{"product_id":"how-to-make-a-slave-jerald-walker-9780814255995","title":"How to Make a Slave and Other Essays","description":"\u003cb\u003eFinalist, National Book Award in Nonfiction\u003cbr\u003e Winner, Massachusetts Book Award\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eA Book of the Year pick from \u003ci\u003eKirkus, BuzzFeed, \u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eLiterary Hub\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cb\u003e\"The essays in this collection are restless, brilliant and short....The brevity suits not just Walker's style but his worldview, too....Keeping things quick gives him the freedom to move; he can alight on a truth without pinning it into place.\" -Jennifer Szalai, the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e For the black community, Jerald Walker asserts in \u003ci\u003eHow to Make a Slave, \u003c\/i\u003e \"anger is often a prelude to a joke, as there is broad understanding that the triumph over this destructive emotion lay in finding its punchline.\" It is on the knife's edge between fury and farce that the essays in this exquisite collection balance. Whether confronting the medical profession's racial biases, considering the complicated legacy of Michael Jackson, paying homage to his writing mentor James Alan McPherson, or attempting to break free of personal and societal stereotypes, Walker elegantly blends personal revelation and cultural critique. The result is a bracing and often humorous examination by one of America's most acclaimed essayists of what it is to grow, parent, write, and exist as a black American male. Walker refuses to lull his readers; instead his missives urge them to do better as they consider, through his eyes, how to be a good citizen, how to be a good father, how to live, and how to love.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Jerald Walker\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 081425599X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780814255995\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Mad Creek Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/30\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 152\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.40lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.40h x 5.50w x 0.50d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAward:\u003c\/b\u003e National Book Awards - Finalist\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 07\/13\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/15\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eForeword\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/26\/2020","brand":"Jerald Walker","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44050276450559,"sku":"9780814255995","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_f5b2a677-70a9-4ed7-9cd8-9120ad15658e.jpg?v=1685006277","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/how-to-make-a-slave-jerald-walker-9780814255995","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}