A bold attempt to determine the conditions of—and the means for achieving—racial justice.
A philosopher imagines how racial activism might be reconceived.
Black dignity, Lloyd explains, involves the uncompromising affirmation of Black humanity against those who would deny it. In this book, the author, a professor of theology and religious studies at Villanova, tests the status of such affirmations in contemporary activism, offering recommendations for reform that draw on Western philosophical methods, the insights of seminal Black thinkers, and the truths revealed by key historical precedents. His approach strikes a balance between so-called “activist rhetoric,” aimed at generating political momentum, and the articulation of “systematic theory” and more formal explications of how specific conclusions have been reached. Blending the practical and theoretical in this way can feel unsatisfying when it comes to some of Lloyd’s most provocative claims: that “anti-Black racism is not just about bad choices, or about people who failed their diversity exam. It is at the center of everything, for everyone”; that Blackness serves as “the ultimate paradigm of dignity” or that “the possibility of assimilation is forever closed to Blacks.” These concepts demand a more thorough and nuanced account than he gives them. Nevertheless, the author presents striking commentary on a number of topics, including the significance of the death of Trayvon Martin, the galvanized thinking of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the productive potential of “Black Rage,” along with its balancing counterpart, “Black Love.” Lloyd incisively anatomizes the failures of multiculturalist ideals and the inadequacy of superficial reckonings with the realities of domination. The author makes it clear that acknowledging the distinctiveness of Black oppression is necessary for combatting it. Moreover, he provides intriguing interpretations of how Black experiences in America might serve as models for other efforts—such as those focused on gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation—to affirm distinctive versions of human dignity.
A bold attempt to determine the conditions of—and the means for achieving—racial justice.Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-300-25367-2
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Yale Univ.
Review Posted Online: Oct. 6, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2022
A moving meditation on mortality by a gifted writer whose dual perspectives of physician and patient provide a singular...
A neurosurgeon with a passion for literature tragically finds his perfect subject after his diagnosis of terminal lung cancer.
Writing isn’t brain surgery, but it’s rare when someone adept at the latter is also so accomplished at the former. Searching for meaning and purpose in his life, Kalanithi pursued a doctorate in literature and had felt certain that he wouldn’t enter the field of medicine, in which his father and other members of his family excelled. “But I couldn’t let go of the question,” he writes, after realizing that his goals “didn’t quite fit in an English department.” “Where did biology, morality, literature and philosophy intersect?” So he decided to set aside his doctoral dissertation and belatedly prepare for medical school, which “would allow me a chance to find answers that are not in books, to find a different sort of sublime, to forge relationships with the suffering, and to keep following the question of what makes human life meaningful, even in the face of death and decay.” The author’s empathy undoubtedly made him an exceptional doctor, and the precision of his prose—as well as the moral purpose underscoring it—suggests that he could have written a good book on any subject he chose. Part of what makes this book so essential is the fact that it was written under a death sentence following the diagnosis that upended his life, just as he was preparing to end his residency and attract offers at the top of his profession. Kalanithi learned he might have 10 years to live or perhaps five. Should he return to neurosurgery (he could and did), or should he write (he also did)? Should he and his wife have a baby? They did, eight months before he died, which was less than two years after the original diagnosis. “The fact of death is unsettling,” he understates. “Yet there is no other way to live.”
A moving meditation on mortality by a gifted writer whose dual perspectives of physician and patient provide a singular clarity.Pub Date: Jan. 19, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-8129-8840-6
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2015
PERSPECTIVES
A familiar format, but a timely reminder that cities are made up of individuals, each with their own stories.
Portraits in a post-pandemic world.
After the Covid-19 lockdowns left New York City’s streets empty, many claimed that the city was “gone forever.” It was those words that inspired Stanton, whose previous collections include Humans of New York (2013), Humans of New York: Stories (2015), and Humans (2020), to return to the well once more for a new love letter to the city’s humanity and diversity. Beautifully laid out in hardcover with crisp, bright images, each portrait of a New Yorker is accompanied by sparse but potent quotes from Stanton’s interviews with his subjects. Early in the book, the author sequences three portraits—a couple laughing, then looking serious, then the woman with tears in her eyes—as they recount the arc of their relationship, transforming each emotional beat of their story into an affecting visual narrative. In another, an unhoused man sits on the street, his husky eating out of his hand. The caption: “I’m a late bloomer.” Though the pandemic isn’t mentioned often, Stanton focuses much of the book on optimistic stories of the post-pandemic era. Among the most notable profiles is Myles Smutney, founder of the Free Store Project, whose story of reclaiming boarded‑up buildings during the lockdowns speaks to the city’s resilience. In reusing the same formula from his previous books, the author confirms his thesis: New York isn’t going anywhere. As he writes in his lyrical prologue, “Just as one might dive among coral reefs to marvel at nature, one can come to New York City to marvel at humanity.” The book’s optimism paints New York as a city where diverse lives converge in moments of beauty, joy, and collective hope.
A familiar format, but a timely reminder that cities are made up of individuals, each with their own stories.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781250277589
Page Count: 480
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
