up from slavery
TLDR: One of the most important books I have ever read.
Booker T Washington is a man.
If there was ever someone who exemplified what being a man is, it’s him.
Strong, ambitious, courageous, driven, a protector, genuine, tender hearted, gracious, understanding, kind, ferocious - Booker T Washington.
I haven’t cried harder reading in my entire life, maybe except for the Bible, but not necessarily because of the content.
This man’s life is a monument to taking responsibility for doing good. The man didn’t have an excuse to give, but he had EVERY SINGLE RIGHT to use them.
I was convicted on every single page in this book.
Much like what Jocko and his book do, Booker takes extreme ownership for his life, for those around him, and for society at large, and does something powerful about it. It’s not a “slavery and racism porn” sort of book, it’s the opposite.
It’s the experience of a man in a world that is hard - what a seriously incredible perspective. He doesn’t use his skin color as a way to make the reader feel bad, instead he uses the content of his character to inspire that reader to do well - better. I mean, he had every instance to whine about his life and he DOESN’T. NOT ONCE. He just puts a foot in front of the next, over and over, does the small, unnoticed work, and creates a snowball of momentum that changes the world.
I want to be like this man. I want you to think about this man, I want you to read this book more than I want you to eat your next meal. This book is so important, and not because race-relations are a popular topic these days.
Read/get this book immediately.
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