Black Like Me Book Review
Prepare a book review of Black Like Me.
Read the Book Review Guidelines for this course, available on Canvas (the Modules link), before writing your review.
Address six elements of the book in your review. Try to write a paragraph on each element.
The elements are:
Topic, Theme, Scope. In this element you need to discuss the subject of the book. What is the book about? What does it cover in terms of time period/years? What cities does the author visit? Why was the book written and entitled Black Like Me? Wasn’t Griffin white? John Howard Griffin’s book is both a personal story about Griffin’s “experiment” in the South during the Jim Crow era and an indictment of systemic and pervasive racism against African Americans at the time.
Main statement. What do you think is the main idea that the author argues in the book? The answer to these questions may help you figure it out. What does the book tell us about how African Americans were treated/viewed in the South? Why were they treated like this, according to Griffin? What were the root causes of racism at the time, again according to Griffin?
Organization and Content. Take a look at how the book is organized. Is it organized around topics? Is it organized chronologically? Or is it organized some other way? Is the book divided into chapters or some other way? Discuss the organization and format of the book.
Sources. What was the book based on? How did the author find out about his subject? What highly unusual technique did he use to gather information?
Author. Do a little research about the author John Howard Griffin. Who is he? What is his background? What else has he written? What impact did this book have on his life? There is a lot out there about him.
Value. Address a few questions here. For what audience do you think the book was intended (professional historians, general public, high school students, others)? Did you like the book? Why/why not? As you probably know, the book was controversial when it was published in the early 1960s making Griffin famous (infamous to many!). It is now a classic, as much a historical document detailing the racial attitudes at the time as well as Griffin’s compelling personal story to try to understand the racism of his (and other’s) generations.
