RaveThe Wall Street JournalNuanced ... If Ms. Blume comes across as a woman of contradictions, it’s because Mr. Oppenheimer’s vibrant, authoritative account—drawn from interviews, correspondence, Ms. Blume’s papers and her own extensive commentary on Mr. Oppenheimer’s draft—leaves nothing to the imagination, preventing the reader from filling in gaps with his own simplifying bias.
Danielle S. Allen
MixedThe Wall Street JournalIn her riveting account of one life gone astray—that of her intelligent, charming ‘baby cousin’—she seeks to explain how a generation of young black men was similarly lost … While those who agree with Ms. Allen will find Cuz powerful evidence in support of their argument, not all readers will be persuaded. Ms. Allen contradicts herself, arguing that the crackdown on drug gangs clogged the judicial system but also left homicides unprosecuted, inviting young men like Michael to take advantage of the laxity … Also given short shrift is the question of individual choice. Yes, Michael had the deck stacked against him. But no gun was placed in Michael’s hand; he chose to steal his mother’s rent money to buy it.
