Makes Me Wanna Holler: A Young Black Man in America

Essential reading for ALL black males.. and women, too.

For every single black woman && man in America, this book should be required reading. One cannot deny that the African-American experience is a unique one and that there are very few modern writers supplying a fair, observational and personal look on the matter. Nathan McCall is a great story-teller and you'll be able to do nothing but sulute him after reading his touching memoir. Besides being inspired by his own triumphs, this book can provide young black men with a blueprint to compare thier own possible grim African American experience to and it also can provide insight to some black women in their love troubles in finding the "good black men." It also touches on African-American troubles such as the lack of family structure, Black's constant presence in the prison system, and the overwhelming reality of racism in America, even in 2008. McCall keeps it real, from the first page to the last. So just READ THIS BOOK!... It's that good and you'll certainly learn something, regardless of your race !

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

A BOOK SO GOOD IT MAKES ME WANNA HOLLER!!!!

Posted 10/19/2009: This book completely blew my mind. It sets an example for everyone, whether they are young or old. This book was just such an inspiration. The natural story of an ex-con struggling to get ahead in life through racial controversies and African-American stereotypes is just interesting. You will learn something from this book no matter what race or gender you are. It is both devastating how the narrator has gone through such a rough childhood and how his bad choices have led to the life of a prison convict. Every time McCall makes a bad choice, you are on the edge of your seat waiting to see what will happen to him. When he eventually starts to describe the hardships in prison and all the crimes he has committed while he was in a gang, you start to feel an emotion of exploding passion for him. His mistakes teach you what NOT to do to be successful. This book is definitely a must-read that will "slap-you-in-the-face" and give you a quick reality check! This book should be a requirement to read. EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK!!!!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

holler!!!!!

Mr. McCall, you took me down memory lane but I didn't go as far with some of my experiences as you did. This book should be a must read for all black males. THANK YOU !!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I can't put the book down!!!

I just received the book today via UPS. Something drew me to open the book right away, no particular page, and read anything. No matter where I opened the book, (its been several sections now), it stirred up my soul!!! I write to several inmates very often and I wonder if they have this book in the prison library or have even read it. I'm going to ask them if they do and offer to send this to them, if they don't. I just started mentoring a couple of adolescent boys I consider 'at risk' in my neighborhood. This is my book of choice for reference from and to read to them. This includes my son who may not be 'at risk' but he is at that influential phase in his life where things can go either left or right. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book for reading. This is a great addition to my ethnic library.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I will give credit where credit is due....

This book will hold your interest but some of the content is repulsive. It is even more repulsive when you think that it is factual. I do not agree with the premise of this book but I will hand it to the writer. He put his personal struggle as a black man in America out there for all to see. I respect him for that. I do not agree with much of his portrayal or excuses for why he behaved the way that he did. There are no excuses for certain behavior!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

RIGHT ON THE MONEY

Nathan McCall is 'right on the money' when he talks about racism in America being a black male. The book is very inspirational and motivational. Every black male should read it and be able to apply what he learned to their lives. Outstanding.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

GOOD, BUT...

Good, but this is one of my summer reading. It is one of those insperantal books for young black men.

McCall's Outstanding and Flawlessly Wriiten Memoir is Powerful

I vividly remember when I was 14 and I saw this book and the beautiful, well-designed cover featuring a poised, alert, and strong black man and I was immediately drawn to the book. I was instantly curious. I was never a reader and it was rare for me to pick up any book for leisure outside of any assigned academic project, but I opened the first page and began to read "Makes Me Wanna Holler". My God! I was utterly mesmerized by just reading the first chapter that focused upon McCall's rebellious, reckless, and anger (misguided)-fueled youth, and I couldn't abandon the book! As a kid, I read the book every day while I saw my peers playing video games, basketball, or other activities. I was reading for the first time upon my own accord and it wasn't for any classroom assignment and it was truly shocking for me.

Each time I am asked what my favorite book is and I immediately announce that it is "Makes Me Wanna Holler". It has been my favorite book for 17 years and it is truly an amazing, well-written, lyrical, and powerful book replete with elegant and polished writing, stirring accounts of harrowing and embarrassing incidents, and part cautionary-tale and coming-of-age narrative. McCall deftly illustrates how challenging American life can be for a young black with and without a good education and how he overcame so many personal plights with courage. I identified with the admirable McCall and how he learned several key lessons in life through his older set of friends who had been more experienced than he and his love for music and writing. It was pretty cool to see that we both yearned to become writers at a young age, and McCall's powerful memoir spurred me to become a writer as well. In addition, this brilliant book had amazingly transformed me into a lifelong and voracious reader! I became a bibliophile after I had savored the memoir with the stunningly crisp sentences, action, memorable lessons, and McCall's searing and enlightening observations and truth.

McCall's memoir was a crowning achievement and I immediately recommend this book and I hope that other people when come to enjoy this book as much as I have because it made me wanna holler because I have been so impressed with its composition!

Highly Highly Recommended

My father had me read this book before I went to college. That was over 10 years ago abd I still can talk abot this book. I have read it several times. This is a book that I think ALL young men should read especially our young black brothers. This book is AWESOME in so many ways.

Charles

Great book im 14 and i think this book is worth the money

HIGHLY RECOMMEDED

I really enjoyed this book... Its based in Portsmouth, va and I grew up in the city next to it but familiar with these parts. However being that I am an 80s baby, its kinda cool picturing how the cities in the area has changed over the last 25 years! I also love it because it shows how real life could be if you weren't born with a silver spoon

Wonderful...+Timeless

In+so+many+ways+this+book+is+a+reflection+of+my+adolecense+and+young+adulthood+as+a+young+black+man.++While+i+a+product+of+the+80%27s+it+amazes+me+that+i+can+relate+directly+to+Nate%27s+words.+I+first+read+this+book+when+i++was+16%2C+and+it+made+a+huge+impact+on+my+path.+Reading+it+again+at+30+it+has+done+the+same.

Thrilled At First, Then Appalled

I was thrilled as I began to read this book. McCall is very honest about his experiences and this is good. I can get passed the excessive profanity, even though I don't appreciate it, because I know that this was an important part of his experience. However, I quickly became appalled by grotesqueness of some of the content and had to put the book down. Chapter 6 is absolutely disgusting; I don't think that he needed to include this story in his narrative, at least not in the detail that he did. Furthermore, there is no excuse for this type of behavior. Nevertheless, I cannot fully pass judgment on this book because I did not finish reading it. Reader beware is all I have to say. You need to be very thick-skinned to read this book.

Check this book out it's great

Do you want to read a fantastics book? Well look no further because Makes me wanna holler by Nathan McCall is a thrilling book. At the start of the book, Nathan the author is just a normal kid with a nice middle class family. Nathan is a little boy not very tall and also not very strong. He is the youngest of the 3 older brothers and he lives in a protective black family. And also I like this book how the author talks actually admits that he was a an active participant in a gang rape. Nathan is a young man he is a lean and not very strong. He started on a path of destruction when he started going to an all black school and was influenced by the one of the old heads named scooby. Because it was either fit in or get dogged on. And you wouldn't want to get dogged on. When he tried to start to fit in that was what started his life to being to spiral out of control.

In This book works powerfully as a personal story. Before making it as a journalist, McCall served time for armed robbery. Before that, he had shot a black man. These are only some of the many climactic events in a story; others include gang violence, random beatings, hate crimes, gang rapes of black girls simply because they were vulnerable. In depicting these horrors, McCall makes a bold style choice. Apart from a few showing comments that suggest a more mature perspective, McCall stays close to the perceptions of the troubled boy he was: Gang rapes are a form of male bonding, blacks must stick together, whites never give you a chance. And that blacks are boys compare to the white man.

The author Nathan McCall is being true to his subject, the process of growth. The style becomes more reflective. And is easier to see because Nathan tells the truth and dose not hide anything. McCall's family background and house seem more stable than those ones of typical bad house hold with a pattern of violent and criminal behavior. In addition, convicted felons do not typically go on to successful careers in journalism and to the authorship of best selling books. Is what surprised me the most on how he came back from such a background and going to jail. And thats why I liked the book and all the shocking parts that made me think twice about life.

Wow!

McCall's story makes me truly appreciate that he shared this experience. It helped me gain new perspectives on the black male point of view. Very well presented. I could "see" the struggles, the bravado, the dysfunction, the false hope. Well done indeed.

Amazing real-life story!

A friend suggested that I read this book, and I am very happy that I did. It gives a very true and detailed life description of a man's life story growing up in Portsmouth, VA. Many interesting topics can be discussed with this book which makes it a great conversation topic and book club book. This book is AMAZING... I highly recommend this book.

The isht!!!!!!!

This book touched base on all subjects. A friend of mine was reading it for his class, and gave it to me to read... It amazed me from start to finish

A reviewer

it is sooo good #1

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

McCall blames Whites when he should blame Blacks

I read makes Me Wanna Holler, and I like many others, was taken aback by its realism and detail of the experience. It was so meticulous in the details of his exploits and those around him that it was like watching a movie sitting on the edge of suspense. Tragically, this book compares to a series like The Sopranos in that its dipiction of the dark nature in humanity is repulsive. For instance, in the narrrative there are accounts of gang raping in and out of prison, and evil attempts to hurt people that was highly disturbing. To me the most disturbing thing about this narrative is that McCall attempts to blame whites as the cause of his and many black youths downfalls in America. I also am black, and I encountered some of the same temptations that he fell into, but I refuse to blame them on another race.I do however blame these crises on a lack of parental guidance in many black homes where our youth fall prey to gangs and violence, and I blame the young males who continue to make foolish decisions that have dreadful and dire consequences. I beleive everyone has a moral center that is activated every time a conflict arises. This conflict allows the individuals to choose the right or the wrong decision. Too many of our youth are choosing the wrong decisions and refuse to learn from other's mistakes. I respect that Mr.McCall made it through his prison stint, and was blessed to have a second chance. However I do not accept the blame or excuse that he offers for his and many youth misdeeds.

wow

this book was an amazing book! i loved it from beginning to end!