 "A riveting and raw book. A lot of negativity towards whites, sometimes justified,sometimes not.I wonder what he thinks of Obama?" | 2009-09-11 |
| - Reviewed By layla39049 |
This book encompasses so many issues I barely know where to start. As other reviewers state the author does blame racism for many of his mistakes. On the other hand the author has actually experienced racism first hand as seen by his elementary school experience with white children.I think many racists of all colors just hate with no reason. This gentlemen experienced racism during very formative years.I can see how some hateful feelings emerged. On the other hand why does he assume so often that he knows what whites are thinking and that it is always negative towards him. For example on page 84 he talks about job hunting as a teen and writes that the,"white kids looked at me with that pompous air-like they knew they were supposed to be there and I wasn't."How did he know that is what they were thinking?Did he speak with them? Give them a chance? He is not a mind reader-so again why was he always assuming whites were thinking terrible things about him without clarifying this negativity by perhaps speaking with them?
Other parts of the book do not make a lot of sense. He speaks about the flaws of standardized tests, since they are culturally biased against blacks. Yet he does not mention why so many immigrants from countries such as Vietnam-who grew up in third world type cultures often without running water or even toilets can do so well on these supposedly culturally biased tests.
On the other hand he wrote about prison in a way that was raw and revealing and I think timeless. His experiences with gangs, and violence often brought on by macho posturing are just as significant today as back in the 70's.
He mentioned how he never learned black history in school. I went to a multicultural high school in the early 80's and actually learned more about black history in school and on my own than any other group's history.
In conclusion I highly recommend this book, and I finished it in less than one night. I would love to hear Mr.McCall speak, and I'm curious about his feelings concerning the election of a black male as president. |
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 "Profiting from pedophilia" | 2009-05-14 |
| - Reviewed By User: AJTIG8RR2882Z |
I have some serious ethical concerns about this book. While I admire the author for turning his life around and for the positive things he does to educate people about race relations, it is fundamentally unethical for him to profit from his crimes by writing them down and selling them to people. One major point of this book is his detailed confession of violent crimes, such as participation in the gang rape of a 13 year old girl. Every book that is sold advances this author professional and financially, thus allowing him to launch his professional career and bank account on the back, so to speak, of a child.
People who participate in the rape of children should not get paid to report that experience: they should get imprisoned. |
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| "good lessons, even though the author is a hypocrite" | 2009-05-08 |
| - Reviewed By User: AG5HRD587FG60 |
This is a valuable book with a lot of great lessons on what do to (and what not to do). I think it is good for both men and women, regardless of race. I read it several years ago and parts of it have really stuck with me and helped me to understand people in a different way, looking at it more from their perspective than I used to.
As has already been mentioned, the author isn't the best role model, so skip it if that is what you're looking for. He's not all bad, but gang rape and beatings are among his accomplishments and those are described in detail. He has excuses for everything. He's a victim. Boo hoo.
As has already been mentioned, perhaps he's a liar. Who knows. Regardless, I think this book will open you mind and is worth reading, if only to have an example of the kind of person to stay away from. |
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 "Excellent Read" | 2009-04-15 |
| - Reviewed By User: A16QZHGP2404UJ |
| I borrowed this book from the library abour five years ago and thoroughly loved it. I am writing my own memoirs and thought I could get some useful info from someone who went from being a thug to an articulate well put together young man. He is definetly an inspiration to anyone who reads this book. |
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 "Good start, bad finish" | 2009-04-07 |
| - Reviewed By User: AFTWKH9CCST3F |
This book starts out excellent, giving a realistic glimpse into life in lower income minority communities. It progresses well, and is very well written for the most part. It is very engaging and makes for a very entertaining read. McCall spares no detail and parts of the book are very graphic, however, I believe these parts really add to the validity of the book.
However, this book takes a complete turn as McCall begins to write about his experiences in the work world. Every shortcoming that he has is blamed on whites and he takes no self-accountability. Yes, there is racism in our system, but at some point, the excuses have to end. I used this book in a very diverse (black, white, hispanic) senior high school class and found that many of my students shared my sentiments about McCall blaming everything wrong with society on whites.
I also found that McCall himself is part of the problem. He spends a great deal of time disparaging blacks who have multiple children out of wedlock, yet he is one of those people. Of course, it's not his fault he has so many children, somehow white people are to blame.... |
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| "Racist, misogynistic tripe from an unrepentant rapist--gimme a break!" | 2009-03-02 |
| - Reviewed By User: A31EPJQZ62CEN1 |
Here is the premise of the book, in a nutshell (words mine): "Hi, I'm Nathan McCall. I grew up in the ghetto, man. I was a thug, yo. White boys should know better than to ride their bikes through MY turf! I was real gangsta back in the day. Me and my buddies gang-raped a 13-year-girl a while back. I got away with it but served three years in prison for robbery. Damn the system! I impregnated several women and ditched them, 'cuz I'm a playa like that. All this happened because I got a raw deal out of life, and hated myself. And all that is whitey's fault!" Need I say more? Makes ME wanna holler indeed!
He does make some valid points about the very real problems facing the black community, and how life in the ghetto really is tough, but apparently fails to realize that his racist, misogynistic, cowardly, callous, and coldly unrepentant attitude is part of the problem, not the solution. He hurts his cause far more than he helps it. The death of personal responsibility is one of the biggest problems in this country, affecting every race, and this rag just fans the flames. Worse than even the worst "gangsta" rap song. He shows absolutely zero remorse or even sympathy for his rape victim. And he expects sympathy for a parasite like himself? Gimme a break. This book was apparently intended to show what is wrong with America. How ironic that it does exactly that, but not in a way the author would find flattering. |
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