š What to Read Next (No. 212): Black History
š What to Read Next (No. 212): Black History
Happy Friday, readers!
Though your reading of Black history shouldnāt be contained to the month of February, itās a great time to intentionally delve even deeper into the Black voices that generally havenāt been part of American history or literature.
To cap off the first week of the month, I finished Isabel Wilkersonās utterly magnificent The Warmth of Other Suns, and though Iām not all the way done yet, Iāve been enjoying the audio edition of Rebecca Sklootās The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks on my walks around the neighborhood.
These books were both published in 2010 and now, just over 10 years later, are both regularly found in Best Black History lists. Itās especially meaningful because women historians and journalists arenāt as widely published or marketed as their male counterparts. These books show that history (and science) written by women can be just as compelling and impactful.
Letās get to it. As always, Iād love to hear what youāre reading and enjoying this week!
Quick interlude ā In the last month or so, Iāve sent a series of short bookish essays to my paid subscribers:
Paid subscribers get an extra email from me each week, alternating between essays and a link round-up that I call These Are a Few of My Favorite Links. No pressure whatsoever, but Iād be honored by your support of Read More Books:
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
Published: 2010 | Pages: 543
Ever since Wilkersonās book was published back in 2010, itās been praised as one of the great histories of all-time regarding Black America.
And yet it covers a period of American history that most people have never heard of: the Great Migration, which took place between 1915 and 1970. In these 5+ decades, millions of Black men, women, and children moved from southern Jim Crow states to northern and western āfreeā states (all the states were technically āfree,ā but in the south it was basically in name only).
Wilkerson didnāt write the story of this migration in the way youād expect though. She picked three people who moved north/west in three different decadesātelling each of their stories from basically birth to death, and how the migration impacted their lives. Ida went from Mississippi to Chicago, George went from Florida to New York City, and Robert went from Louisiana to Los Angeles.
Interspersed between those incredibly personal narratives are the big stories of the era: the terrifying era of lynching, a number of race riots (most of which Iād never heard of), the rash of bombings that plagued Black homes in the early decades of the 20th century, the Civil Rights struggle and MLKās assassination.
Atop the great stories (which were obviously uncovered through hours and hours of interviewing), Wilkerson writes with an uncommonly readable elegance. She weaves everything together over the course of about 500 pages in such a way that I felt like I got a real grasp of the entire era, and it was never a chore to read. Itās a large book, but I was excited to pick it up every morning and ended up bingeing the final couple hundred pages this week.
The Warmth of Other Suns is as easy a 5-star rating as Iāve given. With some books Iāll hem and haw between 4 and 5, but I knew right as I closed this one that it was worth 5 stars, and that it would likely make my Best Reads of ā22 list at the end of the year. I have a feeling that Ida, George, and Robert are going to stay with me for a long time.
Wilkersonās book is exceptional on all fronts. The short sections and chapters make it digestible for readers of all types and tastes. I just canāt heap enough praise onto The Warmth of Other Suns, so go get it ASAP!
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Published: 2010 | Pages: 381
From a young age, science writer and author Rebecca Skloot was interested in the story of the famous, immortal HeLa cells. For any scientist whose work involves cell culture, HeLa is a familiar name. For those of us outside that world, itās likely not.
Most human cells die at some pointāseems logical, yeah? But in 1951, scientists at Johns Hopkins discovered that the cancer cells of a young Black woman refused to die. They kept replicating and replicating and replicating . . . and are still doing so today. Itās pretty mind-blowing, really. This is one of those stories where the facts alone make for a great narrative.
That young Black woman, Henrietta Lacks, lent her name to those cells, despite not living to see their impact.
Skloot goes well beyond just Henriettaās story, though (which was being widely told for the first time with this book), and gets into the exploitation of human subjects in medical testing, who, more often than not, have been Black or poor or both.
The Lacks family had no idea that Henriettaās cells were ever used in scientific research and for-profit ventures alike, let alone that HeLa cells led to most of the important cellular science breakthroughs of the last 70 years.
Iām not sold on Sklootās insertion of herself into the narrative, but I get why she went that route. It was somewhat necessary in order to tell the story of Deborah Lacks (Henriettaās daughter)āit just seems a touch self-serving as I approach the end of the book.
Overall, though, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is an incredibly well-told story that anyone can readāno scientific background necessary. For those who happen to be in any sort of scientific field, it should be required reading (which Iām pretty sure it is for hundreds of college programs around the world).
Thatās all for me this week. Thanks so much for the time and inbox space; Iām deeply grateful.
Until next Friday,
-Jeremy
Iāve read and loved both of these books. Great recommendation!
Great List!