This is an excellent and timely read. Oluo reaches back through American history to share untold stories of women and racial minorities. Time and time again, those in power use white male identity to garner support for policies that favor the few.

Oluo writes in a conversational style, but it is clear the book is extensively researched. I learned so much from this book. For me, the standout chapters dealt with the gutting of funding for higher education and unfair practices in the NFL. The chapter about “the squad,” then-freshmen congresswomen Omar, Ocasio Cortez, Presley, and Talib also hit me.

The book made me think about how power is obtained and then hoarded. In this way, the book is essential reading on the modern American political system.

This is a must-read book in 2021. I am grateful for the free e-book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was excellent! My favorite chapters were The Ivy League and the Tax Eaters (Chapter 3) and Go Fucking Play (Chapter 7). But the entire book is great!

MEDIOCRE is a clearly presented and well argued treatise against white male supremacy that manages to somehow be extremely tender at the same time. Oluo presents facts and systems that Americans know all too well—women and people of color are routinely trolled and doxxed; the NFL exploits black labor for the profits of white owners—and transforms them through the lens of white male supremacy and, as the title suggests, mediocrity. There is so much nuance and detail that I feel like I want to read it again and again to learn it all, especially the chapters on Bernie Sanders and the NFL.

Thanks to Hachette and NetGalley for the ARC.

Incredible book. I won't lie, it took me a long time to get through it because I wanted to really digest the information I was taking in, but it was worth it. This is the second book I've read by Ijeoma Oluo and I think she's an incredible writer, researcher, and thinker when it comes to the topic of race in America.

Mediocre is an exploration of how white supremacy and the patriarchy have influenced American culture for the worse. Oluo gives numerous examples throughout the history of the United States that show how white men have consistently been prioritized, and how that is hurting everyone. The examples are very current, and while I have read books that cover similar topics, it was very helpful to have those ideas applied to events that are quite current. The discussions about both Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden were enlightening for me.

I would recommend this book for anyone who is relatively new in their anti-racism education, as well as people who are looking for how these ideas apply to contemporary events. The ideas presented are clear and convincing.

This is one of the best books I read in 2020. It tackles so many race and gender issues. I truly appreciated the level of historical context that the author provided on each issue. I've recommended this to everyone that will listen!

As ever, Oluo is masterful at discussing complex-- or at least very deep and heavy--topics in incredibly accessible, commonsense ways. Her prose toggles between being straightforwardly informative and incredibly memorable and evocative, even as her topics are about the hell that is white (cis)male supremacy. And her conclusion is a tour de force.

I was taking notes from the first pages! An incredible book that serves history and cultural critique, giving context to the ever-growing conversation of white privilege by cataloguing the doings of historical “mediocre” white men celebrated and canonized by American culture. This is an excellent book to supplement historical or cultural conversation about privilege in high school and college classrooms.

This book was so poignant, so well-researched, so timely, and so NECESSARY.

I have loved every book and opinion piece I’ve read by Oluo and this book was just further evidence of how important the work she is doing is. Each chapter breaks down different aspects and historical origins of white male supremacy in our society, but specifically seems to highlight mostly the US experience from colonial times to present day.

I found it informative and well-laid out, She addressed specifically nuanced ways that white male supremacy effects women of color and white women differently, women of color politicians, the virulent and racist/Misogynistic responses to them from critics and the media, which was very important and well done.
I also really enjoyed/learned a lot from her chapters on the old American west and the ways white masculinity exploited the west and native Americans to fulfill this idea of a waning masculinity. She had a really great section on the history and racism of American football that was really interesting as well

Overall I really enjoyed and soaked up this book. It’s not a groundbreaking book for anyone who has been entrenched in anti-racism reading and education, but it is quite nuance and focused more specifically on an area that your broader books on race and gender politics may not delve deeply into and for that I think it was a really timely and accessible read.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC and Seal Press for a physical advanced copy.

Readable and informative, and I liked her overarching idea of comparing a historical situation to a modern one to show how times haven't changed.

At points, this book gave me a lot of concern and anxiety. Concern for the state of our society and what we were prioritizing and anxiety around being able to make enough change to create a lasting impact. Even so, I think it was an important read. I'm thankful that Oluo presented the stories she did using historical evidence and her usual sharp social commentary.

This is such a well-researched and important book. We need to deal with our racist and misogynistic history and Mediocre will give you a lot to think about and act on. This book is filled with valuable information and not well known history. Ijeoma Oluo is a great writer who makes a tough subject understandable and readable.

An excellent deep dive into white male supremacy in the United States. Oluo's research shines throughout this work. Her impressive interviews with some of the subjects she talks about were extremely insightful and fascinating to read about. What I found most refreshing was how Oluo weaved in her own experience throughout the book. Many, when writing non-fiction books that aren't memoir tend to sanitize or completely leave out their own experiences, sticking to the data and the facts and writing opinion when absolutely necessary. Though that technique is successful for some I find that adding personalization to give that extra oonf to a book. Oluo talks heavily about her own experiences with harassment from white men, and goes into great detail about the many horrors she has faced. Though absolutely horrifying to hear about, it brought so much authenticity to the narrative. Overall, an absolute must read if you are looking to challenge your thinking or learn more about the horrible injustices in this countries history.

I wanted to really enjoy this book but it felt incoherent in terms of essay groupings and could have been about a 1/3 shorter. I appreciated where the author intended to go with this but it fell short of the goal. The Mediocre title didn't translate over to many of the essays and it felt a stretch to tie some of the essays together in that manner. I wish this had been the raving set of essays I was expecting. I did learn some interesting bits of knowledge and thoroughly enjoyed the Shirley Chisholm section of the book.

I received a copy of this novel from Net Galley for an honest review.

This book and title will turn a ton of people off, but it is an extremely blunt take on American history by a person of color...a woman of color. This book had some amazing insights and incredible nuggets of truth. I recently read a quote that pointed out that we have had patriarchy for millennia and men aren't even happy with the system they built. I think about that quote everyday because YES it is so true!

This book points out the subtle undertones of white supremacy in our every day lives; in our local governments, in our relationships, in our sports organizations, in every institution we are part of. It is a difficult topic to tackle and handle with grace, yet Oluo does just that.

It is sad that there will be those who should read it and won't, but miss the message of hope and change Oluo gives at the end of the book. We can change, we can give everyone a seat at the table, we can all have our voice heard. Tackling our violent history is the first step and admitting our dark, dirty, racist secrets is the first step.

P.S. I went out and purchased this book after reading my eARC to support the author and the research she put into her work.

Book #5 of 2021

This books speaks a lot of truth backed with logical arguments. I found myself nodding along while reading it and musing on my own experiences and those of others. Ijeoma Oluo has a very clear and concise writing style that is easy to read but packs a punch. I highly recommend picking up Mediocre and reading it slowly to absorb all of its points. Oluo will now be an auto-buy author for me.

Wow, this book has it all.

I originally fell in love with Oluo's writing with her first book So You Want To Talk About Race. I now facilitate learning groups at work using this book as a study. I love sharing her works.

If you are at all interested in how our country got to where we are now you must read this book. She goes through history and points out all the things us as a nation have done to get us here as a society.

Another stunning work. You must get this book today!

Oh, my favorite author wrote a new book! I just loved every painful, beautiful, moving word of this book. I can’t wait to read what comes next.

“White male identity is not inborn—it is built. This identity is not designed to be its most intelligent, most productive, most innovative self. The aspirational image of white maleness is meant to be far less than that. Elite white men don’t need actual competition from rising and striving average white men. Instead, this status becomes a birthright detached from actual achievement. It is an identity that clings to mediocrity.”

This brilliant book argues that the white male elite foster white male supremacy as a means of keeping down other white men as well as women and people of color. It’s a sometimes painful but always inspirational look at how we got here and how we can build a better, stronger, richer, more compassionate, and more inclusive society.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received.

This non-fiction is an incredibly timely piece about the past, present, and future of the United States. Mediocre is a great mix of personal anecdotes and heavily researched parts of history ranging from cowboy folklore to Colin Kaepernick's taking a knee. I was expecting a book focusing on race alone, but I was pleasantly surprised by the intersectionality of race and feminism. I also appreciated that this book critiqued not only Trump, but also people on the democratic side, reminding us that we must hold all elected officials accountable and that a win for the Democratic Party is not an automatic win for minorities.
If you believe that white supremacy is an issue in this country, I highly recommend you check this out.