Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1097513 in Books
• Published on: 1999-11
• Original language: English
• Binding: Library Binding

From Publishers Weekly
Griffin's (The Devil Rides Outside) mid-century classic on race brilliantly withstands both the test of time and translation to audio format. Concerned by the lack of communication between the races and wondering what "adjustments and discriminations" he would face as a Negro in the Deep South, the late author, a journalist and self-described "specialist in race issues," left behind his privileged life as a Southern white man to step into the body of a stranger. In 1959, Griffin headed to New Orleans, darkened his skin and immersed himself in black society, then traveled to several states until he could no longer stand the racism, segregation and degrading living conditions. Griffin imparts the hopelessness and despair he felt while executing his social experiment, and professional narrator Childs renders this recounting even more immediate and emotional with his heartfelt delivery and skillful use of accents. The CD package includes an epilogue on social progress, written in 1976 by the author, making it suitable for both the classroom and for personal enlightenment.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal
Grade 10 Up-John Howard Griffin's groundbreaking and controversial novel about his experiences as a white man who transforms himself with the aid of medication and dye in order to experience firsthand the life of a black man living in the Deep South in the late 1950s is a mesmerizing tale of the ultimate sociological experiment. Ray Childs' narration is both straightforward and deeply satisfying. A skilled reader, he incorporates different dialects to help listeners distinguish among the various characters. His ability to convey a full spectrum of emotions, including exhilaration, bone deep sadness, and gut wrenching fear is riveting. Equally fascinating is Childs' description of how Griffin's unheard of approach to studying racial discrimination changed his personal life and ignited a storm of argument and discussion around the nation. This recording deserves a place in every public library collection.
Cindy Lombardo, Tuscarawas County Public Library, New Philadelphia, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
In the late 1950s John Howard Griffin, a white man, artificially darkened his skin and took up the impossible task of masquerading as a black man in the Deep South. The book he wrote about his firsthand experience of racism galvanized America and ultimately led to death threats against him and his family. Delivering this compelling and incisive piece of investigative reporting, Ray Childs voices the thoughts of the blacks and whites Griffin encounters and becomes close to, or reviled by. Only the coldest of hearts could be unaffected by this story, told with dignity and warmth, conviction and steadfast honesty. Audiobooks like this can help heal wounds and open minds about racism, an issue our nation still struggles with. D.J.B. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

A Real Eye Opener
I had to read this book for school and I have to say it has become one of my top 5 favorite books. This book will change your life forever, after reading it you will view many issues, racial or otherwise, differently. I really like the way John Howard Griffin writes with an almost neutral slant. This book is very respectable, John Howard Griffin tells it like it is, not adding anything of his own opinion unless otherwise telling the reader, so you know when your reading his comments and when you're reading what happened.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone. It should be read by everyone.

Thought-provoking stuff.
While reading this book, I was suprised at how often I found myself thinking that it's a good thing that we, as a society, are so much more enlightened than the horrible, ignorant racists I was reading about. But when I stopped to take that thought a little further, I realized that a.)this book didn't take place all that long ago, relatively speaking and b.)racism isn't dead by a longshot. These and other instances of self-examination and introspection are part of the reason why this book is so good.

The other part, of course, is that it's really well written and tremendously compelling. This man had an unbelievable amount of courage to undertake the journey he did. The rest of the world has certainly benefitted from it, and will undoubtedly continue to do so.

An Eye-Opener
Racism has always been a sensitive subject for me. I've never been able to understand how a person could be judged based solely on their race. When I purchased this book, I had no idea how powerful and gripping it could be. Everything that I knew about racism was magnified as I walked with Griffin through the dangerous streets of the Deep South. I felt fear when Griffin was afraid, sadness when he was sad, and felt shock at the injustices that Griffin was seeing and experiencing - the same injustices that the rest of the nation was overlooking.

After reading this book, I feel like I have a better understanding at how raw and intense racism was only a few decades ago. I understand the founding principles of affirmative action better (though I'm still not sure what my feelings on that subject are), and other modern-day controversies regarding the subject of race.

It's hard for me to imagine that something like this was allowed to happen in the United States, and I'm sure many people feel the same as I do. A book like this is a constant reminder of what happened, and therefore a constant hindrance of similar occurrences in the future. Books and studies like these are the preventative measures that need to be taken in order to secure a truly colorblind nation, as Justice Marshall Harlan declared our Constitution to be in his dissenting opinion on the decision of the case Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896.