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Black Skin, White Masks Kindle Edition

4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 1,629 ratings

The new translation of the classic work by the author of Wretched of the Earth: “A strange, haunting mélange of analysis [and] revolutionary manifesto” (Newsweek).

Few modern voices have had as profound an impact on the black identity and critical race theory as Frantz Fanon, and
Black Skin, White Masks represents some of his most important work. This new translation by Richard Philcox makes Fanon’s masterwork accessible to a new generation of readers. It also includes a foreword by philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah.

A major influence on civil rights, anti-colonial, and black consciousness movements around the world,
Black Skin, White Masks is the unsurpassed study of the black psyche in a white world. Hailed for its scientific analysis and poetic grace when it was first published in 1952, the book remains a vital force today from one of the most important theorists of revolutionary struggle, colonialism, and racial difference in history.


From the Publisher

Customer Reviews
4.9 out of 5 stars
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4.8 out of 5 stars
182
4.8 out of 5 stars
2,224
Price $15.19 $13.99 $16.20
"His ideas and feelings fairly pour out.” —The New York Times Book Review “It is a clear call for the West to recognize the dignity of the non-Western man.” —African Forum “This century’s most compelling theorist of racism and colonialism.”—Angela Davis

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A strange, haunting mélange of analysis, revolutionary manifesto, metaphysics, prose poetry and literary criticism—and yet the nakedest of human cries.” —Newsweek

“A brilliant, vivid and hurt mind, walking the thin line that separates effective outrage from despair... As a writer he demonstrates how insidiously the problem of race, of color, connects with a whole range of words and images. . . . Yet it is Fanon the man, rather than the medical specialist or intellectual, who makes the book so hard to put down.” —Robert Coles,
The New York Times Book Review

“A reasoned, explosive, and important book centered on the identity problem of the black man, by the author of a classic study of racism and colonialism, Wretched of the Earth.” —
Publishers Weekly

“This book should be read by every black man with a desire to understand himself and the forces that conspire against him.”—Floyd McKissick, former national director, CORE

About the Author

Frantz Fanon (1925-1961) was born in Martinique and studied medicine in France, specializing in psychiatry. Sent to a hospital in Algeria, he found his sympathies turning toward the Algerian Nationalist Movement, which he later joined. He is considered one of the most important theorists of the African struggle for independence and of the psychology of race.

Richard Philcox is the distinguished translator of many works by Caribbean writer Maryse Condé.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B003OYIKUG
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Grove Press; Revised edition (September 10, 2008)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 10, 2008
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1758 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 347 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 1,629 ratings

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Customers find the book engaging and insightful, providing valuable perspective on people's lived experiences. They describe it as a classic with great information and well-structured content. The book arrived in good condition and was packaged properly.

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53 customers mention "Readability"43 positive10 negative

Customers find the book an interesting and thought-provoking read. They describe it as a classic, enjoyable, and worth reading again.

"On my first read. This book is a lot to digest. I love it though and it was worth the purchase." Read more

"Good book, this isn't my favorite (Wretched of the Earth continues to be) but it gives a good account of the effects of colonialism on people's..." Read more

"This is a must read for everyone! It gives much perspective about people's lived experiences and provides valuable commentary still relevant today." Read more

"Book is a classic and deservingly so. I view it as I would a Chinese Buffet… Get the fried rice...." Read more

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Customers find the book insightful and well-structured. They say it provides valuable perspective about people's lived experiences and provides valuable commentary still relevant today. The book is described as interesting, intelligent, and a good comparative analysis.

"Glad I purchased this book for my collection. Great information. Knowledge is power." Read more

"This is a must read for everyone! It gives much perspective about people's lived experiences and provides valuable commentary still relevant today." Read more

"...mind that bestows upon its readers a message that is both strong and empowering...." Read more

"...Plus, he has an insightful analysis into the psychological damage caused by colonialistic racism. Really , a very stimulating book." Read more

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2024
    On my first read. This book is a lot to digest. I love it though and it was worth the purchase.
    3 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2009
    "I am black; I am in total fusion with the world, in sympathetic affinity with the earth, losing my id in the heart of the cosmos... I am black, not because of a curse, but because my skin has been able to capture all the cosmic effluvia. I am truly a drop of sun under the earth." (p. 27)~ Thus Fanon reaches into the experience and meaning of the black man's alienation.

    This alienation strikes in an essential sense--it stems from the denial of the black man's very flesh: "The black man is attacked for his corporeality. It is his tangible personality that is lynched. It is his actual being that is dangerous..." (142). The white man, who has been obsessed with eradicating the body out of collective consciousness for millennia, now associates this abjected domain of the body with the black man, and constructs it as the essential evil Other. The white man does this because he is insecure--he does this out of hatred, a hatred that he works to cultivate, that consumes his time and energy. The white man is dehumanized. Projecting his fears onto the black man, the white man shirks his responsibility to acknowledge his guilt (83) in instrumentalizing the black man (206).

    Even though this work was written over 50 years ago in a literal colony of Europe, sadly it remains only too relevant in the United States today as a condition between people that allegedly have the same legal and human rights. This is largely made possible by the many ever-so-casual-racists (who vehemently deny they are racist)--people who, for example, complain about affirmative action as unfair to them personally (nevermind history and generations of enslavement and stolen opportunities). Fanon writes, "outside university circles there is an army of fools... Granted, these fools are the product of a psychological-economic substructure. But that does not get us anywhere" (18). An education for racial tolerance from which we are sadly very far removed is necessary for moving towards a world of love.
    37 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2014
    This is a brilliant attempt of the era to scientifically analyze the black psyche in a white world. This book has far reaching effects on how colonialism was viewed to impact the black man in society and undoubtedly must have sparked a few revolutionary undertakings. This is not my first encounter with this book, I have had the opportunity to use it as sociological reference in 1981/82 and felt compelled that I would read it in its entirety some day. Now I can say I did and was more than satisfied. Fanon is a great writer of his times and beyond. I am tempted to say that this book should be read by all Black men and women however it is not an easy read because to me it is not a Novel (not a story book). As a student of History, Sociology, Psychology and Psychiatry I found it very delightful and relatively easy to follow. This Book is very powerful writings for the time when it was written, no wonder Fanon was dissuaded from using it as his Thesis for his Ph.D.. May his soul rest in peace but may his ideas live on. O my body always make me a man who questions?
    18 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2024
    This iconic book arrived on time and in great condition.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2015
    Good book, this isn't my favorite (Wretched of the Earth continues to be) but it gives a good account of the effects of colonialism on people's psyche. Fanon masterfully demonstrates how violence is practiced on the minds and bodies of those on the receiving end of colonialism. He digs deep into how the ideology of whiteness as 'pure' and 'good' are, for one, deeply flawed, but more importantly, these false beliefs are incredibly damaging to humanity as a whole. Although it's a good book, I found some serious flaws with some of his arguments but I still think it was worth the read.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2023
    Glad I purchased this book for my collection. Great information. Knowledge is power.
    6 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2021
    Imagine how useful academia could be if this kind of writing was accepted at the doctoral level these days! Here is a concise analysis of the problem with plausible solutions. Not what seriously more than 99% of all academic writing in sociology, literature, the art, comparative literature, and anthropology hold as a gold standard today; today you must obfuscate your pointless observations with academic jargon, citation and reference to others who have made no real observations, and fighting racism by supporting a new way of talking in order to maintain the existing inequitable systems.
    24 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2022
    This is a must read for everyone! It gives much perspective about people's lived experiences and provides valuable commentary still relevant today.
    One person found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • Abi
    5.0 out of 5 stars Helpful and Insightful
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 27, 2019
    Timely delivery by Wordery and great book
  • Muhammad Abdul Wahid
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great
    Reviewed in Italy on July 22, 2019
    Great conditon
  • Daniel
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fanon changed my academic career
    Reviewed in Germany on August 12, 2018
    Black Skin, White Masks definitely influenced my academic field of research and my framework. Its is not easy to decolonize thinking itself, but Black Skin, White Masks is a good start.
  • PRASANTA CHAKRABORTY
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in India on May 24, 2017
    its an excellent book a must read for all the students of literature
  • Wrobino
    5.0 out of 5 stars A deep book about being Human.
    Reviewed in Canada on November 17, 2014
    This is surprisingly not about being black or white. It is about finding our "self" through free interaction with others. It is about the tragic loss that occurs when that interaction is constrained by violence. This is not about repairing the past, feeling angry or feeling sorry: it is about the business of getting on with being a person. It's about getting on with inventing yourself
    through others. This book is an inspiration, an invitation, a demand to be brave enough to take action and be someone. I had to hang on in this book, keep reading, enjoy the words of this paragraph or believe we are going somewhere good in a coming paragraph. The integrity of the book came together at the end where you'd expect it.

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