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Charles J. Shields

Author of Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee

42+ Works 2,164 Members 107 Reviews 1 Favorited

About the Author

Charles J. Shields is also the author of And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut: A Life, a New York Times and Washington Post Notable Nonfiction Book of the Year. He and his wife, Guadalupe, reside in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Includes the names: Charles J Shields, J. Shields, Charles

Also includes: Charles Shields (1)

Series

Works by Charles J. Shields

Costa Rica (2002) 16 copies
Chile (South America Today) (2003) 11 copies
Saddam Hussein (2003) 8 copies

Associated Works

An Introduction To: The Joy Luck Club (2006) — Contributor — 4 copies

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Reviews

A detailed and interesting biography of Kurt Vonnegut. I don`t agree with some of the reviews saying the writer of the book hates Vonnegut. The person I see in the book is deeply human and very fallible but at the end rather likeable.
 
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TheCrow2 | 38 other reviews | Nov 22, 2023 |
This was a Christmas present from my folks and was a wonderful read. A great insight into this incredible book.
 
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lschiff | 33 other reviews | Sep 24, 2023 |
Thoroughly researched and honest, this is a great read for anyone who has ever read and loved Vonnegut's books. I read him when I was in high school, and now I'm happy to say I understand where most of those books were coming from. He was another genius who was misunderstood by those around him, and he also battled personal demons all his life.

Shields is a great biographer and very sympathetic towards Vonnegut. This book is rather long but it was worth slogging through.
 
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kwskultety | 38 other reviews | Jul 4, 2023 |
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
I won this ARC from the publisher via LibraryThing for my honest review.

This time period in which the civil rights movement began to change social norms, also created an exodus of whites to the suburbs. This is a a slow read with a plethora of footnotes, that represents a deluge of research. At times I had trouble understanding what the author was quoting or saying in the literature or letters of correspondence between Hansberry and acquaintances. As stated by the author; She was a partner in Hansberry Enterprises and a part owner of slums, which would eventually cause her unhappiness and embarrassment. Lorraine came from a family poised of exceptionally educated and upper middle class respectable people who believed in self-help. I was very surprised at the dealings of Lorraine’s father, Carl Hansberry, being a landlord in the black belt crippled its community, by raising rent and chopping up the rooms, and doing away with the upkeep. However, his efforts to make additional housing was commendable, but this led to a court trial of possession of property by misuse of the law. The court case of Hansberry v. Lee was settled in a Supreme Court ruling.

I became bored at times with the communist activities and was emotional about the racism and segregation. The facts and research that Shields put into writing this book is outstanding, but very thesis in nature and less frankly written. Overall, it has a very sound textbook like feel.

It was interesting to read about Lorraine’s self-exile from Chicago to escape the reign and fines under Mayor Daley’s administration, charging the Hansberry’s as slum lords.

As Shields wrote, Her aim was to depict the humanity of the people under an economic system she wanted to overturn, capitalism, to replace it with socialism. Hansberry wrapped her ideology inside an engaging story. Charles Shields presents Lorraine Hansberry as a celebrity and a compassionate thinker in her own right. He gives the reader the inside view of her relationship with her husband, Bob Nemiroff, activism, and artist. Her friendships with the renaissance era of writers and thinkers, such as James Baldwin, and Alain Locke.

The description of how the play was reviewed by critics while at the restaurant Sardis, was descriptive and eventful. As a reader, I felt like I was amongst the crowd anticipating a reading. Today, the National Theater lists A Raisin in the Sun as one of the one hundred most significant works of the twentieth century.

“…I believe that white people are dreadfully ignorant of Negro life in America.”
- Lorraine Hansberry.

This is a profound statement that rings true in this day and time, 2022. Overall I found this book a great read and I highly recommend it. At the time of this reading, I have not seen the play in its entirety, nor had I read the book. I've since purchased two books to read in her honor. Les Blancs: The Collected Last Plays, A Raisin In The Sun/The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window.
… (more)
 
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Onnaday | 13 other reviews | Jan 25, 2023 |

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Works
42
Also by
1
Members
2,164
Popularity
#11,871
Rating
3.8
Reviews
107
ISBNs
166
Languages
6
Favorited
1

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