Sociology
![Lowery, Wesley - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B01KZ8RDB0.jpg)
American Whitelash: A Changing Nation and the Cost of Progress
"American Whitelash is indispensable. Really. It is." - Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist
Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Wesley Lowery confronts the sickness at the heart of American society: the cyclical pattern of violence that has marred every moment of racial progress in this country, and whose bloodshed began anew following Obama's 2008 election.
In 2008, Barack Obama's historic victory was heralded as a turning point for the country. And so it would be-just not in the way that most Americans hoped. The election of the nation's first Black president fanned long-burning embers of white supremacy, igniting a new and frightening phase in a historical American cycle of racial progress and white backlash.
In American Whitelash, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and best-selling author Wesley Lowery charts the return of this blood-stained trend, showing how the forces of white power retaliated against Obama's victory-and both profited from, and helped to propel, the rise of Donald Trump. Interweaving deep historical analysis with gripping firsthand reporting on both victims and perpetrators of violence, Lowery uncovers how this vicious cycle is carrying us into ever more perilous territory, how the federal government has failed to intervene, and how we still might find a route of escape.
Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Wesley Lowery confronts the sickness at the heart of American society: the cyclical pattern of violence that has marred every moment of racial progress in this country, and whose bloodshed began anew following Obama's 2008 election.
In 2008, Barack Obama's historic victory was heralded as a turning point for the country. And so it would be-just not in the way that most Americans hoped. The election of the nation's first Black president fanned long-burning embers of white supremacy, igniting a new and frightening phase in a historical American cycle of racial progress and white backlash.
In American Whitelash, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and best-selling author Wesley Lowery charts the return of this blood-stained trend, showing how the forces of white power retaliated against Obama's victory-and both profited from, and helped to propel, the rise of Donald Trump. Interweaving deep historical analysis with gripping firsthand reporting on both victims and perpetrators of violence, Lowery uncovers how this vicious cycle is carrying us into ever more perilous territory, how the federal government has failed to intervene, and how we still might find a route of escape.
Editorial Reviews
"Lowery provides urgent, necessary perspective…. A masterful blend of narrative history and empathetic reporting."
- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"American Whitelash offers a livid account of the hydra-like capacity of white-supremacist ideas not just to survive but to flourish.... It's an infuriating, radicalizing read…. A good primer on the unhealthy state of the nation as we enter election season." - Washington Post Book World
"Reveals the tensions latent in our common conceptions of racism by probing recent surges in white-supremacist violence.... [Lowery] is a lively narrative reporter with a keen eye for detail, and his prose can be devastatingly vivid." - Washington Post
"Lowery's galvanizing new book charts the cycle of racial progress and white backlash that has repeatedly played out through U.S. history. Beginning with President Barack Obama's 2008 election, Lowery investigates contemporary systems of white supremacy and how they helped bring about the unprecedented political rise of Donald Trump. Combining historical research with critical yet empathetic firsthand reporting, the best-selling author of They Can't Kill Us All delivers a searing examination of the movement." - Time
"The rise of white supremacist violence is one of the most important stories in American life today. In American Whitelash, Wesley Lowery guides the reader through the social, psychological, and historical realities that animate this violence. It is both a brilliant and unsettling examination of a part of America that many Americans would prefer to look away from. This book reminds us that we cannot look away. American Whitelash is an essential text, one that further demonstrates why Lowery is one of our country's most important and gifted journalists." - Clint Smith, author of How the Word is Passed
"Wesley Lowery chronicles the most existential racial story of our time: the racist political violence that followed Obama's election, fueled Trump's rise, and continues to threaten our very existence. American Whitelash is indispensable. Really. It is." - Ibram X. Kendi, author...
- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"American Whitelash offers a livid account of the hydra-like capacity of white-supremacist ideas not just to survive but to flourish.... It's an infuriating, radicalizing read…. A good primer on the unhealthy state of the nation as we enter election season." - Washington Post Book World
"Reveals the tensions latent in our common conceptions of racism by probing recent surges in white-supremacist violence.... [Lowery] is a lively narrative reporter with a keen eye for detail, and his prose can be devastatingly vivid." - Washington Post
"Lowery's galvanizing new book charts the cycle of racial progress and white backlash that has repeatedly played out through U.S. history. Beginning with President Barack Obama's 2008 election, Lowery investigates contemporary systems of white supremacy and how they helped bring about the unprecedented political rise of Donald Trump. Combining historical research with critical yet empathetic firsthand reporting, the best-selling author of They Can't Kill Us All delivers a searing examination of the movement." - Time
"The rise of white supremacist violence is one of the most important stories in American life today. In American Whitelash, Wesley Lowery guides the reader through the social, psychological, and historical realities that animate this violence. It is both a brilliant and unsettling examination of a part of America that many Americans would prefer to look away from. This book reminds us that we cannot look away. American Whitelash is an essential text, one that further demonstrates why Lowery is one of our country's most important and gifted journalists." - Clint Smith, author of How the Word is Passed
"Wesley Lowery chronicles the most existential racial story of our time: the racist political violence that followed Obama's election, fueled Trump's rise, and continues to threaten our very existence. American Whitelash is indispensable. Really. It is." - Ibram X. Kendi, author...
Readers Top Reviews
Bill Cribben
The book radiates racial hatred . That is an opinion not hate speech. Same as the longer review rejected. Of course you provide no examples of any violation. You can’t nor do you provide a forum to contest a rejection. The rejection seems to confirm the criticisms I made.
Fred L.
Where is the US heading? And, when will white supremacists be held accountable? Only time will tell. Pray it's soon.
