2 comments about Target Zero: A Life in Writing.

1. Was sent to a cousin in prison who thought highly of this book. He must like it. Glad I could find on Amazon. Thanks



2. If this is your introduction to Cleaver buy Soul on Ice first. If you have read Soul on Ice then this is a good time to buy this book. This is a collection of writings that expands Cleaver's life. When reading this you must keep it in the frame of reference of the time in which it was written. There are better written books on the black Muslim movement like James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time, what that book lacks is the insider's perspective. There are more gut twisting books on jail like Henry James Abbott's The Belly of the Beast, what this book lacks is a man's desire for a spiritual change. What Cleaver's writing has is what those other two novels are lacking: an insider's perspective and a deisre for spiritual and political change. This book is worth reading just for Cleaver's viewpoint. The writings are varied and extensive from the humorus to the dead serious. This book is a probing look at the life of one of the great American revolutionaries.

No comments about The Hart Sisters: Early African Caribbean Writers, Evangelicals, and Radicals.

5 comments about Partners to History: Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph David Abernathy, and the Civil Rights Movement.

1. This is a book that every young adult and adults should have on their coffee table!!! Never before seen pictures and told through the eyes of a child through the civil rights movement this book is a refreshing, new insight that is a fast paced read!! A book to revist again and again!!!!!



2. Partners to History is a beautifully written and illustrated story of the Civil Rights Movement, its unsung heroes, its celebrated heroes, and the American struggle for freedom and peace. It is imperative that educational institutions with quality American history programs have this masterful work of historical literature on its shelves.

   Carla Newsome McManus
   Sisters and Brothers of HotLanta Book Club
   http://www.sistersbrothers.com




3. Partners to History is a beautifully written and illustrated story of the Civil Rights Movement, its unsung heroes, its celebrated heroes, and the struggle for freedom in America. It is imperative that any school with a quality American history program have this masterful work of historic literature on its shelves.

   Carla Newsome McManus
   President
   Sisters and Brothers of HotLanta Book Club
   http://www.sistersbrothers.com




4. This book is a must have. I think it should be in all public schools. The writer tells a beautiful story about the Civil Rights Movement. The pictures are fantastic while we have all seen pictures of the Movement, these pictures tell a story. Great Job !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



5. These images are worth more than 1 million words. They speak the truth with clarity that is rarely achieved in a discourse about race in America. This is American history in its true form. A great editing job and choice of photos.

   THIS IS A CLASSIC HISTORY LESSON

No comments about Meet Me with Your Black Drawers On: My Life in Music.

5 comments about Half Past Autumn: A Retrospective.

1. I first saw / read this book at my local public library. I knew than that I MUST have this book!
   VERY interesting, well written, educational, excellent pictures!



2. mr. parks' book is autobiographical in photo and text. the book reveals his journey to becoming a documentor of turbulent times during his career. this is a must purchase.



3. Buy this book and see the wonderful and varied career of Gordon Parks. See the world through this stunning photographer's eyes, and you will never see the world the same again. Then buy *A Choice of Weapons* and find out how this man came to create these masterworks. Everyone knows his genius as a photographer, filmmaker, and composer, but people may not know that he is a master memoirist as well. Put this book and *A Choice of Weapons* on your Christmas list!



4. Seeing the exhibit was the most wonderful day of my life. Getting the book was the next best day. I am not sure if another photographer so talented in all fields will ever appear again. Raad A Choice of Weapons also by Gordon Parks, it will help reinforce the Retrospective.



5. Please note that the cover that you show on the internet is incorrect. I am the photgrapher and what you show is the photograph that was used for the dummy book shown at the book fair. The photograph shown is an unpublished photgraph. Please look at the book for the actual cover.

5 comments about On Michael Jackson.

1. This is a very well thought out book - musings - on the life and work of Michael Jackson. It is especially fascinating on child stars and what we ask of them.
   
   Research-wise, she does lose sight of the facts surrounding MJ at times and chooses supposition over evidence on occasion. For example, she does not seem to give much credence to his vitilgo yet he first consulted a doctor about it in 1981 or thereabouts, long before the public had any idea of it. A picture exists of him from the early eighties which shows what he looked like with out make up to cover the patches.
   She also makes out that Michael dismissed Debbie Rowe when hed had enough of her - but I believe this was not the case. She twists the facts somewhat.
   But on the whole this book is worth reading by anyone interested in fame, our celebrity culture, race, gender.
   
   Some MJ fans won't like this book and I'd say it is aimed at the general reader, the curious or the fan who is open minded. Though her language may seem harsh, on reflection, Margo Jefferson does come down on MJ's side in the end.



2. Why do people read cultural criticism? I read it when I don't understand a piece of work or when I don't understand why an artist is/was as wildly popular or significant as Michael Jackson. This book, wonderfully succinct and beautifully written, elucidates these questions as well as various forms of music, American cultural history and the African-American thread that weaves through it. Through the figure of Michael Jackson and her response to him, Ms. Jefferson explores the complex relationships between race, gender, class, the American Dream, money, sexuality, family, celebrity, and the pitfalls of success. It's a great read.



3. Margo Jefferson has written a wonderfully original extended essay about Michael Jackson. She seems to be right at the reader's side as she vividly describes Jackson's talent and reflects on the cultural context of his media-blitzed career. Her thoughts are self-searching, animated, ardent and independent. Ms. Jefferson links Jackson's creativity to the history of performance traditions (and pathologies) in American entertainment--in a voice that is always unique and personally engaging--in the manner of a shared exploration.



4. Margo Jefferson hits a low point in her career. If you look beyond the factual blunders (like not even getting Mrs. Katherine Jacksons maiden name right) and getting dates of events wrong (where was the publisher's fact checker? Or was this piece sent out the door ASAP while the MJ topic was still hot?) there's still plenty to be said of the overall sarcastic tone of this book. You'd hope 13 years after the Oprah interview, the thought of Michael Jackson sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber would be abolished. Margo Jefferson used remote and outdated sources to help her describe Jackson family members. I wish she'd spent some time with the Jackson family members. A far more positive, truthful and entertaining book would be on the shelves today. One of a family with incredible talent on many levels, togetherness, unity, faith, love & laughter. For those who're still interested in the book I suggest the libary so you don't waste your money.



5. This is a nicely written, succinct review of the Michael Jackson story from the time he was pushed on stage by his father until he was found not guilty of child molestation. Why should anyone really care about him? Well, if you are at all interested in what can happen when society puts a young boy on a pedestal, sexualizes him at an early age, allows him to earn millions of dollars, and then watches voraciously as he descends into madness, this is a book that will not only hold your attention but will give you more questions than answers when you finish it. Is this black/white, man/woman an innocent who loves children or is he a clever child molester? Is he a victim or a perpetrator? You will have to make up your own mind. There are no easy answers in this book.

No comments about Black Poets of the United States: From Paul Laurence Dunbar to Langston Hughes.

No comments about Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave: Written by Himself (An African American Heritage Book).

No comments about A Woman Doctor's Civil War: Esther Hill Hawks' Diary (Women's Diaries and Letters of the Nineteenth-Century South).

No comments about Berea and Madison County (KY) (Black America Series).