Rating: 
Summary: Had I read that right?
Review: As the Author of this book describes in a chapter the facts of blackness: Had I read that right?...He asks himself.
And this is what I feel of this whole read. Have we read this right? I am yet to read a comment or review that discusses the heat of controversy which this book involves. I am yet to read something here, which covers the mind of this author.
Highlights the spirit and intensity of this book. Hello! Am I the only one puzzled by lines such as this: "In no way should I derive myself to the revival of an unjustly unrecognised Negro civilisation. I will not make myself the man of any past." (226)
Is this the kind of statements which empower coloured social movements of today?
In the intro of this book he poses the question "what does the man want?...what does the black man want?" He asks this question to himself and his directed reader about his coloured friends. If this question was about us then do we agree that this is or was the question of colour today?.. If so then how does the Author answer it in our case? How the author chooses to investigate the case of what he says is the "colour prejudice" stem mainly from methods devised from the medical profession. That is to say he comes to his conclusions by psycho-analysis. He also includes personal observation and experiences from the attitudes of the people in his home soil Martinique. From this he presents to us archives from philosophical and literate giants of French culture. He questions them.
He questions them as I believe he would have us question them and even him on certain statements he makes. He questions them, opens their claims and challenges it on their ground of understanding. It is then understandable to see how he got a particular giant of literature to preface his forthcoming book "wretched of the earth" through his bold spirit of inquiry. If there are some tones of a manifesto in this book I believe it would be derived from lines such as these: I am working... towards a new humanism... colour prejudice... mankind I believe in you... (p9) And I believe these are the goals the "coloured" and "wretched" of today should be commenting on and responding to.
Here are some of the question I would advise one who has not read this book:
1: Did we get what the black man wanted? How? (pg 9)
2: Do we recognise what he means when he speaks of going beyond himself for a universal cause? What is this universal human cause to be exact?
3:And most importantly who is this book directed at? (pg9)
If this book does not leave you with more questions than answers then either the times are `illin (never better, cool) or you are.
Rating: 
Summary: extremely trippy book...
Review: a tome on the black man in europe, mainly martinique...basically what fanon is saying is : brothas try to be like the other, because they hate them selves and they desire to sleep with the other to give themselves worth and that a bad environment and colonialism makes a black man bad ...reading the book is like reading a long prose poem, thoughtful and stunning...take the chance. it's extremely interesting...
Rating:
Summary: the affects of colonialism
Review: Did you know that in certain African countries Africans bleech their skin hoping to look white, in some cases it is fatal, but the point is they do it to look more European. In the United States there is the famous case of Michael Jackson and his lose of his skin pigmentation, he says it is a disease, but many like myself question.There is also the famous paper bag test and the comb through the hair test done by many African Americans to each other in order to measure their level of European blood, thus their level of status.The question is why does this or did this happen and is it some how related to colonialism? It seems that in most places where people of color were colonized whether in Africa, South America, or South East Asia(yes the problem is not solely an African problem) the conquered people develop an inferiority complex and try to assimilate into the main stream culture.In some cases this means actually trying to become European(literally) through race mixing or in the most extreme cases surgery, in fact some Asian Americans get the folds removed from their eyes trying to give them a more European look. Fanon brilliantly focuses on this problem of the inferority complex like no other he uses Martinique(French colony) as his case study for a good part of his book.After reading Fanons other great works "Wretched of the Earth" and a "Dying Colonialism" I believe Fanon thinks the only way for the Black to survive and regain his self esteem is for a violent Third World revolution(remember when the book was written) aimed at removing not just physical colonialism but also the mental colonialism and hegemony which in many ways can be worse than the physical colonialism.I believe it was the famous African American historian Carter G. Woodson that said in his book the "Mis-Education of the Negro" you do not have to worry about controlling a man you just have to controll how he thinks...I believe Fanon realized that this is where the problem lies.anyone interested in topics like the Council of Berlin and the great Scramble for Africa when Africa was divided up by European powers should read all of Fanons books not just this one. Also if you are interested in the 1960's Civil Rights Movement in America especially the revolutionary militant groups like the Black Panthers,R.A.M,and U.S, read Fanon because that is what many of them were reading and it influenced their thought. I also recommend those interested in Fanon to study the life of Kwame Nkrumah he could be of some interest.
Rating:
Summary: A gift to humanity
Review: Fanon's amazing book is one of the landmarks in modern thinking, as far as I am concerned. Fanon says he wants to expose the sickness in order for it to be cured. He exposes the sickness inflicted on Africans by the contact with the colonizing white West in a razor sharp accuracy and courage. Fanon is completely honest, sparing no criticism from the Africans nor the Europeans. He gets help from giant figures like Cesaire and Senghor, and creates an emotionally and intellectually charged masterpiece. I learned from Fanon about the use of language as a colonialist tool, the terrible affect on African self esteem, the psychological turmoil that erupts as a result of the contact with white society.
It is clear the world is not the same today as it was in the 50's, but Fanon's book is just as relevant.
Quoting from Sartre talking about another book by Fanon: "Have the courage to read this book !".
Rating:
Summary: more than theory...
Review: frantz fanon's black skin, white mask has something for every reader of every color (including white). his insights into the psychological damage resulting from colonialism, self-denial, racism, and other connected phenomena provide a path for those of us still grappling with these issues some forty years after the publication of this text. moreover, his intellectual contributions are secondary to the compelling force of his personality and integrity that one senses between the lines. this book is as compelling as a novel and as englightening as a mentor.
Rating:
Summary: more than theory...
Review: frantz fanon's black skin, white mask has something for every reader of every color (including white). his insights into the psychological damage resulting from colonialism, self-denial, racism, and other connected phenomena provide a path for those of us still grappling with these issues some forty years after the publication of this text. moreover, his intellectual contributions are secondary to the compelling force of his personality and integrity that one senses between the lines. this book is as compelling as a novel and as englightening as a mentor.
Rating:
Summary: Great read
Review: Frantz Fanon's work is an excellent insight of how people of color throughout the world have been effected by colonization. A must read for anyone trying to understand the basics about living in the western world as a person of color.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!!!!
Review: Isn't it interesting that the groves of academe, still excessively populated by white males, are more interested in reading the George Orwell-type of writer, rather than a courageous and angry voice such as Fanon's. I of course recognize that Fanon never properly contextualized a feminist perspective when he wrote on Algerian nationalism, etc., but he is brilliant here, exposing the white patriarchal hegemony inflicted upon people of African descent. A tremendous book, much better than dry as dust psuedo-'classics' like Orwell and co.
Rating:
Summary: an interesting look into one's subconscious behavior
Review: This book was remarkable in helping me to confirm some of the many behaviors that I had observed among family and friends, but was unable to pin down or understand. Fanon has incredible insight into the effect of colonialism onthe self-concept and consecutive behaviors of the Caribbean individual and all balck people and culture that has been forever changed by the penetration of European culture and ideology.
Rating:
Summary: Foundation of Fanon's transformation and Black Psychology
Review: This publishing of this treatise saw the roots of Black Consciousness expand outside the limits of Negritude. More clearly at the time, Fanon began his transformation from 'European intellectual' to polemic scholar to socialist revolutionary that would culminate in the release of Les Damnees de la Terre and Fanon's tragic death due to leukemia. Black Skin, White Masks, however, may in fact be the most enduring of Fanon's work, and it reads as well today as it did in 1953. Upon its completion, Fanon became a cult icon in French intellectual circles, rubbing shoulders with Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Bouvoir, among others. It is not difficult to see why; from the first page, Fanon emotes his most heartfelt anger. It is a work as passionate as it is intelligent, and as concise as it is dynamic. Through it all, the reader is treated to Fanon's magnificently fluid writing style, brilliantly translated by Constance Farrington.
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