Mediocre

The Dangerous Legacy of White Male Power

By: Ijeoma Oluo

Narrated by: Ijeoma Oluo

Length: 10 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's Summary

From the author of the Sunday Times and number one New York Times best seller So You Want to Talk About Race, a subversive history of white male American identity.

What happens to a country that tells generation after generation of white men that they deserve power? What happens when success is defined by status over women and people of colour, instead of actual accomplishments?

Through the last 150 years of American history - from the post-Reconstruction South and the mythic stories of cowboys, to the present-day controversy over NFL protests and the backlash against the rise of women in politics - Ijeoma Oluo exposes the devastating consequences of white male supremacy on women, people of colour, and white men themselves. 

As provocative as it is essential, Mediocre investigates the real costs of white male power in order to imagine a new white male identity, one free from racism and sexism.

©2020 Ijeoma Oluo (P)2020 Headline Publishing Group Ltd

intruiging and informative

great storytelling combined with very informative knowledge and research. But i would have appreciated more attention to how many white women use white female victimhood, their whiteness and their proximity to white men to oppress Black people and other people of colour. Perhaps an idea for a next book? 😬
I also would have appreciated more attention to the issues of Black men and the anti-Blackness within other communities of people of colour

the pen is mightier

loved this book from start to finish. learnt so much more of what i had just not even realised i did not know.

Fantastic read

loved it, finished it in two settings. It articulates brilliantly the issues we have all seen and felt around the sham of meritocracy. Can't recommend it enough!

Transformational

I am African and have found this book has helped me develop empathy for African Americans, Africans in the African continent and myself.

Ijeoma, mission accomplished! I'm truly transformed.

Incredible

A must read, especially to those who worship at the alter of mediocrity.
Great to hear Ijeoma read her own work too, there is always a difference when authors read their own work.
Thanks you Ijeoma for this insightful book, so relevant to right now.

Relevant if your're interested in knowledge

I really enjoy listening to this book and have recommended it to my white partner. This book is very informative and explains a lot about the white American culture. Although it centers around white American men, there are so many things that are applicable for the white men outside of America. I can only imagine how much better and healthier the world would be for everyone, white men included, if white men where as interested in dismantling white supremacy as the listeners of this book? One can only dream.

A well-dressed polemic

I couldn't finish this, just not engaging for me and I'm not sure about some of the assertions made in it. I think I prefer something more cognitively engaging than a well-dressed polemic. Not for me, it's just one big assertive rant.

Very important

Very important analysis of our current situation and how we got here.

And the author is also a vg narrator, her soft tones really emphasised the material

Ijeoma does is again!

A little slow to begin with, but the second half of the book is a revelation. An intelligent deconstruction of the systemic racism and misogyny inherent in many of America's institutions.