No Place Like Home: A Black Briton's Journey Through the American South

If Lewis Lapham, Toni Morrison, Christopher Hitchens (the old school one, not the current crazy one), and Dave Chappelle decided to raise a child together, Gary Younge would be the result. His trenchant wit and radar for the ridiculous combine with a devastatingly precise writing style that yields "shock and awe" yucks on every page. I read him everywhere I can, and when my "The Nation" arrives, he's the first writer I look for. (The second is Patricia Williams).Younge's travelogue amounts to a long overdue manifesto standing in sharp contrast to those I've groaned through authored by dominant culture "experts." Paul Theroux comes (painfully) to mind. Germaine Greer...wow.I think Younge's books should be used in high school U.S. History, Journalism, and English course; at the very least, use his texts as a counterpoise to conventional ones. As I sit patiently listening to lachrymose PTA parents offer testimonials about how "my child" was "transformed" by the "Journey to the Past" field trip, I grit my teeth and wish I could suggest that everyone save thousands of dollars by simply reading this book.There were so many times I laughed, closed the book and my eyes, and felt reassured that I'm not the only one not drinking the KoolAid about the reality of race in the U.S.

At the Brits say, this book is spot on.I discovered this book almost 20 years after it was published but I found it sorelevant to today.Younge, as a Brit who's also Black, travels the South. He may feel some discrimination butit all seems to dissipate when he opens his mouth. A British accent raises your perceived I.Q. no end.I looked him up and he's been in the States, still working for the Guardian.But now, he's leaving and going back to England. We'll miss it.What a great read!I don't know Gary Younge. I just bought his book recently.

As usual, Gary Younge is very eloquent in his writings... about race, about politics, about social issues. In this book he is in a very different situation, as he travels the American South, following the path of the bus-riding freedom riders of the 60s. It is a very different trip, as contemporary southern Americans meet a black man with a British accent. It throws them off and casts Younge into a series of conversations that only an outsider--but one who is also black--can have with modern southerners. He extracts stories and insights that no other writer could.

An interesting look at U.S. race relations (during the 60's) and the effect on African Americans from the perspective of a British subject of African (West Indian) descent. As a U.S. citizen of color, the narrative of the writer's life and experiences at home in England and around the world was not only fascinating but also eye-opening.

a foreign perspective on something so close to home - a real eye-opener. and the author has a great sense of humor.

This is a travelogue of a Briton, of African ancestry, through the American South. Mr. Younge is an excellent observer - we experience Greyhound buses, hotel rooms, TV and general American behaviour. This is done from many vantage points - as a foreigner, a journalist and a black man. He attends church services in both black and white congregations. There are some humorous observations, as well as frustrating ones - in comedy clubs and Greyhound buses. This should be a mandatory read for anyone romanticizing long (or even short) distance travel by bus.Mr. Yonge speaks to several participants of the 1950's and 1960's Civil Rights movement. Although these interviews are not detailed they capture a wide range of characters. I would venture to say that Mr. Yonge is more comfortable describing his own experiences in the American southern landscape as he wanders to and fro between anywhere and somewhere. At one stage in Mississippi he stands alone in the evening by the Tallahatchie contemplating the sordid history of the river and the state. He visits a Civil Rights museum in Birmingham which is at least an attempt to acknowledge the history of the South. Only by understanding and truth can reconciliation take hold.

Gary Younge is a young British journalist of Bermudan descent, who decides to take a trip through the American South in search of some of the symbols of black culture he most identified with in his youth. Along the way Younge interviews a variety of activists, civil rights figures, and every day people, and comments on the landscape around him.As an American living in Britain, this book was fascinating to me. Younge goes on a classic "fish out of water" tour of the US, but the racial twist makes the book all the more interesting. The book is at turns sad, thought-provoking, and even at times laugh out loud funny. (Check out the letter he finds left in a motel room drawer.) Younge is surprisingly fair in his interpretation of the culture he meets, giving credit where it is due, and genuinely seeming to see both sides of the story. This is surprising because the author freely admits to his Marxist youth: he (still) refuses to stand for the Union Jack, though he proudly rises for the playing of the Internationale. Given that background, I expected a much more harsh view of the US, but Younge manages to surprise me.The book is a quick read, and I wish Younge had lingered in a couple of places a bit more: his passages on Savannah and New Orleans are unfortunately short. The book ends up more as a sociological/political book than a travel book, but Mr. Younge has all the makings of a great travel writer, with a keen ear for interestinc characters and dialogue, and an ability to evoke the essence of a place. Nevertheless, I can still strongly recommend this book to anyone: five stars.

I found this informative as well as inspiring and depressing (in equal amounts). And witty.

Absolutely fascinating view of the Southern States with a gripping account of the shocking events of the Civil Rights era.

Very satisfied... thank you.