Nigger

A Great Book!

A Great Book! I Think Everyone of all races should read this book. This Book made me realize how fortunate we are, From the 60's to the Generation of today we are bless to have Strong african americans to fight for something that a generation of today would not do! I Thank Mr. Gregory for his Courage and Strength to stand up for not only the African american community but Humans in general.


Jeremy Smith of Houston Texas

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

A life changing book!!!

Words can not express the way this book made me feel after reading it. I have a new perspective on life and I do not take anything for granted. It should be a required reading for high school students, its awesome...

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

A reviewer

I chose this book for my 10th grade english class and was blown away by how good it was. For him to come from such poverty to where he is now. This, i think, speaks for alot of the African American society. This book go to show how hard work and determination can bring outstanding results.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Highly Recommended

Living in today's times, it is very difficult for anyone to imagine that years earlier, before Martin Luther King Jr. made his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, before people would march to protest the injustice, and before people would risk their jobs, lives, and families to fight for what they believe, people were classified by the color of their skin. It didn't matter how smart you were or how rich you were. A lowly "white" construction worker with minimal pay would always be above a "black" doctor. This autobiography is amazing how Dick Gregory started from humble beginnings. He wasn't expected to make it big like he did. Throughout his childhood and teen years, he has been poor and on relief, and treated as a second-class citizen in a United States led by the white man. I really like how detailed the memoir goes into Greg's life. His life really was a roller coaster. He could be in a white night club cracking jokes one night, and stuffed into a cell at the police station the next. Once I started reading and I was hooked. I really liked it because it was almost like a typical Martin Luther King Jr.-like story, where the underdogs, Greg and his people, would fight the white man's ways, and eventually win. There are also some tidbits of stories and funny material from his shows to keep the reader engaged. I'm sure that everyone needs to read this book!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Inspired New Appreciation for Being Born in This Age

This autobiography made me appreciate even more fully how fortunate I am to have been born when I was. African-Americans of generations not so far removed from mine dealt with social, political, and economic injustices that nowadays can scarcely be imagined as once having been perfectly legal right here in the "Land of the Free." Reading a first-hand account of the experiences of someone who battled on the front lines for racial equality that many younger people take for granted today was tremendously inspiring.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

BOOK WAS GREAT!!!

I choose this book for my AP English independent essay. It's a great autobiography nothing was sugar coated or written to appeal to the readers. It's a story that many blacks went or go through and it was great that Gregory wrote his life for display.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great memoir with a great lesson

This is a great read for people with mature minds and a strong stomach. Dick Gregory explains his childhood with such depth and detail that it is hard to bare. "I took the butcher knife off the wall, the big one with the black handle, and swung at his head." (35). However, it was an extremely enticing way for me to learn more about how people of that race actually lived back then. Sometimes movies over exaggerate, but the way D. Gregory tells about his childhood was a good wake up call for me to be thankful for my life now. This book really showed me how hard work and dedication can pay off no matter where I am from. This book showed me that even though we are thankful for something, it doesn't mean we are perfect. Even though his Momma was very supportive of him, he would get irritated at her too. "Once, just once, I invited Momma to a concert and I got sick and ashamed when I saw her come in wearing that shabby old coat, her swollen ankles running over the edges of those dyed shoes, that dress the rich folks gave her, a little too much lipstick and the cheap perfume." (69). I would recommend this memoir to anyone who is feeling really down because I think it would help them see that there are people that have it worse. I also think this book is good for people 15 years and older, unless you are a very mature younger person, thank in that case it could be a learning experience for you too. This book is definitely one of my new favorites. Altogether I think this is an incredible book and I would recommend it for high school students and up.

Everyone is equal

Today different races can come together as one and possibly could become best of friends. It is hard to believe that before Martin Luther King Jr's famous speech, "I have a dream," people would be treated like trash. Could you imagine how people would march down protesting on the cruelty that was received? People were so frustrated they would do anything to solve the problem of racism. Sometimes people even risked their lives fighting for what they believe in. People of white race would always be considered first in everything. Whether it was a line to drink water or a seating order on the bus. A person of white race would be the first priority. This autobiography by Dick Gregory really gets across of how anyone can do anything. He grows up in a poor family and is not really expected to do anything. As some people looked up to him, "'Dick Gregory'? 'Yeah, that's right'. 'You don't know me, but my son and I always come to watch you run. He's sitting in the car over there, he can't walk without crutches. I'd be obliged if you'd say hello to him and give him an autograph. It would mean a lot to him'" (95). People looked up to him for some of his accomplishments. It is amazing how he grabs you into the book giving many details of his life. It really captures the importance of racism. I feel of much fortune being born when I was. To be in a place where your dad has run off to another woman and you have no money to spare feeding seven children. A very difficult situation to deal with. I would recommend this book to anyone, as it shows the importance of life, and how anyone can make a difference.

amazing

Mr Gregorys story is corageous, brave, an unimaginable! This book is inspiring and gives you the courage to dream no matter who you are or where you xome from!

Good Book!

Ni****, written by Dick Gregory was my outside reading book for my ninth grade English class. The main reason I chose to read this book was that I thought the book title was both incredible and terrible. I mean, who would ever name a book title with such a discriminatory word? Dick Gregory does. This book shocked me when I read it. I felt lucky that I was not born into such a broken family (his dad ran away with another woman, and the family is on relief with seven children to feed). I also feel fortunate that I was not born in the southern states when the Jim Crow laws were in effect. Compared to my life, Mr. Gregory lived in poverty and misery.
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In the book, I saw a lot of discrimination toward African Americans. The word ni**** was used frequently in this book by whites addressing black Americans. However, Mr. Gregory wasn't depressed and did not feel inferior to the whites. He fought for what he believed in. When he was in high school, he tried to raise his family's status. He ran track everyday and became a celebrity in his school. During and after college, he fought for the dignity of African Americans. He hates the word which he uses as the book title, and wants to change the world. He is a great man. He participated bravely in the Civil Rights movement with demonstrators such as Martin Luther King, Jr., even though it might cause him to lose his job or lead to his death.-----------------------
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I like this book, and I really encourage everyone to read it. Mr. Gregory shows his pride in being an African American. From his story, I learned that we should never think our ethnicity is inferior, and we should try hard to change the prejudiced minds to make a better society. Mr. Gregory worked hard with other Black Americans to change our society, and now, as he says, "whenever you hear the word ni**** again, they are advertising my book."

INSPIRATIONAL

Inspirational An autobiography by Dick Gregory, is an awesome memoir! I suggest it to anyone who is eager to learn about the racism of the 60's and who has an open mind towards how rough and tough a life can be for the black people back then. Dick Gregory, a boy who wanted to go somewhere in his life, dreamed big and dreamed hard. He was a small town boy of Illinois. His dad left him and his family at a young age. His mom went to work for a white family. So Dick Gregory had to work at the age of ten. He polished people's shoes to raise money and help his family. Dick Gregory was the oldest amongst his brothers and sisters. He worked hard and then started to run. People took notes of his running skills and he soon got a scholarship to Southern Illinois. He was known all over. He made his name remembered. This book is inspirational. It shows that you can make it big, if you set your mind to it. Dick Gregory had a tough childhood, but didn't let that get in his way of pursuing his dreams. He made it from no father, his mother a hard worker, and not always having food to eat. But he just dreamed big. I can relate to this because I know someone who had a childhood similar to his. In this person's childhood, his mom was a drug addict, and his birth father left him when he was only a couple months old. He lived in a ratted up house with small portions to eat. He didn't have any of his brothers or sisters to help him because they were all too independent. He had to sell newspapers on the street because he needed money for food, clothes, cleats for football, and books for school. The person I know and Dick Gregory have similar stories. Growing up in a hard childhood is what I mean. Dick Gregory is now a famous comedian and the person I know is an E9 or CSM for the 25th Infantry Division. That is one of the highest ranks you can be in the Army as an enlisted soldier. So dream big and work hard at it.

Incredible! Wonderful! A real page turner.

The book is so good, so real, so true telling. Gregory has a way with words and know when to keep it new, real and original. Nigger: a story of a life and world so true telling.

Touching

I read this book in highschool and it changed my life. It made me feel that it was okay to be confident and proud to be black in a white world where most people want you to conform and lose yourself. He taught me strength and endurance and gave me self-confidence through his experiences. I got a chance to meet him when he came to my University for black history month. I got his autograph and let him know how he changed my life. This is a must read for young black teenagers unsure of their identity.

Great Book

This is one of the best books i've ever read. This definitely should be read at high school and college levels. No person should ever have to have gone through what Richard went through and all African Americans went through. This is a tale of an underdog who breaks through every obstacle in his way. A true inspiration to all. God bless this man.

nothing funny about a civil war

I was taken back to the dusty streets of St. Louis in 1935, when segregation was at it's hight, the summers at their hottest, and economy struggling at it's lows. The book that took me here is called Nigger, by Dick Gregory. I became entranced from the first word to the last. Gregory uses a wonderful narrative style and authentic dialect to keep his readers one hundred percent absorbed in every sentence while all since of time and matter dissolve into his inspiring tale of his life growing up as an African American. The story begins on Christmas with child who had just come home from a long day of hustling for spare change to sit and wait all night with his mama for his daddy to come home. It progresses to his teenage years where we watch Dick Gregory come to realization of segregation, discrimination and prejudice. Gregory gets older, struggles through and over comes obstacles in his high school with the track team, and prom, as well as difficulties finding a job. Finally with self determination, Dick Gregory made it big on the track team He broke records and won all the races and at last he won the state championship. Later in life, after college, Dick Gregory begins to use his talent for humor to make some money. Here he discovers his knack for stand up comedy and later rents a place to start his own night club in Chicago called the Apex. They opened near the end of fall and brings in some good cash the first few weeks until the Chicago winter causes him to loose the night club. For a while after, he would gig here and there picking up money when he could. When he wasn't on stage, he would work on his act to get better gigs. On January 13, 1961 a comic at the Playboy Club called in sick so the agents called Dick Gregory in and that night Hugh Hefner signed him to a three year contract, starting at $250 a week. After that, Dick Gregory became big name. And he began to use his power as a celebrity to fight segregation. He got involved in the non-violence black rights movements and made speeches for a few gatherings. He sat in Birmingham jail, May of 1963, while Martin Luther King was ¿waking up America¿. Richard Gregory grew up on the streets and in poverty, learning how to tell jokes to put up some sort of defense against mean kids who wanted to beat him up. As he grew older he used his jokes skills to make a living. He was eventually able to point out the ironies of segregation and ultimately encouraged many black people to help fight the war for civil equality.

Great Book

This was an awesome book, which i couldn't put down. I felt all sorts of emotions while reading it.

Moving

this book was so interesting I couldn't put it down. It was such a touching story

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