Review by Choice Review
hooks claims that social class is a taboo subject in public talk and writing, and she attempts to correct this in a rambling book-length essay. Her text is interspersed with brief references to her life growing up with many siblings in an intact poor black family, and her experiences as a college student culminating in a PhD followed by teaching stints at Yale and Oberlin. Employed as a hardworking janitor, her father deplored those around him who defied conventional values and behavior; her mother, always concerned about "moving up," never talked about money. Out of this setting, hooks became increasingly aware of the class system and its interconnections with race and gender. Unfortunately, her 14 brief chapters repetitively offer a number of glib generalizations, probably agreed to by many, but which lead the careful reader to be skeptical. Examples of these: In "a nation where the culture of narcissism reigns supreme ..., greed becomes the order of the day" and "... our nation is full of young people, especially teenagers who deny the reality of class, even as they identify with the predatory ruling class." General collections. D. Harper; University of Rochester
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
This incisive examination of class is rooted in cultural critic hooks's (All About Love) personal experience, political commitment, and social theory, which links gender, race, and class. Starting with her working-class childhood, the author illustrates how everyday interactions reproduce class hierarchy while simultaneously denying its existence. Because she sustains an unflinching gaze on both her own personal motivations and on persistent social structures, hooks provides a valuable framework for discussing such difficult and unexplored areas as greed, the quest to live simply, the ruling-class co-optation of youth through popular culture, and real estate speculation as an instrument of racism. Although the reading level and the price are both steep, this title is highly recommended for most public libraries and academic social science collections.DPaula R. Dempsey, DePaul Univ. Lib., Chicago (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
