddened by unintelligent atttempt by Mr. Kozol to use sentiment and pity. His inaccurate description is terribly misleading and readers with any shred of intelligence or rationale will not be swayed by this outrageous, fictitious novel. Mr. Kozol's "interviews" remind us of Al Gore's overdramatized stories.

Rating:
Summary: Content with No Substance
Review: I had the misfortune of having to read this book for a sociology class. Sure the first pages were interesting, but the subsequent pages were so unvarying that I had to put it down. The paper I wrote for sociology on this book was not hampered by my not finishing the book. Why was my grade above average even though I did not read this book cover to cover? - because the whole substance of this book can be found in the first pages. Save your money and time, ignore this book.

Rating:
Summary: Helping people see what it is like to live in real poverty
Review: I have been to the South Bronx with a sociology class, and met Reverend Overall. She later came to my college and spoke. If anything, Jonathan Kozol underestimated the poverty and pain that one sees when they go to the South Bronx. A must read for anyone who is sheltered and would like to learn more about what people in poverty really feel. Also, a must read for anyone who is looking for hope, if these kids can hope, then we all can. Please read this book, and change your life.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Book I've Read In a Long Time
Review: This is truely one of the best books that I have read in a long time. I picked it up on a whim and it is the type of books that changes you. Be advised, tissue is necessary, I speant a large portion of the book in tears, both from the true beauty of the human spirit and the cruelty of society. An incredibly moving book, as soon as I started reading I did not want to put it down. The writing is almost like listening to a story teller, you get so drawn into the stories of people simply trying to make it from day to day

Rating:
Summary: I did not know!!!
Review: This book will definitely have you glued to each page in astonishment. Although I am familiar with ghetto areas, I did not know that the South Bronx is an area that has so many similar problems that Ghetto America have. This book took my heart and placed it outside of my body. I just could not get over that poor little boy Bernardo and his family. Although I know this book to be a true story, as I continued to read it, I just could not believe or face this reality. Our children are at stake here, but what can we do, how can we change this? I don't have an answer for either of these questions, which hurts the most.

Rating:
Summary: Time to consider ALL children
Review: this book is brilliant! it is written from praxis, rather than simply from theory, and kozol really puts his whole being into writing it. you can feel that with the turn of every page. i love this book.

Rating:
Summary: Five Stars +++
Review: I just happened to notice that Kozol only has an average review of four and a half stars for this book, and I just couldn't live with myself if I didn't add my five. I would give it a hundred if I could. This book is, well, it's simply amazing. Heart-breaking, life-changing. Highly recommended.