America has, for the most part, always been a divided country. From the age of slavery into the sixties and continuing on until today, there has been an amazing amount of racial and cultural disparity among these two groups. That's where Black Rednecks and White Liberals comes in. This collection of six essays is a shocking look into America's class and race divide with a lens unlike one ever used to explore the issue before.
The first thing that Sowell explores is what is considered to be 'ghetto black culture'. In reality, this culture is neither ghetto nor black: it is, instead, a relic of Antebellum south, dysfunctional redneck family dynamics. He uses plenty of examples to back himself up, and by the end of the book, he'll have you believing that the system has failed, too.
That's not the only thing that Sowell explores. He also explores attitudes toward Jews, Chinese immigrants, and Germans. His views of how the world really works will have you turning your head at the possibilities, and perhaps looking at your own race and culture in an entirely different light.
Thomas Sowell is an American economist, social theorist, and author. As conservative and libertarian as far as his politics go, he very much advocates for lasses-faire economics and has a way of viewing insight into the world that few others do. He has been a professor both at the University of California and at Cornell, and he has authored more than thirty books, along with many more syndicated columns for newspapers and magazines. He is considered one of the leading social theorists in modern-day US politics.
Black Rednecks and White Liberals is an eye-opening view of America, and one sure to please anyone with interest in politics.
"Adam was telling me about this book, and about the amazing man that is Thomas Sowell. Read his bio -- he's led a very interesting life. It's interesting that many of the "undesirable" qualities of the South, e.g. working to feed the family when needed, rather than having a steady work ethic and income, may have come from original settlers from wilder areas like Ulstead County, Ireland, and Wales, and Northern Scotland, where many of my ancestors are from! (Back in the 17th-18th centuries, they were known as the rednecks and crackers.) Thanks for being such a wild, ferocious, touchy people!"
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Danelley (5 out of 5 stars)