{"product_id":"natives-9781473661233","title":"Natives","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e*RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK*  \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eSHORTLISTED FOR THE JAMES TAIT BLACK PRIZE  THE JHALAK PRIZE  THE BREAD AND ROSES AWARD \u0026amp; \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eLONGLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''This is the book I''ve been waiting for - for years. It''s personal, historical, political, and it speaks to where we are now'' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eBenjamin Zephaniah\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''I recommend\u003ci\u003e Natives \u003c\/i\u003eto everyone'' Candice Carty-Williams\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom the first time he was stopped and searched as a child, to the day he realised his mum was white, to his first encounters with racist teachers - race and class have shaped Akala''s life and outlook. In this unique book he takes his own experiences and widens them out to look at the social, historical and political factors that have left us where we are today.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCovering everything from the police, education and identity to politics, sexual objectification and the far right, \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eNatives \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003espeaks directly to British de\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMy book of the year. It's personal, historical, political, and it speaks to where we are now. This is the book I've been waiting for - for years\u003c\/b\u003e * Benjamin Zephaniah *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eI recommend \u003ci\u003eNatives \u003c\/i\u003eto everyone\u003c\/b\u003e * Candice Carty-Williams, author of QUEENIE *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart biography, part polemic, this powerful, wide-ranging study picks apart the British myth of meritocracy\u003c\/b\u003e -- David Olusoga * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAkala is at his best destroying the comfortable myths that are invoked by white fragility to downplay attempts to correct the historical record\u003c\/b\u003e ... Akala makes it clear that he is not brimming with optimism. But reading \u003ci\u003eNatives\u003c\/i\u003e - witnessing the kind of \u003cb\u003edisruptive, aggressive intellect\u003c\/b\u003e that a new generation is closely watching - I can't help but be just that -- Afua Hirsch * Observer *\u003cbr\u003eWhat I love about this book is it's kind of like \u003cb\u003ea testimony, a story of contemporary London\u003c\/b\u003e. He is like\u003cb\u003e one of the Baldwins or Hooks of our generation\u003c\/b\u003e, who walks among us, you know? When he theorises, it's \u003cb\u003efrom a place of knowing\u003c\/b\u003e rather than some distant place up above . . . \u003cb\u003eHe is very good at remembering and honouring the experiences that have shaped him\u003c\/b\u003e, and he applies it in a very real way -- Madani Younis * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003eHe is \u003cb\u003eacute on how ideas of race served British global power over centuries\u003c\/b\u003e, and on the violence at the heart of the imperial project * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBracing, illuminating and often discomfiting, an urgent (for many, necessary) polemic\u003c\/b\u003e - as its near 100% review rating attests * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003eIn his \u003cb\u003elucid, wide-ranging\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eNatives\u003c\/i\u003e the rapper Akala shows how race, class and the legacies of empire shape life in Britain today . . . Akala's study interweaves sociological analysis with memoir. Half-Scottish and half-Jamaican by heritage, \u003cb\u003ehe challenges cultural assumptions and highlights their consequences\u003c\/b\u003e, is trenchant about structures of disadvantage, and is discouraging, in the end, about the future * TLS *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA potent combination of autobiography and political history which holds up a mirror to contemporary Britain\u003c\/b\u003e * Independent *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of the most thoughtful books of the past year\u003c\/b\u003e * Evening Standard *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA history lesson of the kind you should get in school but don't ... This is a searing, thought-provoking book\u003c\/b\u003e * Stylist *\u003cbr\u003eWalking us through his childhood experiences, from racist teachers to being stopped and searched by the police, Akala eloquently explains how Britain is in denial about its own history and the legacy of its empire. \u003cb\u003eThis phenomenal book guides us through police brutality, the education system and the rise of the far-right in a country that refuses to accept its own reality\u003c\/b\u003e -- Diyora Shadijanova * The Independent *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAkala argues with gripping clarity . . . He's trenchant and highly persuasive\u003c\/b\u003e * Metro *\u003cbr\u003eHe is an \u003cb\u003eextremely articulate and intelligent\u003c\/b\u003e human being, with a great command of the English language . . .  I don't think he has any formal degrees but his knowledge is knowledge that he has gone out and sought, he has gone across the country and he lectures and speaks at the top universities. What I like about him is that he is \u003cb\u003eeloquent and knowledgeable\u003c\/b\u003e about a lot of the issues I am interested in - so racism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, class structure in society, imperialism, post-imperialism and all those kind of things that he is so sharp on. \u003cb\u003eHis most recent book, \u003ci\u003eNatives\u003c\/i\u003e, takes in a lot of those issues and he uses his life as an example of how these different -isms interact.\u003c\/b\u003e * Maro Itoje, THE SUNDAY TIMES *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAkala's singular voice speaks to us with deep wisdom about the past, righteous anger about the present, and stubborn hope about the future.  He is a radical for our times. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA book bristling with intelligence and insight\u003c\/b\u003e * Irish Times *\u003cbr\u003eAn \u003cb\u003eurgent, profound and accessible\u003c\/b\u003e book. Akala weaves the elements of this wide-ranging book into a\u003cb\u003en engaging, angry, and often funny account that should be pressed into everyone's hands\u003c\/b\u003e: a personal story, compellingly told, and \u003cb\u003ea devastating analysis of race and class prejudice in our society\u003c\/b\u003e. \u003cb\u003eAkala is an incredible writer, and this is an important book.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNatives \u003c\/i\u003eis ideal for anyone who is unaware of how institutions like the police and education consistently fail young black people, particularly from working class backgrounds\u003c\/b\u003e * Evening Standard *\u003cbr\u003eIn personalised chapters covering the police, education and identity, politics, sexual objectification and the far right, he confronts the issues of race and class at the heart of the legacy of Britain's racialised empire in this \u003cb\u003efierce and articulate\u003c\/b\u003e polemic. * The Bookseller *\u003cbr\u003eThere are \u003cb\u003elucid, well-cited and sharply argued\u003c\/b\u003e passages ... which should probably be extracts on the national curriculum * Vice *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn essential voice in Britain's debate on race, class and identity\u003c\/b\u003e * New Humanist *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFantastic\u003c\/b\u003e * Novaramedia *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBlistering\u003c\/b\u003e * Lacuna *\u003cbr\u003eIn many ways,\u003cb\u003e \u003ci\u003eNatives \u003c\/i\u003eis as thorough a dissection of British racial relations as any you're likely to find\u003c\/b\u003e . . . But it's also \u003cb\u003ea vivid memoir on his own experiences of racism\u003c\/b\u003e * The Skinny *\u003cbr\u003eAkala makes us quietly aware of \u003cb\u003ehow much we have left to learn about the world\u003c\/b\u003e . . . \u003cb\u003eHe doesn't shy away from uncomfortable truths backed up with hard facts, which make you sit up and pay attention\u003c\/b\u003e * Oxford Times *\u003cbr\u003eAn \u003cb\u003eeminently readable\u003c\/b\u003e account of what it means to be mixed race in Britain today, and the long-lasting legacies of colonialism. If that all sounds a little heavy for summer, Akala's sardonically droll writing leavens the subject without diminishing its impact * OX Magazine *\u003cbr\u003ea book that fulfils the mantra of 'the personal is political' to\u003cb\u003e illuminate both the challenges of, and oppositions to, racism\u003c\/b\u003e . . .\u003cb\u003e a series of essays, some personal, others political, yet one never divorced from the other\u003c\/b\u003e * Philosophy Football *\u003cbr\u003eA \u003cb\u003efiercely honest \u003c\/b\u003eappraisal of growing up poor and mixed race in broken Britain. \u003cb\u003eThis heartfelt polemic fights every excuse of racial ignorance\u003c\/b\u003e * DJ Mag *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn engaged and nuanced exploration of the complex interplay between race and class\u003c\/b\u003e * Morning Star *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eVital\u003c\/b\u003e * Blouin Art Info *\u003cbr\u003eEven the guy behind the uni coffee shop counter can't help tiptoeing over to say \u003cb\u003ehow much he loves Akala's \"outlook on life\"\u003c\/b\u003e, now \u003cb\u003eimmortalised in print\u003c\/b\u003e as \u003ci\u003eNatives\u003c\/i\u003e * Q Magazine *\u003cbr\u003ePowerful ... \u003cb\u003eimpressive in its historical sweep\u003c\/b\u003e, mapping the construction of racial identity onto the growth of empire and capitalism [and] \u003cb\u003efull of nuanced cultural critique\u003c\/b\u003e * The List *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA thoughtful history of racism and British views of empire\u003c\/b\u003e . . . relevant and useful. * Stuff NZ *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAkala approaches issues of race and culture with a rare clarity\u003c\/b\u003e * Otago Daily Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBreaks down centuries \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eof colonisation, classism, racism and almost every aspect of British society in a disarmingly accessible way\u003c\/b\u003e. His language is \u003cb\u003eclear and concise\u003c\/b\u003e, and like the best writers, \u003cb\u003ehe challenges assumptions while building comprehension.\u003c\/b\u003e * The Spinoff *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn astounding and brilliant book about black identity\u003c\/b\u003e * Herald *\u003cbr\u003eEngages with students on their level and \u003cb\u003eshould be an essential part of rebalanced courses\u003c\/b\u003e...it's important that there is a text out there that\u003cb\u003e promises light at the end of the tunnel.\u003c\/b\u003e * The Guardian *\u003cbr\u003eAkala draws back the curtain on parts of the empire that it would rather not see, with insights that throw our current position into sharp relief. Illuminating. * The Observer *\u003cbr\u003e*Number 5\/92 of \u003cb\u003ethe best books to read right now\u003c\/b\u003e*. \u003ci\u003eNatives\u003c\/i\u003e is a book everyone needs to read... It is both personal and political and \u003cb\u003eabsolutely necessary reading.\u003c\/b\u003e * GQ Magazine *\u003cbr\u003eA recent book I've loved. He has an ability to understand, convey and articulate big ideas and be respected.\u003cb\u003e He's really making a difference.\u003c\/b\u003e * The Observer *\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"John Murray Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48885775171927,"sku":"9781473661233","price":10.44,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781473661233.jpg?v=1722537653","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/natives-9781473661233","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}