His Name Is George Floyd (Pulitzer Prize Winner): One Man's Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice
A landmark biography by two prizewinning Washington Post reporters that reveals how systemic racism shaped George Floyd's life and legacy—from his family’s roots in the tobacco fields of North Carolina, to ongoing inequality in housing, education, health care, criminal justice, and policing—telling the story of how one man’s tragic experience brought about a global movement for change.
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
This is a heavy book to read. A lot of what if's for George Floyd's life if certain things turned out differently in his high school years. Everything is systemic and I think he truly was turning his life around up until his death. I think both journalists did an excellent job researching and staying true to George's life without romanticizing his aspirations.
This book was OK. That’s it. It wasn’t enough in my opinion about George’s life. I would say around 35% was his life and the rest was more about racism subject and history. For me that’s not a biography. It was reasonably well written.
In parts when it spoke of George it was interesting. In parts where it spoke too much or policy and history it was not that gripping.
What happened to George is no doubt the single most awful thing I have ever seen and that’s saying something with the types of jobs I’ve worked as I’ve seen many awful things but cold blooded murder is something else entirely.
It will forever be something that saddens my heart especially in modern times. I will never be able to understand how anyone can harbour that much hate towards another person purely based on skin colour for me that’s madness beyond insanity.
The book though I’m sorry to say was just OK nothing more. It wasn’t as expected or as a biography would usually be. Over half the book was not about George’s life directly but the history of racism as a subject. That’s not a biography.
What I thought was very sad was how hard he had tried at life to build a good and normal life for himself. I do believe that racism in systematic practices that exist in the USA is largely what stopped him having a better life. It’s easy to judge the drugs and criminal aspects but he led a life that at times gave him little other choice. It’s heartbreaking.
For me personally though from the moment I saw that murder ( and I have policed , just not in the USA) it was always a racist murder, there’s always a bigger picture to incidents like this BUT this one spoke for itself without the information not available in the video of the murder taking place. For me I always saw a black man being murdered by a white racist. Nothing more nothing less. RIP Mr floyd may you find peace in heaven you did not find on earth
In parts when it spoke of George it was interesting. In parts where it spoke too much or policy and history it was not that gripping.
What happened to George is no doubt the single most awful thing I have ever seen and that’s saying something with the types of jobs I’ve worked as I’ve seen many awful things but cold blooded murder is something else entirely.
It will forever be something that saddens my heart especially in modern times. I will never be able to understand how anyone can harbour that much hate towards another person purely based on skin colour for me that’s madness beyond insanity.
The book though I’m sorry to say was just OK nothing more. It wasn’t as expected or as a biography would usually be. Over half the book was not about George’s life directly but the history of racism as a subject. That’s not a biography.
What I thought was very sad was how hard he had tried at life to build a good and normal life for himself. I do believe that racism in systematic practices that exist in the USA is largely what stopped him having a better life. It’s easy to judge the drugs and criminal aspects but he led a life that at times gave him little other choice. It’s heartbreaking.
For me personally though from the moment I saw that murder ( and I have policed , just not in the USA) it was always a racist murder, there’s always a bigger picture to incidents like this BUT this one spoke for itself without the information not available in the video of the murder taking place. For me I always saw a black man being murdered by a white racist. Nothing more nothing less. RIP Mr floyd may you find peace in heaven you did not find on earth
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.