5 comments about Kaffir Boy in America.

1. I really enjoyed Kaffir Boy, I found it very engaging and interesting. My husband was born the same year as Mark in Cape Town. His upbringing was very different from Mark's as a white boy. As a matter of fact he was not even aware of apartheid until the early 90's. I figured I needed to read Kaffir Boy in America to find out what happened in Mark's life. It has been a huge disappointment. As one of the reviewers mentioned Mark continually pats himself on the back because he is so wonderful. I am about 75% through this book and all it has succeeded in doing is making me angry. He made stupid decison after stupid decision while living off of Stan Smith's money. He couldn't keep a scholarhip or stay on an athletic team because of his bad attitude. He changed undergrad colleges 4 times. Yes, Mark you have an attitude. I hope that you paid Stan back for the college education he bought you. I spent $50,000 on my education, I didn't have any help. Mark quit working on a master's in journalism at Columbia University while on a full scholarship because he didn't feel like finishing it. Wah, wah, wah. How many people would have loved an opportunity like that? Doesn't matter if you grew up in SA or the US or are black or white or purple, that is not an opportunity you just pass up. Mark, listen to your Momma. Jesus Christ is the only way you are going to be saved. Your own enlightenment because you think you are so intelligent isn't going to get you anywhere.



2. Kaffir Boy in America is a great book by Mark Mathabane. It is an autobiography about an eighteen year old boy from South Africa, who gets a tennis scholarship in America. Mark is eager to go, so he can leave a place of such disaster. Though he goes through some struggles, all is well at the end. This is a great book about a new life in America!



3. Way to go Mark, 303 pages of patting yourself on the back, Boy your arm must hurt. I enjoyed "Kafir Boy" and was looking forward to reading what happened to Mark after he came to America. What happened Mark?



4. My main interest in this book is that I attended Dowling College at the same time as Mr. Mathabane. I recently re-read the sections of the book pertaining to the Dowling College Student Government Election scandal of 83 or whatever year it was and I had to laugh. I would almost call his original book a lie if he was able to sustain such outrage over something as minor as this. I would also say that I've never read such overwraught narrative in my life. When you read this book you will become embarrassed for Mr. Mathabane.



5. Having read the author's seminal work "Kaffir Boy", recounting the incredible hardships in the South African ghetto where he was raised, I was eager to learn more about how Mark Mathabane fared once he arrived in his so-called "promised land" and started the adjustment from a repressed third-world existence to one of opportunity and possibility in the US.
   
   Two things struck me about this follow up account of his life which bear mentioning: the author continues with his unflinchingly honest style of revealing everything, good and bad, in his experience; and secondly, the adjustment was difficult, because of the obvious cultural differences (and some similarities) to South Africa, together with the author's intense personality (which could also be seen, arguably, as stubbornness). Mathabane is unquestionably well read, highly intelligent, highly motivated and has strong opinions. Those are not faults, although he does tend to be a little unnecessarily verbose at times (and this, despite him quoting writers who warn against such things); his opining and at times unwillingness to bend or compromise or adapt to others led him to change or discontinue college courses at least four times, and some would say, squander opportunities. That last point is in the end, probably unsustainable, since he has accomplished much, and succeeded beyond anyone's wildest dreams in reaching a wide and sympathetic audience for his story and work.
   
   It is obvious that Mathabane, after having seen so much suffering and rising above it, does not want to be conventional, which led him to discontinue studies under scholarships at schools that most college students would covet the opportunity to attend. To his credit, he does not try to hide these issues, nor does he hide the, at times, incredulity and head-shaking from those well-meaning and intelligent friends, including Stan Smith and others, who question his decisions and direction.
   
   Mathabane brought to light, at a very needed time, the struggles of South Africa under apartheid. I found him more compelling, more convincing and I felt more empathetic in reading his experiences in South Africa in "Kaffir Boy", than in his recounting of his new life in America in this book, although there are some good passages which shine light on how a form of apartheid, economic and power-oriented as much as racial, still exists in America today. In the end, people of various persuasions appear to have looked to Mathabane to argue their view, be it Christian, humanist, liberal or conservative. I don't think any one group is entirely comfortable with where he sits. It seems at times that he is a little conflicted about where his beliefs lie. It can be frustrating at times, but ultimately this is not a measured and resolute work of fiction, but a true story of this man's life, with all its faults, contradictions and accomplishments wrapped up together.

3 comments about From Bloodshed to Hope in Burundi: Our Embassy Years during Genocide (Focus on American History Series,Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin).

1. In our time of displeasure at government bureacracies, in a climate of cynicism and lost hopes, this story stands out and provides a light for us to follow. Although the suffering of the people of Burundi is brutal and truly sickening to the soul, the story of their plight and rise to move forward is heartening. Senator Krueger and his family displayed admiral courage in a theatre of true terror and life-threatening dramas. How many of us would have stood up to speak for the downtrodden when it meant our own lives were at risk...and those of our family?
   
   This is more than an adventure story. It is a tale of the moral standards that can matter in the world, when the structure of civilized peoples is crumbling. We must learn from this and heed the wisdom of one of the last clear voices from the political estate left in the United States. Senator Krueger's appeal for peace and reconciliation is the call for action we must all heed or find ourselves caught in the disruption of our own alienated society.
   
   
   Rick Tobin
   Host of "The Road to Ready"
   President/CEO
   TAO Emergency Mangement Consulting



2. This book is well written and is very thorough. A must read for those interested in the realpolitik and history of Burundi and the internal conflict between Tutsi's and Hutus in the central African country. This book also provides great detail about the role and responsibilities of an Ambassador working on behalf of the United States and the ideological differences held within the State Department about the proper role the United States should play in Burundi.



3. This book is both harrowing and inspiring. Ambassador Krueger details how a dictator with an army used violence on his own countrymen to subvert a nascent democracy. Krueger's struggle to gain international attention for the genocide-in-progress reveals flaws in various national & international institutions -- flaws that still require scrutiny and improvement today. Mrs. Krueger's chapters vividly make the point that foreign service a family matter. Both authors provide moving portraits of individuals who worked in their own quiet or overt ways to stop the genocide; the ordinary-extraordinary courage of these people reminds one of Paul Rusesabagina's story. The Kruegers' conclusions about how a nation can move forward after genocide and autocracy offer hope for Burundi and much matter for thought for other areas of the world.

5 comments about Daughters of Men: Portraits of African-American Women and Their Fathers.

1. I gave this book to our son-in law for Father's Day. He was very touched, especially since it focused upon the relationship of Black men to their daughters. He has two girls. I also gave a copy of the book to my husband who is the father of our two grown daughters. I often tell him that I have no doubt that my daughters chose the men they did because of him.



2. It's very touching how each woman, known and unknown spoke with passion about the relationship they had with their father.



3. I was in a bookstore and happened to glance down and see the cover of this book. I picked it up, browsed through it, and immediately scurried to buy it shortly after. What a great idea to highlight Black men who are not fitting the stereotype of not taking care of their children, showing how daughters and fathers can be so tight, and giving readers a little personal view of some of our favorite female celebrities. By me being from a family full of responsible fathers, I was thinking "Finally!" It was fun for me to read about other proud daughters like myself. The story that stood out to me the most was one of the saddest ones: Cathy Hughes of Radio One, Inc. I was terrified for her father during his audit, and for him to live through that and still be such a phenomenal father makes me want to curtsy for that man. There were plenty of other good stories from celebrities I'm a fan of (Beyonce and Kelly of "Destiny's Child," Tisha Campbell-Martin, Nicole Ari Kodjoe, Aisha Tyler, Malinda Williams, and Meagan Good).
   
   I was a little bored with the celebrities I didn't know. However, by me reading this book, it was also a Black history lesson to me to be introduced to sistas who have done such positive things in the community and to learn about their success.
   
   I took the idea from this book, thought about the uncreative Christmas gift that I got my father (i.e., gift card), and immediately found a picture of him and I to print out. Before long, I had an essay for him too, and I will present it to him on Christmas Eve (when we open our gifts). I also decided to read "Pop: A Celebration of Black Fatherhood" and both books gave me the motivation to create a dedication page/picture for my brother, my godfather, and my grandfather too. I hope they appreciate their gifts the same way I appreciated this book. Thanks for the idea and your work, Rachel Vassel.



4. This book is very inspirational in terms of outlining the many facets of relationships between dads and daughters. I liked the fact that the author chose from several different genres of women. I wished, however, that there were some common women amongst the group. Each of these women were celebraties, CEOs or claimed some high-powered position in their respective fields. It would've been nice to include highlights of the very average relationships that go on everyday with women and dads who are not at all famous. Overall, however, the book was very gratifying. I am giving it to my daughter's father for Christmas, along with my own essay on what a great dad he has become thus far.



5. I really enjoyed this book. I gave a copy to my husband. The photos are great, the words often brought me to tears. This is a book that praises the efforts of good fathers and gives fathers-to-be a glimpse of what it takes to have a positive impact on their child--so little, yet sooo much.

2 comments about Across the Line: Profiles in Basketball Courage: Tales of the First Black Players in the ACC and SEC.

1. One of the most important "sports" books you'll ever read. The stories of the student-athletes who crossed the color line at southern universities are remarkable, particularly given that most of their experiences are only a generation or so old. The book is incredibly well-researched; unfortunately, the same can't be said for another review on this site. The Auburn player who committed suicide was Henry Harris, and the author explains that he did so two years after he left the school. He did not jump out of a dorm-room window. If you are going to accuse someone of getting the facts wrong on a public forum, be very sure you have at least read what they have written and can prove a factual error. If you care about civil rights, history, and/or the culture of American sports, this book tells invaluable and untold stories.



2. I was watching a interview about this book on a news segment and I was very interested in reading Across the Line. However, now I am apprehensive about purchasing this book. I would like to point out a fact the author referred to in his book that I am finding to be untrue. When the author was telling about the Auburn player no. 31 (I didn't catch the player's name), and how the player unfortunately jumped out of a window to his death from a 13th story dorm at Auburn University. I am an Auburn University graduate and I know Auburn has never had a 13 story dorm. In fact, the "skyscraper" of Lee County, Alabama (as of 1999) was the 9 story building of Haley Center on Auburn's Campus, and indeed it is not a dormitory, but rather the home of many colleges such as the college of education, political science, psychology,etc.
   I find it disrespectful to this Auburn player to have his death remembered incorrectly in a book that is supposed discuss his struggles and the struggles of others trying to break "across the line" in college basketball. Also, it makes me wonder what other information/facts is incorrect in this book.

1 comments about Once You Go Black: Choice, Desire, and the Black American Intellectual (Sexual Cultures).

1. This is the long-awaited moment when Robert Reid-Pharr really 'lets his hair down' (not the best cliche for a black man) and demonstrates that he is so much more than an academic literary critic (and he does a damn fine job of that, mind you.) Signifying on that ancient but alive racist statement "Once you go black, you can never go back", so often heard by (gay and straight) whiteboys with a chronic case of jungle fever, Reid-Pharr moves breathlessly through the 'genres' of queer studies, black studies, critical whiteness work, and cultural studies. His position as a great American social and cultural critic is fully consolidated with this text. His prose is lucid; his style is engaging and any one of the essays/chapters here *should* and could be reprinted in any venue; from Essence to The New Yorker (if only!) and from The Village Voice to Harper's. One can only hope that this book will be sufficiently widely read that Reid-Pharr can become, for lack of a better comparison, the gay Michael Eric Dyson. Most significantly, for this reader, is that this book embodies the revolutionary impulse in black studies to at once reach an academic audience and also a mass, popular audience. In other words, this book should be in airport bookstores, not completely relegated to the sub-section of 'black masculinity studies' (to which it certainly makes an important contribution)

5 comments about Jackie Robinson: A Biography.

1. After reading several excellent reviews of this book, I purchased it for
   my nepbew's birthday. I have not read the book myself since I lived through that period.



2. It was a year of Fire and also the year of Grace for Jackie Robinson!! It is an amazing book to read about a great person who changed history and loves baseball!! It is more than just baseball and it has so many things to show that shaped Jackie's life so much. It is also spiritual and emotional book that leaves you to become a stronger person to make a great difference in the world.



3. I really liked this book and normally I dont like reading. Ijust wanted to keep reading to see what was going to happen next. I think Jackie Robinson is a vary good romodel because no matter what, you should never give up. Because Jackie never gave up he ended up being one of the best baseball players to ever play the game. But most of all he broke the color code for all professional sports.



4. This biography does an outstanding job of giving an overview of Robinson's life and times, from his early, awnry but talented years in Pasadena, through UCLA, then the military, and then the Brooklyn Dodgers and beyond. It paints a picture of a strong willed gentleman with enormous pride, dedicated to his family, and dedicated to the idea of racial integration and equality. The influences of his mother on his early, somewhat (understandably) confrontational character, that allowed him to ultimately be the individual who paired with Branch Rickey to integrate "America's Pastime" are clearly laid out.

   Some reviewers have faulted the author for not being more interpretive of Robinson's politics - specifically, that he was a Nixon supporter in 1960 and a Rockefeller supporter in 1968 (while also being a strong supporter of Civil Rights, active in almost every civil rights organization) and Humphrey supporter as well. I think the book lays out all the facts for the reader to see for themselves. Robinson's coming of age - in an era when a Dixiecrat from a Jim Crow state (LBJ) led the passage of the Civil Rights Act - was a time of a shifting political landscape that didn't settle out until near his death (he also broke badly with Nixon later in Nixon's career). The Republican party's mantra of self-reliance, and Robinson's determination to succeed in business in the same way he did in sports, made his attraction to the party not a big leap; the alienation of this country's African American establishment from big business was not a pre-ordained fact in the time Robinson lived.

   Finally, Robinson's own family struggles were also a reflection of the confusing and troubling times in which he lived.

   Robinson died too young for us all. This is a great book and I would highly recommend it..




5. i'm not particularly interested in baseball, but i am particularly interested in American history from the human perspective. i could have read a much more dry account of the turmoils that dominated American race relations throughout the middle of the 20th century, but instead i've read this fascinating account of those terrible, backward days from the perspective of a true pioneer, Mr. Jackie Robinson.

   of course he is looked back on now as a symbol, a mythological figure. i always knew peripherally of Jackie as the same thing most people do: the first black man to play major league baseball, a step forward & up in the painful struggle of the times. but this book presents him as a human being, a fallible man who lived most of his life not on the baseball field, but in a relentless pursuit of his ideals and desire for a better life for himself and everyone around him.

   the reviewer before me questions the biographer's lack of judgement of Robinson. i am curious as to why he feels Rampersad should insert his own analysis; the biography presents analyses of Robinson by many of Robinson's contemporaries, and then presents the recorded facts available to clarify incidents & statements. yes, this is an intensely personal biography, perhaps too personal in places. it is very much centered on Jackie's private correspondences. it is absolutely told from Robinson's persepctive, as best can be reconstructed from his widow Rachel & the papers he left behind, but it feels very honest, not at all like an airbrushed bit of hero-polishing. it is in places very blunt about Jackie's shortcomings as observed by his peers & contemporaries.

   before i stretch this out any longer, i'll just say that this is the most engrossing biography i can ever recall having read. it's an account of a fascinating life in an amazingly recent time, in an America that seems so long ago but is still discouragingly recent. readers will learn not just about Jackie Robinson, but about two American eras as well.

5 comments about Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince.

1. If you want to know about the full details of Prince's career and personal life, this is the book for you. I couldn't put it down, finished it in a few days. Prince is an incredible musician as well as a control freak in which you will learn. He also is very comfortable in contradicting himself as well. None the less, its a fascinating story. Seems like he had a burn out in the early nineties. Up until then, this guy was on fire and seemed unstoppable. I really like how he stuck up for himself and never let the industry put him into one category. As an artist this is something that many artist wish in their wildest dreams they could pull off, but very few can. In fact none to my knowledge has been able to as well as the purple one. Even less would have the courage to try.
   
   The one thing that stuck out to me is Prince's dedication to his career, but lack of balance in personal life. Total workaholic to the point of obsession. Because of this it eventually influenced his career in a bad way. I think he could of stood to take some time off over the years, too much in the thick of it to get a clear head.
   
   I'm a huge Prince fan, as amazing as he is........he is human like the rest of us, flaws and all. This book shows you the human element of this guy. A real vicarious view through the life of Mr. Nelson. Let me tell you, one amazing life.
   
   If you have any curiosity behind the mystery of Prince, gotta get this book.



2. Author Alex Hahn clearly thinks very little of Prince. As such, this book reads as one long explication of just how arrogant, selfish, and nearly two-albums-of-a-talent Hahn thinks Prince is. Aside from occasionally referring to individual songs as "brilliant" and openly admiring the albums "Purple Rain" and "Sign O' the Times", Hahn repeatedly and continually bashes Prince's every move. It gets utterly boring and irritating. There's nothing wrong with writing a book that's a true examination of how a brilliant artist lost his edge. But, it requires a talent for writing and an ability to psychologically analyze someone, skills that Hahn clearly does not possess.
   
   A major problem with even trying to read this book is that Hahn is a very poor writer. He does nothing to draw the reader in to the stories he tells; they're told with a flat, journalistic distance. He's also absolutely horrid at using quotations. There aren't very many direct quotations (which says a lot about Hahn's access to his sources). They're also poorly used, scattered willy-nilly throughout the text, providing little feeling for the people who said them. Especially irritating is that he feels the need to follow every positive comment he makes with a "but this is how Prince is a jerk" counter-statement. It's like he's afraid you'll forget his "point" if he dares to explore anything decent about Prince, even for a moment.
   
   All in all, this reads like an overly long high-school essay, fearfully overemphasizing its negative "thesis". Don't waste your time on it.



3. Although Prince has enjoyed a popular `comeback' since the publication of this book, I felt the author was a little critical of Princes musical and output especially in the late 80s/90s. Personally I thought Lovesexy and Diamonds and pearls great albums.
   Whilst we all loved the punky attitude of the 80s, we have to remember that Prince wanted to stand out from the generally conservative looking R & B crowd. When you are young, you naturally feels much free to explore sexuality and how you look you are open to more influence. For a young talented, and good looking African American growing up when he did, Prince embraced all of what that period had to offer whether it was cross dressing, punk, new wave and dating women from ethnicities other than his own. Naturally as one gets older, one normally becomes more conservative and reverts back to what really felt comfortable to them such as hanging out with the African American NPG. Prince was never really the effete, and camp person that some like Alex Hahn wanted him to be, he was merely playing a role which no doubt attracted a certain type of woman. Even others such as Andre Cymone would blend boundaries of taste and fashion, to attract a certain type of women i.e. exotic, to differentiate themselves from other `brothers'
   Once hip hop culture became all embracing Prince knew that he could no longer be the effeminate acting brother, he decided to revert back to `keeping it real' whether musically or image.



4. As a Prince fan for nearly thirty years, I've read just about every review, biography, interview and article ever written about The Artist. Far and away, this is the most penetrating, well-written, and insightful book ever published. It avoids gossip and sensationalism, yet does not compromise on providing an in-depth look into Prince's music and his life. Rarely has a truly critical (but never unfair) analysis been written about a musician's career. Prince fans owe it to themselves to give this book a thorough read.



5. A comprehensive overview of the life of one of the greatest musical minds of the pop world. Hahn shows how Prince went from prodigy to pop star to pompous recluse. Starting with his early years right up to the the new millenium, we see how Prince's flame shined so brightly after years of hard work, only to have it snuffed by ego, selfishness and totalitarianism. Plenty of great research by Hahn, who gets his info straight from those close to the Purple One, including band members, engineers, A&R people and tour manager Alan Leeds who also worked for funk godfathers James Brown and George Clinton. Excellent and complete discography including unreleased material. A must for any fan of His Royal Badness!
   
   My only complaint is that Hahn seems biased in favor of the successful Revolution/Purple period and very critical of the later New Power Generation band. Though the lite pop of the Revolution era was the highlight of Prince's career, the musically superior NPG yielded much greatness although its R&B/rap/funk seemed less accessible to mainstream audiences. In fact, it was Prince's increased musical output and each album's lack of contiuity (jumping to different musical styles like jazz, techno, reggae, r&b, rock opera, etc) that contributed his downfall. In the end, it seemed Prince lost his focus and idealism and needed to find purpose again to regain his throne.

No comments about Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave (Cliffs Notes).

5 comments about Milestones: The Music And Times Of Miles Davis.

1. Re-read Review: I still consider this a great source of information but the writing style is horrible. Chambers uses $5.00 words like "lugubrious" as adjectives all over the place. Good writing speaks to the reader in every day speech. Who the heck uses words like lugubrious in every day speech? And his use of adjectives doesn't make sense. "the lugubriously titled Miles Smiles"... What? Why is that lugubrious (mournful)? Or describing the melody of Paraphernalia from Miles in the Sky as "doleful". What? I think Chambers is probably in need of a good anti-depressant. I also fail to see why it is necessary for Chambers to give HIS opinion of the music that was recorded or performed. I could not care less what Chambers or any other Miles biographer thinks of the music. That is NOT the reason I read these books, I'm in search of information so that I can understand the guy's music and his career. I don't care what the writer thinks of the music, it's a waste of typset and ink.
   
   Original Review:
   Yes, this is THE source for information on Miles Davis' career. It should get five stars but there is a major sticking point for me. The book pretty much sticks to the musical aspects of Miles' life and it is chock-full of great information about line-ups, tours, recording dates.
   
   I love all of Miles' work from his days with Parker until the day he died. It ALL has its place. Given that, I have a very serious problem with this book. Chambers is incredibly biased against Miles work from In a Silent Way onwards. He delivers many judgments about some recorded performances a "failures". He has very few positive things to say about this period. His comments about Big Fun and On the Corner (now considered far ahead of its time and a masterpiece) are inexcusable. He claims any listener to the music on Big Fun will find it frustratingly boring. Speak for yourself Chambers, Big Fun was the very record that got me into Miles Davis. If it's so lousy, why is it still in print in both a 24 bit remaster AND SACD? Chambers describes "He Loved Him Madly" from "Get Up With It" as "monochratic" and asserts it is incapable of sustaining the listener's interest. What? Again, if it's so boring, why is "Get Up With It" still in print and beautifully remastered 27 years after its initial release? SOMEbody is buying this stuff. We know who we are ;-)
   
   I believe most folks don't read a book like this because they want a critique, they want information and perhaps insights from the folks who were there, playing the music, producing the music, etc. The information is here in this book, but the reader has to put up with Chamber's shallow opinions about Miles' later work. His comments about the Cellar Door gig with McLaughlin are ridiculous - especially given we can now actually hear much of those performances on the Cellar Door Sessions and that this was an incredibly good band with or without McLaughlin.
   
   Chambers also prefaced this new edition with a long diatribe about Miles' last decade, calling him "Freaky Deaky" and making lots of plagerism complaints, i.e. Miles ripped off many of Chambers accounts and stories to create his autobiography. That may be a very valid point but I didn't buy this book to read about that sort of thing. So what, Chambers is upset that an old man who always claimed to have a poor memory used his book to recall some of the instances of his own life? Pathetic. Chambers forgets that he's made a handsome profit off of the life of Miles Dewey Davis. If Chambers felt he just HAD to include it, then it should have appeared as an epilogue not as a prologue full of sour grapes.
   
   If you want to learn a lot about Miles, this is definitely THE book to purchase, but ya sure have to endure a lot of the author's sour grapes and subjective, snotty criticism to get the goods.



2. 
   The best book on Miles Davis and one of the best jazz books ever written. Originally published in two volumes, the first half covers Miles from his birth up to 1960, the second half since 1960. The book is a bio-discography and centers around Miles's recording sessions. Full session details are given along with excellent commentary by Chambers.
   
   Chambers knows what he's talking about when it comes to the music (a lot of jazz biographers are shaky when dealing with the actual music involved). Additional biographical detail is related as the book proceeds chronologically - club dates, personnel changes, business deals, troubles. It's a fascinating, detailed, and authoritative account of the life and career of Miles Davis. Definitive and a must-have book for anyone at all interested in Davis or modern jazz in general.



3. A fine book.
   But Chambers is also slightly upset, I think, that Quincy Troupe got to work with Miles on his autobiography and not he -- and what Chambers' book is missing is exactly the kind of personal material (and voice) you find in Miles' autiobiograpy ("Miles").
   The best thing about this book is the discussion of the wider context of Miles' music and performance ("the times"), but without Miles own voice it degenerates through the end of Part Two into a kind of annotated discography (mind you -- that's not all bad -- it is accurate and gave me a few ideas for out of the way purchases).
   So, I recommend reading both this book and "Miles", for a complete picture.



4. This is probably the best book about the life of Miles Davis I have found. I have read his autobiography, the biography by Carr, and So What along with a couple of other Miles books. This one simply gives the best detail and most interesting about the artists life. If you want to read a book about Miles Davis start with this one. It is quite lenghty but there weren't many dull moments in Davis's life.



5. Jack Chambers has done a very hard task and that is to present the life of the legendary Miles Davis to readers in a very interesting, yet complex style which was reflective of the way Miles Davis led his life and music.

   Miles Davis was the premiere jazz musician of his time along with John Coltrane, Charlie "Bird" Parker, Herbie Hancock, etc, yet while you can love Davis's music, to know the man was very hard to do, since Miles Davis was a standoffish and sullen individual. Chambers describes Davis's behavior as being sullen and hard to know because Davis's was a very shy man. I am sure that Davis lived a tough life because of injustice, yet it is sad that he didn't trust his fans and those who cared for him. Davis certainly lived the life of a "star", he over-indulged in sex, was an abuser of drugs, and had split personalities later on in life, yet his musical vision was almost always focused and clear, whether it be in the pinnacle of his talent (1950-1962), or his creating fusion (1967-1973), or the later part of his life.

   Chambers does an excellent job of detailing the relationship Miles had with his fellow musicians such as the love-hate relationship with Theolonius Monk, the admiration and jealousy between Coltrane and Miles, as well as Miles being a mentor to such jazz greats as Herbie Hancock, John McGlaughlin, Chick Corea, etc.

   I am a tremendous fan of Miles Davis jazz visions, I love his music and his musical style, yet after reading this book I feel sadness because I don't know if I pity Davis or just not liking him altogether, or admiring him no matter what, his final years were spent in paranoia, suspicion and feeding his ego, that is sad because if he would of just relaxed and enjoy his fans admiration I believe he might have lived longer. Anyways, this is an outstanding book and is highly recommended to all jazz lovers and fans of the immortal Miles Davis.

5 comments about The Life of Langston Hughes: Volume I: 1902-1941, I, Too, Sing America (Life of Langston Hughes, 1902-1941).

1. 
   The man that poetry made stands luminous
   on the broken corners of history's suicidal cravings,
   he watches splashing in the street
   birds cleaning their feathers inside
   the crystal flow of words he gave them,
   
   he is a vintage wine now,
   traveling with ease over the tongues
   of other people's intentions,
   he is a quilt
   made of one billion black hands
   spread like guarantees from a single living God
   over the heads of the misbegotten.
   
   The man that poetry made wonders
   on which day will he finally recite his soul.
   Ask him who his mother is
   and he will sing for you memories
   of bosom-heavy haikus
   filling his mouth with the milk and nectar
   of joy neverdying.
   Ask about his father
   and he will boast about a ballad
   that thundered all the way
   from Spain to Zaire
   bouncing him like a sack full of sonnets
   upon his broad whistling shoulders.
   
   This man that poetry made stumbles barefoot
   through the city, a huge blue ribbon wrapped
   around one big toe, a small pink one tied
   to the other, ragged jeans loose
   upon free-verse hips, fluorescent eyes blinking
   surrealistic kisses of negritude revisited--
   
   To the woman confused
   by his lust for peace
   he begs "forgive me lovely genius
   I was not born as you were born,
   my blood was written
   by a different kind of coupling."
   To the man frustrated
   by his lack of animalia
   he sang, "Beauty is a thing finer
   than exalted fears of actual love."
   
   The man that poetry made sometimes
   blows himself to pieces with bombs
   made from metaphors, he enjoys watching
   the words that shape his life
   scatter like golden ashes of imagination
   then one by one float back down to earth
   covering him with forms and meanings
   he never knew existed.
   People passing the corner
   where he stands luminous and throbbing
   rarely see a man at all.
   They look at the man that poetry made
   and see a public toilet
   or a burning bush flaming in the most unlikely place.
   Sometimes they see him as a rare jewel
   and snatch him up before anyone else
   can look. He is always curious riding along
   inside the pockets of strangers
   wondering how they shall react
   when they see him for what he is,
   and he reveals, with
   love lighting up his every cell
   exactly who they are.
   
   
   by Author-Poet Aberjhani
   author of I Made My Boy Out of Poetry
   and Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance (Facts on File Library of American History)



2. Long before the advent of the 1960's motto of black pride and black beauty, there was Langston Hughes who championed and celebrated black pride and black beauty, both African and black American, at the height racial inequality in the United States.
   
   The two definitive biographies of Langston Hughes are written by Faith Berry, LANGSTON HUGHES: BEFORE AND BEYOND HARLEM, and, the two by Arnold Rampersad's, THE LIFE OF LANGSTON HUGHES VOLS. 1 AND 2. For those able to do it, I would recommend reading Berry's biography first and then DEFINITLY follow it by reading Rampersad two exquisite biographies of Hughes. Reading the two is the only real way to get a complete and accurate picture of Langston Hughes. Both books briefly address Hughes family background which isn't unique to him alone in the black American community as those non-persons of African decent on the outside repeatedly fail to understand. Both books address Hughes' humanity despite of the racism he faced as an extremely confident and proud African-American. Both acknowledge Hughes dislike of those blacks like Toomer ashamed of being black and their African heritage. Both reveal his living through all the moments in early 20th century American history like the Harlem Renaissance and meeting and befriending such figures as Dubois and facing McCarthy on charges of communism while punctuated moments of his life with wanderlust in world travels. Both books address the obstacles and triumphs he faced as being only the second black American to earn a living by writing , the first being Paul Lawrence Dunbar who was also Hughes idol and influence alongside Whitman and Sandburg. Both books take care to explain how Hughes relationships with his parents and grandmother may have shadowed his other relationships in terms of his race pride and the half hearted and insincere assignations with women he was linked to.
   
   Where the two books differ is in discussing Hughes being gay. Berry appears unbridled by prejudice in acknowledging use as gay. Rampersad, a conservative black scholar and now part executor of the Hughes estate, is too eagerly fulsome in his attempts to deny Hughes being gay along with the coded references Hughes used to describe his affections for black men in poems which are similar to those used by Whitman in describing his same sex interest. This dangerously borders the homophobic line. (** READ the recent appendix in Rampersad biography where he rightfully takes issue with being called homophobic by his critics.**) This has been the chief criticism by many of Rampersad two biographies of Hughes. The great irony is that Rampersad actually confirms Hughes being gay by indicating the price Hughes would have paid if he was openly identified as gay at the wrong time in history (even in some circles of the black community today for that matter). Plus, in volume 2 of the LIFE OF HUGHES, Rampersad is less virulent in denying Hughes being gay and pretty much comes close to acknowledging him being gay but holds back for reasons of
   his own.
   
   Moreover, Berry discusses Hughes in a straight foreword manner. Rampersad biography is almost lyrical in its historical documentation of Hughes life like a number of biographies being written these days by certain scholars. Rampersad goes into great psychological analysis of Hughes and barring certain before mentioned instances gets it right.



3. "'The Africans looked at me and would not believe I was a Negro': ...
   `You - white man'," they said. Repudiating the idea that he was not one of them,
   Hughes asserted "the unity of blacks everywhere." Hughes' choice to embrace
   his African-American heritage is a major theme of Rampersad's biography.
   Hughes rejected his father's path and the chance to pass, to escape prejudice
   and win easy acceptance as a member of Mexican society. Poetic inspiration
   came from Harlem, from Jazz, and from anger at prejudice. Despite, or because of
   its format, with chapters divided by years, this book made riveting summer reading.
   Along the way it introduced me to wonderful poetry in the context of the life:
   -----
   Mercedes is a jungle-lily in a death house.
   Mercedes is a doomed star.
   Mercedes is a charnel rose. ... ----
   AND:
   Passionate, cruel,
   Honey-lipped, syphilitic -
   That is the South.
   And I, who am black, would love her
   But she spits in my face . . .



4. This is the most complete writing on Hughes' life. Beautifully written yet very thorough. Arnold Rampersad is probably the most talented biographer alive.



5. I thought this was a very interesting book. It is VERY well written, I recomend it!