This book was incredible! Ijeoma Oluo's writing is so clear and concise, it's a refreshing change of pace in the non-fiction sphere. I read her previous book "So You Want to Talk About Race" earlier this year, and "Mediocre" is equally as great. In this book Oluo tackles the age old question, "Why are white men like this?" While it's not an all encompassing history of white supremacy in America, "Mediocre" paints a clear picture of the insecurities of the modern white man that feels "left behind" in an age where we challenge the status quo and uphold political correctness. This is an intersectional feminist work that I've been craving. The way the book concludes, it isn't a demonization of white men. It seems Oluo genuinely can empathize while still holding them to a higher standard.

Please note this is a 3.5

This is a scathing interpretation of the current events that present themselves in the media, and one that is a little more intense than many others. It focuses on different facets than the normal books about this topic do- there's a study of groups that we may not consider as 'dangerous' as others, but who still have terrifying viewpoints. The Trump narrative recently has overwhelmed every facet of society, to a point where we don't think about the other kinds of racism and nastiness that have wormed into our world (or that have been there all along), but it's important to talk about those too.

However, I have the distinct feeling that some of this book is about things I have read before. The first two chapters specifically are about frequently discussed issues, and so the balance is a little thrown off by this. I found the sections on higher education and 'Bernie Bros' interesting- but the latter was a little off in terms of rhetoric, and didn't acknowledge the enormous harms that Clinton had proposed in her campaign compared to Sanders. It's important to highlight that there are now issues on all sides, and sometimes that commentary was a bit lacking.

With that said, I learnt a lot of new things, and I found it an interesting and sobering study of America, racism, politics, and a lot of other things. This book is well worth reading, and though it may be hard for some people to stomach, it should be done.

An intense and satisfying read--I love nonfiction like this. Sociopolitical analysis and examining societal issues through a specific lens is like food for my brain. Now, I went in agreeing with the thesis, so this went down easy for me. This will be a frustrating, uncomfortable read for those who don't like the central idea: that white supremacy, specifically the mediocrity of white men, has lead to a legacy of oppressive and pervasive systems as well as many of our societal failures.

But I liked this lens for exploring aspects of American history, current politics, the feminism movement, higher education, football (yes!) and more. I learned a lot reading this book--specific stories from history that I didn't know in the specifics, even if their implications were something I knew down in my gut. The book is intersectional--yes, white male mediocrity is the central thesis, but Oluo is very inclusive and covers a ton of ground, re: Black and POC women vs. whiteness but also how all women are harmed by male supremacy, etc. and so forth. There's a lot of nuance, including the ways white male supremacy is a lie for and in turn hurts white men.

Recommended as brain food if the thesis interests you. I would have happily read more, honestly!

A critical and extremely important book about race, privilege, and success. Mandatory reading for anyone working in an office or educational setting.

Ijeoma Oluo's upcoming release, Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America, is very timely and informative. I learned a lot from reading this book. I'd definitely recommend for anyone interested in social justice issues.

Thanks to Perseus Books and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Available Dec 1 2020

Ijeoma Oluo's scathing and accurate new book, "Mediocre" is a fantastic analysis at the role of whiteness and patriarchy in creating and maintaining corrupt systems. Through an exploration of Manifest Destiny to exploring Kopernick and the NFL, Oluo presents case study after case study that strike against American "meritocracy". What was most illuminating is the way Oluo shows how the concept of white maleness is destructive to white males themselves.

One of the most moving portions of the book for me was the way Oluo describes the threat of toxic white maleness on her own life, from suicide notes and death threats in her emails to an actual SWAT team called on her teenage son. Oftentimes, we don't see the toll that doing this type of work has on the writer and the writer's family. We forget that they too are humans with emotions and stress limits. Reading it made me even more in awe of Oluo's grace and strength and bravery to continue to engage in these conversations.

Much love.

Thanks to NetGalley and Seal Press for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As soon as I saw the title, I knew I had to read this book, and it did not disappoint. I learned a ton of new information from this book, from the origins of the NFL to the the trope of the American cowboy. Oluo is so good at writing about tough, complicated topics in a way that is entertaining and easy to understand. I read this book on my Kindle and was highlighting up a storm because the author brings up so many excellent points. This will be the rare book that I buy a hard copy of so that I can re-read it. I know I will want to go back to sections of this book again and again.

Review posted on Goodreads on August 9, 2020.

Yes yes yes yes yes!! THIS book is what we need right now. I only wish it was being released before the November election. Oluo traces the history and resulting impact of white male dominance in America. This book acknowledges impact across the spectrums of identities - from white males to BIPOC to white women to non-gender conforming folx. Buy it, read it, share it.

This book. is (ahem) anything but mediocre. Oluo masterfully weaves in personal narrative, research, and cultural criticism to make this a truly excellent nonfiction book. Making nonfiction accessible is far from easy, and this writer excels at taking complicated, nuanced history and criticism and making it easy to understand and digest even if you don't have familiarity with the subject matter. I would recommend this book to literally everyone.

It’s likely impossible to write a comprehensive history of racism and sexism in 3,000 pages, much less 300. Rather than attempt to boil the whole ocean, Ijeoma Oluo focuses in on white male supremacy, mediocrity, and rage: Why are some white men so mad at everything, why do they blame it on women and minorities, and why are they so unwilling to acknowledge any unearned advantage whatsoever? The challenge with this topic is that racism and sexism are two of the key ingredients of that soup, so it can drift into feeling like an attempted history of two immensely complicated subjects, and come off as not being thorough enough in doing so.

Like “So You Want to Talk About Race”, this book covers a lot of different subjects under a central umbrella. Buffalo Bill, Teddy Roosevelt, the NFL, The Squad, Ellen Pao, the University of Missouri. You aren’t going to find many books covering all these things. One of the many smart choices Oluo made was to not just make this a book about Dylann Roof types, but show that white male rage and inadequacy is a widespread issue facing millions, not just a few Klan members and serial killers. And the internet has amplified these feelings, giving white male rage a place to gleefully threaten and troll people, giving them a missing sense of identity as “resisters”.

Are there other areas Oluo could have covered for this topic? Of course there are. And it’s unfortunate this book was finished before Covid and George Floyd, because there’s so much material there.

After finishing the book I felt like I enjoyed it, but left a little unfulfilled. If you read a lot of news articles or books about this subject, you might not feel like there’s a lot new here. If you don’t, this is a really great overview. I’m hovering somewhere between 3 and 4 stars, but I’ll go 4 because I acknowledge the importance of the subject and the incredible difficulty of putting the perfect combination of stories together to cover it.

Note: I received an advanced reading copy of this book from Net Galley.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

Someone really needed to say everything in this book. I’m surprised it took as long as it did, but I am awfully grateful that she said it now

4.5 stars

Another great book by the eloquent Ijeoma Oluo. She deftly tackles many of the ways that white male supremacy permeates our society. Obviously, this book was written before the Pandemic and George Floyd’s Murder. I’d love to hear the author’s thoughts on those topics.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I'm a big Ijemoa Oluo fan, and I already use her other book So You Want to Talk About Race in my courses. This book is the perfect intersectional look at whiteness and masculinity. This book is more "academic" than her other book, but it still has the same readability and style that Oluo is known for. The book covers a wide variety of topics, including Biden's record with busing, the history of Buffalo Bill, and white men's attacks on higher education, all with a combination of in-depth history and personable examples. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a way to understand how whiteness and masculinity are intertwined in the U.S. today.

I want to write a more thorough review of the book and explore some of the concepts in it, but I need give it a few read-throughs before I say I'm finished. But right now, I do want to give some "brief" thoughts about why you should read it.

Ijeoma Oluo's Mediocre explores history and personal experiences, not so much to prescribe to a solution as much to recognize symptoms of white supremacy and the patriarchy, and especially how those two enjoin, (including how these systems harm white men themselves). I think Ijeoma Oluo's Mediocre is going to provoke interesting conversations when it's released. I fear that many people will simply cherry-pick parts of the book without examining it in its totality to meet their preconceived opinions. Ijeoma Oluo doesn't deserve a half-assed reading, even if you don't think you'll agree with everything she says.

I fear that white men won't pick it up (but they should) and those that do, won't be reflective about it and instead become overwhelmed by white male guilt as exemplified by know-it-allism. I say this as a white guy who was afraid to read the book because in my head mediocrity is a concept and word specifically designed to oppress people through structures and ideals of better-than-you. Even after reading the extremely well-done "So You Want to Talk About Race?" I was worried she would simply call white men mediocre and call it day. Why? Because I too buy into society's bullshit whether I like it or not.

There are many books about white rage, white male rage, male rage, men's insecurities, white men's insecurities, but what Ijeoma Oluo adds is her particular approachable style and a contemporary context that doesn't forget how the past's informs our actions and behaviors today, specifically in regard to how we as white men treat and view people who are not coded into picture perfect images of white supremacy and the patriarchy as not worthy of being heard or alive.

I don't just want to encourage everyone to read it but to read it more than once. I've read it once and upon my second reading I've already discovered parts I've missed and various subtleties. The prose is not complex or remotely obscurantist, it's just that it's an extremely approachable book, with approachable prose, and it's not hard to blow through it and miss some of the points. This is not criticism of the writer, she crafted the prose wonderfully. This is more of a warning for those of us who have internet age inspired impatience or white guy guilt taking over our brain.

“These injustices are not passed down by God; they are not produced by any entity greater than ourselves. These oppressive systems were built by people – with our votes, our money, our hiring decision – and they can be unmade by people.”

Mediocre by Ijeoma Oluo is brilliant. Part history, part sociological study, part personal narrative, she expertly combines these three perspectives into an indescribably necessary text for our times. I think there will be many readers (particularly white readers like myself, possibly mostly men) who will dismiss this book without reading it, making assumptions about what it will say. I hope those readers will give it a chance.

Oluo describes the way white men in the U.S. live in a society crafted by them and for them. I think many of us think this means white men have fewer problems than the rest of us, particularly compared to people who are marginalized on the basis of more than one identity they hold. But Oluo points out that this socialization of white men leads to a cycle of harm: when you are taught that all your needs and desires should be by default, but the systems are designed to prevent us all from meeting our full needs and desires, any barrier you face feels like a failing. We can all understand feeling angry or unseen when adversity rears its head at us; but in a society which says, “white men can achieve anything,” adversity feels like an indicator that white men aren’t receiving their due. This breeds resentment and anger, and it is often misplaced. She tracks this theme through expertly researched history and astute observations of current events in politics, education, voting, housing, worker's rights, sports, and more.

Oluo speaks to a cultural moment in which many people are afraid of each other. We wonder if we have an acquaintance who is the next school shooter, we question is our male boss will make untoward comments, we realize that we are often one powerful person’s decision away from homelessness, or joblessness, or even death. We wonder why on earth so many people can be swayed by populist leaders, particularly when those most swayed don’t experience the same difficulties as others who have the most valid frustrations with U.S. society. But this is not a new phenomenon. We are experiencing the result of hundreds of years of socialization, much of which we do not notice because it is so second nature. Oluo makes that socialization salient, and helps us recognize what is in the air we breathe, so to speak. And once we notice it, she reminds us – humans created this moment, and we can imagine and create better, too. She notes that anger and resentment and a desire for power at the cost of others is not inherent to whiteness or maleness, but these traits have been intertwined with both concepts. She imagines a liberation where white men can live free from their inner turmoil of self-expectations and anger and the rest of us can live free from their outward aggression resulting from years of hurt and lies.

I am thankful to Oluo for taking on the draining, difficult task of recounting centuries of violence, trauma, and hatred. I am grateful to her for remaining steadfast when she is attacked for speaking truth to power. And I encourage every person in this country to read this book, and to wonder why she takes such harsh criticism if her words were so blatantly untrue. Truth makes power uncomfortable, makes power lash out. This book is truth. Thank you, Ms. Oluo. Thank you to NetGalley Books for the opportunity to read and review.

This is an excellent book that is extremely relevant. Racism is systematic what keeps it in place is white supremacy which occurs in all facets of the society we live in. Only an understanding how it influences every portion of society can we truly heal the World of this epidemic. I would highly recommend this informative book.