This was such a good read. This is a smaller book for a coffee table, but a powerful one. The Last Interview is a series of compiled interviews with scholars, entertainers, writers, singers, etc. Most of the interviews are rare. It was good to really get into the mind of bell hooks. She's a true gem.

Having read two of the books in bell hooks Love trilogy, All About Love and Salvation (the third book Communion, I have – but yet to read), I was interested to read these interviews. They provide more background on the author and allow for the greater understanding and depth in a subject that conversation can bring. They include an exploration of her affiliation and interest in Buddhist thought.

Overall, while the interviews are interesting, I think it is great to read the work of bell hooks, as she was quite prolific on a number of topics and a very engaging writer and thinker. If you have read all her work, this will be a bonus read and if you haven’t these interviews, some of which you can find online are a great introduction.

One of the interviews addresses the controversy of her decision to appear on a live talk show, something she did as a way for her to reach a different, wider audience. It was a strategy that in one sense did not work that well for her, due to the hard time she was given on the show. However, despite the public take-down, her aim was still achieved, as the silent majority who watched it from their homes, will have become more aware of who she was and the message she was trying to portray, in particular to Black women.

I have enjoyed her books considerably and the interviews extend her work into the joy of what conversation can bring. Though some of her work is clearly targeted at Black women, I believe there is value in it for all, indeed, it is necessary to read outside one’s own race, gender, culture, ethnic group and language, to understand other perspectives and the issues that others face. Sometimes we find resonance, other times, we pay attention, listen, read and learn. There is plenty to learn and consider in the writings and conversations of bell hooks.

bell hooks: The Last Interview and Other Conversations by bell hooks was incredible! I am so thankful that the publisher blessed with with a physical copy as a gift! I have also bought several copies for friends. I was truly thankful to have gotten to read this before most people!

I also enjoy reading bell hooks' insight into the world even if I find contradictions in her POV and philosophy.

I'm acquainted with some of bell hooks' works, although not all of them. The interviews featured in this book provided additional insights into the ideas featured in her body of work. However, the overall structure of this book, which is essentially a compilation of seven interviews from various media sources, in addition to one of the interviews is confirmed to be her final one, was very insightful to how she approaches her subjects. However, this suffers from a lot of repetition in which made me feel like I didn't learn anything new.

I am familiar with some of bell hook's work but not all. The interviews contained in this book gave me more insight into the thoughts behind some of her work. But overall the construct of this book (and apparently it is a part of a series) did not work so well for me. It is basically a re-publishing of 7 different interviews with her from different media and so there is repetition and not enough substance here for my liking. Technically one of them was indeed her last interview. I was pleased to learn a bit more about her but now am inspired to read more of her work.

Thank you to Netgalley and Melville House Publishing for an ARC and I left this review voluntarily.

for fans of bell hooks or feminist theory, these interviews are interesting and informative. The introduction felt somewhat unnecessary and could have done more to give background on bell hooks or to pull out main themes of the interviews.

It’s Bell Hooks. The final interview. If you know you know. You really can’t sum this up without saying if you are a fan, then you don’t want to miss this.

Reading bell hooks as a Kentuckian has always felt like a practice in connecting to my community, a topic covered significantly in bell hooks: The Last Interview. Engaging with her viewpoints is always interesting, but seeing her work through the chronological interviews by which the book is organized offered a new perspective to me on the development of her thinking. However, the book does suffer from issues of repetition between interviews and pacing overall, as many short-form writing collections do. bell hooks: The Last Interview is a book best fit for new readers of the feminist thinker, as I believe many familiar with the author would find the book lacking in the depth one can find in her individual works.

Thank you to @netgalley for the eARC. This is one of those books that I really wish I had a hard copy of. There is so much! I need time to process and think about each interview.

Great to read a collection of bell hooks's interviews. Without direct connection to her works, this book serves as a companion reader to her published books. It is a great addition for any reader who studies hooks.

What can I say, it's the amazing bell hooks!!! This collection of interviews with bell hooks is a pure gem. These interviews represent hooks' evolution over the years. Even in her early days, she exhibited a brilliant mind & present her theories in a methodical manner.

If you're a bell hooks' fan, you will enjoy this one.

Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so eye-opening and thought provoking. I enjoyed the interview format. It made it easier to follow and hear directly from bell her response to each question. I could almost hear the interviews as I read. They kept me intrigued by challenging the way I've view my ego and my place in the different minority groups I belong to. People need this book to help them critically think about how they view topics such as class, racism, sexism, love, and intersectionality. She explores these themes in various ways such as through hip hop lyrics, life in Kentucky, and more. I think the author did a great job with choosing meaningful interviews building up to the last one. Now, I'm looking forward to checking The Last Interview series for the other important figures they've covered.

This was okay, but didn't have what i love about bell hooks in it. If these interviews had been interspersed with essays, or even had some threads of additional writing by another person connecting them, they could have been a lot more powerful. But as it was, it felt like everything just really skimmed the surface and i didn't even understand why these 6 interviews, in particular, were chosen out of everything. What i love about bell hook is how she can make these profound connections and explain relationships and systems of domination and it felt like a third of this book was just basic interview questions and answers and the rest was scattered. That said--it's still bell hooks, so there were definitely still gems that i really valued.

Though i do teach bell hooks in one of my classes (her *Teaching* series), i can't imagine using this in whole or in part.

NetGalley ARC.

bell hooks was an American gem. These six short interviews illuminate her thoughts on a variety of issues. For those of us who miss her this book serves to remind and reinforce.

5.5/10
This book is a series of interviews about various topics, from feminism to Buddhism, which I didn't particularly enjoy. I agree with a lot of what hooks says, and strongly disagree with the rest.
Something that I do want to point out is what she says about Anita Hill. She reprimands her for saying "Other people urged me to come forth" when talking about the sexual assault she experienced, because she is "presenting herself as a passive person". This struck me as the most disgusting thing hooks could've said. She thinks Hill is wrong in victimising herself, then praises the article of a man about victimage. Now, she's talked about dualism and how life isn't so simple - basically, nothing's just black or white, gray areas exist; just because a person is black doesn't mean she'll get along with them more than with a white person, etc. - but she seems to use this excuse to be critical of the women and praise the men. The whole time, I kept thinking about it and couldn't shake it off.
I won't talk at length about anything else because my personal opinion is clouding my judgement. This book may be interesting for people who want to read everything bell hooks has ever said, or who want to get to know her really quickly; but I personally think if you're ever going to read anything by her, Ain't I a Woman? is the more obvious choice.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc.

bell hooks: The Last Interview provided me with a deep dive into her philosophies of womanism, the impact patriarchy has on the inner life of men, her relationship with Buddhism, and the overall politic of domination in our culture and her thoughts and feelings about it.

The introduction is written by Mikki Kendall who is the author of one of my all time favorite feminist texts: Hood Feminism as well as a scholar on the impact and legacy of women's history. I appreciated how her introduction provides a comprehensive background on bell hooks for the reader. Her introduction makes it so that someone with little to no familiarity with hooks at all can pick up this collection of interviews and start off reading with a foundation of understanding.

This collection contains 6 interviews spanning the spectrum from bell hooks early career to her final interview. This is a great reading recommendation for fans of bell hooks and novices alike. I enjoyed reading the words as they came directly from her mouth and learned so much about the framework hooks life and work was built upon.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the e-arc copy!