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It's filled with accounts from people who have lived (or are currently living) in Sundown communities, and from those who have visited.Loewen fills the text with facts & figures, in his usual style. Yet, here they are, all around us.This novel is surprisingly easy to read and understand, given it's disturbing subject matter. Loewen uses recurring themes and examples that carry throughout, but that are explained in the context of each chapter.I highly recommend this book to each and every citizen of the United States, as a powerful reminder of discrimination that still occurs throughout the nation, and that desperately needs to cease. This is one of the most important books I've read in my lifetime.James Loewen does a fantastic job of informing a nation of discrimination, white supremacy and racial exclusion that has been right under our noses, and that continues in some parts of the US today. Many who read this book (myself included) go into it with little or no prior knowledge of the existence of Sundown Towns. However, the human element is alive in this book, compared to some of his others, and that difference makes it one of my favorites.I read the book cover to cover, but this would be an excellent book to skim, or read for just the chapters that interest you.
It would have been better if he gave the reader so first hand knowledge. Wasted my money on this book, it sucked. It seems like he took every other scholars work and wrapped it up in a book. The author seemed to want to be the story.
Yes, this history needs to be known, but this author has blown it big time. I checked a number of towns, both those known to me and those unknown, and the majority of them were treated in the same way. There is little to no actual research involved at all. And that is a shame. I grew up in a town in Illinois which was highly prejudiced; though there were no signs, everyone knew African-Americans stayed south of the railroad tracks after dark.
There have been "Sundown Towns," but now most readers will shrug off such things because this "authority" is so obviously unreliable. The author simply takes some unidentified person's comment and reports it as fact. I began reading about towns I'm familiar with. This history needs to be known. And I was shocked.
"Someone said." No respected historian would give a moment's credibility to this author.
Loewen as a guest for an online meeting of the Everyday Democracy Book Club. Here's his prescription and a link to the conversation.http://democracyspace.typepad.com/democracyspaceorg/2008/07/three-steps-tow.html We recently had Dr. It was interesting to hear whether he feels his book has made much of a difference (he doesn't, yet) and what needs to happen to overcome the legacy of Sundown Towns.
The book's about Sundown Towns. Save your money and get this one. Even this might have been manageable if he just got to the point rather than taking so much time detailing how information will be presented in the rest of the book.I knew I was really in trouble when Loewen referred to the section of photos as the "Portfolio." The whole package is way too dry and academic for my tastes. Very dry.The author spends inordinate amounts of ink explaining how he's going to break down the topic of whites-only towns. Here, the author comes right to the point.
I appreciate the scholarship, but Loewen's book reads like a MA or PhD thesis. I get it. You don't have to say this over and over. He's by a print journalist, so this is a very readable book on the same topic. I tried very hard to get into this book, but had to put it down after 50 pages or so.
If I had a dollar for every time he uses the term "sundown town" in just 50 pages, I could fill up my gas tank for the next six months. As an alternative, I suggest Buried in the Bitter Waters: The Hidden History of Racial Cleansing in America.
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