- Paperback: 240 pages
- Publisher: Basic Books; Reprint edition (Sep 15 1993)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0465068146
- ISBN-13: 978-0465068142
- Product Dimensions: 20.5 x 13.7 x 1.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 181 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #439,998 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
In nine grim metaphorical sketches, Bell, the black former Harvard law professor who made headlines recently for his one-man protest against the school's hiring policies, hammers home his controversial theme that white racism is a permanent, indestructible component of our society. Bell's fantasies are often dire and apocalyptic: a new Atlantis rises from the ocean depths, sparking a mass emigration of blacks; white resistance to affirmative action softens following an explosion that kills Harvard's president and all of the school's black professors; intergalactic space invaders promise the U.S. President that they will clean up the environment and deliver tons of gold, but in exchange, the bartering aliens take all African Americans back to their planet. Other pieces deal with black-white romance, a taxi ride through Harlem and job discrimination. Civil rights lawyer Geneva Crenshaw, the heroine of Bell's And We Are Not Saved (1987), is back in some of these ominous allegories, which speak from the depths of anger and despair. Bell now teaches at New York University Law School.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Bell, in the news because he is on leave from Harvard Law School to protest its never having hired a tenured black woman, has written a provocative and creative book that nicely follows his And We Are Not Saved ( LJ 8/87). His "interweaving of fact and fiction" and an "unorthodox form" make for stimulating reading and clarify for white readers the obstacles continually faced by black Americans and the miseries they endlessly endure. No other book features, as does this one, a Racial Preference Licensing Act, Racial Data Storms, Afroatlantica Emigration, Space Traders (guess who they are coming to take away?), the Anne Frank Committee, and White Citizens for Black Survival. Bell's thoughts about Minister Louis Farrakhan and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas are a contribution to the public dialog on those figures. An especially important and relevant publication for public and academic libraries.
- Katherine Dahl, Western Illinois Univ., Macomb
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
- Katherine Dahl, Western Illinois Univ., Macomb
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Challenging but flawed,
By
This review is from: Faces At the Bottom Of the Well: The Permanence Of Racism (Paperback)
This is a challenging but flawed book. This book is well researched and uses court cases to show the permanence of racism within American society. He brings up this points in a narrative style that is meant to challenge the reader not only on the basis of his facts but how those facts fit in with American society.However, his characters become stereotypes themselves. One can see the roles that each of the characters in the story is supposed to play. His fiction continues the beliefs that he attempts to criticize. Even with this flaw, this book is an important book and should be read by those who are concerned with racism.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thought-provoking, powerful book,
This review is from: Faces At the Bottom Of the Well: The Permanence Of Racism (Paperback)
Bell is a true storyteller. He possesses the ability to capture your attention and keep you riveted and engaged. This book provides powerful, enlightening "accounts" of racism in America. Every American of every race, nationality, religion, creed and sexual orientation should read this book.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bell makes it known, racism will always exist. Sad isn't it,
By A Customer
This review is from: Faces At the Bottom Of the Well: The Permanence Of Racism (Paperback)
After reading this book, Professor Bell became one of the main reasons I chose to attend NYU School of Law. Bell poignantly tells the story of an oppressed race through allegory that at once is entertaining and educational. Two stories in particular made such an impact that I still feel it a full 5 years after reading the book. The first, Afrolantica, focused on the accomplishments that African Americans can make when working toward a common goal. The ending points out that if African Americans focus and produce we can achieve anything, even the seemingly impossible by using cooperation and productivity. The last story literally reduced me to tears. Though the premise was a little far-fetched it brought home to me the realization of African Americans' importance (or lack their of) as people with hearts, minds and souls to those that form the majority in this country. At first it left me feeling hopeless, but then it made me want to fight harder. And after having met the Professor Bell and sat in his classroom I am certain that my later reaction is what he was after. The other stories are definately worthwhile also, but I point to these two because of the profound emotional effect they had on me. A must read for the believers and non-believers of the theory that racism is so ingrained in American society that it can never be eradicated.
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