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Best Asian American Literary Criticism

Scenes of Subjection: Terror, Slavery, and Self-Making in Nineteenth-Century America (Race and American Culture)
In this provocative and original exploration of racial subjugation during slavery and its aftermath, Saidiya Hartman illumines the forms of terror and resistance that shaped black identity. Saidiya Hartman is Associate Professor of English at the University of California-Berkeley.
Reviews
"This is the most profoundly important text in Black Studies."
"Saidiya Hartman is clearly a genius."
"Rather, Hartman shows how the belief that Black women were inviolable, the culture myths that Black men becoming "men" through domesticity, toil, and sites of capitalist heteropatriarchy, and more were codified to create a belief in citizenship that kept Black people from real freedom."
"This book is intense."
"Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction , Spiritual Friends, and Soul Physicians."
"Scenes of Subjection provides a fascinating view of slavery and its effects."
"I haven't read this book yet by Saidiya Hartman, but, if this is a poweful as "Lose Your Mohter'", it must make people very uncomfortable, which it should, regarding the genocide, rape,and torture of Africans in the land of bigoty, racism and hypocrisy."
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Only What We Could Carry: The Japanese American Internment Experience
The only anthology of its kind, Only What We Could Carry is an emotional and intellectual testament to the dignity, spirit and strength of the Japanese American internees. ''Contained in these pages are what we have carried...in these stories are lifted up our humanity, our indomitable spirit and dignity, an implacable quest for justice to redeem the crimes committed against an entire race-indeed an entire nation.''. '' Only What We Could Carry gives us yet another way of looking at an American tragedy....Above all, it is a collection of documents which, together, are a testament to the human spirit.''.
Reviews
"I bought this for research purposes as a primary source."
"Since I knew personly some of the Japanese that were forced to leave all they had."
"December book review: Silas Young. Ms. Andrus-Henry Honors English 11. Only What We Could Carry by Lawson Fusao Inada is about an Emotional American Experience that most people, including me before I came cross the book, do not know about."
"How would other races, Germans, Italians, (insert country of choice), have taken to being given 10 days to pack up and leave everything behind?"
"Experiences in Hawaii of being Japanese; editorials in various newspapers on the internment; poems; art; moving stories of separation and loss and heartache; leaving for the internment camps; the challenges of the camps-the food, the weather, the inadequate facilities."
"If you think about it Racial Profiling, much in the news of late, is not a new phenomena in the U.S. We have a long history, almost a tradition, of singling out groups of citizens, usually in the name of some war (Indian wars, War on Drugs), for special treatment under the law. While there are a number of books dealing with the political and legal consequences of such governmental action, as well as a growing number of memoirs, to date there has not been an anthology of the voices of the Internment. In less than 3 months following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor with it's understandable wartime panic, in excess of 100,000 Japanese Americans living in the Western United States were forced from their homes, many with only 48 hours notice, and sent to internment camps scattered among 14 states. These voices, reduced to paper, are a tragic reminder of the affects of war, not only on direct participants but frequently on innocents as well."
"Only what we could carry, edited by Lawson Fusao Inada, is a compilation of photography, drawings, poems, personal stories, legal documents, and memoirs of the Japanese Americans that were put into internment by the American government after the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor."
"Each entry contributes to a fuller picture of our national shame and provides a cautionary tale challenging current xenophobic assertions about those US residents--citizens and non-citizen residents--who do not fit the Norman Rockwell picture of what an "American" should look like."
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Camp Notes and Other Writings
Two collections by an important Asian American writer -- Camp Notes and Other Poeems and Desert Run: Poems and Stories -- return to print in one volume. Mitsuye Yamada was born in Kyushu, Japan, and raised in Seattle, Washington, until the outbreak of World War II when her family was removed to a concentration camp in Idaho. Yamada's strength as a poet stems from the fact that she has managed to integrate both individual and collective aspects of her background, giving her poems a double impact. Her strong portrayal of individual and collective life experience stands out as a distinct thread in the fabric of contemporary literature by women. Mitsuye Yamada was born in Kyushu, Japan, and raised in Seattle, Washington, until the outbreak of World War II when her family was removed to a concentration camp in Idaho.
Reviews
"Camp Notes is about the Japanese American war and grabs your attention because it is not just a history book that is boring to read."
"I thought it was interesting but rather enjoyed that she went from poems to an actual story."
"Camp Notes was a really great and well put together series of poems of WWII."
"It was very interesting to read about Mistuye Yamada's experience in the concentration camps during WWII."
"It was always difficult for me to understand poems, but these were quite easy to follow along."
"This book really gave me an insight on the emotions of the Japanese during WWII."
"I think poetry is sometimes a little difficult to understand but with Camp Notes, I was able to fully understand the message."
"It's a book filled with several poems and writings that tell the authors story of when her and her family were placed in an Idaho concentration camp during World War II."
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Best African American Literary Criticism

James Baldwin : Collected Essays : Notes of a Native Son / Nobody Knows My Name / The Fire Next Time / No Name in the Street / The Devil Finds Work / Other Essays (Library of America)
His brilliant and provocative essays made him the literary voice of the Civil Rights Era, and they continue to speak with powerful urgency to us today, whether in the swirling debate over the Black Lives Matter movement or in the words of Raoul Peck's documentary "I Am Not Your Negro." Here are the complete texts of his early landmark collections, Notes of a Native Son (1955) and Nobody Knows My Name (1961), which established him as an essential intellectual voice of his time, fusing in unique fashion the personal, the literary, and the political. Novelist Morrison's editing of this omnibus, which includes a chronology and notes, should help rekindle interest in Baldwin, whose recurrent themes?the African American search for identity, the hypocrisy of white America, the urgent necessity for love?make his work timely and challenging.
Reviews
"They continue to influence writers and Baldwin's stature as a deeply sophisticated observer of presence and meaning of race in the fabric of America is still growing."
"I can add nothing to what has already been said about James Baldwin's writing."
"strong, enduring, unforgettable."
"Baldwin's nuanced insight on issues is honest, and so eloquently expressed!"
"Great edition, great essays."
"Baldwin is a master of language."
"Very intellectually inspiring."
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Best Hispanic American Literary Criticism

The Beginning (An FBI Thriller Boxset Book 1)
Meet Special Agents Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock in these exciting novels of intrigue and suspense—and watch the sparks fly as their relationship heats up amid cases that could destroy everything they hold dear... Praise for Catherine Coulter’s FBI Thrillers “Fast-paced.”— People “This terrific thriller will drag you into its chilling web of terror and not let go until the last paragraph…A ripping good read.”— The San Francisco Examiner “A good storyteller...Coulter always keeps the pace brisk.”— Fort Worth Star-Telegram “With possible blackmail, intra-judiciary rivalries and personal peccadilloes, there’s more than enough intrigue—and suspects—for full court standing in this snappy page-turner…A zesty read.”— Book Page “Twisted villains...intriguing escapism...The latest in the series featuring likable married FBI agents Lacey Sherlock and Dillon Savich.”— Lansing (MI) State Journal “Coulter takes readers on a chilling and suspenseful ride...taut, fast-paced, hard to put down.”— Cedar Rapids Gazette “The perfect suspense thriller, loaded with plenty of action.”—The Best Reviews. “The newest installment in Coulter’s FBI series delivers...a fast-moving investigation, a mind-bending mystery.”— Publishers Weekly “Fast-paced, romantic...Coulter gets better and more cinematic with each of her suspenseful FBI adventures.”— Booklist Catherine Coulter is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the FBI Thrillers featuring husband and wife team Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock.
Reviews
"Savich and Sherlock are such a great team and this tells how they became a team."
"The Maze is one of my favorite stories in this series."
"I'm starting from book one in the series and will listen to the entire series."
"I'd read these before, but enjoyed the antics of Savich and Sherlock as much again as the first time."
"I really enjoyed this set and really liked the characters."
"am a big Coulter fan , but I didn't realize that it was boxed set , my bad."
"Two books , two mysteries, lots of fun and excitement all through both books."
"This is why I love these books."
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Best Regional American Literature Criticism

River Teeth: Stories and Writings
In his passionate, luminous novels, David James Duncan has won the devotion of countless critics and readers, earning comparisons to Harper Lee, Tom Robbins, and J.D. Duncan claims that each person owns scores of river teeth and that they have the potential to guide, wound, and withstand time's erasure.
Reviews
"Duncan's writing, his story telling, is wonderful."
"Bought for a class, this book makes nonfiction writing interesting for those of us who would've never read the genre otherwise."
"A collection of poignant stories, intriguing and entertaining."
"So many wonderful word journeys within this volume of stories."
"I found the stories and essays relating to the authors experience and spiritual insights relating to nature to be very profound."
"That is the way these short stories that go from a person's youth to his mature years."
"great read when fishing is slow."
"Wonderful Pacific Northwest Writer who captures the culture and spirituality of the regions natural places."
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