Rating: 
Summary: Unique take on race relations in the United States
Review: A number of people have covered race relations in the U.S and in a number of different ways; however, Kotlowitz still manages to find a fresh take on the matter. I grew up in a small community about a half-hour from Benton Harbor/St. Joe area, so I found the book especially interesting; however, the relationship between the "twin cities" that Kotlowitz discovers and explores is certainly not unique. Benton Harbor is a primarily black, lower-income city with a horrific crime problem while St. Joe is a primarily white, upper-middle class city with very little crime. The twin cities relationship is especially interesting because both communities are relatively small and only a river serves to divide. However, similar questions could be raised about the relationship between many urban areas and their suburbs. Kotlowitz is a journalist by training and that style of writing works well in the book. While we're hearing about a sociological problem, we're also being told a compelling story.
Rating:
Summary: Unique take on race relations in the United States
Review: A number of people have covered race relations in the U.S and in a number of different ways; however, Kotlowitz still manages to find a fresh take on the matter. I grew up in a small community about a half-hour from Benton Harbor/St. Joe area, so I found the book especially interesting; however, the relationship between the "twin cities" that Kotlowitz discovers and explores is certainly not unique. Benton Harbor is a primarily black, lower-income city with a horrific crime problem while St. Joe is a primarily white, upper-middle class city with very little crime. The twin cities relationship is especially interesting because both communities are relatively small and only a river serves to divide. However, similar questions could be raised about the relationship between many urban areas and their suburbs. Kotlowitz is a journalist by training and that style of writing works well in the book. While we're hearing about a sociological problem, we're also being told a compelling story.
Rating: 
Summary: This Is NOT The WHOLE Story
Review: Alex Kotolwitz it an out spoken liberal, that doesn't know what the heck he is talking out of his butt about. My father was in this book in the part where he a Steve Marshke were in the Silver Dollar having a burger after a hard honest day at the office. And I know for a fact that many facts are false accusations contradicting what really happened that night in St. Joseph. And may I remind you that this youth did commit a crime he broke in to a teacher of mine son's car. I think Kotolwitz should come back to Twin Citys and get BOTH sides of the story and not just words from the St. Joseph residents that were not in volved in the case.
Rating:
Summary: This Is NOT The WHOLE Story
Review: Alex Kotolwitz it an out spoken liberal, that doesn't know what the heck he is talking out of his butt about. My father was in this book in the part where he a Steve Marshke were in the Silver Dollar having a burger after a hard honest day at the office. And I know for a fact that many facts are false accusations contradicting what really happened that night in St. Joseph. And may I remind you that this youth did commit a crime he broke in to a teacher of mine son's car. I think Kotolwitz should come back to Twin Citys and get BOTH sides of the story and not just words from the St. Joseph residents that were not in volved in the case.
Rating:
Summary: Reprehensible
Review: As a lifelong resident of Southwest Michigan, St. Joseph, to be precise, I found this to be a very disturbing portrait drawn of our twin cities by an individual with no clue. The only tie he has to our community is that the sister of his sister-in-law, was with one of the main individuals in this book on the night of this unspeakable tragedy. He fails to mention his relationship to this key player at any point in this book. Yes, there is bigotry in St. Joseph and Benton Harbor. But in no way is this book representative of our daily existence. There are questionable areas in St. Joseph, as there are in most cities. I found it odd that Mr. Kotlowitz did not mention having met with anyone from the our Historical Society to obtain unbiased information on the historical prejudices that he says exist in our small towns. I find it unfortunate and am saddened to think that an outsider, who is unfamiliar with the people of our twin cities, will read this book and be left with the most unbelievable impression of two cities, who, so closely situated to one another, can not or will not tolerate the crossing of the river from one town to the next without fear of being harmed.
Rating: 
Summary: Can't put it down
Review: Chicago writer Alex Kotlowitz, known for his study of public housing families in There Are No Children Here, is drawn to the twin cities of St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, Michigan. One town is predominantly white, the other predominantly black. He interviews seemingly everybody in Southwest Michigan about the circumstances of the death of a black teenager. He appears more investigator than reporter but expertly fleshes out many colorful characters as he tells how this death, which otherwise would not have made news outside the area, helped polarize the community. During the days I read this book, all I could think about was getting back to it.
Rating: 
Summary: Disjointed
Review: I had a hard time following the author's direction. He seemed to skip around a lot and never followed one course for very long. The ending I found really annoying when he started to devote tiny chapters to alternate theories and introduced new people. I think I was hoping more for some type of insight into the race relations between the 2 towns...I was short-changed in that aspect.
The reviews of people from St. Joe I find interesting. Mainly because they say the book is inaccurately negative and they don't see that type of discrimination and hostility. I think that if you stepped back into time about 150 years you'd hear the same thing from slave owners. How, it "just isn't that bad". One of the things I did find most surprising was these attitudes of racism happened in the '90s and are probably still happening. It read more like something out of the '60s. How distressing!
It's a story that needs to be told but I didn't like the manner in which it was done. Easy to read, though, and worth the time.
Rating:
Summary: Everyone should read this book!
Review: I had to read "The Other Side of the River" for a class in school called Conversations on Race. In this class we discuss different parts of racial barriers and disscuss how we can make a difference in errasing racial stereotypes. This book, about a death that seperated two towns even more than they already are, reveals many of these racial stereotypes. I think that Alex Kotlowitz did a really great job in presenting both sides to this story. It is hard to write a non-bias story when you have your own views on the situation. I really hope that those who read this book became aware that racial prejudisim is still present in our country. I hope that those who read this book will encourage their friends and loved ones to read it as well so that the eyes of America may be opened everywhere!
Rating:
Summary: It Will Make You Think!
Review: Kotlowitz set out to investigate the mysterious death of Eric McGinnis, and ended up writing a superb narrative on the American racial divide. The setting is adjacent but mutually suspicious communities in southwestern Michigan. St. Joseph (population 9,300) is mostly white and middle class, while across the narrow river Benton Harbor (13,000) is largely black, poor, and crime-ridden. McGinnis, a black teen from Benton Harbor, vanished one evening in 1991 after fleeing from a man in downtown St. Joseph whose car he'd allegedly broken into. Days later McGinnis turned up in the river. Perhaps he was beaten, but this fleet young man could easily outrace his hefty pursuer. As the author investigates what happened, he finds opinions hardened by race and community bias rather than by the facts (shades of O.J. Simpson). Kotlowitz also finds allegations of police misconduct and biased housing patterns, plus smug indifference by some whites, and certain blacks that cry racism at every turn. Kotlowitz writes about tragedy and race without casting blame or seeking favor. For that reason alone one should read his outstanding narrative. Sadly, the author never discovers how McGinnis died, or the key to healing our racial divide.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding, Tragic, Thoughtful
Review: Kotlowitz set out to investigate the mysterious death of Eric McGinnis, and ended up writing a superb narrative on the American racial divide. The setting is adjacent but mutually suspicious communities in southwestern Michigan. St. Joseph (population 9,300) is mostly white and middle class, while across the narrow river Benton Harbor (13,000) is largely black, poor, and crime-ridden. McGinnis, a black teen from Benton Harbor, vanished one evening in 1991 after fleeing from a man in downtown St. Joseph whose car he'd allegedly broken into. Days later McGinnis turned up in the river. Perhaps he was beaten, but this fleet young man could easily outrace his hefty pursuer. As the author investigates what happened, he finds opinions hardened by race and community bias rather than by the facts (shades of O.J. Simpson). Kotlowitz also finds allegations of police misconduct and biased housing patterns, plus smug indifference by some whites, and certain blacks that cry racism at every turn. Kotlowitz writes about tragedy and race without casting blame or seeking favor. For that reason alone one should read his outstanding narrative. Sadly, the author never discovers how McGinnis died, or the key to healing our racial divide.
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