 | A must read 4 Everyone!
rating: 5
This book can be read on many levels. A frank personal confession and introspection, clever allegories that teach life lessons within one man's journey, and a critical indictment of a man's bitter outlook toward the unfair world bequeathed him and an absent father he could not make peace with.
As much as he wants to be angry and justified in his rascist resentment toward White America his life bears out the fallacy of blaming others for one's ultimate outcome. It seems that deep down he understands that where we are is not all we can be; too many factors remain in our control.Therein lies the sweet pain of this book. Sometimes we get lost in the depth of our own sorrow and fail to see the possilities left to us.
Gregory grew up w/ the dream of being a comedian, maybe intuitively undestanding that humor can be a chatharsis for pain. He grew up in stifling poverty but w/ the youthful ambitions of everyman. I found his ambition and resolve and self control admirable. The book can be read as a chronicle of as a youth becoming his own hero, w/out any positive role models, a young black man trying to forge a career in show business, or it can be seen as an allegorical commentary on that period of time; 1950's-mid 60's.I am terrified that in today's politically correct atmosphere this book will be banned or at least the title will be changed. When that happens the cause of free speech and education will be set back 50 years. Words are an expression of thought and when words are controlled and feared then thoughts will be stifled and the message of this book will be kept from so many young people who desperately need it. Please buy this book and read it.
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Nigger
rating: 5
Nigger by Dick Gregory *****
Nigger is one of the most uplifting and positive books I have ever read. It is the story of Dick Gregory's life. From living in Squalor's in the south with no electricity or heat, no coats in the winter or backpacks for school, and a bed he shared with six other brothers and sisters, and a father who ran out. Being born a black man is hard enough but being black in the 1950's and 60's was impossible. Gregory took the impossible and turned shrugged it off. Becoming a world class comedian and one of the highest paid black entertainers in history.
He would go on to fight for civil rights not just for blacks but for everyone. Color never mattered to him it was the 'impossibles' that did. Gregory is a true hero and "Nigger" is and essential read for anyone interested in a great read, or looking for a real heroin.
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just in time
rating: 5
I LOOKED ALL OVER FOR THIS BOOK AND YOU WERE ONLY ONE THAT HAD IT. THANKS
TERI ANN GARCIA
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"Nigger" stayed on my mind in such a postive way
rating: 5
I was attending a prodimently white Junior High School in Brooklyn, NY, at the age of 11 yrs. when our English requested our standard essay. I was reading Dick Gregory's "Nigger" at the time and decided to base my essay on his book. When the teacher reviewed all of the essays, she returned mine to me with an A+, and asked me read it before the class. While initially, the black and white students were at best awed by the word "Nigger", they totally embraced my essay. You see this was a liberal white school, and being in NY were open-minded. I will never forget my black teacher, Mrs Ford nor the liberating experience to read such a controversial essay during the time - 1961.
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One of the finest autobiographies of the 20th century
rating: 5
Dick Gregory was a track star, first class entertainer and civil rights supporter. But before each of those, he was a black man. Being a black man was never an easy thing, but Mr. Gregory had the misfortune of being a black man who grew up on "relief" (i.e. welfare) raised by a working, black single mother in a white man's world. His prose is wonderfully direct and honest to the point of discomfort. Nigger : An Autobiography would be required reading in every high school in America if not for its controversial title. In a perfect world, Dick Gregory's memoir would be judged by its content and not its cover, as he was judged by color and not character.
Gregory never glorifies his accomplishments into distortion. This is not the story of a hero. He was a very small player in a civil rights movement filled with brave men and women. Though a nationally recognized high school track star, he faded in college althletics at Southern Illinois. He was not a name comedian like Johnny Carson, Jack Paar or Richard Pryor. Failings in his business and personal life are well-documented. His is a more typical black experience than Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King or Magic Johnson. It is story reflective of millions of northern blacks born in the 1930s and who come of age in the 50s and 60s. Nigger : An Autobiography is the best autobiography I have read, bar none. Because I cannot hope to match the eloquence of Dick Gregory, this review will conclude with his own words.
"It's because we grinned when he wanted us to grin. We cried when he wanted us to cry. We've spent money when he wanted us to spend money. And we've done without when he said do without."
"He owns all the missiles in the world, and when he talked to you about owning a switchblade you become ashamed."
"He started all the wars, and when he talked to you about cutting somebody on Saturday night you become ashamed."
"He makes me feel small. He calls me everything on the job but my name, so I'm aggravated before I get home."
"Then he tells me about my education. Well, if it takes education his-style to produce a clown that would throw dynamite in a church, I hope we never get that."
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