Creating Black Americans
by Nell Irvin Painter
★ Top 25 book of 2005 · #20 on Best Books of 2005
Nell Irvin Painter traces African American history from life in Africa before slavery through to hip-hop. Her narrative draws on recent research and is enriched by artwork from black artists, covering slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the Harlem Renaissance and Civil Rights.
Best for: Readers wanting a sweeping, art-illustrated history of African Americans, from Africa to hip-hop
Creating Black Americans is #20 on BookWard's Best Books of 2005, out of 52 2005 books that cleared our data bar.
What Creating Black Americans is about
Nell Irvin Painter, a historian, tells the story of African Americans for a new generation of readers. Her account draws on the latest research and sits alongside artwork by African-American artists. It begins with life in Africa before slavery and reaches all the way to today's hip-hop culture.
Along the way, she looks at the forced journey of more than ten million Africans to the New World and the sharp contrast between the nearly half a million free black people and almost four million enslaved people in 1860. She argues that the Civil War only gradually became a war to end slavery, and that Reconstruction, after a hopeful start, was brought down by white supremacist terror. Through the Jim Crow decades, she shows black communities building schools and businesses against enormous odds. It suits students, general readers, and anyone wanting a broad, humane overview.
Creating Black Americans on the Best Books of 2005
Creating Black Americans came out in 2005. Of the 52 books first published in 2005 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #20 on our Best Books of 2005 list.
Why it made the list: 246 readers have shelved it on Open Library. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 2005 list
- Pretties Scott Westerfeld, #18
- It's in His Kiss Julia Quinn, #19
- Midnight Erin Hunter, #21
- A Piece of Cake Cupcake Brown, #22
See all Best Books of 2005 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2004 Best Books of 2006.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 229 want to read it, 13 are reading it now and 4 have read it, according to Open Library.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 50 | 55% |
| Reader love | 75 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 60 | 20% |
Questions about Creating Black Americans
When was Creating Black Americans published?
Creating Black Americans by Nell Irvin Painter was first published in 2005.
Was Creating Black Americans one of the best books of 2005?
Creating Black Americans is #20 on BookWard's Best Books of 2005, out of 52 2005 books that cleared our data bar. 246 readers have shelved it on Open Library.
Why is Creating Black Americans on the Best Books of 2005 list?
246 readers have shelved it on Open Library.
More of the best books of 2005
- The Lightning Thief Rick Riordan, #1
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince J. K. Rowling, #2
- The Glass Castle Jeannette Walls, #3
- Looking for Alaska John Green, #4
- Eldest Christopher Paolini, #5
- Freakonomics Steven D. Levitt, #6
See the full Best Books of 2005, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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