No comments about A Call to Assembly: The Autobiography of a Musical Storyteller.

No comments about Other Toussaint a Modern Biography.

4 comments about Multicolored Memories of a Black Southern Girl (Women in Southern Culture).

1. For those of us who "came of age" during the time Kitty Oliver remembers so poignantly, her story is a great affirmation of our hopes and fears. In both Race and Change in Hollywood, and Multicolored Memories, Kitty writes down what some people knew and no one else cared about. The reviewer for Publisher's Weekly may dismiss the feelings of black reader's who grew up in the 60's, but Kitty Oliver doesn't.



2. I hoped MULTICOLORED MEMORIES OF A BLACK SOUTHERN GIRL would continue past its 173 pages. I just finished the book, and I want more. Kitty Oliver's journey from a small Florida town to her travels around the world feel very real. "When a trip is over for me, however, I enjoy observing the way life falls back into place. The toothbrush slides into the cup waiting empty on the sink."
   Kitty's honest account of her childhood, her family, her personal encounters with integration and her journey to find "home" resonate with each description and heartfelt memory. I'm a fan of her writing and look forward to more, soon!



3. Kitty Oliver has taken a changing time in our country's history and shaped it into a time of growth, understanding and exploration of herself and the multifaceted world around her. Her writing makes you sigh out loud as she takes you with her through colorful, sometimes sad, sometimes funny memories of her life. A compilation of essays, this wonderful book easily moves from one tale to the next as Ms. Oliver admirably exposes her pain and joy for the world to see. Ms. Oliver's skill as a writer is, without question, astounding. With such a poetic style to her writing, this book will bring one last sigh to your lips as you close the book at its end, only wishing for more.



4. Picture yourself in a SUV roving through out the countryside. You take in the view of the countryside but are in such a hurry to reach your destination to the point of not appreciating what you've seen. Kitty Oliver's autobiography is very similar to the above experience. She takes you through the roads, streets, detours and valleys of her life never stopping to give you a full appreciation of this native Floridian.

   As the first generation of Black students to integrate the University of Florida in Gainesville (1965)Oliver certainly has a story to tell. It is one of turbulent times and great transitions as she leaves the segregated community of her youth and enters into a whole new chapter in her life. Oliver shows us her fears, drive and hope that she has for the future that was denied her elders. Now it is up to her to make a difference.

   Kitty tells of her quest in finding her roots from the exploration of her Geechee background to her attempts to become a bridge to her estranged father's family. You meet up with a varied mix of people in her community (train workers, cooks, teachers,etc) who held things together even in their limited world. She also dispels the myth of the united Black community during segregation. You meet with Black people who are class conscious, want to keep the status quo and are insanely concerned about skin color. Her Jacksonville home reveals a diversity of Blacks who have their own opinions and mores that are not necessarily what one would want them to have.

   Such a coming of age story has great potential but Oliver lets us down. She takes us on an excursion of her stream of consciousness as we roam from one subject to another. Her thoughts appear disconnected and you do get confused as to how she gets into school in one moment and then is married in the next without anything in between. She rarely talks about her own family except to mention her biracial adopted daughter and son. What about her husband and the lives they shared together? Was it unable to survive in an integrated world?

   Oliver goes on and on about multi-culturalism as if she just discovered it. You get a sense that she doesn't fully appreciate who she is and at times you wonder how much she has assimilated (her word) in the white culture.

   Despite those flaws her work is an enjoyable read of one reminiscing about those FIRSTS who broke the racial barriers and ushered in a new era. Her story is one that should be read, reflected upon and appreciated for its one particular viewpoint of a time gone bye.

No comments about Britain's Betrayal in India: The Story Of The Anglo Indian Community.

1 comments about Chester Himes: A Life.

1. Expatriate African American writer Chester Himes's complicated life is the subject of a biography published in 2000 by detective novelist James Sallis, a longtime Himes champion. Sallis's biography weighs in at 368 pages. It is readable despite numerous repetitions and some awkwardness about introducing other figures in Himes's life, but Sallis's book does not seem to be based on any new research and relies almost entirely on reviews contemporary to the original publications of Himes's book augmented by what academic critics have written. It is very odd that Sallis provides so little of his own reading of Himes's writing.

   The biographical research on which Sallis draws very, very heavily and without citation is the discerning and more succinct (209-page) 1997 biography by Edward Margolies and Michel Fabre, _The Several Lives of Chester Himes_. Margolies and Fabre knew Himes in his later years and did serious biographical research on Himes (and other black American expatriates to France, especially Richard Wright, who helped Himes in many ways when he moved to Paris). Sallis adds no discernible research and does not make more sense of Himes than they did, so I would recommend the Margolies and Fabre biography in preference to the Sallis one (and on Himes's writing, Stephen Milliken's 1976 book _Chester Himes_). One may read both biographies and both volumes of Himes' "memoirs" and still wonder "Who was this guy?" and "What made him tick?" (Himes's own answer was "hurt," but the way he deployed the category made it all but meaningless.)

No comments about MILES DAVIS RDR (Smithsonian Readers in American Music).

5 comments about Have A Great One! A Homeless Man's Story.

1. I was hooked after I read the first few pages! A true story, that reads like a mystery! Laurie Anthony has captured the reality of homelessness through her experience with a homeless man. She tells his story (and hers) in such a honest, soul-searching way that I also examined my own beliefs and misconceptions about the homeless. In addition, the research she sites about homelessness, poverty, mental illness, shelters, welfare, and unemployment was informative and helpful. This book can be read as a memoir, a self-help book, or an introductory text to the problem of homelessness.



2. Have a Great One! A Homeless Man's Story is about a panhandler named J.C. struggling to survive in New York City. But it is also the story of a womanon a journey of self-discovery. It is the story of the bond that can form between two people who make a connection by chance, and find enough courage to tell each other the truth. It's about coming to an understanding: that some mistakes in life can be rectified, while others never will. Yet, the message in the book is uplifting. If you let go of blame and let in compassion, you can grow and make a difference in the world...



3. I would recommend this book, especially for students. It would be a great way to introduce them to this whole issue. The book is written in an easily readable style, with many resources listed at the end of the book for further research. Diane Morgan, Editor in Chief, New Books Review



4. With remarkable skill and resolve, she managed to whittle away at J.C.'s paranoia and distrust, and the resulting chronicle, "Have a Great One!" is a triumph. Stirring and joyful, it's a perfect seasonal example of heartfelt benevolence - and manifesto for extending year-round kindness to fellow strangers everywhere. The Boox Review



5. Have A Great One!: A Homeless Man's Story is the personal account of Laurie Anthony's encounter and subsequent experiences with J.C. Simmons, a homeless man residing on the streets of New York City. This is a compelling exploration of the psychology of homelessness and a journey of self-awareness, knowledge, trust, and compassion as Laurie learns about a homeless man's plight and strategies for survival on the streets. Have A Great One! is a carefully researched and sensitive account of the problem of homelessness and an inspiration to anyone wanting to make a difference, wanting to deal with this growing American phenomena of the homeless in our urban cities.

2 comments about Voices of Carolina Slave Children.

1. Nancy Rhyne usually does an excellent job in chroncling South Carolina's folklore and rescuing fascinating anecdotes from obscurity. She does the same here in these chronicles of the WPA Slave Interview narratives of the 1930s where the elderly ex-slaves talk about their childhood experiences.
   
   Some of these are really fascinating. Folklore fans in particular will enjoy the recollections of ex-slaves talking about hearing, as one interviewee put it-"Br'er Rabbit stories long before Joel Chandler Harris wrote them down." These are excellent examples of the role of storytelling in the lives of non-literate people.
   
   Unfortunately, there is the bowing to the false prophets of political correctness. Granted, a book intended for younger readers cannot be faulted for not using the "N-word" that often appeared in these original narratives. But in her editing of the narratives, she has these ex-slaves in the 1930s unrealistically using modern politically correct terms such as "enslaved Africans" to describe themselves! Come on!
   
   Additionally, a casual comparison of what appears here to the actual original narratives these were "adapted" from (see the WPA Slave Narratives' website) shows that these particular narratives were almost gutted beind recognition. Ms. Rhyne's versions alone make for interesting (if somewhat stilted) reading, but his is best used as a reference for the original works, which are far more compelling.
   
   Those issues aside, it's certainly worth a read and Ms. Rhyne deserves her usual kudus for bringing material usually buried in archives to the availability to the casal reader.



2. I got this book beacause I heard an interview with the author and it sounded interesting. I did not know if I would like it or not; I'm not some bleeding-heart liberal, just your average WASP Southerner. The story of how the information in this book came to be recorded is amazing enough, but when I started reading the short little stories told by adults who had been slaves in their childhood, I could not put it down. Funny, Southern, touching, sad, memorable! If you want to know what it means to live in the South today, you MUST read this book. It is the history we build on today.

No comments about An American Family on the African Frontier: The Burnham Family Letters, 1893-1896.

2 comments about Growing up in Mississippi.

1. In all of the chaos and confusion of an ordinary day, someone with a heart full of lessons to share holds the magic formula for couples to survive and fall in love with being in love all over again. Never have I fancied reading a book on relationships with such joy as from Bertha M. Davis, a masterful writer, shares over 40 years of experience on the "good and bad" of relationships.
   
   Through all of her own pitfalls and personal triumphs, she is able to encourage the reader to compromise and "literally" grow up. There is much to learn, and even for those in fledgling relationships, Bertha's book, "Marriage and The Family," should be the anthem or perfect gift for a bridal shower or wedding. All bridal shops would prosper with Bertha's book that rings like sweet wine, but instead the only intoxicating message is "learn to stay in love." When couples are able to react maturely to even the worst of situations, love can remain everlastingly. Just ask Bertha who understands that marriage means, "a permanent bond," between two people. She reiterates the meaning of "LOVE." and instructs couples before saying, "I DO!" Bertha wastes no time spelling out the statistics on rapid divorce rates. The country has failed this test.
   
   Every couple is vulnerable to the rising trend. Thank goodness for Bertha's clever remedies such as spending time together, learning to love yourself, appreciate the art of maturing, and most of all, rearing children to uphold the same values which may be the culprit for increasing divorce rates. Our adults today are kids all grown up who are the products of young parents who may have compromised going out to work to put food on the table for spending quality time with kids.
   
   Not to worry, Bertha is not here to wreak havoc on our young souls as a woman of marriage for many years but rather lend all of us , and including the children, a kind of mother wit that unsurprisingly grandparents can provide as young lings grow into independent teens and young adults. Any married couple should consider reading Bertha's book together.
   
   After all, we want our children to see us as role models and be on their way to college, or look out for problems later on as Bertha also, sheds light on the repercussions of neglecting youth who waywardly could end up in prison and resorting to drugs and crime if we don't collectively strive to fulfill our responsibilities as adults. "Love and Marriage" is an outstandingly well written book that acknowledges every minuscule ingredient of a successful marriage, and while all doesn't always turn out to be a fairytale, "Bertha's Ten Commandments of Marriage"as well as her scripture references on marriage, may very well be the next constitution to save this country, for social order begins with healthy families. Bravo to Bertha Davis, a lady who I have no doubt will take the seminar segment by storm with her new book, "Marriage and Family."



2. "On April 10, in the small town of Webb in the Mississippi Delta, I, Bertha M. Davis was born to Victoria M. Thomas, a single mother of four...." So begins the story of Betha Davis's life in Growing Up in Mississippi.
   
   
   Growing Up in Mississippi is a true story about a young girl growing up in the south when segregation was alive and well; African Americans were labeled Negroes; and picking cotton was one of the only ways to make a living.
   
   
   Textbooks and school curriculum can't possibly begin to teach the struggles many black men and women faced during this time. Reading Growing Up in Mississippi not only gave me a glimpse of the hardship they suffered, it also displayed the relationship and camaraderie they each shared as well.
   
   In the story, Davis primarily focuses on her childhood and her relationship with her mother and siblings. Often moving from plantation to plantation offered Davis access to many interesting people including plantation owner, Mr. Johnson; the kindhearted Mrs. Fisher; and the scandalous Jenny.
   Reading this book transformed my views on the history of the South. Davis wrote about many topics that I believe they'd never attempt to teach in school. I think people of all ages and races will benefit from reading Growing Up in Mississippi.
   
   
   
   Reviewed by Joy Farrington
   
   
   
   Joy Farrington is the founder and president of Nubian Sistas Book Club, Inc. and resides in South Florida. www.nubiansistas.org