5 comments about The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

1. In the very first chapter of this work, Henrietta Flacks and family members are quoted directly in settings and intimate conversations, but no sources are given. Without these substantiations it is fiction and cast doubt upon the credulity of the rest of work. And I so much looked forward to this material.



2. This was probably one the most interesting books I have ever read. Why do most people not know about HeLa cells? This should be mandatory reading in high school! An amazing story of how one woman's life and death touches our own everyday. Rebecca Skloot does a wonderful job bringing the charecters to life and making us feel like we know them all. Thank you Rebecca for all the hard work. It was definetly worth it!



3. This book is excellent on so many different levels. It is the fascinating, true life story of a family living in an era gone by as well as a book that makes you stop and think about the moral dilemmas intrinsic to scientific advancements as well as the immorality of racism. The author is obviously personally involved but a factual reporter. She doesn't preach but leaves it to the reader to examine issues that we rarely think about. I read this book in a day and couldn't put it down.



4. I found this book to be very well written. This book is written in a way to be understood. My heart breaks for the Lacks family. Ms. Skloot asks and answers all the questions you find yourself wondering about.



5. I found that i could not put this book down! It was thought provoking and well written. Very good insight into the history of medicinal research in the U.S. and how people are used in this country without their knowlege to "further the common good". Paints a very good picture of how the less fortunate among us can be used to further the quality of health care in the United States without being able to afford the benefits that they helped create!! A very timely book for the current health care debate!

5 comments about Same Kind of Different As Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together.

1. It's a bit jarring to have two different narrators telling their stories, and Denver Moore's story is especially painful at first (when he's treated virtually as a slave in modern America), but this is a poignant book with strong and positive themes. I recommend it to anyone. Stories like this really give flesh to the Christian message of faith and charity.



2. This book was the selection for book club - probably wouldn't have picked to myself. It makes a great dicussion (even has thought-provoking questions as the end) It is a true story - very inspiring and rather sad in parts. It is a story of forgiveness and faith.



3. On the surface, it is the old South meeting the modern North, the Rich meeting the Poor, but ultimately it is God's creation meeting Him at the Throne of Grace.
   You will not have a dry eye by the end of the book and it will change your life.



4. This book was one of the best I have ever read. It answers many of life's burning questions such as, "Why do bad things happen to good people?", "What's my purpose?" etc. The fact that this is a true story (and a good story) can also deepen your faith, make you feel restored, and oh so hopeful and joyous about life. An absolute must read - and I never ever ever review books. So trust me, this was a good one.



5. I first purchased this book at a warehouse store in paperback. Someone recommended it to me in passing. I loved the story so much I decided to purchase it in hardback for my permanent library. It was delivered as advertised and in a timely manner.

5 comments about What Difference Do It Make?: Stories of Hope and Healing.

1. This is basically a continuation of their first story, Same Kind of Different as Me. While it was interesting to learn what happened to and was happening while the authors were touring their first book, how it became such a success, I wasn't as moved as with their first book. There seems to be a lot of rehashing of the story. I was particularly puzzled about Ron's disgust for his father and all the anger he harbored. How could he be so thoughtful and caring with total strangers and not love the one who had given him life? I will say that there is closure by the end of the book and it brought tears to my eyes. If you were a big fan of their first book then you will probably like this one, too.



2. What Difference Do It Make? is a continuation of the message and story begun with the book Same Kind of Different As Me. In Same Kind of Different As Me we were introduced to two men, Ron Hall and Denver Moore, and their unlikely friendship. In this sequel, we are treated to Ron and Denver's ongoing stories. We are also treated to several other interludes in the book where people from around the country share how the story of Mr. Hall and Mr. Moore influenced them and changed their lives.
   
   Denver's part of the new book involves filling in some of the blanks in his personal history, and sharing some of his thoughts and experiences since the last book was written. It becomes obvious as you read along that Denver is finding his voice. He is stating his opinions more forcefully, challenging his hearers and readers more, and growing in his faith.
   
   For me, Ron's story in this book was more compelling. Most of Ron's section of the book describes his conflict with his father throughout his life, and slowly moves toward telling the story of reconciliation with his father. It also spends some time telling about how Ron grieved the loss of his wife. In the first book, we hear about how God breaks down the walls between two men of very different backgrounds. In this book, we see how the Spirit breaks down the walls between Ron's alcoholic father and himself. When Ron is willing to treat his father with the same kind of love as he has Denver and the other homeless men he works with, his relationship with his father improves. For the most conservative of evangelicals, Ron's methods of reconciling with his father may be difficult to stomach. However you view his behavior, Ron clearly chose to accept his father the way he was instead of the way he wanted him to be, and that made all the difference in their relationship.
   
   I recommend this story heartily for anyone who loved Same Kind of Different As Me. Otherwise, it will be hard to understand this book, and the foundation on which it was written.
   
   (Although I was not required to write any review for this book, a copy was provided to me by Thomas Nelson publishers after reviewing the first book in the series)



3. This book is interesting and I enjoyed it, but it just didn't affect me the way I was expecting it to. The first book, "Same Kind of Different as Me" by Ron Hall and Denver Moore is mentioned several times and maybe that's what I'm missing - the introduction to this - the second book.
   
   I found Hall's inability to have compassion for his ailing father until the very end of his father's life, a little off putting, and he mentions his this lack on his part in this book. His mother's lack of feelings for her husband was sad, but not being there I really can't say if Hall's father deserved the treatment he received or not. Maybe he did - he certainly wasn't the ideal father or husband. I just began to feel a little sorry for him.
   
   Hall writes quite a bit about the death of his wife. Add the three together - the death of his wife, the problems with his father and his mother's attitude toward his father and I guess it could get anyone down. It is a little depressing for the reader, though.
   
   I enjoyed Moore's contribution to the book most. He speaks directly and openly without feeling sorry for himself because of his circumstances. He has the ability to share God's love and compassion beyond what most of us could achieve.
   
   The stories are interspersed between the pages. This is a little disconcerting; I just get involved in a story, then the writer or person the story is about, changes.
   
   It could just be that I'm being picky, or maybe my hopes were too high because of the build up for the book, but for some reason this book just didn't touch me like I wanted it to.



4. I just finished reading my complimentary copy (from Thomas Nelson) of "What Difference Do It Make?" by Ron Hall, Denver Moore and Lynn Vincent.
   
   This book is the sequel to the book entitled "Same Kind of Different As Me" by the same authors, and tells about the difference one couple made in a homeless man's life and how it snowballed to affect so many others. Not only can you see what it has done in the lives of the authors, but the book contains a lot of stories from folks that read the first book and were inspired. These people wrote to the authors with their own stories of making a difference and some of those stories are shared in this book.
   
   It is a beautifully written, intriguing book. I laughed and I cried and most importantly my heart was convicted. I am inspired to find all kinds of ways to serve and to help others in any way I can.
   
   I will be recommending this book to all my friends and family, in fact I already put my copy on my husband's bedside table as a hint that he needs to read it next.



5. Enjoyable and inspiring, but a lot of repeat from "Same Kind of Difference as Me".

5 comments about Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.

1. So, we've been told by 99.99% of the American Media that:
   
   Obama is not a Socialist!
   Obama is not a Marxist!
   No no, Obama is indeed a Centrist Democrat!
   
   Yet before he decided to campaign for President, or Senator, or US Rep (what exactly did he actually do outside of that before we handed him the most critically important job in the world?), he candidly exposed his core ideals by idealizing a boozing, marxist, polygamist failure of a dead beat dad, his father, Barack Obama Sr.
   
   Now, one year into his utter disaster of a presidency, one in which he has only begun to dismantle the very framework of the greatest Republic the world has ever known, it is INARGUABLE that the apple has not fallen too far from the repugnant Obama family tree. His destruction of our wealth, his complete disregard for our Constitutional protections (ones he openly refers to as 'fundamentally flawed'), his embrace of criminals around the world bent on our annihilation, and his thinly veiled hatred for the non-black races all stem from the mad hallucinations of his drug and alcohol adled vermin of a father. A father whose anti-human ideals were further imprinted in our president's head by his even more vitriolic minister, Jeremiah Wright, and the ideological founder of their race hatred, James Cone.
   
   What is happening to the United States today will be lamented about for centuries. And one day far from now, future generations will study this book, and ask in wonder, "how did they (us) not see what was coming?"



2. Barack Obama hasn't disappointed me as a writer. His story of race and inheritance is excellent and is a book that all Americans should read to understand what makes Obama tick.The Journal of an Unknown Knight



3. I never knew that President Barack Obama was a writer before he entered the political world. So I decided to pick this one up last year and read more about my new Commander-in-Chief, the first African-American President of the United States! I'm so glad I did. He has a beautiful way with words. He came from so many different worlds and he tried to understand them all...his white mother and Kenyan father. He lived in Indonesia for a few years as well. He tried to understand who he was and where he came from. He only met his father once...
   
   He eventually went to Chicago to be a political organizer, to help get things turned around in neighborhoods that didn't have too much. And he eventually makes it to his father's native land of Kenya where he meets all of his family. Where he learns that "if everyone's your family then no one is."
   
   This book was so insightful not only on race and life, but on the man himself, how he thinks and feels about the stuff of life. He's a down-to-earth guy who's trying to make life better for those around him. And in the end I like who he is what he thinks.
   
   Some wonderful quotes: "That's what the leadership was teaching me, day by day: that the self-interest I was supposed to be looking for extended well beyond the immediacy of issues, that beneath the small talk and sketchy biographies and received opinions, people carried with them some central explanation of themselves. Stories full of terror and wonder, studded with events that still haunted or inspired them. Sacred stories. "
   
   "It was as if he had come to mistrust words somehow. Words, and the sentiments words carried."



4. Written by now-President Obama when he was a recent law school grad, Dreams from My Father outlines a young man's search for a sense of purpose and place. It begins with news of his father's death, and then fills in the back story: Obama's life in Hawaii, then Indonesia, then Hawaii again with his grandparents. He describes his time as a community organizer in South Chicago, focusing on the people he worked with and the challenges he faced. Through this, Obama reflects on race, community, family, and his difficulty in coming to terms with who his father was. The book's third and finally section sees him joining his half-sister for a trip to Kenya, where he meets relatives and begins to resolve some of his issues.
   
   The stories are interesting. The writing is good: it flows like a novel. I appreciate the reflection, though some of it comes across clumsily because its more meaningful to him than to us.



5. If you want to know what makes Barack Obama tick, this is the place to find it. In this autobiography, he recounts his rich, broad family history--ultimately taking us to four continents--to offer an honest, intimate glimpse into the influences that shaped him. Lucky for readers, he happens to be a great storyteller, sharing anecdotes and conversations that truly bring the "characters" to life.

5 comments about Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America.

1. If you are interested in childhood development, the future of education in America, and "closing the achievement gap" this book is a must-read. Engaging and fascinating, in turns inspiring and daunting, this book delivers it all. Paul Tough manages to make a cliff-hanger out of a biographical, scholarly work. Filled with the highlights of mind-blowing scholarly research, this makes you stop other people in their tracks and demand "listen to this!"



2. Geoffrey Canada has developed a comprehensive, holistic formula to successfully educate poor kids in Harlem who historically have not had a good educational outcome. This book details the work that went into the program his Harlem Children's Zone developed and administers. One of the best parts of the book is the detailed discussion of why kids who come from a background of poverty more often than not do not do well in school. It debunks myths that these kids have inferior intellects. It covers how their upbringing by well-meaning but highly stressed and beleagered parents puts them behind their affluent peers. It details how Canada, who was born in a poor neighborhood in the South Bronx, decided that if these kids were going to succeed in large numbers that his approach was going to have to affect every part of their lives, not just what happens while they are in school. The city I live in, Charlotte, NC, struggles with many of the same problems of a wide achievement gap between affluent white kids and poor black and Latino children. I am telling anyone who will listen that there is a way to educate all of the kids in our community and that what Geoffrey Canada has come up with may be the best approach. This is a great book that anyone who is passionate about public education and the inequities that exist in them will enjoy reading.



3. If you're paying attention to the education agenda under the Obama administration, you'll know about charter schools and you may have heard about Geoffrey Canada. If you are interested in charter schools or about how to successfully impact student performance outcomes working with high-poverty populations, this is a good case study of a successful school.



4. Paul Tough's account of Geoffrey Canada and The Harlem Children's Zone should be read and studied by everyone in education. Feeling a bit hopeless about what it might take to close achievement gaps in public schools? Read this. If you are discouraged about the challenges of bringing children from America's poorest communities up to grade level, and doing so on a sustained basis, read this. "Whatever It Takes," as the title implies, is about commitment. It's about top to bottom, front to back, never-give-up commitment. "Whatever It Takes" also is a terrific primer in simple, unadulterated problem analysis. Problems don't linger in Canada's world, they are attacked with energy and resolve.
   
   Canada approaches the problem with a blank slate. He has benefactors (investors with plump bank accounts) who watch his work like the careful investors they are. The resources give Canada the opportunity to attempt "whatever it takes" but Tough's careful reporting shows that dollars aren't all that matters. It also takes school leadership, effective teaching, and the right attitude to reach students with so many obstacles already stacked against them.
   
   Tough's writing is clear, solid and unambiguous. (If you read authors such as Michael Pollan or Timothy Egan, you'll enjoy Tough's unflashy style.) You may have seen the "60 Minutes" segment on Geoffrey Canada, but "Whatever It Takes" probes much deeper into how the organization was built and the significant challenges Canada faced--and met--along the way. Tough's recap of the organizational challenges is matched in reporting by the portraits of people we meet along the way. There's Canada's fascinating personal story first, of course, and then the parents, students and teachers who have built this remarkable model in the heart of Harlem. It's no wonder President Obama wants to replicate this project nationwide. It works.



5. From an international perspective this is a great book to get a historico-social lowdown on what is happening in the Harlem Childrens zone.
   
   I felt empathetic to the needs and concerns of the students, and also the problems faced by educators both of whom are measured only by systemic standardised tests.
   
   The biggest contribution to educational practice would have to be the holistic 'conveyor belt' paradigm created by Canada in which many programs from birth to maturity contribute to better outcomes for students - rather than herculean and ultimately unsustainable efforts by a few gifted and tireless teachers.
   
   I would have like to see more diagrams about these programs and some analysis (charts) of their contribution or effectiveness. The photos were however great and helped creat a connection between the story and the reader.
   
   Worth a read by all means, provokes important questions and provides some answers.

5 comments about Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life.

1. Dungy provides excellent insight into living a life of character. He is a man's man and is able to relate his football experience to the every day living in a world with many heartaches and brokenness. He gives encouragement through his personal faith in God.



2. I was a little skeptical when this book was referred to me, but I'm glad I purchased it. The main precept of the book can be applied to almost any challenges we face in life; whether they be personal or professional. A truly inspirational read based on Christian teachings and values.



3. It reads like a calm, confident conversation with Coach Dungy. I wish that all young men could be tutored by people like this man.



4. I truly enjoyed listening to this book on audio. It was very inspirational. I think it should be required reading for all high school or college aged men. I have shared this with many members of my family already. Don't pass up this book.



5. There's one piece during practice when a player asks Coach why he doesn't yell--Dungy replies that "I'm not a yeller, but watch out if I whisper at you." Dunge has proven that he's more than a football coach; he is a Man of God. His character, persistence, faith, and dedication to the Word and Faith is evident on each page of this book. He definitely has the shield of faith, breastplate of righteousness, helmet of salvation, and sword of the spirit (from Ephesians 6:6-18). This is truly an inspirational book that tells you more about the Coach than the NFL. Dunge's non-profit "All Pro Dads" born in Tampa during his tenure with the Bucs continues to this day and is a testament to his belief that the Christian's husband responsibility is to his wife and children. Most poignant was his "homegoing" homage to his deceased 18-year old son to be a participant on the ultimate eternal playing field.

5 comments about I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

1. Hi
   
   I just read "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" and loved it. I understand that this is the first part of six books but I can't find a list of those books. Can someone tell me in order what the other 5 autobiographical titles are?
   
   Thanks!



2. Maya Angelo's story is about how people live in the different parts of North America. As a child in the Deep South, she lives in an all-Black enclave, where her grandmother, a storekeeper, is the neighborhood matriarch. There may be no money, but they do have a loving community.
   
   Then the story turns dark. Her mother takes her and her brother to St. Louis, and there's no love in the city. Life is fast and cheap, and you'd better move fast or be stepped on. She's molested by her mother's live-in boyfriend, who later turns up dead.
   
   Back to the South, onward to San Diego, California. North to San Francisco, down to Los Angeles. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" is alll about travel and survival. Each part of the USA is different. In each part of the USA, you have to live as the others do, or you'll be taken advantage of.



3. The delivery has been really good! The book arrived earlier that the date that was shown on here.
   
   I bought the book for a university work and I really want to finish it! haha =)
   
   Maya Angelou describes things in such a sweet way! She describes a dress like if it was cotton candy and makes you feel hungry! hahaha



4. I bought this as a gift for my sister - she had requested it - she hasn't commented on how she likes it



5. I had hoped that I would get through life without having to read anything from the queen of self-importance, Maya Angelou. Unfortunately fate intervened and I was required to read this in a college history class. I can summarize it as follows: self-indulgent tripe.
   
   I was amazed at how white people could do nothing right. When the police rode to the house to warn the family to protect the uncle, all she has is criticism. Yes, I guess it would have been better for him to sit by and do nothing.
   
   She complains about how poor and mistreated she was, but everything in the book indicates that her family was a lot better off than most white and black people at the time. Her grandmother had enough means to make loans and help others financially. Yeah, poor Maya. She had to go without for a few months. Oh the humanity!
   
   The only redemption I found in the book is when I threw it in the recycling bin. At least it will end up as something useful. Toilet paper might be most fitting.
   
   If you want to read a profound, thoughtful, life-changing memoir and analysis of racism, check out Catfish and Mandala. Leave this one alone.

5 comments about The Color of Water 10th Anniversary Edition.

1. James McBride, an accomplished musician and African-American author, has written a stunning and impressive tribute to his Jewish mother. My review is late in terms of this book being published in 1996 and because it has been used for multiple higher education curriculums and political/philosophical discussions. However, the best books and stories are poignant for multiple audiences and stand the test of time. I'm sure my review cannot compare with what has been shared in those discussions, lectures, and debates, so I decided to take a slightly different route. My book review here is extensive because I compare my own experiences with the story and events that unfold in James McBride's book.
   
   The first sentence of the story comes from the mouth of Ruth McBride Jordan (b. 1921 - d. 2010) and draws you in although it is simple. I think the best first sentences are two or three words long. Ruth McBride is interviewed by her son, James McBride, and the information she shared after so many years of refusing to talk about it is recorded alternately with the author's story. Ruth, or Mommy - as she was affectionately known by most - refuses to tell her inquisitive and lost son about her past and also refuses to answer his question about her color. This has what was initially a negative effect on her son because he felt a need to know his history and background in order to know himself and his purpose in life better. As Mommy's story unfolds, you find out that there were a lot of occasions where she was a victim of and witness to abuse and neglect. I believe she knew there had to be something better than the life she was living and she was afforded the opportunity to experience that as a result of a less than positive life changing event. I can understand the need to keep some things to yourself, particularly if they were so painful that you didn't know how to respond, however, I believe that keeping that information to yourself not only hurts future generations but must cause some kind of unease (or dis-ease) in the secret keeper.
   
   My own mother has several stories that she promised herself she would take to her grave - and she has (b. 1942 - d. 1989). I suspect those stories include occurrences of abuse and neglect and making choices out of a need to survive that she was embarrassed about and regretted. The problem with that is when the generational cycle of abuse was carried out through her seeds (though not at her hand), we didn't know how to process the victimization and it left us broken. I look at myself in the mirror and at my siblings and wonder just how much of who I am comes from her side of the family - of which there are so many secrets there is no way to ever know the Thomas in me. However, my father's side of the family, the Walkers, is the total opposite. Granted my father withheld many secrets as well, his family is large enough that there are enough people who shared stories so that I know who I am and where I come from despite Daddy's secrets. I see my smile in my aunts and uncles, and my spirit which is both meek and fiery, comes from that side of the family. We are both calm and passionate - yet never hateful, almost loving to a fault. I learned to embrace my wide hips that I am told were from that side of the family even though I am not quite sure which of my aunts I was compared to. And I gain strength in being a part of the Walker tribe because I fit in and see myself in them. I see just what I can become and it is a place where I am accepted which increases my self-esteem and self-worth. But there is still a hole from my mother's side of the family. I imagine that because the author didn't know his father and his mother was keeping secret her life, he had no place to look and see the compilation of genetics and character that shaped and molded his life.
   
   Like my struggle with my Thomas identity, James McBride and his siblings (all 11 of them) also struggled with their identities. They grew up at a time where civil rights movement events were prominent and struggled to find their places in the fight - though all of them did and they were varied in their opinions and methods of participation. They were bi-racial but by society standards classified as black and had to deal with the changes and injustices in their hometown on so many levels. They were rejected by whites for being black and rejected by blacks for being half-white. My ethnic background is comprised of African-American, White (I don't know the heritage of the white man), and Native American/Indian. This is evident in my physical features, despite clearly and obviously being black, and I happen to be more accepted by people who are not black than my African-American brothers and sisters. Well, that's not entirely accurate - I am more often rejected by African-American sisters since the features I possess that connect me to the white and Indian relatives make me "better" (i.e. long wavy hair, high cheekbones, etc. - and not my word or belief) than other black women. Because I often felt rejected by blacks, I never felt passionate about fighting in support of any black causes. I have never supported injustice of any kind but you won't find me in a crowd of black people with my fist raised screaming in support of black power. Part of that is because I am not really a fighter by nature but there are things that I am passionate about and support to the point of sacrifice that have nothing to do with my black heritage. Fortunately, because of the value Ruth McBride placed on blacks, her black children were encouraged to participate in the fight for civil rights.
   
   The McBride-Jordan children all suffered (or benefitted) from Mommy's search for a place to call home as well as her passions against things that were (and still are) stereotypical crutches. She had strong feelings that Jewish schools were better than other schools, that black people were better friends than white (Jewish) people, and adamantly opposed to welfare and did not accept it despite their needs. These passionate contradictions actually manifested in a more balanced view of humanity in the author. Ruth McBride's strong belief that God would take care of her family and her immense love for her family, was not naïve but admirable. I find strength and encouragement in the belief that Ruth McBride consistently told her children that they were "blessed beyond measure" and I strive for the courage to believe as she did through my personal storms as well.
   
   After I finished the book, I wanted to share the story with the world. I tried to think of everyone who would enjoy it and recommended it to them personally and decided to post a review to encourage others to read it as well.
   
   Ruth McBride passed away in January of this year surrounded by the love of her children and reveling in the "fame" she and her son gained from this marvelously spectacular tribute in print.



2. This book is a true story by james Mcbride. He wrote this masterpiece as a tribute to everything his mother went through for him and his siblings. The racial problems they went through describe a story many have gone through before and shows a side of society that not many understand. I also beileve it shows a side of this country some would like to deny exists or acknowledge. As to the one star review i would like to point out that what you have stated is a false accusation as well as ignorant beyond belief. Your view point does not represent the message the book is trying to send which i believe is that though there may be obstacles in one's life, they can overcome them and make their situation better. Ruth did this for her children by making them get an education and teaching them about racial ignorance and how to overcome it. Your statement however is saying the only reason this book is applaued is it was written by a black man whos mother happened to reject and renounce her jewish faith and it offends you because of this. Further more you say that if it were a jewish man who wrote a story such as this it would be rejected and deemed outrageous. This however just shows how close minded people are when they think opoinions such as these. It shows the same intolerance and slander against one ethnic group. Statements such as that one is what brings hatred and anger into this world. The book however is nto this at all. It is more however showing the side of not only racial boundries shattering but the loving care a ffamily really gives. It shows how a mother has the greatest impact on a child and to them seem bullet proof and act in such a manner. When you really see the side so many hide, you see struggles and hardships many face but bury away for they have something greater to think about, they think about their children, familys, loved ones and close friends and making it better for them. As a final note I beileve you have to understand that the author tells the truth and cannot hide the reality of what really happened. His mother is also human and like many humans has flaws. Readers must get that this book shows the flaws as well as how strong and a great mother Ruth really was.



3. It took me a month to read this book because I wanted to savor every page.
   
   Reading it will make you feel a little more alive.



4. I wanted a good solid binding book with no markings yet offered at a low price. This book arrived in excellent and was well described by the seller. I am happy with the promptness and quality of my purchase.
   
   The book is about an African American boy born to a white mother and a black father. The child has lived in both worlds--although he and his mother reside in black America. The boy sees both matters from each side. An excellent read and has thought provoking presentation.



5. The author has a unique way of telling his story and that of his mother. He conveys the confusion and pain caused by a bigoted, racist society who discriminated/s against Blacks, but also Jews. I loved this book.

5 comments about The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream (Vintage).

1. This man has the audacity to prey on our dreams and desires. 1 year into his presidency do we have hope ? Has anything he has promised been even remotely been discussed, let alone accomplished. You are just a Uncle Tom to your corporate Wall Street masters, Mr O. Don't bring your whitey agenda any where near my consciousness.



2. What better book to buy for your private library than the one of the President of the United States who created history.



3. The books are reasonable. But I have to wait too long.
   Need to speedy delivery..



4. This is a must read for anyone interested in knowing Obama. It is like a window to the man's soul. I read the book almost a year after he was elected President and it struck me how much of the same arguments he presented in the book he later used during the campaign and during his first year as president.



5. President Barak Obama, Has the ability to make me cry, and I have never met him. I believe this is true because his life has been an open book and we have all shared his birth to his path to the "White House". My Mother was my shadow,where she moved, I moved! My Father was fourteen steps down and BAM! He was right there, I counted these steps everyday to get to him. If I had the life of our "President",one with no Mother or Father, I cannot imagine the horrors awaiting me. Yet he writes these synapses so eloquently as though they were there, "This Is Courage". Since he did not have parents as I did. What did he have? Now you can cry with me, for this man that defied the odds and found love in the face of all odds, and no chance of hope! My God He Had The Audacity To Become the "President" of the United States! ONLY GOD!

5 comments about Black Is the New White.

1. This was a good book to read. I truly enjoyed reading about Paul Mooney. At times, he seemed a bit in love with himself but as always, he was very funny. If you're a big fan of Paul Mooney, you should also read Richar Pryor: Pryor Convictions. I read both books and both were very entertaining.



2. This was a very interesting read, I was laughing at Paul Mooney's take on situations and racial observations. I really never knew what Paul Mooney was all about other then an angry black guy, but really this book was a great read. His relationship with Richard Pryor to his encounters with other celebs, it really taught me about comedy acts/bits/characters/jokes I found funny. It had me researching on youtube and the web on bits he wrote. I get it now. Paul Mooney is a comic legend under-rated and I respect him for what he does and how he did it.



3. I am a stand up comic, and I actually thought the book was decent. The stories about writing for SNL, the Richard Pryor show (which launched careers for Sandra Bernhard, Tim Reid, Robin Williams, and John "Pops" Witherspoon), and the strike at the L.A. Comedy Store were entertaining.



4. Having traveled some of the same grounds from LA to NY, from Sylvia's to the Comedy Store, and having lived in LA and met Misters Pryor and Mooney, the book gives a backroom view of HollywoodLand from a Black person's perspective.
   
   There are many things that you never would have known about Mr Mooney, and as such, the book should serve as a reminder that the public person that we all see, is only one side of all people we do see, and until we somehow find out more about a person, many of our preconceptions are really misconceptions.
   
   Easy read, wished the book didn't have to end.....
   
   Highly recommended for those who like to know the inside and outside of what it takes to be successful in HollywoodLand



5. This is a great book filled with so much history. Paul Mooney is a great story teller. This book will keep you laughing. This is a must buy.