2016 NAACP Image Award WinnerWinner of the 2016 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in NonfictionAn award-winning journalist reveals a little-known and shameful episode in American history; when an African man was used as a human zoo exhibit—a shocking story of racial prejudice; science; and tragedy in the early years of the twentieth century in the tradition of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks; Devil in the White City; and Medical Apartheid.In 1904; Ota Benga; a young Congolese “pygmyâ€â€”a person of petite stature—arrived from central Africa and was featured in an anthropology exhibit at the St. Louis World’s Fair. Two years later; the New York Zoological Gardens displayed him in its Monkey House; caging the slight 103-pound; 4-foot 11-inch tall man with an orangutan. The attraction became an international sensation; drawing thousands of New Yorkers and commanding headlines from across the nation and Europe.Spectacle explores the circumstances of Ota Benga’s captivity; the international controversy it inspired; and his efforts to adjust to American life. It also reveals why; decades later; the man most responsible for his exploitation would be hailed as his friend and savior; while those who truly fought for Ota have been banished to the shadows of history. Using primary historical documents; Pamela Newkirk traces Ota’s tragic life; from Africa to St. Louis to New York; and finally to Lynchburg; Virginia; where he lived out the remainder of his short life.Illuminating this unimaginable event; Spectacle charts the evolution of science and race relations in New York City during the early years of the twentieth century; exploring this racially fraught era for Africa-Americans and the rising tide of political disenfranchisement and social scorn they endured; forty years after the end of the Civil War. Shocking and compelling Spectacle is a masterful work of social history that raises difficult questions about racial prejudice and discrimination that continue to haunt us today.
#162792 in Books Jenkins Philip 2015-04-28 2015-04-28Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.00 x 1.01 x 5.31l; .0 #File Name: 0062105140448 pagesThe Great and Holy War How World War I Became a Religious Crusade
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Religion and WWIBy Jan SteinI bought this book for two reasons. First I have always maintained that WWI was the worst thing that has happened in our world. Second when I converted to Methodism I learned the WWI extinguished the Methodist faith in England where it was born. Methodism is now only practiced in America and the third world (where it is thriving). I wanted to know more about this fact.Professor Jenkins does not explicitly answer my question; but he does a masterful job detailing the relationship between Christianity and the powerful events of WWI. He is very familiar with the primary sources from Europe and how they interacted. He seems less comfortable with the Oriental aspects of WWI relying mostly on secondary sources. However; he shows how important the Great War was in the rise of African Christianity and radical Islam. He concludes by speculating whether titan change can come again.Altogether it was an excellent and surprising exploration of religion in and around WWI0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Another great book from Philip JenkinsBy A.J. MacDonald; Jr.An interesting look at religion; propaganda; and needless war.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Four StarsBy RichardVery good history linking the First World War and the religious influences at the time of the war.
