“[A] riveting account of how we see, study, and learn about racial identity, and how we acquire the memories that shape that identity. . . . An evocative bildungsroman in which we see the social scientist as a young man become the provocative historian.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Shows how racial alienation continues to stoke a centuries-old longing for home in many African-Americans.”—Chronicle of Higher Education
“A very valuable contribution that has broader significance than a traditional history book. . . . Highly recommended. All levels/libraries.”—CHOICE
“An outstanding and beautifully written book that opens up a whole new conversation about the role of memory, knowledge production, and identity formation within African American life.”—Journal of Southern History
“With a scholarly perspective, [Holloway] engages with his own family lore and makes a fair amount of self-discovery in this exploration of modern black identity.”—Stanford Magazine
“A book worth careful study. . . . A nuanced account of African American identity and survival during the age of Jim Crow.”—North Carolina Historical Review
“The author’s trenchant wit simultaneously unsettles and engages the reader. . . . A significant, and personal, contribution to the burgeoning field of memory studies, and black historical memory in particular.” —American Historical Review
“Outstanding.”—Oral History Review
“[An] artful, moving book.”—Register of the Kentucky Historical Society
“Combines memoir and family history with social science to look at the stories that African-Americans have told about themselves and to their children.”—faithandleadership.com
