A Particular Kind of Black Man by Tope Folarin

A PARTICULAR KIND OF BLACK MAN by Tope Folarin is a distinctive reading experience.  Although it is possible to read this debut work in a few hours, Folarin raises life issues and creates characters who will haunt his readers for much longer. The story is told by Tunde Akinola, born in 1981 to parents who had immigrated from Nigeria due to a college scholarship for his father. The family (including a two years younger brother, Tayo)  live in Utah for several years, but, despite optimism and effort, his father never capitalizes on the opportunity. The reader must ponder to what extent that is due to some basic character flaw and/or the challenging circumstance of being one of the few black men in the area. It is all too much for Tunde’s mother who returns to Nigeria, leaving Tunde with deep-seated feelings of abandonment.  The many vignettes presented here range from 1987 to 2004, paralleling Tunde’s time at middle school, high school, and college; they are interspersed with transatlantic telephones calls to his grandmother in Nigeria.  The writing feels so immediate and intimate that the reader cannot help but appreciate and relate to Tunde’s struggle for a sense of identity and belonging. Tope Folarin, a Rhodes Scholar and winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing, is most definitely a writer to watch. 

A PARTICULAR KIND OF BLACK MAN received a starred review from Booklist and is on Time magazine’s list of “32 Books You Need to Read this Summer.”

Five Stars by Carmine Gallo

I often read business books and think about how they could apply in a school setting. One that seems an excellent match – for teachers and for students – is the recent FIVE STARS by Carmine Gallo, bestselling author of Talk Like TED. Here, Gallo stresses “presentation literacy” and emphasizes the importance of communication, saying, “Mastering the art of persuasion – combining words and ideas to move people to action – is no longer a ‘soft’ skill. It is the fundamental skill to get from good to great in the age of ideas.”  Gallo splits the book into three main section, one that explains why great communicators are essential, another that profiles scientists, (e.g., Neil deGrasse Tyson) plus a variety of entrepreneurs and other professionals who excel at communication and finally, an outline of how to get from good to great. It’s in that last section where Gallo devotes chapters to topics like The Pathos Principle, Three Act Storytelling Structure (situation, complication, resolution), The Big Picture, Smart Words and so on; similar points are often emphasized by our English teachers, especially.  I found FIVE STARS to be an inspirational and useful guide which has potential as a One School, One Book type read. For example, as Junior Themes become more issue oriented, wouldn’t it be interesting to encourage students to explore developing and sharing data with sites mentioned by Gallo like Kaggle? As we continue to develop critical thinking, creativity, and empathy amongst our students, FIVE STARS will be a valuable tool.