How to Be Black Paperback – October 30, 2012

OK, so I didn't know what to expect from the book, but I have been following this guy on Twitter for a while. I didn't know also that he was the "Jack Turner" behind the "Jack & Jill Politics" blog that I followed. (I don't pay attention to all that much, I guess.)But this guy's name kept popping up on my Twitter feeds--another guy I follow kept posting about him and recommending him, and then his book kept appearing as well, so I picked it up.First off, the book cover is fairly aggressive. It makes it difficult to read in public, because some random white guy sitting on a bus reading a book with six-inch-high bold letters announcing the title "HOW TO BE BLACK" can be a little weird. There are more than a few black Americans who ride the bus with me, and there was no scenario I could work out where I could explain what it was I was doing reading that book. So in an act of brilliant reasoning but perhaps moral cowardice I simply removed the dust jacket and read the book so as not to expose the spine too often.The book itself is charming and funny and raucous and sincere. It is humorous to the point where you laugh out loud and then people on the bus want to know what you're reading (which then means you have to tell them "Well, there's this book I'm reading for research on what this all _means_, but you know, I'm not actually reading it seriously, but I'm also not reading it because I am making fun of anybody, and besides, I'm really a nice guy..." Well, you can see why it can be a difficult book to read in public.)It it also serious and sometimes poignant. Mr. Thurston had an amazing mother and life experiences. There are so many moments when you are happy for the ways things work out for him--rather ordinary things, really, like planning for a college or figuring out a career--that take unavoidable importance due to the nature of being someone a lot of people just don't expect to have around. It doesn't seem to be something he avoids or something he uses as a badge: it just is, and he deals with it as it is.And, there are the wonderful stories and recommendations. For those of you expecting a true guidebook with bullet points, lists, and exit criteria on How to Be Black, he provides them. For the Black Friends Auxiliary, he also gives helpful points. It is funny, it makes you laugh, and then you have to check yourself: Do I act like this around my One Black Friend?What a mess we've made in America of race and people and color and skin. It has caused a lot of grief and pain and heartache. But we can still look at directly, think about it, talk about it--and sometimes laugh at the absurdity, even the absurdity of owning a book you're not comfortable reading in public on a bus.

First, 5 stars are not enough to rate Baratunde Thurston's "How To Be Black". It was an intelligent read with a lot of depth wrapped in wit, sarcasm and humor. Baratunde narrates his life vividly and there is a laugh on every page.Second, this book is one of the best books on the "r" word I have ever read! The topic, though applicable on many levels (still!) today, cannot be discussed honestly and openly on any side because of our collective inability to look within, right wrongs and truly take ownership of the word. People either throw the term around willy nilly at anyone who breathes too hard in their direction (not taking the time to ponder that perhaps the person has asthma) or others refuse to accept what they are and look at their own words, behaviors and/or thoughts (somehow suggesting that "r" doesn't exist anymore and that they are not the problem or at least part of the problem). The way Baratunde (I'm on a first name basis in this review with him now) explains prejudice towards African Americans as well as within the African American community towards each other is done with so much parody and playfulness, how could anyone take offence?I loved this book, highlighted some things and laughed my way through it. It is an awesome read and I would recommend it to anyone trying to understand the "r" word and what it means to be "Black" in our time.Thanks, Baratunde! You do us ALL proud!p.s. If you get the chance to see Baratunde on YouTube or as an MSNBC commentator you won't be disappointed. A sharp, cute, super funny guy!

Part autobiography, part irony rolled up into a whole lot of very wise social commentary. Thurston makes some very insightful observations about the way that people exist and thrive in multiple worlds. I suspect that this book holds a lot that is familiar to anyone who is a member of a minority group. That group need not be ethnic or racial in nature. There are in effect, a minimum of two worlds in every interaction between different people. There is the other person's perception of your world and there is your own perception of your world. In this particular book there is an example of how being black is perceived to be by non-blacks, contrasted by how being black is to Thurston. The thoughts, feelings and emotions about what it is to be black to Thurston, are shared by many of us who are black (hence the success of the book). The caveat is that Thurston is describing the experience of what it is like to be black in a white, middle-class, American environment. Underlying this is a theme about how those of us who are "different" are actually ambassadors for those differences; helping to shape, sharpen and maybe even change the perceptions of others. I think the real brilliance of this book is the acknowledgement that these differences in perceptions exist at all. This book was thoughtful and refreshing, humorous and good natured. Highly recommended.