Amazing Grace: Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation, The
by Jonathan Kozol
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 1546)
Read in January, 2008
recommended to Lindsay by:
required reading recommends it for: no one
While the content of the book is very heart wrenching, and the statistics and the accounts Kozol provides are all very real, I hated this book. What troubles me is not the book, but its author Jonathan Kozol. Kozol motives are sincere and genuine but it always takes a sympathetic white man to expose the world. Which is almost unnerving as it is sad. On a whole, most of the white community in New York City doesn’t ever see what is happening around them; a train ride away. It’s as if the horro...more
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Read in March, 2008
recommended to Amy by:
My sister
New York City slums from the perspective of the kids that live there. The author's sincere attempt to describe life for a select group of kids by compiliting the results of numerous interviews. I knew there was extreme poverty in parts of New York City (and crime, drugs, higher rates of AIDS, gangs), but I had no idea that the "public services" (schools, hospitals, parks, and city services) were so, so bad....dirty hospital rooms that patients have to clean themselves, classrooms mee...more
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Read in January, 2006
Kozol weaves together the tragic and often inspiring stories of Mott Haven’s families and, along the way, builds a strong case against the all-too-common practice of isolating the poor in urban ghettos. As both the author and the subjects of this work eloquently articulate, segregation is bad for the poor and even more damaging to the nation’s spirit. The accounts in Amazing Grace highlight the desperate conditions in these impoverished areas, the inherent inequalities of segregation, and t...more
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Read in July, 1997
I had to read this book the summer before going to freshman year of college at HOly Cross and I fell in love with it.
Again, Kozol is one of my writing heroes...and his style is easy to read and full of details that really help you understand his point of view.
Here's what the publisher said about this book:
The children in this book defy the stereotypes of urban youth too frequently presented by the media. Tender, generous and often religiously devout, they speak with eloquence and ...more
Again, Kozol is one of my writing heroes...and his style is easy to read and full of details that really help you understand his point of view.
Here's what the publisher said about this book:
The children in this book defy the stereotypes of urban youth too frequently presented by the media. Tender, generous and often religiously devout, they speak with eloquence and ...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
everyone
I had to read this for a night class where we were to finish it within the span of a week. Being busy with other things, I had two days to start and finish it. I'm literally exhausted from it. This book is powerful, emotional, depressing, macabre and at times even joyful and uplifting. The children that Kozol speaks with are remarkably brilliant and eloquent in their thoughts. Some of them have reached a maturity in their thinking that I don't see in most adults I know. The women and few men tha...more
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There is a third world to America. It can be seen in the inner city and along the outskirts of our most beloved cities. Children falling into broken elevator shafts to their death, Heroin needles being distributed on weekends in broad daylight by compassionate services, and killings in broad daylight with children watching. Life is bleak for many and Governments seek to hide it from our faces or we hide it in the back side of our unconsciousness to never deal with it.
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Amazing Grace, by Jonathan Kozol was very inspirational. It's an eye opener, and really made me think. Kozol writes about the experiences had with people from the bronx. The environment that people from that society had to deal with was outrageous, and terrible. This book holds a lot of direct quotes, and situations that happened right before the author. The book is really well written, and well explained.
This book makes me want to go out and help those living horribly, and are put into area...more
This book makes me want to go out and help those living horribly, and are put into area...more
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Read in March, 2007
recommends it for:
teachers, others who work in education or with kids
This book reveals the gaping inequalities between low-income minority (read: black and Latino) neighborhoods & children in the South Bronx and the rest of New York City. Kozol interviews and follows several children and families in impoverished South Bronx neighborhoods as they struggle to deal with crime, failing schools, racism, inadequate healthcare and poverty. The author doesn't just throw facts and statistics at you; he humanizes the people he meets and brings forth the truth and hones...more
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Read in June, 2008
recommended to Rachel by:
steph recommends it for: activists and educators
Although a little dated, children´s inner-city struggles described by Kozol in this book are still relevant. He does an excellent job of making a case for refurbishing America´s slums and looking at racism as a systemic problem in the United States. Less clear are ways to solve these problems, but, as usual, the first step is to have a deeper understanding of them.
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I just started reading this book and I find it shocking that children are born into such dangerous circumstances. This book has opened my eyes to a world I have put off for much to long. Here is a paragraph that explains the questions I have after reading the first chapter, taken from page 5, "What is it like for children to grow up here? What do they think the world has done to them? Do they believe that they are being shunned or hidden by society? If so, do they think that they deserv...more
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This book is not hard to read; Kozul is not an alarmist. But it is a call to action and a plea for awareness. It’s disturbing and it’s touching and it’s accusatory. If you’ve never been to a low-income housing project (like me), then you probably don’t understand why this book is important. I suspect that the majority of Americans fall under this category, since ghettos are not tourist destinations and most Americans are relieved from the duty of acknowledging that they exist. But the ...more
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I thought that amazing grace was a great book and it introduced me to an issue I usually keep in the back of my mind. I think that what's going on in the South Bronx is something everyone should be aware of because they are only a matter of minutes away by train. you would never believe that Americans are living in these countries. Even though Kozol doesn't provide a solution, he causes awareness. Awareness alone can cause a movement and now we are more judgemental of how the government approach...more
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Read in December, 2007
The Content is extremely interesting - about William Wilberforce and his devotion to the abolition of slavery. Very easy to read, not the best written but W.W's life is an incredible story. Very inspiring and educational - a thousand times better than the movie, of course!
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I often feel like I should read more non-fiction (just like I feel like I should read the newspaper more often) but it's always so...non-fiction-y. I visualize a book filled with facts and statistics and I'm therefore not inclined to pick up a work of non-fiction.
I'll admit, I forgot what a talented writer Jonathon Kozol is. His books read more like fiction, keeping me hooked, but Inever lose sight of the fact that this is actually real. I sometimes wish it WAS fiction. A part of me doesn't wa...more
I'll admit, I forgot what a talented writer Jonathon Kozol is. His books read more like fiction, keeping me hooked, but Inever lose sight of the fact that this is actually real. I sometimes wish it WAS fiction. A part of me doesn't wa...more
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Read in January, 2005
recommends it for:
everyone
Kozol reports on the very disturbing state of education in many parts of the US, on the unseen and unlistened to. He also contributes to Harper's often. A compelling read, I thought, although compelled to do what for the millions of children not receiving good schooling. It made me think about how blatantly hypocritical it is to make universal access to quality education a top policy priority while not adressing the forces that oppress students and their families, as well as teachers and admini...more
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Don't tell me that Kozol is "biased" or "not telling both sides of the story." I know that he's not telling both sides, that's not his job. What he does is make a point and support it through his writing. Got that, Bill O'Reilly?
His writing is very clean and readable, and his thesis is well presented. Also, I happen to agree with him. The state of some of our public schools is so shameful that you can't even bend your mind around it.
I wish he was not quite so...more
His writing is very clean and readable, and his thesis is well presented. Also, I happen to agree with him. The state of some of our public schools is so shameful that you can't even bend your mind around it.
I wish he was not quite so...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
those who think that live is dandy.
It's hard to describe how remarkable this book is. To say it was well-written or wonderful would simply classify it as a must-read novel. To call it eye-opening would classify Kozol as a social activist who attempts to use his literary prowess to pull the reader into the plights of these inner-city youth. Every so often he would minimally ruminate, but in the end he simply stepped aside and let the youth share their stories. Throughout the book I pondered his purpose, what was the end he wa...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
anyone
A must read especially with our recent historic election;this was required reading for my social justice course-it made me sad and angry and determined
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Read in January, 2008
This book is a non-fiction account of the disparity between races in New York City. The author, Kozol, gives us a first hand account of his experiences in Mott Haven. His descriptions graphically portray a world where babies are born to AIDS infected drug-users, where children are frequently murdered, and jobs are scarce. This book was eye-opening to me and as someone who doesn’t usually read non-fiction, I was impressed by this book. However I would not recommend reading this book cover to...more
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Read in January, 1998
recommends it for:
everyone
Jonathan Kozol is the conscience of education in this country, which he once again proves with this book. Even though the societal ravages he describes these children undergoing make Job's sojourn seem like a walk beach, the children remain the soul of innocence. This is a motivational book: it may turn you into an advocate for underprivileged children in your own community, like the champions depicted in these pages. Always, always, though, his focus is on these beautiful children who are be...more
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 4.28 (1265 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 4.27 (1265 ratings) number of reviews: 157
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""A dream does not die on its own. A dream is vanquished by the choices ordinary people make about real things in their own lives..." "
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