Review of The Metamorphosis of Frank Benson Jones

[Abi McCoy]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Metamorphosis of Frank Benson Jones" by Frank Benson Jones.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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The Metamorphosis of Frank Benson Jones is an autobiographical work. Frank Benson Jones grew up in Little Rock in the 1930s, so was no stranger to daily racial injustices. He recalls an instance where he watched a White police officer shoot a Black man in the back, and he didn’t react negatively to it because that’s just the way things were. Due to some of this father’s questionable activities, Jones grew up feeling out of place because their lifestyle was higher than those in their community. Similarly, his love of boxing and learning various styles of combat stemmed from his father’s abusiveness.

Jones’ life didn’t slow down. He put his all into high school then joined the Air Force, where his preconceived notions concerning White superiority were challenged. His views concerning racial relations and stereotypes continued to be challenged throughout his time in the military, where he worked in the maternity ward, as a surgeon’s assistant, and then as a pilot. He was stationed in Vietnam during the war and managed to leave the Air Force for a job as a commercial pilot when he made it back to the United States. At this time, he became interested in and eventually joined the Black Panthers, until their viewpoints diverged. Jones participated in some illegal activities and almost became a drug runner until he found the Bible and converted to Christianity. Today, he is a preacher who fights against racial and financial injustices in the world around him.

When reading the summary for this work, I was immediately interested. How could all these things have happened to one man? And how would these events change a person’s beliefs throughout their life? The work is aptly named – the reader gets to see the metamorphosis of Jones’ beliefs concerning race, as well as his metamorphosis as a person. The author did an excellent job at being self-aware and self-critical, especially in the earlier parts of the work. One of the focuses of this book was his ever-evolving view of race relations, and he provided details at how certain events in his life led him to these changing views.

Jones excelled at telling his story in an interesting way, while highlighting several themes that are near to his heart. When he wrote about his time with the Black Panthers, he included details about some of their leaders, including what they were known for and where they ended up. This insight into America’s history was extremely informative.

While Jones included many fascinating details about his life, I felt that there were several places that lacked detail. He completely passed over meeting his wife and getting married – the first mention of his marriage is a casual aside. There was also an instance later in the book where he included a disagreement he had with his wife, but he only included his side, not giving her a voice at all. This seemed like a big oversight to me. Again, later in the book, he mentions trying to date a Christian woman and this being what led him to becoming a Christian – there wasn’t any clarification on if this woman was his wife, or if it was one of his extramarital affairs.

Overall, I give The Metamorphosis of Frank Benson Jones a 3 out of 4 stars rating. There were several errors in the book, but they did not detract much from the work. The author did an excellent job at focusing on themes that occurred throughout his life and writing his autobiography in a way that constantly came back to those ideas. However, there were instances where clarification or more details could have been provided to enhance his story. This book was very informative, and I recommend it to anyone interested in racial relations in the 20th century, American history, or reading about someone overcoming challenges in their personal life.

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The Metamorphosis of Frank Benson Jones
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[Helene Mas]

I think this book is good for peoples who like autobiography book

[Astral Magi]

This sounds like an interesting read. I love learning about events that shaped people's lives in history. Thank you for a great review.

[asteel18]

It's always fascinating to hear how people transformed themselves and what it took to get there. Thanks for the review!

[peace_m]

I really enjoy reading memoir as they are always educative. This one was not an exception. well done!

[Ekezie1998]

Have never really been a great fan of autobiographies. Great review though.

[Rm21]

it really sounds like the author had an eventful life and managed to create an interesting book based off of it. i don't usually read autobiographies but this one might be worth the read. thanks for the recommendation.