Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Freedom's Daughters: The Unsung Heroines of the Civil Rights Movement from 1830 to 1970 by Lynne Olson ISBN: 0-684-85012-5 Publisher: Scribner Pub. Date: February, 2001 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.43 (7 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: The Way it Really Was
Comment: It seems the anatomy of revolutions is that they metamorphose and become tarnished, and the civil rights movement of the 60s (the Revolution, Baby! as we called it then) was no exception. With history, they become glamorized and give rise to fantasized, self-appointed heroes and revisionism. This book is TRUTH without TARNISH, and sets straight the record devised by many during the past three decades of revisionism. From one who was really there, in Philadelphia Mississippi in early 60's, in again in 64-66, and during FBI investigations, I want to say: FINALLY, someone is telling it like it really was, without revisionism, without glorification of the johnnies who came lately, and without interest in creating a politically correct and marketable commodity. I knew many of the players Ms. Olsen seeks out and interviews, and I take great pride in hearing their story in the unadultuated truth. I also feel such gratification in learning how many of them went on, led lives, continued their educations, raised families and managed to put their disillusionments behind them. It's a source of healing for me, and now I too can perhaps say, at least I thought I was "doing something really important" -- a paraphrase from Diane Nash. I have tried so hard to forget the good times, because the years since have seen the initial dream tarnished and all but destroyed. Now, perhaps, I too can find some pride in what I helped to start, even though now it's clear, the civil rights movement didn't exactly end up the way those who started it intended it. My only regret is some of the truly brave, white women who stood up for their sisters, did not get more time from Ms. Olsen. One of the great heroes was Ms. Florence Mars -- probably the only woman in Neshoba County with a college education at the time -- and but a slight reference in Olsen's book. Her courage was most notable because she was of the white, wealthy elite who had everything to loose and nothing to gain by helping the Freedom Riders and using her own voice to influence. She could have spent her entire life living in her glorious Southern Revivalist house on Poplar Avenue, run her family's lumber business and never taken a chance, or lifted a finger to help. It is not risktaking, it is easy to participate, when one has nothing to loose, risk and can only gain. Ms. Mars didn't have to get involved at all. And, yet, she did -- for as she told Time Magazine when Missippi Burning (alas, revisionism at it's worst!) was filmed and released "it was the right thing to do." I want to go back to Philadelphia and see is Ms. Mars is still alive. She must be 80 now! Did she ever recover from her stroke -- I want to thank her for the greatest of kindness she showed me once in 66. And I want to tell her that I've come to realize that while there were many evil white people in the Southern heirarchy, there were many, many other good white people like her, good white women, and even good white men. People like Judge and Mrs. (Helen Patton) J. Skelley Wright. Thanks to Ms. Olson, for opening up this pandora's box of provocative, truthful thought. Maybe it will start a dialog about the way it really was.
Rating: 4
Summary: Intense and honest
Comment: This book fills a huge hole in civil rights history literature. Anyone involved in that struggle and other similiar type movements know the huge amount of grunt work that goes into a simple picket line. This work that the men scorned was the backbone of the movement and continues to this day. It shines a light on influential women in civil rights and goes into a their history and struggles. Many of these women have been mentioned in other books but that is all that is done - barely mentioned. In addition, Ms. Olson explores in an extremely honest way the relations between white women and black women and black men. These pages were some of the best writing I ever read on this topic.
Rating: 3
Summary: Freedom's Daughters:The Unsung Heroines of the Civil Rights
Comment: I picked up this book because of the title, having read Taylor Branch's two books on Martin Luther King, Jr., and having grown up in the sixties when the media was making much of the marches and non-violent protests that characterized the Civil Rights Movement. I was initially put off by the book from the outset. The very opening words give the date as April 22, 1944, and continues in the first paragraph to talk about the Marines taking bloody Iwo Jima. Unfortunately the assault on Iwo Jima didn't occur until February, 1945, nearly a year later. I found it odd that both the author, who appears skilled at historical research, or an editor, adept at making sure items in a nonfiction book are accurate, would have missed such a blatant historical error! It made me initially wonder at the veracity of subsequent facts.
I, however, continued in my reading and came to truly appreciate the depth of fervor exhibited by the women who put their lives, their families, their reputations and their beliefs on the line for the principles of equality... something that those who are not African-American far too often take for granted! I appreciated the truth of how often women have been the planners and motivators of such great causes.
The book itself seemed a bit "tangled" as Lynne Olson tried to share the stories of many women, often interweaving the story of one woman with another. It left me having to back up and get a handle on who she was describing.
All in all, though, the book seems a good resource adding depth to the history of the Civil Rights Movement which has all too often been simply a biography of the Movement's icon, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He is portrayed in the media as the single force behind the Civil Rights protest. Any thinking person would know that this is not true. His charisma and ability to inspire people was a much-needed element. But without the gifts and talents of the women described in Lynne Olson's book, it may have come to naught.
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
