About the book
Trevor Noah's mother was black and Xhosa, his father white and Swiss, and under apartheid their relationship was illegal, punishable by five years in prison. In eighteen personal essays, the comedian and Daily Show host recalls being kept mostly indoors as a small child, growing up in Soweto, selling bootleg CDs in Alexandra and using his fluency in languages to win acceptance as a mixed-race boy. At the center is his mother, Patricia, a fiercely religious and fearless woman set on keeping her son out of the cycle of poverty, violence and abuse. Published in 2016, it became a bestseller.
Bill Gates, a longtime fan of The Daily Show, put it on his list of five summer reads and said he loved seeing how Noah developed his outsider approach to comedy. Upswing CEO Radu Marcusu called it his favorite non-business book by far and recommended the audiobook for Noah's own narration.
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This book has 4 recommendations
Irina Nica (Senior Marketing Manager/HubSpot)
I also pay attention to any book recommendations my friends post on Facebook. I started reading Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime after I saw Radu Marcusu, CEO of Upswing, recommending it. He swore by it that is was funny -- and it was! Until the last chapter. I remember listening to the audiobook on a train and crying my eyes out. So yeah. That happened.
Radu Marcusu (CEO/Upswing)
My favorite non-business book, by far, is Trevor Noah’s Born a crime. If you are familiar with the “The Daily Show”, than you probably know who Noah is. He is a vivid character indeed but his book is even better. To really enjoy the experience you should listen to the book. His narration is authentic, he even interprets quotes from his characters in a very theatrical way, while bubbling over with excitement and good humor. I, however, have to admit, really enjoyed the way he managed to accurately insert pieces of psychological and social observation - quite an useful exercise for anybody who has to work on a daily basis with people.
Recommended by Lucas Morales (Founder & CEO/Zeall.us)
Source: Lucas Morales, Founder & CEO of Zeall.us, Gave Entrepreneurship Its First Shot at the Age of 14
Bill Gates (Founder/Microsoft)
As a longtime fan of The Daily Show, I loved reading this memoir about how its host honed his outsider approach to comedy over a lifetime of never quite fitting in. Born to a black South African mother and a white Swiss father in apartheid South Africa, he entered the world as a biracial child in a country where mixed race relationships were forbidden. Much of Noah’s story of growing up in South Africa is tragic. Yet, as anyone who watches his nightly monologues knows, his moving stories will often leave you laughing.
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