The African American Student's Guide to Surviving Graduate School (v. 4) Review

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The African American Student's Guide to Surviving Graduate School (v. 4) ReviewI did not like this guide for several reasons.
I bought it after the admissions process was finished and it was confirmed that I was headed to grad school.
The chapters do not give any information that is not readily found in other, better books (such as "Getting What You Came For") or on the Internet. I read a LOT of graduate school guides before, during, and after applying to grad school and all of them offered something new, except for this one. Unless you are a grand newbie to the whole thing, it's certainly not worth it and it doesn't offer a fresh look or anything like that.
Second, I was surprised that the book was by an African American because it took a stereotypical view of the middle-class black American: a devoted Christian, with strong family ties, etc. Constantly through the book it was suggested that readers turn to God or their church in order to cope with problems in grad school. I am not religious and I know a lot of black Americans who also are not, especially most of the black American grad students I know, so this confused me. Also, the book seemed aimed at an older demographic, like people who were returning to graduate school after having earned their bachelor's earlier in life and perhaps had careers, family, and other concerns. It didn't appeal to this 22-year-old going straight from undergrad.
Finally, I was a bit astonished by the lack of a fresh perspective (that of a black American) on the problems of graduate school, especially since that is the premise of the book. This could just have easily been "The African American Student's Guide to Surviving Life" or something else generic. Most of the fixes, as I remember them, were just general stress-handling techniques and not tailored to the experiences of graduate students, and there were very few anecdotes about the experiences of black graduate students who felt isolated or mistreated because of their race. There was NO mention of black American grad students who may have intersecting oppressions, like the special issues of black women, black LGBT persons, black disabled persons, poor black persons, etc.
Basically, I don't recommend. The problem is that there really isn't a good book out on the market that addresses the issues of black people (or people of color, or minorities in general) in graduate school. I guess as our numbers rise we may encounter more as more are spurred to write them.The African American Student's Guide to Surviving Graduate School (v. 4) Overview
What does it take to get into and through graduate school? What special challenges, opportunities and issues face an African-American graduate student? This book offers practical advice to help African-American students get the most of their graduate school experience.


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