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    The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto
    The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto
    The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto
    Audiobook6 hours

    The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto

    Written by Charles M. Blow

    Narrated by JD Jackson

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

    A New York Times Editor’s Choice | A Kirkus Best Nonfiction Book of the Year

    ?The Inspiration for the HBO Original Documentary South to Black Power

    From journalist and New York Times bestselling author Charles Blow comes a powerful manifesto and call to action, ""a must-read in the effort to dismantle deep-seated poisons of systemic racism and white supremacy"" (San Francisco Chronicle).

    Race, as we have come to understand it, is a fiction; but, racism, as we have come to live it, is a fact. The point here is not to impose a new racial hierarchy, but to remove an existing one. After centuries of waiting for white majorities to overturn white supremacy, it seems to me that it has fallen to Black people to do it themselves.

    Acclaimed columnist and author Charles Blow never wanted to write a “race book.” But as violence against Black people—both physical and psychological—seemed only to increase in recent years, culminating in the historic pandemic and protests of the summer of 2020, he felt compelled to write a new story for Black Americans. He envisioned a succinct, counterintuitive, and impassioned corrective to the myths that have for too long governed our thinking about race and geography in America. Drawing on both political observations and personal experience as a Black son of the South, Charles set out to offer a call to action by which Black people can finally achieve equality, on their own terms.

    So what will it take to make lasting change when small steps have so frequently failed? It’s going to take an unprecedented shift in power. The Devil You Know is a groundbreaking manifesto, proposing nothing short of the most audacious power play by Black people in the history of this country. This book is a grand exhortation to generations of a people, offering a road map to true and lasting freedom.

    Editor's Note

    A plan for racial equality…

    New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow is a man with a plan, and in “The Devil You Know” he lays it out with stunning clarity and resolution. He argues that if more Black people moved South, reversing the previous trend of migration to the North and West, it would create crucial political majorities in the Southern Heartland. And upending longstanding power structures could pave a new path toward racial equality for Black Americans. Blow’s powerful and timely manifesto is an urgent call to action.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateJan 26, 2021
    ISBN9780062914699
    Author

    Charles M. Blow

    Charles M. Blow is an acclaimed journalist and op-ed columnist for the New York Times who appears frequently on CNN. He is the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir Fire Shut Up in My Bones. He lives in Atlanta.

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    Reviews for The Devil You Know

    4/5

    81 ratings17 reviews

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    • 1/5
      Poorly wriiten. Close minded. Preachy. Dont ware your time with this book.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      I decided to read this book because it as a group-read for the Afterword Reading Society of the National Post. The book is written by a Canadian author, and it is set in Ontario in the early 1990's, but it touches on Canada from the 1970's until 1993. 1993 in Canada was a year of note. That was the year that Paul Bernardo was arrested for crimes he committed in Toronto. Evie Jones is a young reporter assigned to follow the investigation after Bernardo's arrest. It brings back many memories of Evie's childhood. When she was 11 years old, her friend Lianne Gagnon was abducted and murdered. The murderer was never found. The neighbourhood that the two girls lived in were reeling in shock, and the crime forever changed the lives of the people who lived in the neigbourhood, including Evie. The story is told in the first person through Evie, and we see how losing her young friend has affected her even now many years later. The investigation into Bernardo's history, has brought some unresolved issued front and centre into Evie's life, and to make matters worse, she thinks she has a stalker following her. She sets out to try to solve her friend's murder while wresting her own demons. The book was well-written, but I found that the tension was not really maintained throughout. At times it was hard to determine the difference between what was real and what Evie was imagining. I started to lose interest about 2/3 of the way through the book. I loved the Canadian references though, and appreciated what appeared to be an insider's look at the effect that a such a tragedy has on the people who are close to the incident (such as neighbours and friends).
    • 4/5
      The Devil You Know by Elisabeth de Mariaffi is a highly recommended, compulsively additive novel on the nature of paranoia - and a serial killer.

      It's 1993 and Evie Jones is a rookie reporter who at the Toronto Free Press. She's working on researching a series on women's safety that she irreverently nicknames the "dead-girls weekend section" While Evie spends hours researching dead girls, or girls who were kidnapped, raped, and murdered, she also recalls the kidnapping, rape, and murder of her best friend Lianne, when the girls were 11 in 1982. The suspected killer, Robert Cameron, was never caught. Evie investigation into old cases sends her off doing some private investigating of her own.

      Set during the time that real-life Canadian serial killer Paul Bernando was arrested for his crimes in Toronto, Evie research can make for a strong case that women and girls are never safe. But as Evie's reseach continues, she also is constantly paranoid that someone is following her, or watching her. While most women have been taught to have a healthy sense of paranoia and awareness of their surroundings, Evie's actions may have you questioning if she has gone too far. Are her action's out of control or reasonable? And is someone really looking into her apartment windows at night or is it Evie's imagination going into overdrive?

      Evie is a strong, tough protagonist with a sense of humor, curiosity, intelligence and courage. You will find yourself cheering her on, hoping for the best; most female readers will also likely have an intimate understanding of Evie's paranoia and caution. In this novel that is part psychological terror and part crime reporter's research, the suspense is gradually built until the nail-biting climax.

      De Mariaffi did an excellent job establishing Evie's character as tough and street-smart but also very paranoid, especially after the events of her childhood. Most women know and have to teach their daughters that the world is not a safe place for them. They need to be vigilant and cautious and, yes, even a bit paranoid.

      I found the writing to be excellent and enjoyed this novel immensely. It is a nice blend of literary fiction with a crime novel. She has managed to make it all flow together beautifully and build to a tension-filled climax. It should be noted that de Mariaffi does not use quotation marks, which might bother some readers.

      Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Touchstone for review purposes.
    • 3/5
      THE DEVIL YOU KNOW by Elisabeth de Mariaffi is an intense psychological suspense crime thriller with a blend of mystery and literary fiction. Evie Jones, age twenty-two is a crime beat reporter for the Toronto Press in Canada and reports on crime, but is still haunted by an old unsolved murder of her friend years ago. Robert Cameron was suspected of the murder; however, was never apprehended and uses a number of names. She is obsessed (truly) with finding the murdered, as she is being watched, stalked, and taunted.She is reminded of her best friend murder's and of course uses her tools and soon finds some connections. Currently with Ellie's job, there is a great deal of publicity surrounding the arrest of Paul Bernardo. He's accused of being the Scarborough Rapist, a serial killer. She is assigned to stake out Paul Bernardo’s house and gather as much information as possible, solicits help, and ultimately leads her into danger and details of her mother’s past. While the novel had some nice writing, feeling the fear, tension, violence and haunting emotions of women, with a story close to the author’s own heart, I could not get past the narrator of the audio book, Andi Arndt— very flat and non-engaging. Would recommend reading the book; however, would not recommend the audio version.
    • 5/5
      Such beautiful book. Such a powerful book! I highly recommend this.
    • 2/5
      Rookie reporter Evie Jones is determined to solve the murder of her best friend, Lianne Gagnon, a crime that continues to haunt her even though it happened half a lifetime ago when the girls were eleven. As Evie’s research digs into the past, the suspense ramps up and a few nifty twists unexpectedly wend their way into the story.“The Devil You Know” is written with Evie serving as the narrator; unfortunately she has a tendency to ramble along in a sort of stream of consciousness style that many readers will find quite off-putting as it has the unintended consequence of bogging down the often-confusing storyline it creates. A frustrating writing style, dialogue without quotation marks, may have been meant to create a perception that the narrator is confiding in the reader, but it’s likely to be a distracting stumbling block for readers who expect certain writing conventions.
    • 5/5
      Great book! I am not surprised. He is a Gramblinite!
    • 4/5
      This literary thriller has a slow build toward chilling fear for the safety of the vulnerable young protagonist, Evie Jones. It is 1993 and she is a young reporter for the Free Press in Toronto, living in a walk up apartment, making a living on her own. As a rookie her assignment is usually the background research work which she passes on to the more experienced reporters. But her boss Angie hands her a new assignment and a new tool that changes everything. The assignment is to gather background info on the growing number of murders of teen girls in the Toronto area over recent years. The tool is the LexisNexis resource on the computer. All you need is a subscription and a password, Angie says. Evie soon realizes what a marvelous tool this is.Back when she was nearly 11, her best friend Lianne Gagnon became a victim of a kidnap/murder scenario that has traumatized Evie ever since. She has spent a lot of time with therapists, yet is still consumed by the fear that the person who killed Lianne could be coming back for her. The suspect remains Robert Cameron, but he has never been apprehended. Though Lianne's murder doesn't fit the time frame Angie has given her, Evie can't help using the LexisNexis resource to find out all she can about Robert Cameron along with research on the girls who are part of the assignment. Before long she is discovering connections that she never would have expected and they are awfully close to home. At the same time she sees a stranger on her third floor balcony one night. It is snowing and dark outside. The light is on in her kitchen and all she sees outside is her own reflection in the glass patio door. She hears a noise from outside, and assumes it is an icicle falling or perhaps a raccoon. But a neighbor's motion light comes on and there is no doubt that there is a man on the balcony staring in at her. She is terrified, but when she looks back outside he is gone. She calls the police, but tracks are covered before they arrive and there is not much they can do. Maybe she just imagined it. Or maybe not...Ms. de Mariaffi's style of writing contributes effectively to the mounting tension. Evie is telling the story in her stream of conscience-style, so we hear her worst case imaginings when she starts to get scared, and can't always be sure if she is telling us what she sees or what she is imagining. But through it all, she keeps plugging away at the mystery, getting closer and closer to the awful truth.
    • 5/5
      One of the best books on race and race relations. Well thought out and personal. Very applicable to inculcate in my thinking.

      As a south Asian, there is so much in this book that I can learn from and I look forward to applying many of the thought processes into my life.
    • 3/5
      Evie Jones is an interesting character and Elisabeth de Mariaffi has created a really interesting world for her to inhabit. The 90’s setting is old enough to feel dated yet it doesn’t seem like an out of touch world.The tragedy that happened to Evie’s friend Lianne when they were children colors Evie’s world and all her relationships. The need to know what really happened has influenced her decision to become a reporter and it influences how she relates to her parents and her friend David. Elisabeth de Mariaffi creates some very interesting secondary characters, particularly Evie’s mother. Evie herself lives with one foot in the real world and one foot in her imagination. The story is told entirely from her point of view and you never know if what she believes is happening now, as well as what happened in the past, is real. You live in Evie’s mind and quite frankly, it’s a bit claustrophobic.I never entirely trusted Evie’s perception, and frankly neither did she. The problem with this is that it robbed the story of some of its tension. Further, I never really warmed to her character and was less invested in what happened to her. The story of her mother and her youth was more tantalizing and I would have been interested in learning more about that.The Devil You Know is a solid story but it doesn’t quite rise to the level of thrilling. As a main character, Evie felt lacking. The other characters were mostly solid. The book has mild chills in places and the writing is good, but it never quite took off for me.I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of this book.
    • 3/5
      Evie Jones is haunted by the murder of her friend when they were 11-years old. Now ten years later, she is still consumed by the unsolved murder and while working at a newspaper, she is assigned to research dead girls. Set in 1993 Toronto, this novel uses the real life case of serial killer Paul Bernando as a foundation for this novel. Evie’s obsession with her friend’s death has definitely had an impact on the adult she has become. I could feel her anxiety. As she researches and thinks she is paranoid and being followed or stalked, the suspense build slowly. But this is more psychological than a thriller with a hint of mystery. I found it to be an engaging read.
    • 1/5
      I gave this book a good 8-10 chapters to really capture me, but I'm just honestly not feeling immersed. Evie seems kind of immature. The story could use some polish, especially in terms of dialogue. Plus, I think the "j-school" abbreviation was starting to grate on my nerves.

      There are plenty of people out there who loved this, it just wasn't for me.
    • 5/5
      This is a very thought provoking and detailed book with a casual and familiar style. Highly recommend!
    • 4/5
      When Evie was eleven, her best friend, Lianne, was abducted by an unknown. Her body was found twelve days later. Evie is now a 22 year old reporter and the case is still unsolved, although police think they know who the perpetrator was. Unfortunately (a) they can’t prove it and (b) they can’t locate him.Ever since the abduction, Evie has been fixated on the case, initially reading the gory details in the newspapers. Eleven years later, she still can’t get it out of her mind. Her current assignment is compiling a list of all the abducted girls over the past 20-30 years, in order to prove that things are getting worse, instead of better. Of course, this brings back all the memories of Lianne’s disappearance.Although Evie denies it, her new immersion into missing girls is taking over her well being. She ‘remembers’ things she’d forgotten at the time Lianne went missing. She’s finding links between people that may or may not be important–or real. She fears that someone is following her, looking into her apartment. Her parents are concerned for her. Her best friend, David, two years younger, who she used to babysit for, is concerned. Is what she purports to see reality or a vivid imagination or hallucination?De Mariaffi, whose only other published works is a collection of short stories, has penned quite the intriguing book. There is suspense on every page, right up to the end (think music constantly forewarning danger playing in the background–this would make a great movie adaptation). She has readers convinced ‘who done it’. She constantly skips around time-wise. Evie can be talking to David one minute and without notice she’s thinking of things that happened eleven years ago or yesterday. While it is sometimes disconcerting, it just adds to the imbalance of Evie’s jumbled mind.There are no quotation marks when characters speak, making it difficult to determine whether it’s a thought, spoken word, or description. In many ways, this book is written as a ‘train of thought’ book, skipping around as would one’s mind as it races through various thoughts, possibilities, scenarios.I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about the ending. It’s not what I expected. Let me know your thoughts after you read The Devil You Know. It is absolutely worth the read.
    • 4/5
      When I was offered to review this book, I looked forward to a good novel of suspense. The book hit the spot, delivering the suspense and provided a new voice in literary thrillers.Ellie Jones is age 21 and a crime reporter for the "Free Press," in Toronto, Canada. She's haunted with the kidnap murder of Lianne Gagnon, her best friend. This happened ten years ago when both girls were age eleven.Currently with Ellie's job, there is a great deal of publicity surrounding the arrest of Paul Bernardo. He's accused of being the Scarborough Rapist, a serial killer.As Ellie is examining this case, she checks into the history of young girls who were murder victims. With her interest piqued, she gets on the trail of a chameleon, Robert Nelson Cameron and his many aliases.The story is tense as someone begins stalking Ellie and she's not sure where to turn for help. She's learned things about her mother's teenage years when Ellie's mother lived in a communal setting. Her mother admits to knowing Charles Manson and the reader's imagination spirals upward.Through this dark story, we feel for Ellie's fear mixed with her inquisitive nature and desire to learn what happened to her best friend. There are a number of surprises as Ellie continues her quest.I enjoyed this story although I felt it could have been shortened. Ellie's boyfriend didn't strike me as a likable character and I wondered about Ellie's attachment to him.I give the story a 3 * rating and the literary writing 4*s
    • 3/5
      The Devil You Know is Elisabeth de Mariaffi's first novel. Her previous short story collection was longlisted for the Giller Prize.de Mariaffi sets her book in 1993 Toronto. Paul Bernardo has just been arrested and young reporter Evie Jones has been assigned to the story. It's suspected that Bernardo is also the Scarborough rapist that terrorized Toronto women in the late eighties before moving on to murder.Evie's childhood friend Lianne was also abducted when the girls were young, with her body found eleven days later. This past event is never far from Evie's mind and colours much of her present. When she looks out her apartment window one night and sees a hooded man standing on the fire escape staring back, her anxiety levels ratchet even higher. As she continues to investigate Lianne's death, she finds disturbing connections to her own life. But is she really seeing someone or imagining it? Are those footsteps someone behind her? Did she leave her door unlocked? Is there someone else in the room with her? de Mariaffi does a great job ratcheting up the tension with seemingly innocent sounds and innocuous actions taking on sinister tones and meaning.Evie was a difficult character for me. Although I knew I should feel some greater sense of sympathy or empathy for her, she made me angry with her careless actions. Some of her decisions seem at great odds with her mental state and fears - especially in the last few chapters. I did enjoy the voice of reason from David, Evie's friend. David's father was especially creepy.de Mariaffi does capture time and place extremely well. She herself grew up in Toronto during this time period. And de Mariaffi's best childhood friend Sharin' Morningstar Keenan was indeed murdered. And this is where I start having a problem with the book. I'm old enough to remember these crimes, the warnings and the increased dangers associated with being a woman in Toronto at that time. But I also remember the victims of Bernardo's crimes. de Mariaffi uses those facts and names in her book. The murder and possible suspect of Lianne's killing is also drawn from Keenan's case. I can't imagine the families of Leslie Mahaffy, Kristen French or Allison Parrot need reminders of their daughters deaths used in a fictional work.de Marriaffi's blending of fact and fiction just didn't work for me. Inserting her own character and her experience into borrowed real life situations seems a bit too easy. Can I also mention that Charles Manson also figures in a plot that stretched incredulity to the breaking point by the end. I found de Mariaffi's exclusion of quotation marks and one person point of view narrative annoying. Overall, this was a miss for me and just didn't live up to the publisher's blurbs "In the vein of Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects".
    • 3/5
      Not a bad effort. Enjoyable mystery.