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The True American: Murder and Mercy in Texas
The True American: Murder and Mercy in Texas | Anand Giridharadas
28 posts | 11 read | 5 to read
Winner of the 2015 NYPL Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism. "Remarkable…a richly detailed, affecting account…Giridharadas seeks less to uplift than illuminate…Which of these men is the '"true American'" of the title? That there is no simple answer to that question is Giridharadas's finest accomplishment." —Ayad Akhtar, New York Times Book Review The True American tells the story of Raisuddin Bhuiyan, a Bangladesh Air Force officer who dreams of immigrating to America and working in technology. But days after 9/11, an avowed "American terrorist" named Mark Stroman, seeking revenge, walks into the Dallas minimart where Bhuiyan has found temporary work and shoots him, maiming and nearly killing him. Two other victims, at other gas stations, aren’t so lucky, dying at once. The True American traces the making of these two men, Stroman and Bhuiyan, and of their fateful encounter. It follows them as they rebuild shattered lives—one striving on Death Row to become a better man, the other to heal and pull himself up from the lowest rung on the ladder of an unfamiliar country. Ten years after the shooting, an Islamic pilgrimage seeds in Bhuiyan a strange idea: if he is ever to be whole, he must reenter Stroman's life. He longs to confront Stroman and speak to him face to face about the attack that changed their lives. Bhuiyan publicly forgives Stroman, in the name of his religion and its notion of mercy. Then he wages a legal and public-relations campaign, against the State of Texas and Governor Rick Perry, to have his attacker spared from the death penalty. Ranging from Texas's juvenile justice system to the swirling crowd of pilgrims at the Hajj in Mecca; from a biker bar to an immigrant mosque in Dallas; from young military cadets in Bangladesh to elite paratroopers in Israel; from a wealthy household of chicken importers in Karachi, Pakistan, to the sober residences of Brownwood, Texas, The True American is a rich, colorful, profoundly moving exploration of the American dream in its many dimensions. Ultimately it tells a story about our love-hate relationship with immigrants, about the encounter of Islam and the West, about how—or whether—we choose what we become.
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CathyMac22
Mehso-so

A bit padded so skipped over several repetitive passages but overall a good glimpse into the life of an uneducated racist from Texas

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LuLeeBelle
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The downside is that this morning I was stuck in traffic for an hour. The upside is that I made some major progress with this audiobook.

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demseerin
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Good way to spend Saturday night.

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Well-ReadNeck
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TRUMPED UP READING LIST 4 of 4
Yesterday, I asked for some reading suggestions from both sides of the aisle for post-election. Thank you so much for all the recs (and I also combed @BookishFeminist wall and the #overthis hashtag @lemonlime799 ). Along with some other suggestions out there, here's what I have for now. I did cull the list somewhat for my purposes but wanted to share with you. Please forgive the multi-posts. #TrumpedUpReadingList

queerbookreader Yoooooooooooo I am so excited rn 8y
WordWaller Yayyyyyy thank you for this! 8y
See All 13 Comments
readordierachel This is awesome. 8y
LauraBeth This is so great - thanks for sharing! 8y
TheNextBook Thank God for screenshots! Got all 4 pages! Very well done guys! 8y
James Thank you! 8y
SharonGoforth Awesome!! 8y
Seonjoon This is AWESOME. Thanks for sharing! (Maybe I can get some read over break!!) 8y
Well-ReadNeck @alisahar Thanks! Adding now. 8y
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Suelizbeth
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Pickpick

Redefines the meaning of true American. Our universities' choice for this year's community read. It should generate some interesting discussions.

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SomethingTheWalrus
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Pickpick

Wouldn't have read it if it wasn't a college requirement, but at the same time, I'm glad I have.

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Suelizbeth
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One of the books I was trying to finish. Next time I'm using a timer and tracking my pages. I think I read for about 16 hours and I only finished one book (I read parts of more books) but I loved participating in #24in48