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The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn’t, and Why Audiobook
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(3.06) - 150 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
In The N Word, a renowned cultural critic untangles the twisted history and future of racism through its most volatile word.
In 2003, the book Nigger started an intense conversation about the use and implications of that epithet. The N Word moves beyond that short, provocative book by revealing how the word has both reflected and spread the scourge of bigotry in America.
Asim claims that, even when uttered by hipsters and hip-hop icons, the slur helps keep blacks at the bottom of America’s socioeconomic ladder. But he also proves there is a place for this word in the mouths and on the pens of those who truly understand its twisted history—from Mark Twain to Dave Chappelle to Mos Def. Only when we know its legacy can we loosen this slur’s grip on our national psyche.
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"Asim's book is an incredibly interesting history of the most insulting and derogatory word in the English language. Carefully researched and documented throughout, The N Word gives a complete look at the word, its roots, uses and implications for the future. Fascinating read. "
— Dan (5 out of 5 stars)
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“A sharp-eyed musing on the history of the word and how it bears, or should bear, on a media-driven culture that is dangerously ahistorical, especially in matters of race.”
— Los Angeles Times Book Review -
“Important, timely, and much-needed...a brilliant and bracing history lesson.”
— Washington Post -
“Provocative and compelling...Asim’s book is not just the etymology of the word but also a capsule history of racism in America.”
— Newsday -
“[Asim] sweeps over this sensitive and contradictory terrain—including black Americans’ use of the word—with practicality, while dispensing gentle provocations…Clear, engaging writing increases the pleasure.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“[Asim] is most eloquent when relating how African Americans have been characterized in our culture; how the word nigger has been employed to oppress, belittle, dismiss, humiliate, and ridicule black people; and how they themselves have increasingly used it to satirize and oppose that oppression.”
— Library Journal -
“Informed, sensible and impassioned.”
— Kirkus Reviews
Awards
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A Washington Post Best Book of the Year
The N Word Listener Reviews
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" i thought this book was going to be all contemporary. so, all i really care to read is 1955-present. this section is worth the read. "
— Zina, 11/29/2013 -
" This book looks at the history of the N word and how it has been used through out history. Very interesting. "
— Ubalstecha, 2/3/2013 -
" Interesting..it sparked up alot of debates in my black studies class on the actual meaning of it. "
— Bsampson, 9/4/2012 -
" This book is thought-provoking and provides a great opportunity to evaluate the way language, culture and society support, create and interrelate with each other. "
— Mrs., 1/1/2012 -
" Asim's book is an incredibly interesting history of the most insulting and derogatory word in the English language. Carefully researched and documented throughout, The N Word gives a complete look at the word, its roots, uses and implications for the future. Fascinating read. "
— Dan, 5/28/2010 -
" Addresses a lot of issues with language and interracial history. "
— Diana, 1/16/2010 -
" I found this to be quite disappointing....very deceiving. I expected a cultural studies book and it felt more like reading a college history textbook. I don't recommend this one. "
— Katie, 12/14/2009 -
" I'm glad I read this book-- an important contemporary companion to the Classic Slave Narratives. I appreciated how Asim is grounded in history, but isn't overly academic in his writing style. "
— Kathy, 10/6/2009 -
" I'm glad I read this book-- an important contemporary companion to the Classic Slave Narratives. I appreciated how Asim is grounded in history, but isn't overly academic in his writing style. "
— Kathy, 10/22/2008 -
" Interesting..it sparked up alot of debates in my black studies class on the actual meaning of it. "
— Bsampson, 4/3/2008 -
" i thought this book was going to be all contemporary. so, all i really care to read is 1955-present. this section is worth the read. "
— Zina, 1/27/2008
About Jabari Asim
Jabari Asim is a writer and multidisciplinary artist. He has written many nonfiction books, two novels, and books for children. He directs the MFA degree program in creative writing at Emerson College, where he is also the Elma Lewis Distinguished Fellow in Social Justice. He has written for the Washington Post and is the former editor-in-chief of the NCAAP magazine The Crisis.
About Mirron Willis
Mirron Willis—actor of film, stage, and television—is the winner of the prestigious Audie Award for best narration in 2012 and a finalist for the Audie in 2015, as well as the winner of four AudioFile Earphones Awards for his audiobook recordings. He has worked extensively in film and television and on stage with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Houston Shakespeare Festival, and the Ensemble Theatre, among others. He has recorded some 150 audiobooks, including the Smokey Dalton series by Kris Nelscott and My Song by Harry Belafonte. He resides and records audiobooks on his family’s historic ranch in East Texas.