Born a Crime

Stories from a South African Childhood

Trevor Noah

Book Synopsis

"Born a Crime" by Trevor Noah is a poignant and hilarious memoir that delves into the author's extraordinary life growing up in apartheid South Africa.

Noah, a mixed-race child born to a black mother and white father, navigates the complexities and absurdities of a society where interracial relationships are illegal. Labeled a ‘crime’ under apartheid, his existence becomes a constant act of defiance.

Through a series of captivating anecdotes, Noah captures the essence of his unconventional childhood. From facing the challenges of being a colored child in a black and white world, to the peculiarities of his parents’ relationship, each chapter offers a unique perspective on Noah's experiences.

Noah recounts his formative years with wit and wisdom, ranging from his unlikely collaboration with his fearless, rebellious mother to escape poverty, to his misadventures as a DJ, and even his dangerous endeavors as the only white-appearing person in the hood.

"Born a Crime" is not only a personal story of survival, but also a powerful commentary on race, identity, and the human capacity for resilience. Noah's observations on the absurdity of racial classification and the farcical nature of apartheid are laced with humor, making for an enlightening and entertaining read.

With his signature humor and candid storytelling, Noah tackles the most complex of topics, never shying away from the harsh realities of his upbringing. Ultimately, "Born a Crime" is an uplifting reflection on the power of love, tenacity, and the strength to rise above adversity, inspiring readers to embrace their own stories and celebrate the diversity of the human experience.

Explore More Books

See All
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
How Will You Measure Your Life?
In-N-Out Burger
The Hot Hand
The American Story
A Peace to End All Peace
The Infidel and the Professor
The British Are Coming
How to Read a Book
Happy Money
Beat the Wealth Management Hustle
Search Inside Yourself
More Than You Know
A Hall of Mirrors
The Great Book of Amber
Dying Every Day: Seneca at the Court of Nero
Talent
Believe Me
Superforecasting
100 Deadly Skills
Billion Dollar Whale
A History of Rome
The Art of Possibility
The Neverending Story
The Essential Scratch & Sniff Guide to Becoming a Whiskey Know-It-All
The Aspirational Investor
101 Things I Learned in Engineering School
The Net & The Butterfly
Endure
The Story of Civilization: The Age of Louis XIV
The Psychology of Intelligence Analysis
Something Incredibly Wonderful Happens
Oranges
The Constitutional Convention
Trillion Dollar Triage
The Book of Why
The Skeptical Environmentalist
Scaling People
The Little Book of Bull Moves
The Box
Einstein
Prof. Arnold Ehret's Mucusless Diet Healing System
The Surrender Experiment
The Best We Could Do
Double your Profits
The Clash of the Cultures
Hidden Repression
Blue Ocean Strategy
Tales of the Unexpected
Mohandas K. Ghandi
Making The Modern World
Power Failure
Homo Deus
The Fear Book
Viral
Technopoly
Q.E.D.
The Airbnb Story
Army Of None
Natural Capitalism
The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross
No Bullshit Guide to Math and Physics
Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Barbarians At The Gate
Paradigms
Matthew Barney & Elizabeth Peyton
An Autobiography of Anthony Trollope
The True Believer
Modern Man in Search of a Soul
Rubicon
Nonviolent Communication
The Hate U Give
The Science of Success
A Mathematician's Apology
Chasing Hillary
Maps of Meaning
Golden Gates
A History of the Mind
Not The End of the World
The Talent Code
Margin of Safety
Stretching the School Dollar
My Forty Years with Ford
The Inner Lives of Markets
Confidence Game
A Year with Rumi
Dream Big
Originals
Endurance
The Man Who Fed The World
You Can Be a Stock Market Genius
Freakonomics
The Story of Civilization: The Reformation
Every Life Is On Fire
Measure What Matters
Black Edge
Traction
The Happiness Hypothesis
The Weather Makers
Night Sky with Exit Wounds