A persuasive, neatly packaged Black Lives Matter primer.
A Philadelphia Inquirer columnist and novelist tells the stories of 10 key figures in the Black Lives Matter movement.
In a preface to this effective, occasionally simplistic book, Jones sketches a personal connection to his subject. He was once “Black in the system,” struggling to put a past of addiction and petty crime behind him. While working as a doorman in his native Philadelphia, a local news station showed his mugshot, calling him a “wanted fugitive.” The structure of the subsequent material is straightforward, as the author devotes each chapter to a different victim of systemic racism in law enforcement, most of them now household names—e.g., Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, and George Floyd. After an engaging precis of the circumstances that brought these individuals into the crosshairs of law enforcement, the author links each case to a specific reform in policy that would address the failings in question. In the case of Breonna Taylor, who was fatally shot by police in 2020 in her Louisville home, none of the first officers on the scene had body cameras. Like others before him, Jones makes the sensible argument that such footage would have been crucial to understanding what happened. In this case, the demand is that officers who fail to wear or turn on body cameras should face criminal charges and that the data from those devices (taxpayer-funded property) be made available to the public upon request. In the case of Trayvon Martin, the demand concerns the elimination of the much-discussed “stand-your-ground” laws, which have been shown to increase homicides rather than prevent them. Jones is a naturally compelling writer, and while many of the arguments have been made before and the structure becomes repetitive, the author relates them with both a vigor and informality that will appeal to readers not interested in committing to a more scholarly, nuanced text such as Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow.
A persuasive, neatly packaged Black Lives Matter primer.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-8070-2017-3
Page Count: 184
Publisher: Beacon Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
A short, smart analysis of perhaps the most famous passage in American history reveals its potency and unfulfilled promise.
Words that made a nation.
Isaacson is known for expansive biographies of great thinkers (and Elon Musk), but here he pens a succinct, stimulating commentary on the Founding Fathers’ ode to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” His close reading of the Declaration of Independence’s second sentence, published to mark the 250th anniversary of the document’s adoption, doesn’t downplay its “moral contradiction.” Thomas Jefferson enslaved hundreds of people yet called slavery “a cruel war against human nature” in his first draft of the Declaration. All but 15 of the document’s 56 signers owned enslaved people. While the sentence in question asserted “all men are created equal” and possess “unalienable rights,” the Founders “consciously and intentionally” excluded women, Native Americans, and enslaved people. And yet the sentence is powerful, Isaacson writes, because it names a young nation’s “aspirations.” He mounts a solid defense of what ought to be shared goals, among them economic fairness, “moral compassion,” and a willingness to compromise. “Democracy depends on this,” he writes. Isaacson is excellent when explaining how Enlightenment intellectuals abroad influenced the founders. Benjamin Franklin, one of the Declaration’s “five-person drafting committee,” stayed in David Hume’s home for a month in the early 1770s, “discussing ideas of natural rights” with the Scottish philosopher. Also strong is Isaacson’s discussion of the “edits and tweaks” made to Jefferson’s draft. As recommended by Franklin and others, the changes were substantial, leaving Jefferson “distraught.” Franklin, who emerges as the book’s hero, helped establish municipal services, founded a library, and encouraged religious diversity—the kind of civic-mindedness that we could use more of today, Isaacson reminds us.
A short, smart analysis of perhaps the most famous passage in American history reveals its potency and unfulfilled promise.Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781982181314
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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.
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