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Title details for Writings on the Wall by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - Available

Writings on the Wall

Searching for a New Equality Beyond Black and White

by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Raymond Obstfeld
Audiobook
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Bestselling author, basketball legend and cultural commentator Kareem Abdul-Jabbar explores the heart of issues that affect Americans today.Since retiring from professional basketball as the NBA's all-time leading scorer, six-time MVP, and Hall of Fame inductee, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has become a lauded observer of culture and society, a New York Times bestselling author, and a regular contributor to The Washington Post, TIME magazine and TIME.com.
He now brings that keen insight to the fore in Writings on the Wall: Searching for a New Equality Beyond Black and White, his most incisive and important work of non-fiction in years. He uses his unique blend of erudition, street smarts and authentic experience in essays on the country's seemingly irreconcilable partisan divide-both racial and political, parenthood, and his own experiences as an athlete, African-American, and a Muslim. The audiobook is not just a collection of expositions; he also offers keen assessments of and solutions to problems such as racism in sports while speaking candidly about his experiences on the court and off.
Timed for publication as the nation debates whom to send to the White House, the combination of plain talk on issues, life lessons, and personal stories places Writings on the Wall squarely in the middle of the conversation, as many of Abdul-Jabbar's topics are at the top of the national agenda. Whether it is sparring with Donald Trump, within the pages of TIME magazine, of full-length features in The New York Times Magazine, writers, critics, and readers have come to agree on what The Washington Post observed: Abdul-Jabbar "has become a vital, dynamic and unorthodox cultural voice."

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    October 4, 2016

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781478945987
      • File size: 246893 KB
      • Duration: 08:34:21

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Here's an interesting audiobook by an author who is not usually mentioned when the subject is race relations in America. From this point on, he should be. Abdul-Jabbar traveled the country as a basketball star, and his experiences then, and in his active next life, inform this work. He writes thoughtfully but forcefully, and he deserves to be heard. Narrator Ben Adduchio doesn't quite match the author's passion and tone, reading with a rather plain, mild voice. He pronounces every word, but it sounds like he's, well, reading the book, rather than interpreting and expanding its message. Abdul-Jabbar's message does get through, but Adduchio could have been more emotive in his delivery. R.I.G. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      June 13, 2016
      An endearing lack of cynicism pervades Abdul-Jabbar and Obstfeld’s fifth book together, following What Color Is My World? Their latest work focuses on “continental divides” in American society such as “young versus old” and “men versus women.” Hoping to “expand the discussion about what America is and what it means to be American,” the book deploys easily grasped metaphors alongside current polling data and pop culture references. Each chapter ends with a numbered list of possible answers to the questions explored earlier. The prevailing tone is a plainspoken and principled defense of reason over emotion and education over ignorance. Betraying an encyclopedic knowledge of American culture, the book quotes an impressive array of figures as broad as Francis Bacon, Michelle Obama, and Gwendolyn Brooks. There are some missteps; the authors’ comments on gender roles may strike feminists as paternalistic, and their partisan derision for the GOP ignores Democratic foibles. Little here is startlingly original, but the book excels in translating, supporting, and passionately defending the ideas behind “the document that defines who we are and what we stand for: the U.S. Constitution.”

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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