Synopses & Reviews
On October 28, 1959, John Howard Griffin underwent a transformation that changed many lives beyond his ownhe made his skin black and traveled through the segregated Deep South. His odyssey of discovery was captured in journal entries, arguably the single most important documentation of 20th-century American racism ever written. More than 50 years later, this newly edited editionwhich is based on the original manuscript and includes a new design and added afterwordgives fresh life to what is still considered a contemporary book.” The story that earned respect from civil rights leaders and death threats from many others endures today as one of the great humanand humanitariandocuments of the era. In this new century, when terrorism is too often defined in terms of a single ethnic designation or religion, and the first black president of the United States is subject to hateful slurs, this record serves as a reminder that America has been blinded by fear and racial intolerance before. This is the story of a man who opened his eyes and helped an entire nation to do likewise.
Review
An important and classic work, well deserving of this new edition. . . . Essential [for] all public and academic libraries.” Choice
Review
Some actions are so absolutely simple and right that they amount to genius. Black Like Me was an act of genius.” Cyril Connolly, Sunday Times of London
Synopsis
On October 28, 1959, John Howard Griffin underwent a transformation that changed many lives beyond his ownhe made his skin black and traveled through the segregated Deep South. His odyssey of discovery was captured in journal entries, arguably the single most important documentation of 20th-century American racism ever written.More than 50years later, this newly edited editionwhichis based on the original manuscript and includes a new design and added afterwordgives fresh life to what is still considered a contemporary book. The story that earned respect from civil rights leaders and death threats from many others endures today as one of the great humanand humanitariandocuments of the era. In this new century, when terrorism is too often defined in terms of a single ethnic designation or religion, and the first black president of the United Statesis subject tohateful slurs, this record serves as a reminder that America has been blinded by fear and racial intolerance before. This is the story of a man who opened his eyes and helped an entire nation to do likewise.
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About the Author
John Howard Griffin was a musicologist who served, and was injured, in the Air Force during World War II. Blind for a decade, Griffin became an acclaimed novelist and essayist and when his sight returned, almost miraculously, he became a remarkable portrait photographer. Following his cross-racial exploration in the South, he was personally vilified, hanged in effigy in his hometown, threatened with death, and severely beaten by the Klu Klux Klan. Respected internationally as a human rights activist, he worked with major Civil Rights leaders throughout the era, taught at the University of Peace, and delivered more than a 1,200 lectures in America and abroad. He is the author of The Devil Rides Outside and posthumous works such as Prison of Culture: Beyond Black Like Me. Robert Bonazzi is a widely published writer and the author of Living the Borrowed Life, Maestro of Solitude: Poems and Poetics, and The Scribbling Cure: Poems and Prose Poems. He is the literary executor for the estate of John Howard Griffin. He lives in San Antonio, Texas. Studs Terkel was a cultural commentator, columnist, interviewer, and author of many books on American history and culture, including Touch and Go: A Memoir and The Studs Terkel Reader: My American Century.