Ron’s Reviews > Spectacle: The Astonishing Life of Ota Benga > Status Update
Ron
is on page 218 of 336
As much as I enjoy this book, sometimes it muddles the chronology to tell a more interesting story. Case in point: "Verner and Benga set sail from Liverpool on the SS Armenia... built in 1895 by the famous Belfast firm Harland and Wolff, designer of the luxurious Titanic." Not yet they weren't. Planning for the Titanic didn't start until 1907.
— May 21, 2018 11:17PM
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Ron’s Previous Updates
Ron
is on page 241 of 336
We return to the orphanage where Benga stayed after the Bronx Zoo episode, which the NYT describes as being populated by children ranging in color "all the way from café frappe to black coffee." Why is it always a food metaphor?
— May 22, 2018 10:43AM
Ron
is on page 218 of 336
Also, the preceding chapter (ch. 19) is almost amusing in how sick it is. Frederick Starr, a respected anthropologist, wrote articles defending King Leopold's practices in the Congo, but they come off like (paraphrasing), "Yes, there have been some beatings and killings. But that's only because the villagers weren't working fast enough."
— May 21, 2018 11:34PM
Ron
is on page 101 of 336
"Concerns had been raised by relatives about the welfare of the children residing at the orphanage once Benga arrived. 'Why he'll eat my Matilda alive!', one anguished mother told [the headmaster]."
— May 17, 2018 06:08PM
Ron
is starting
I haven't even gotten to Page 1 and I've had my first "what the hell is wrong with humanity" moment: In 1906, Ota Benga was put on display in a cage with an orangutan in the Bronx Zoo.
— Apr 27, 2018 08:59AM
