Blue Rage, Black Redemption: A Memoir by Stanley Tookie Williams
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Book Reviews of Blue Rage, Black Redemption: A Memoir
Book Review: Better Than the Movie!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the life story of Stanley "Tookie" Williams, the legendary founder of the Crips street gang turned America's foremost street peacemaker. This book greatly expands and clarifies the story told in "Redemption", the excellent cable movie starring Jamie Foxx
"Blue Rage, Black Redemption" is an incredible piece of well-written literature in its own right---notwithstanding the ultimate fate of the author---and it is a damning indictment of a cold, callous society. It describes the unchecked poverty, violence and broken schools of South Central that spawned the Crip phenomenon. And it describes Tookie's Herculean efforts to redeem himself from within the walls of San Quentin.
[The added material in this reprint by Tookie's friend Barbara Becnel is especially welcome in the context of today's ongoing debate over capital punishment in California.]
Book Review: Well-Read and Well Said Tookie
Summary: 4 Stars
I read this book for my African American Men History class and I found this man work both profound and interesting. Everyone in life should not be limited redemption in lieu of their mistakes and choices. No one really knows if he committed the crime or not.
The only person he has to answer to is God not the media, politicians, and preeminent leaders in society. Everyone in prison is not a criminal. People have to measure a person right before making harsh jugments among them.
Thank you Tookie for writing such a powerful memoir that many people can relate to. Maybe one day the nay-sayers will understand the missive behind forgiveness and redemption.
Book Review: Fairly predictable
Summary: 2 Stars
Like I said in my title for this review. It is a fairly predictable pattern of a life gone bad under poor socioeconomic circumstances. The questions always to keep in mind are: "How many growing up in that environment do not turn to this lifestyle? and..."What about the victims?" It is easy to forget them when victims like Tookie et al have the last word to present things their way.
The writing is fairly predictable in choice of words and the style in which it is written. Nothing highly literary or linguistically unique or compelling in the writing, but then it the truth probably shouldn't be so very stylized just to make it more poetic or for a more memorable turn of phrase.