Reviews

"Taut and insightful writing…. the power of the book lies in its sensitive yet objective handling of the plight of the disadvantaged."

"Dyson presents an interesting premise… Is Bill Cosby Right? Or Has The Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind? is a provocative book and will provide fodder for debate and discussion."

"Bill Cosby has become a cranky old man. Occasionally, he leaves the palace gates to scold fellow blacks for such transgressions as bad parenting, an addiction to popular culture and a general lack of motivation to better themselves… [Dyson] examines Cosby's complaints in a new book and concludes that the rage of elders such as Cosby does little to bring about prison reform, better jobs or adequate funding for public schools… Dyson challenges all of us to work together to find answers to enduring social problems."

"Michael Eric Dyson...has done Cosby the honor of considering his words at length and seriously...Cosby's clearly simplistic observations cannot stand up to such critical assault.'Is Bill Cosby Right?' is a fascinating journey through black thought, American history and the psyche of an uptight, easily embarrassed, tittering black aristocracy that, in Dyson's view, has unfairly heaped blame on poor, defenseless blacks ever since the Great Emancipation.Dyson does a brilliant job dissecting and demolishing Cosby's rhetoric."

"[Dyson's] keen observations, wit and intellectual skills have allowed him to report the material...in fresh ways and make this a highly readable book."

"With empathy and energy, Dyson takes Cosby at his word and dissects his arguments—as well as the comedian's own conduct—in order to combat Afristocratic dogma."

"Finally, someone with the courage to take on black middle class prejudice against the black poor! Michael Eric Dyson skillfully punctures the nasty stereotypes that are so convenient to both white racists and black elitists."

"At a time when America's poor are either ignored or disparaged, Michael Eric Dyson's book is especially arresting and significant. It not only challenges Bill Cosby's widely-broadcast (and widely-accepted) diagnosis of the ills and failings of black America, but it also challenges us to think more deeply about race, class, and culture—and about the meaning of responsibility—in America. Dyson's is a book of intellectual and disciplinary range, of incisive analysis and verbal combativeness, of empathy, wisdom, and wit. He has offered us an important work of social and political criticism, and one that deserves to be read, discussed, and debated by all people interested in a just and humane society."

"Michael Eric Dyson has paid Cosby the ultimate compliment one social critic can pay another. He has taken Cosby seriously and mounted a closely reasoned rebuttal...Writing with a kind of seething control, Dyson dismantles every aspect of Cosby's speech, precisely and with scrupulously footnoted research...With Is Bill Cosby Right?, Dyson makes intricate arguments grounded in rhetorical sophistication, journalistic and academic rigor, which lends a moral authenticity to his voice."