An American Story
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An American Story
by Authors:
Debra Dickerson
Released: 18 September, 2001
ISBN: 0385720289
Paperback
Sales Rank: 75,469
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List price:
$13.00
Our price:
$10.40
(You save: $2.6)
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| Book > An American Story > Customer Reviews: |
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Average Customer Rating: 
An American Story >
Customer Review #1:
Highly Recommended Memoir
I found this book at the library and read the 283 pages in two days. I had never heard of Debra J. Dickerson, but was immediately pulled into her story. I related to her obsessive love of books, having read the same books as a child; I was a child who found books to be the greatest of friends. I think she does an excellent job of revealing how a young black girl feels, from having to wear hand-me-down clothes, the torment of having unmanagable hair, feeling like an outcast, trying to be a "good girl" while being beaten and berated by her father, to rising above the chaotic conditions of her life by becoming focused and achieving success by entering the military. After serving in the U.S and overseas, she found the need to keep searching for her true calling and went to Harvard Law School. Some might find reading the Harvard section tedious, but I found it interesting. Dickerson gives the reader a good look at the competitive, often hostile, atmosphere of black students in ivy league universities. Agree or disagree, her journey is well worth reading for anyone interested in Black history, American history, womens memoirs, race issues, and the military. What a determined woman. I loved her sense of humor in this book. I admire her candidness and honesty in telling how and why her views changed. Her writing and command of the English language is to be respected. This woman is no slouch!
An American Story >
Customer Review #2:
 shattering stereotypes of both liberals and conservatives
If you enjoy excellent writing combined with an absorbing story, I urge you to read this memoir. Its the tale of a contemporary woman in search of herself. The daughter of a former share-cropper, she carved out a stellar career in the Air Force, then cut it short to go to Harvard Law School. "An American Story" is hardly a Horatio Alger cliche, though. Its much more; Dickerson describes her experiences of gender, race, and class distinctions in present-day American life, and she depicts her massive struggles to make sense of those experiences. Along the way she shatters some stereotypes held dear by both liberals and conservatives. Dickerson is a born writer, and her quest for personal autonomy and fulfillment makes up the heart of this compelling book.
An American Story >
Customer Review #3:
A powerful look back with self-awareness
Debra Dickersons memoir looks back on the first 40 years or so of her life with seeming self-consciousness. It can be criticized for being too inwardly focused, but then what is a memoir for? Documenting not only her own experiences but her internal reactions to those experiences helps the reader to gain both admiration and insight into Dickersons accomplishments.Best of all it spotlights Dickersons incredible writing, which is the product of someone who has known and loved books all her life and formed a committed relationship with them as an adult. Though she herself admits it took a long time for her emotional intelligence to catch up with her book one. It helps that she doesnt spare much time for self-pity in her self examination. This is the kind of book Ill be recommending to friends, especially women friends. Of memoirs written by women, I found it perhaps the most enjoyable I have read since "And So It Goes," by Linda Ellerbee--another southern woman. Dickerson is not as funny as Ellerbee (neither is she trying to be) but like her she earned my admiration on sheer quality of writing. The memoir is hardly free of humorous incident. I really enjoyed the way a young Dickerson turned her fathers punishment of having all books but the bible removed from her bedroom, combined with an insistence that all children must recite a bible verse at the table before being served, against him. I admire Debra Dickerson and I look forward to reading her next book.
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An American Story >
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