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How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America
Clint Smith
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This “important and timely” (Drew Faust, Harvard Magazine) #1 New York Times bestseller examines the legacy of slavery in America—and how both history and memory continue to shape our everyday lives.
Beginning in his hometown of New Orleans, Clint Smith leads the reader on an unforgettable tour of monuments and landmarks—those that are honest about the past and those that are not—that offer an intergenerational story of how slavery has been central in shaping our nation's collective history, and ourselves.
It is the story of the Monticello Plantation in Virginia, the estate where Thomas Jefferson wrote letters espousing the urgent need for liberty while enslaving more than four hundred people. It is the story of the Whitney Plantation, one of the only former plantations devoted to preserving the experience of the enslaved people whose lives and work sustained it. It is the story of Angola, a former plantation-turned-maximum-security prison in Louisiana that is filled with Black men who work across the 18,000-acre land for virtually no pay. And it is the story of Blandford Cemetery, the final resting place of tens of thousands of Confederate soldiers.
A deeply researched and transporting exploration of the legacy of slavery and its imprint on centuries of American history, How the Word Is Passed illustrates how some of our country's most essential stories are hidden in plain view—whether in places we might drive by on our way to work, holidays such as Juneteenth, or entire neighborhoods like downtown Manhattan, where the brutal history of the trade in enslaved men, women, and children has been deeply imprinted.
Informed by scholarship and brought to life by the story of people living today, Smith's debut work of nonfiction is a landmark of reflection and insight that offers a new understanding of the hopeful role that memory and history can play in making sense of our country and how it has come to be.
Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction
Winner of the Stowe Prize
Winner of 2022 Hillman Prize for Book Journalism
A New York Times 10 Best Books of 2021
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Top 10 History/Nonfiction Books of 2024
Of the 50 history/nonfiction/biography books I read in 2024, these are my top 10! This features history from all over the world, including American, Islamic, African, Roman, Greek, Asian, and European subjects. Leave a comment with your best history/nonfiction read of 2024!
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Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Jan 29 2024
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Mareas\ \ Marines\ \ • Jan 5 2024
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It was a weird reading year, but this is a good top 10. Join me over on Bindery! http://mareas.binderybooks.com
Books Mentioned:
0:00 - 1:16 Introduction
1:17 - 2:11 St. Martin's Press Boycott http://r4a.carrd.co
2:12 - 5:18 What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jimenez goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61399125-what-happened-to-ruthy-ramirez cw: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/3a80ed5e-f331-4940-b446-2f12880e8a68/content\_warnings
5:19 - 9:00 Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Canes goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63892214-vampires-of-el-norte cw: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/8828d690-3095-4494-b522-ad74b6181fe7/content\_warnings
9:01 - 10:53 Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54860585-razorblade-tears cw: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/a6fb4d85-f8fd-4ee8-aa9a-8710c4747c2a/content\_warnings
10:54 - 14:14 Swordheart by T. Kingfisher goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42747739-swordheart cw: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/74dc9e39-6751-404a-a597-e9850c122981/content\_warnings
14:15 - 18:56 Happy Place by Emily Henry goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61718053-happy-place cw: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/084df628-75a9-4357-a928-b0547027122d/content\_warnings
18:57 - 24:29 Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42036538-gideon-the-ninth cw: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/ca07b067-8c64-4b8e-985c-52efc4b94f3e/content\_warnings
24:30 - 25:26 How the Word is Passed by Clint Smith goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55643287-how-the-word-is-passed cw: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/972c00b3-593f-429e-b306-7e791aa07107/content\_warnings
25:27 - 27:58 How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59808037-how-not-to-drown-in-a-glass-of-water cw: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/ea9c3b31-47c2-4c95-981d-58922acebfe5/content\_warnings
27:59 - 31:39 Minor Detail by Adania Shibli goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52045757-minor-detail cw: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/02f1e0b2-3244-471a-b916-a18f1fe83c44/content\_warnings
31:40 Outro
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Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Jan 4 2024
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