Download Spectacle The Astonishing Life of Ota Benga Pamela Newkirk 9780062201027 Books

Product details Paperback 336 pages Publisher Amistad; Reprint edition (September 6, 2016) Language English ISBN-10 0062201026

Spectacle The Astonishing Life of Ota Benga Pamela Newkirk 9780062201027 Books Reviews

• I found it very mind-boggling to read about a human being that was taken from his native land and put on display at a zoo for all of the world to see like some caged animal. Even though the book is not solely about Benga, I learned so many more facts about other things from reading this book. This was a great history lesson.
  
  My favorite line in this book... "Minik cried, you're a race of scientific criminals, I am glad enough to get away before they grab my brains and stuff them in a jar".
  
  It's disturbing to know that people study other cultures and somehow want to change a person's way of life to suit your own. Its like invading someone's personal space. They actually called them savages when the real savages are the ones that go into these different environments and try to change them
• This was a very timely read given the threat of North Korea on Guam, a place most people in the U.S. do not even know is a U.S. territory. Although this book does not specifically discuss Guam, it does focus on the imperialism of the U.S. which is very much related to Guam.
  
  It is amazing the amount of things that are not mentioned in the classroom when discussing U.S. history. This book speaks to the imperialist past of the U.S. by highlighting a very specific story that illustrates this seemingly forgotten past.
  
  Ota Benga was kidnapped from his home in the Congo to be put on display at the St. Louis World's Fair as well as the Bronx Zoo. At the time the science community, specifically the anthropological community, was very focused on displaying the superiority of the white race, relative to African people, specifically ones like Ota Benga (he was a Mbuti pygmy).
  
  Pamela Newkirk did an amazing job researching what she could on the information available on Ota Benga. A lot of the available information was skewed and/or biased given that it was not coming directly from Ota Benga. Nevertheless, she did a wonderful job letting the reader know that this was not necessarily the truth and to be skeptical. I appreciated though that she presented the information available in a matter of fact manner to allow the reader to make their own judgment on the information presented.
  
  The length of the book was perfect. I realize that it is hard with these sort of topics to know how much to put it and what to leave out. Additionally, Pamela integrated details on the African-American community of the time, beyond just the scope of their role in the release of Ota Benga from the Bronx Zoo. 
  
  However, what stood out to me the most was the incorporation of the role the St. Louis World's Fair, zoos, museums and anthropology played in the imperialism of the U.S. It is not often that you happen upon a book that is able to cover such a breadth of topics and so well. Pamela Newkirk not only gave justice to the story of Ota Benga, but successfully used his tragic life story as a means to explain the greater forces at work. 
  
  "The presence of Benga and his countrymen-- along with the Native American; the Filipinos and Igorot; and the Japanese Ainu--was intended to highlight the United States' conquests, imperialism, and progress". - Pamela Newkirk
• What a well written book. The fact that Newkirk chose to tell Benga's story by giving such rich historical facts of the state of our nation at that time; the beliefs of the rich, powerful and educated men . By doing so it brings clearer light to Ota Benga's journey.
• Ota Benga's story, while an ugly episode in America's race relations, is nonetheless fascinating. Newkirk has managed to tell a heartbreaking story without sounding preachy or weepy. She brings Benga to life, humanizing him, and he needed someone to make him real. The author might have succumbed to yet another exploitation of this man, stolen from his land for the amusement of a civilization, more savage than that of the jungles of the Congo, at least before the introduction of the Europeans. Really well-done.
• Very moving account of a reprehensible time in history. The author's presentation is a bit difficult to follow due to her reverting to the historical backgrounds in order to substantiate her facts. This story is appalling and brings to the forefront man's inhumanity and disregard of other human beings perceived to be less than.
• Excellent historical documentation supporting story of Ota Benga. Underscores how politics, greed, fake science, failure of religious institutions, and ignorance and indifference can spawn oppression and cruelty toward any targeted group of people.
• As a history buff I was drawn to this little known event. As a human being it was appalling.
  Anyone who has any interest in the history of how Africans were perceived and treated will this very informational. But this book will make your heart ache.
  A book that plays to your heart and your head.
  I highly recommend this book.
• I received in a timely fashion, however I have had a difficult time getting thru this book. The content seems to be more told from point of an observer. I really thought it would be told from the subjects view. I have not been able to read the entire thing but I will go back and make another effort.