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It’s good to know that nerds aren’t just the domain of white people.  Growing up poor in an urban neighborhood, Shawn Taylor had the difficult task of growing up where street cred is the only useable currency and if anyone found out you where smart and liked Dungeons and Dragons, you were sure to get a foot up your ass.  Taylor’s exploration into race and masculinity in his new book Big Black Penis is a sharp, witty self realization about what it takes to be a man in today’s society. 

This isn’t some sad sap get in touch with your emotions tale of woe.  Shawn looks at social issues that concern black men or really anyone that grew up in an environment where they would get beat up for being different with great humor and respect.  He uses humor to as a means to convey his message and present thought provoking ideas.  Shawn covers different areas of his life in his journey to become a man.  From learning how to respect women by hanging out with the local street hookers to trying to reconcile his homophobia, Shawn doesn’t apologize for his actions nor does he condone them. These are simply stories from his past that shaped him into the man he is today. 

Shawn’s voyage of self-discovery is open and honest.  He’s not trying to sell you on some new age philosophy, but rather wants you to look inside and evaluate the series of events that made you who you are today.  He doesn’t make judgments on the people in his life. Even the guy that shot and killed him for two minutes gets a pass.  Each story adds a new layer to explore and don’t be surprised if it takes you longer than normal to read 154 pages.  Shawn’s tone and demeanor is like hanging out with your friends and bs’ing.  He’s not trying to convert you just get you to explore who you are. He covers a great deal in that short time.  Heavy subjects like father abandonment issues, sexuality, petty crime, race and growing up poor are al explored and form the backbone of the book. 

This is the second version of Shawn Taylor’s Big Black Penis.  I’m not sure what has changed but it says that the book has been heavily revised and expanded.  According to his blog, after winning the DIY Book Contest, Shawn added a few chapters and rewrote some parts.  I would be curious to read the before version to see what exactly changed.  The finished product is a great read and a book I encourage everyone to pick up.  Men will be able to understand where Shawn is coming from and women will enjoy the insight into the male psyche.  And because I’m very juvenile (my wife can very much attest to this) I never thought I would Big Black Penis this much.

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