1 comments about Shine on Me: The Biography of an African American Woman, Born Blind.

1. Shine on Me : The Biography of an African American Woman, Born Blind is a must read for all generations. It is filled with intense, colorful characters which explore and celebrate life and love. This extraordinary debut expertly illustrates how a woman, an African American woman, with four strikes embraces her struggles and with the power of love and faith turns them into triumphs.

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4 comments about Everything But Love: A black gay man's challenge to keep the love of his life and to raise the child he always wanted.

1. I thought this was a great book! and for Mr. Humphrey's very first try, I applaud you.
   
   I could not put this book down, the storyline kepted me coming back for more, it is definitely a page turner! Emotionally, Mentally, and Spiritually, I felt "Involved" as if I were right there.
   
   The experiences, and emotions this man had, touched me, my heart went out to this guy.
   
   
   Bravo! Mr. Humphrey, Bravo!



2. I almost did not buy this book because of the reviews that I read with regard to it. However, I am so grateful that my better judgment was my guide.
   
   I was very impressed with Jaleel Humphrey's debut novel! I did not realize until I read the final page that the author was able to tell what appears to be a fictional account of his own real life without using any gratuitous profanity or sexuality.
   
   Despite the editing issues that were mentioned in some of the other user reviews, the author succeeded in his task of making me relate to the pain and frustration that he was experiencing with regard to wanting to make a positive influence on Andrew's life. The author was also able to convey the complex and vulnerable emotions that one is subject to experience when they finally experience true and unconditional love from another human being for the first time. The love story between Quinton and Spencer was inspiring (even to a heterosexual, african-american female like myself) and definitely did not need to be expressed in an overly graphic way to show how much they truly loved each other. I felt an immediate attachment to these characters and I had a hard time putting the book down after I started reading it.
   
   People who truly enjoy reading are sick and tired of the same old books about the same old topics, and it is my opinion that we need to nurture aspiring authors with new and fresh ideas. While it is acceptable to correct them, we shouldn't forget to encourage newbie authors to tell their stories.
   
   I commend you Mr. Humphrey, for putting yourself out here in this way. I look forward to your second novel! Think of it this way, people probably said that same things about the way that Zora Neal Hurston decided to write "Their Eyes Were Watching God"!



3. The beginning of the book in the foreword says that several friends helped him to proofread this book and then it was published. There are so many grammatical errors, disagreement of tenses and simply bad wriitng in this book that I had to put it down out of weariness. The subject was excellent, I purchased the book without any reviews to use as a resource in workshops I teach men but it was such a disappointment, I simply won't even tell them the title.
   The rush to publish a book, to be in print, didn't inspire the writer to learn how to write. Even simply the use of Elements of Style would've improved the book.
   On to the story:
   
   Problem One:
   Show not tell---it was a lot of constant telling rather than showing the development of dialogue, the stories, the interactions---were glossed over. What this needed was a professional editing job which would've expanded the book by about another 100 pages because of paragraphs simply being fleshed out into legitimate scenes.
   
   Problem Two:
   The storyline between the gay men is kept so bland and sacchrine that it doesn't come across as a compelling, dynamic relationship where challenges are met and overcome. There's a delusion in this book that pushes teh relationship over the parenting aspect and there are so many ancillary confusing characters to the small child's world that I'm not surprised he ends up giving the child back. The main characters are developed as Types rather than Characters.
   
   Problem Three:
   There are no examples of resources on Parenting or Discipline, on how to deal with children, especialy children with issues. I was shocked that the main character, a special education teacher, couldn't deal with a child with special needs or didn't know how to get resources or advice to do so.
   
   Problem Four:
   Gay Man and Mommy. There are quite a few studies on the overly involved parent, emotional incest from parents, too much narcissitic parental attention that this book examples but doesn't deal with. There's a dependancy to be "normal" to the main character's mother that overrides natural dramatic friction. It would've been nice to see such a conflcited people pleaser breakdown from doing all of this constant pleasing. And the subsequent failures.
   
   Minors errors in a book are to be expected, typos, the occasional disagreement of time but I think, as an African American what I've noticed in all of this photograph/caricature cover, small press books is a dumbing down. That every African American story has to be told in eubonics with a healthy helping of grits and chicken to have "credibility" to the targetted audience. Where's the challenge? Where's when a great writer emerges from what might be expected of a simple plot? The ease of publication doesn't mean everyone should publish, it means that everyone should learn how to publish well. I am offended that the chances I take on small press books, particularly African American, and even more damagingly, gay related, seem to be bursting with the lowest common denominator in ability and a lack of empathy and interest in the reader requiring quality for their dollar.



4. I completely understand that small presses cannot afford the number of editors as large ones. However, the number of typographical errors in this book is truly disturbing. "Himself" was written as two words, and not one, throughout the whole work. Apostrophes were often in the wrong place. Every other sentence lacked needed commas. Its was spelled as it's; there was their; our was are. A fifth grader could have noticed and corrected many of the errors in this book! The mistakes here are striking, too, because the main character is a teacher that notices the poor writing of young students.
   
   The cover is deceptive as well. The main character has a man who loves him from start to finish, so it is odd that this is titled "Everything BUT Love." The text says the main character has dreadlocks that he never had cut, yet no one on the cover has dreads. Surely a dreaded brother out there would have loved to pose for a black, gay book's cover. In addition, the book is divided into three parts, yet there is no page to mark Part One.
   
   When Rosie O'Donnell came out on TV, an expert said that the gay men who adopt kids are completely different from those who frequent bars and clubs. This book focuses on the first type of gay man, rather than the second. Some readers may be bored with how this book focuses on the parent-child connection more than the connection between black gay lovers. Sex does take place between the adult couple, but it is described in PG-rated terms that won't excite many readers.
   
   In the same way that Winfrey's "Beloved" failed because audiences did not like the character Beloved, the child in this book is not endearing. I am worried that this book will have a chilling effect where black, gay men may be discouraged from adopting children, especially older ones. Bigoted leaders in states with homophobic adoption laws could use this as a tool to say, "Gay men, read this!: It shows you would not want to adopt anyway!" In no way am I giving away the ending by saying adoption advocates will be gravely disappointed about what this book describes.
   
   The main character explains why he wants to adopt. However, he never says why he did not try to adopt a baby. He teaches sign language, but he never answers why he did not try to adopt a deaf child. Surely, a black, deaf foster child could have benefited from a parent like this. Further, the book does not present adoption agencies, or their workers, in a positive light. If adoption agencies hide information as much as the one in this book, I am surprised that more of them don't get sued, thus creating an even worse chilling effect on what this country needs: more adoptions!

1 comments about Josh Gibson: THE POWER AND THE DARKNESS.

1. The 2004 paperback edition leads off with author Mark Ribowsky taking Barry Bonds to task for comments the controversial slugger made concerning the slugging prowess of Josh Gibson.
   
   He chides the future hall of famer for falling prey to the myth surrounding the total number of official homers Gibson smacked in regular-season Negro League games. Barry bashing at its finest!
   
   Ribowsky then pens a very uneven biography that often relies on too much game commentary and material from his outstanding biography of Satchel Paige. While the pair certainly were superstars in baseball, Ribowsky losses focus too often on the title of his book.
   
   There are sections where Ribowsky yanks the reader from Gibson, goes into long commentary about Paige and then attempts to draw the chapter back to Gibson. It simply doesn't work.
   
   As a dual biography, the book deserves at least one more star. Ribowsky simply needed to be more honest with himself and the reader about the direction he took with his research and writing.

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5 comments about Autobiography of a People: Three Centuries of African American History Told by Those Who Lived It.

1. Do you ever wonder how black people living as slaves described life in America? Herb Boyd, author and journalist, has been a professor of black studies for thirty years. Thus, he is uniquely qualified to distill from the reams of black thought that which might best stand as a fitting testament to African Americana. Editor Boyd has deftly woven the dark backstory to the glamorized myth on which the American Dream rests. The author establishes that blacks in America have never been that content underclass by and large depicted in this country's history books. He disputes the notion, central to American history, that Africans brought to America were docile, uncivilized, unintelligent and, thus, deserving of their lot. Culling from the words of those who did dare to speak out (often with disastrous consequences), Boyd has woven an eloquent, emotional tapestry of the black experience. Its power derives not from any self-conscious rage, but from the simplicity, the unguarded frankness of the voices. This is a timely book, sorely needed at a critical moment in this nation's history.



2. Twice I attempted to write this review of Herb Boyd's AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A PEOPLE, with it's" three centuries of African American history told by those who lived it"

   but soon realized I should finish reading it first. His collections (of excerpt) is so powerful so revealing; and each one seem to flow into the next. like a chronological change of events.

   I can see how it may be differcult for some to believe (and easier to deny) the suffering and sacrificing our ancestors endured, to make possible the freedom and well being we now enjoy. Surely it'll instill pride in we Americans of African descent and Americans of goodwill..

   Myself, more so being the fact that I too, made a contribution. An excerpt was selected from my Korean war memoir, WHAT'S A COMMIE EVER DONE TO PEOPLE? (Publishes by McFarland Publishers Inc.). Sure, at the time, I was politically ignorant to the reasons I was there fighting, like many others black soldiers, then we were fighting for our lives, the fight for our freedom, we who survived, was to come on our return t o America.

   Hopefully, my story, alone with the many others that appears in AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A PEOPLE will help enlighten other 17 & 18 year old American-American to the reality, that the freedom we now enjoy, others fought and died for it.

   PS; In "AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A PEOPLE" includes my favorite hero, the adventurous, explorer, scientist and author, Mr. Matthew Henson, who's life story inspired me to be an adventurer.. DARK COMPANION. It was the first book I read. I was nine years old.

   Again, My Sincere Thanks to you Brother; Herb Boyd your book is a magnificent collection of excerpts. And no doubt it'll serve as an inspiration to many.

   Peace & Pleasant Writing Curtis J. Morrow




3. Conversations with Herb Boyd

   While I attended New York University in the late 80's, I majored in 18th Century Literature and minored in African American history. Hands down, my biggest challenge was being able to keep up with my reading, and retain all that was required of me by my professors. If only Autobiography of a People Three Centuries of African American History Told By Those Who Lived It, Herb Boyd's newest book had existed years ago when I was a student in college.

   As I am still a student of African American history, Boyd's book is right on time. Booksellers and African American history buffs who live in Manhattan received a royal treat on Saturday, February 5, 2000 if they tuned in to "Books That Matter" with Leroy Baylor and listened to Boyd talk about his newest success. "Books That Matter," a public access program promotes reading and literacy to a diverse readership and interviews new and well-established authors. Recent guests include: Tavis Smiley, Sapphire, Johnnie Cochran, and William Loren Katz. The show airs on alternate Saturdays in Manhattan on Channel 34 at 10:30 p.m., in Brooklyn on Channels 34 &67 at 10 p.m. every Friday evening and each Monday evening on Bronx Net at 10:30 p.m.

   I found Baylor's interview with Boyd enjoyable, and several times I felt like I as a student again learning about the great history of my people. The wonderful rapport between Baylor and Boyd was immediate and a treat for the viewer. The book, which is a compendium of 118 powerful African American voices is quickly being heralded as a New Classic in African American Literature --a compliment it rightly deserves.




4. This book is an anthology edited by Herb Boyd.It contains compelling material that is written by various authors who tell of the African American experience as they witnessed it.The book should be read by all those who would like to know what has occurred in the collective experience of the only Americans who were brought to this country against their will and treated as chattel. It may surprise many to learn that the African American community is not monolithic.The various voices selected by Mr.Boyd attest to this notion in the telling of the story.Again,this book is one that should be read by everyone who needs or wants to know of the tragedies and triumphs of a proud and glorious people and their multiple experiences in America.



5. Herb Boyd is well known to readers in New York for his hard-hitting, easy and informative journalistic style. He also deserves to become well-known for his award-winning book on the African American experience, "Brotherman -- The Odessy of Black Men in American," co-edited with Robert Allen. It displays a keen knowledge of African American documentation concerning the role of Black men in our society. His "Down the Glory Road" shows a fine sense of the sweep and force of the African American experience and how it can be rendered in easy-to-grasp prose. Now Boyd has given us the carefully researched and stirring documentary, "Autobiography of People: Three Centuries of African-American History Told by Those who Live it." This is no mere celebration of achievements nor is it a tale of woes and pain. What Boyd has meticulously constructed by ferreting documents famous and unknown from the dusty files of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and elsewhere is a powerful narrative of Black America told by those women and men who walked the miles, scaled the mountains, fought the battles, suffered the losses and achieved the victories. Here are Africans telling what it meant to be wrenched from peaceful villages and stuffed into suffocating slave ships for the terrifying and deadly voyage across the Atlantic, and then living to fight for their liberty and to tell their tales. Here is the lone African American, Osborne Perry Anderson, who survived the famous John Brown raid in 1859 on Harper's Ferry, and disclosing as no history books used in our schools does how the enslaved population rose up to fight and help Brown and his gallant band, which included four other free men of color. Here is the Harlem Renaissance told in the words of its legendary participants: Langston Hughes, Zora Neal Hurston and others. Here is the civil rights movement captured in its intensity, pain and triumph by Paul Robeson, Rosa Parks, Ella Baker and James Forman. Herb Boyd has given us an America our schools need to study and learn from.

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