Black Rednecks and White Liberals (ISBN 1594031436)

What I knew wasn't so:
With his usual impeccable research and clear writing, in the title presentation, Black Rednecks and White Liberals Thomas Sowell has shown that much of the self-defeating behavior of Black Americans came from neither the antebellum South, nor from ancestral Africa. Rather, they came from the behavior of English expatriates who relocated to the old South. From the Reverend Wright style of rant, to the word choice itself, we see reflected in American Blacks the lifestyles of the people who had lived in the Northern half of England, and who were considered unwelcome and uncouth even among their own countrymen. There are other long essays, including works on Black education, slavery, and discrimination against Jews, but it is the first that generates "aha's" on almost every page

Wake up call for all races:
Sowell presents many ideas that could reduce racial tension and help all of us strive for the American dream. Craig Matteson's review gives an excellent summary so I refer you to that for details. The title is a great choice. I highly recommend this book for blacks, whites, and other races as well.

Provactive title but a must read for all:
Great book. A very necessary addition to the discussion. I agree with the positive comments aleady on this board. I bought and read this book a few years back so the details escape me now. It's time to reread it. That will have to wait until a coworker finishes reading it. I'll expand my comments then. The three things that stand out are: 1) His refreshing discussion of the world-wide history of slavery that takes a holistic view rather than a bash-the-US approach. 2) His interesting and unique (I think) comparison of the white redneck culture to the black inner city culture...thus the term black rednecks. I discussed this idea with some of my black collegues and they were at first a little uncertain what to think, then they whole heartedly agreed. They are hard working men who despise cultures that reward laziness, lack of education, and intolerance. Most of them grew up in inner city USA, have friends/family there, and find it difficult to relate to those people whom they now view as being stuck in nowhere land. 3) His discussion of the origins of the redneck culture, including language.

No Cultural Gray Areas In Provocative "Black Rednecks and White Liberals":
In his bestselling autobiography, "My Grandfather's Son," Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas called hearing and speaking with leading conservative author Thomas Sowell "a landmark event." Justice Thomas later cited Sowell among a few who, "unhampered by party allegiances...could speak their minds with honesty and clarity. They were my kind of black men." In "Black Rednecks and White Liberals," Sowell's sober, reasoned approach wrestles major pieces of Western cultural history from emotional revision and reinterpretation. Anyone following conservative politics and philosophy since Ronald Reagan's election will recognize Sowell's underlying themes. He long opposed preserving "ghetto" or "gangsta rap" culture, which criticized studious, high-achieving blacks for "acting white." His first essay traces perceived black "cultural heritage" to a "redneck" culture rooted in Britain's working class, transplanted with the 18th century Southern settlers, extracted through education and migration after the Civil War, then given, in Sowell's words, "new lease on life" by liberals and academics after 1960. Sowell also long opposed affirmative action, racial quotas, and busing. In "Black Education" he uses the histories of Washington, DC's Paul Laurence Dunbar High School and Howard University to divide traditional teaching (based on discipline, study, and hard work) from modern social experiment, multiculturalism, and what Sowell quotes one leader's calling a "superiority-inferiority complex" between mostly white teachers and their black students. Sowell sees the tragedy stemming from students needing the best available education regardless of race. Sowell's essays siphon morality from causation, drawing lessons (as opposed to agendas or even reparation) from US history. In "The Real History of Slavery," and again in "History vs. Visions," he laments black history told only through acknowledged mistreatment of blacks by whites, challenging Alex Haley's powerful "Roots" mythology. He widens slavery and human exploitation's shame and history to South America, the Middle East ( frightening examples of Arab mistreatment of slaves) and among Africans. He cites Western Civilization and philosophy as catalysts to see and end slavery's evil; Western culture had been vilified for preserving the "peculiar institution" and not denouncing it strongly enough in Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. Two essays, "Are Jews Generic?" and "Germans and History," isolate Nazi Germany's unspeakable Holocaust from Jewish and German interlocked histories. Sowell recalls their cultural contributions: Germans as punctual craftsmen relishing and using learning and technology, Jewish merchants and bankers creating wealth through long hours, hard work and convenient goods and services in new, untested areas. Both were discriminated against (as would other nationalities seen as economic "middlemen"), sometimes violently, by indigenous peoples Sowell saw as lacking their respective initiatives and work ethic. Sowell noted Adolf Hitler exploited this trend in his need to seize dictatorial power from Germany's need for restored pride, and used it to win an election with devastating results none could expect in 1933. Ultimately, this book's provocative title (I received more comment from its cover it than any book I carried publicly) and essays tell Western cultural history without evoking guilt, shame, or burden. "Black Rednecks and White Liberals" is history re-told as statistically as Sowell (also a leading economist) could tell it; a wake-up call from nightmares of past mistreatment. It licenses anyone reading it to transcend their past or its perceptions. Highly recommended for those interested in American history and culture.

Good Read:
I was automatically attracted to this book by the title and was interested to see what was written. I'm not a big fan of Sowell but this was a very compelling read. Finally a book that explains "ghetto" culture and not just fingerpoints at it. Also, I love this book because it equates whites and blacks that live similar cultures. Too many conservative writings that focus on societal failures always point to the black community when the same ills exist in predominatly white locales. I think this is a book that both whites and blacks should read.