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Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America

Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America

by Laila Lalami

Pantheon Books ·2020 ·208 pages ·Essays
Near the Top
Near the Top
I Index
72/99
Near the Top

66/99

Critics

Top of the Pile

78/99

Readers

n/a

Scholars

38/99

Rating

95/99

Volume

83/99

Rating

74/99

Volume

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About This Book

What does it mean to be American? In this starkly illuminating and impassioned book, Pulitzer Prize-finalist Laila Lalami recounts her unlikely journey from Moroccan immigrant to U.S. citizen, using it as a starting point for her exploration of the rights, liberties, and protections that are traditionally associated with American citizenship. Tapping into history, politics, and literature, she elucidates how accidents of birth--such as national origin, race, and gender--that once determined the boundaries of Americanness still their shadows today.


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Reviews

"Though certainly timely for the current political moment, Lalami historicizes these trends, which turn out to be as American as apple pie."

Diego Báez· Booklist Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"a no-holds-barred non-fiction debut ..."

AARTI SHAHANI· NPR Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"Lalami eloquently tacks between her experiences as an immigrant to this country and the history of U.S."

Rachel Newcomb· The Washington Post Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"Lalami braids statistics and historical context with her lived experiences to illustrate how unjust policies and the biases that feed them can affect individual lives."

Carla Jean Whitley· BookPage Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"a wonderfully readable series of essays ..."

Marion Winik· The Minneapolis Star Tribune Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"Consistently thoughtful and incisive, the book confronts the perils of our modern age with truths to inspire the coalition-building necessary to American cultural and democratic survival ..."

Kirkus Read review ↗ Near the Top

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