5 comments about Not a Genuine Black Man: Or, How I Claimed My Piece of Ground in the Lily-White Suburbs.

1. Brian Copeland's new memoir shows us the world through the eyes of an 8-yr old black boy and the challenges of growing up black in an all-white neighborhood and school. He never really got to relax and enjoy his childhood because life was pretty much a war zone for him. His absentee father would show up and verbally abuse him, as did potentially anyone he came in contact with. So he had no role model; he had to grow up too soon and become the man of the house. The protector of his mother and younger sisters. No one was in his corner. Teachers feared uprisings or job loss for taking up for him. As he got older he learned how to mask his fears and to use humor to cover up the painful past. The book also delves into mental illness. When suffering from tearful outbursts for no apparent reason, his psychiatrist likened his condition to PTST - Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. Dealing with that after all these years has made him a stronger person, and one who can reach out to help others. The book is a huge eye-opener. It is a heartwrenching read. But his humorous writing provides the foil needed to keep the reader from throwing down the book and drowning in despair and shame for what injustices blacks went through in order to get out of the ghetto and to have a productive, satisfying, prosperous life. While race is a big part of the book, Copeland insists his story is more about being an outsider and what skills outsiders can use to "cope" in a "land" of insiders. I highly recommend this book! I couldn't put it down! I am a richer person for having read it.



2. Brian Copeland shares his life story with us in Not a Genuine Black Man. It is insightful, touching and important. Although the subject matter of racial prejudice is serious, he tells the story with much humor to help us, and him, be able to get through it.
   
   If you've ever seen Brian do stand up comedy, listened to him discussing topical news issues on his highly rated talk radio show or met him in person he comes across as being "not like other blacks".
   
   Every white person knows someone like Brian. The co-worker at the office who doesn't have the "accent". Who talks about and does "normal" things. The one who is "just like us". The one who "doesn't play the race card". You've heard at least one person say "why can't they all be like him?"
   
   There are white people who believe racism and discrimination are a thing of the past, saying that no one alive today was ever a slave and everyone now has the right to vote. They feel that African Americans just have a chip on their shoulder based only on injustices that happened a long time ago to someone else. For "proof", they point to African Americans like Tiger Woods, Barack Obama, Colin Powell, Dick Parsons, Stanley O'Neal, John W. Thompson and Oprah Winfrey. Surely they are "just like us", the theory goes, because they choose not to feel victimized by the ancient injustices others suffered.
   
   Copeland lets us see behind the curtain. We learn of the pain that prejudice causes first hand through the eyes of Brian as a child and the toll that experience takes on him as an adult. We learn that with everything he has accomplished, there are white people to this day who say "Yeah, but he's still just a n____". We learn the pain doesn't stop with the discrimination -- when he refuses to make an issue of it and not let it get him down, there are those in the African American community that accuse him of not being a "genuine black man".
   
   Brian let's us know that he is successful and "like us" not because he never experienced the pain of prejudice, but rather he is successful and "like us" despite it.
   
   "Not a Genuine Black Man" is a must read with lessons for everyone. African American readers will surely relate to his experiences and the pain he feels. White readers may begin to understand it.



3. I enjoyed the book, but not for $14. I thought the author could have had more depth instead of simply recalling the past. I did enjoy learning about the Bay Area and the history of San Leandro, though. He is a funny man, but the book could have had a little more "meat".



4. Brian Copeland's "Not a Genuine Black Man" is a provocative and moving autobiography that begins the Copeland family's 1972 move into "lily white" San Leandro, California. Brian was then eight years old. And San Leandro (99.9% white) was using any method it could to maintain an all-white status.
   
   Copeland, a San Francisco Bay Area TV/Radio celebrity, comedian, and author, is an excellent story teller and tells his story alternating between his arrival in San Leandro and an awakening at age 35 which led to an attempted suicide. "Not a Genuine Black Man" is more than the story of Copeland's struggles with overt bigotry and eventual depression, it is also the story of his mother's and grandmother's resilience that brought San Leandro into the post-civil rights era as a diverse, inclusive community.
   
   The book's title "Not a Genuine Black Man" comes from a letter Copeland received from talk-radio listener which said, "As an African-American, I am disgusted every time I hear your voice because you are not a genuine black man. The letter becomes a catalyst for Copeland to explore his past and find out who he is. "Not a genuine black man...What does that mean?"
   
   Upon reflection, Copeland sees that his mother really wanted white childre and did not want to associate with the black community. "I'm not one of these blacks." As a result, a young black child was faced with the challenge of growing up in one of the most racist suburbs in America with a mother who was trying to escape her black roots. Unknowingly, he had to develop a mask to protect himself from these truths...a mask that would lead to depression.
   
   "Behind most of our masks is a truth that is hidden for a specific reason. Often we don't know what that truth is. I wasn't ready to deal with my truths, but ready or not, they started to bubble to the surface. Once that began to happen, try as I might, I couldn't get the toothpaste to go back into the tube. I knew I had to face the truth about my mother."
   
   Today, San Leandro has changed and Copeland now feels proud of being part of the change. Members of all races worship side by side in the pews of churches of all denominations. His grandmother and, posthumously, his mother were presented with a commendation from the City of San Leandro for "their bravery" to make San Leandro a better place for all.
   
   And as the City has changed, Copeland has also changed. He knows now what it really means to be a genuine black man - he is a "unique man" who has the resilience of his forefathers and the fortitude of his mother and grandmother. His experience is unique and it is a "true" black experience because this is his experience.
   
   A human life is the most complex narrative of all: it has many layers of events which embrace outside behavior and actions, the inner stream of the mind, the underworld of the unconscious, the soul, fantasy, dream and imagination. There is no account of life which can ever mirror or tell all of this. Copeland has offered us a sample of this complexity and reminds us that black people are not a monolith with one lifestyle, one viewpoint, and one agenda. They are a varied lot like any ethnic group, each with their own complex narrative to tell. Narratives that we all must hear.



5. An ideal assigned reading for ANY and ALL high school/college level students. So poignant, humorous, self-reflective and blatantly truthful --Mr. Copeland's personal retrospective, analyzing just exactly what he knows (his life), comes entertainingly packaged in a wrenching yet totally engaging exhalation.
   
   I'd say that this book IS GUARANTEED (yes, this is a superlative) to activate "the thinking mechanism" and elevate your class to that of an educational milestone. If there is one common element which student readers most respect, it's an author's iron-clad commitment to
   "keeping it real". Well, Mr. Copeland's clever and stylish prose delivers a tasty dose of head-on reality which will move readers to a new and better place.
   
   Reviewer's "poetic license" observation:
   
   Inexplicably often, peoples' names accurately and ironically depict a significant measure of their calling. Mr. COPELAND, I'm personally thankful for you and your families' inspirational determination; I'm humbled by my ability to include you in this often recognized, yet little understood club.
   
   NOT A GENUINE BLACK MAN: OR, HOW I CLAIMED MY PIECE OF GROUND IN THE LILY-WHITE SUBURBS

5 comments about When White Is Black.

1. Passing for Who You Really Are
   
   John Martin has written an honest description of "Mulatto Elite" culture within his family. "Mulatto Elite" describes the mixed-race caste that traditonally (and still) accepted government-imposed forced hypodescent and considered themselves "superior" members of the Negro/colored/black "race." Within this caste white middle-class culture and a European phenotype are highly valued (which is their right and makes them similar to many American ethnicities), but the worship of whiteness is combined with a fear of the word "white" (as opposed to the indirect and vague "light-skinned") and an often fanatical hatred of those who reject the myth of being a "superior" variety of "black" for the reality of being an ordinary "white."
   
   An example of the above is Martin's description of how his grandmother lectured her daughters on how they should be "proud" to be "Negroes" while disdaining the true Negroes as their cultural and moral inferiors. This is not surprising given the fact that Mulatto Elites have a culture that is not really different from their "white" counterparts. They are often just as uncomfortable around the real "blacks" as other "whites." The main difference between Mulatto Elites and "whites" is the inferiority complex of the former regarding "black blood." Mulatto Elites often mistrust anyone who is white-identified and reserve their greatest venom for their physically whitest members who decide to stop living a "black" lie and identify as white. This is why Martin's grandmother told his mother to reject a marriage proposal from an Italian-American. His "color" was not the problem, since many of the family members looked just as white or more so. The problem was his white racial identification and their fear of crossing the caste line between "Negro" and "white."
   
   I had to laugh at the stories told by Martin's white-skinned female relatives about revealing themselves as "Negroes" to "white" strangers and thereby upsetting (or even converting) the supposed bigots who made disparaging remarks about Negroes. Such stories are omnipresent in Mulatto Elite culture but are usually apocryphal.
   
   Martin tells us how his mother became an alcoholic. If she had crossed the caste line and claimed her white identity (i.e., "passed for white" is the racist terminology), you would find plenty of authors who would be happy to tell us that it was the stress of "passing" and denying the "black race." Since she didn't do that, we can guess that she became an alcoholic because of the stress of denying her white race and pretending to be black.



2. A fascinating and most unusual biography exposing the cruelty, indignity and ignorance of so many Americans during most of our country's history. Despite the anguish suffered by the author, the story is told in a warm, touching way, with humor permeating it and making for a most enjoyable as well as informative and memorable read.



3. Covering more than two centuries, this book traces the challenges, disappointments, joys and experiences of a mixed race family in America. It is well written and I believe, will be enjoyed by many people who have a general interest in the history and ethnic makeup of this country. Additionally, it is also one that could be a valuable educational text in schools.
   
   The book relates the experiences of a family whose lineage was not solely African, but includes, English, French and Native American. With such a racial mix, John Martin tells a touching and sensitive story of life that has, I believe, not been fully addressed in most general histories of the United States--that of the Mulatto/mixed races. He discusses family, many of whom, due to the lightness of their skin, lived naturally as white. Yet, due to the archiac "one drop rule," which deems any person with a trace of sub-Saharan ancestry, when officialdom steps in, is automatically categorized as "Negro."
   
   Following a call from the Coroner's Office in his home town in California telling the sad news of his mother's death in an accident, and the subsequent official labeling of her as "Negro," even though she was 65% white, John Martin was prompted to look back at his Mulatto heritage. In this enjoyable book he takes the reader on a personal journey through two centurues of family experiences.
   
   I enjoyed reading When White is Black. This book gave me a clearer understanding of American cultural history, particularly as it relates to people of mixed race.



4. Family, genealogy, and racial categorization is explored in this family history and sociological look at race in When White is Black by John A. Martin Jr. In 1969, Martin, a former social service agency director, received a call in the early morning hours at his home in Berkeley, California, informing him that his mother, Eulalie, was killed in an accident. Just before the Alameda County coroner ended the conversation with Martin, he asked him what race is your mother? For though, she appeared to be white, the coroner questioned her living in a black neighborhood. Martin attempted to explain his mother's racial make-up as predominately white with Negro and Indian but accepted reluctantly that as a result of the one-drop rule, she would be classified as a Negro in death, as she was in life.
   
   Thus began Martin's contemplation regarding the racial ambiguities of his mother's family that had plagued him most of his life. Martin methodically details the genealogy of both sides of his maternal lines of mixed-race people, beginning with his mother's paternal white ancestors who were from France and England. Martin's roots stemmed from Houston and Galveston by way of New Orleans. His family tree lists his ancestors with designations of mulatto, quadroon, octoroon, black, Choctaw and Seminole Indian. Beginning with the 1850 U.S. Census and through 1920, the government attempted to identify thousands of mixed-blood peoples with the term of mulatto. For one census year, 1890, the terms, quadroon and octoroon were added in an attempt to identify the percentages of African blood that existed in those who were not "white." Those designations were abandoned because of the unreliability of these labels and the census resorted back to using mulatto for all mixed black and white people until 1920.
   
   Mama Peachey's family (Martin's mother's mother) passed for white until she was almost an adult. She told her children that they were different from darker-skinned Negroes and taught them to disdain, loud, ignorant, foul acting colored people. She told all five of her girls to be proud of their exotic good looks and to seek colored men who were educated and from other mulatto families as they would have better opportunities. In California, where Martin moved as a toddler, his mother and grandmother would regale the family with stories of being mistaken for white on the bus and putting those who made disparaging remarks about blacks in their place. After Eulalie's death, Martin and his brother would reminiscence about the times people would stare at them on the street when they were with their beautiful mulatto mother and how the teachers were always surprised when this white-looking woman showed up to claim her children, letting those teachers know her children were not the average Negroes and they were to be treated with respect.
   
   Martin details the pain of living with a tortured mother who became an alcoholic. He left diverse Berkeley to go live with his father in Houston for a year during high school where he found the segregation of the 1950s Jim Crow Texas stifling, despite the black middle- class lifestyle his father's status afforded him. Though Martin never verbalized that his mother's alcoholism was attributed to her racial persona, he inferred that living in a nation where race is a prominent factor was a constant source of frustration. Martin also muses how ironic that his mother broke off an interracial affair with an Italian American man because of race, given the gradation of whiteness in her own family.
   
   In the final analysis, Martin advocates for the abolishment of the one-drop rule and embracing a multiracial nation. It is his belief that white parents of mixed-children children should lobby the government for broader racial categorizations. Additionally he contends African Americans are opposed to a multiracial identification because it decreases their numbers. He thinks that although many blacks have mixed-blood they acquiesce to the black label out of a sense of loyalty that is misguided.
   
   It was a walk down memory lane as Martin described landmarks of the Bay Area, particularly establishments in 1940s and 50s San Francisco, Berkeley and Downtown Oakland. This was a good look at identity and race with well-documented sources. I would recommend to those who research genealogy and have an interest in family history in a social construct.
   
   Reviewed by Dera R. Williams
   APOOO BookClub



5. John Martin has written an evocative and personal history chronicling the strange and illogical approach white Americans have had toward "mixed race" Americans. This book makes the absurdity of the "one drop rule" so clear, and raises questions regarding our approach to black and white and everything in-between - today. The writing is clear and honest and accessible. I also really enjoyed hearing about Berkeley and it's neighborhoods, from the 30's onwards.

5 comments about The Senator and the Socialite: The True Story of America's First Black Dynasty.

1. I enjoyed this book from cover to cover. Not only was in a nice superficial overview of the reconstruction era with highlights about some of the major Black figures but also a sad story of a prominent family's fall from the top of the Black social ladder over three generations.



2. _The Senator &c._ is the family history of Blanche Kelso Bruce, the first African-American to serve in the United States Senate, during Reconstruction. It's a fine story, and I'm glad to be learning what I am about the Reconstruction years and politics, opportunities and swindles. But the author doesn't exactly excite me. His research seems relatively sound, but his writing is not going to get him any prizes or true fans.



3. Excellent book. Very informative, happy to have obtain this great reading material. Book is in excellent condition, received it in a timely manner. I'm very happy with my purchase.



4. The Senator and the Socialite is less about a dynasty and more about a wealthy family degenerating into poverty. Blanche Bruce may have been a powerfull politician, but what power did he realy have? The White establishment could have thrown him away at any time. And his "wealth" came from renting farmland to poor Blacks, so in reality, he was a just another Southern plantation owner who happened to be Black. His children and grandchildren went to Harvard, Radcliff, and Exeter, but what for? Few companies would hire an African-American for a position of responsibility, unless it was to manage a business that catered to African-Americans (like the Dunbar Apartments). Booker T. Washington was right in his philosophy; if you have technical and industrial skills, you're more likely to get steady work. After all, I don't need the services of a Philosophy major, but there's 80 co-ops in my building who'd pay $200 a piece to have their sinks fixed!
   
   In the end, the children turn out to be disasters. Roscoe Bruce Jr, Clara Bruce Jr., and Buril, go to top colleges, do poorly, fail in business, get in trouble wth the law and disgrace themselves. Roscoe Sr. lets a racist pedophile abuse Black schoolgirls, costing him his job as head of the DC colored schools. Then his son mismanages a client's money and winds up in jail. His Daughter marries a Black actor who then decides to pass for White (as does his college friend John Syphax). All in all, the Bruce family were just lazy, spolied, rich brats who ruined themselves. I guess power and priviliege didn't jsut corrupt the Kennedys.
   
   But I have one question....what happened to all these characters later on? What happened to Barrington Guy/Sharma? When did he die? What happened in later years as he passed for White? What happened to Roscoe Jr.? What about his decendants? Where are they now? If only one of the Bruce's decendants turned up at the recent memorial to Blanch Bruce, does that mean they don't know about him, don't care, or are they keeping their ancestry hidden to this day?



5. Lawrence Otis Graham's "The Senator and the Socialite" is an important work. Graham does a wonderful job of detailing the great accomplishments of Black-Americans - much of which you would not ordinarily hear about and should be proud of. However, I am saddened to learn the descendants of such an important historical figure (Senator Blanche K. Bruce) are ashamed of their Black-American heritage and now live as white people.

3 comments about Mr. Ambassador: Warrior for Peace.

1. An account of a black man who truly pulled himself up by the bootstraps. He was raised on a cotton farm in segregated Louisiana by grandparents who could neither read nor write. He went on to get an education and ultimately enter the elite white Foreign Service. He was appointed as U.S. Ambassador four times: Liberia, South Africa, the United Nations, and Australia. A very well written book.



2. This is a terrific book! Perkins is a Black American born in 1928, who became a diplomat in the Foreign Service, and was the US Ambassador to South Africa in the 1980s during apartheid. The first chapter describes life in rural segregated Louisiana and Arkansas in the 1930s. It is a moving account, the more so because it is so simply and straight-forwardly told. Anyone who wonders if we've made progress in race relations should read this chapter. Moving on we meet the people outside Perkins' family who mentored him, and see clearly the truth of his statement that "... none of us goes through life unassisted." Later we see him as a US Marine, learning Japanese and studying Asian philosophy. It is just inspiring.
   
   That's enough. Get the book; read it; and pass it on.



3. The memoir of Career Foreign Services Officer Edward J. Perkins, the first U.S. black ambassador to South Africa in 1986, comes to life in a hard-hitting memoir of politics and social change that will prove a 'must' for any seeking insights into South Africa under apartheid - and after. Perkins came from a cotton farm in segregated Louisiana to join forces with the elite Foreign Service, becoming the first black officer to ascend to director general. But even these many achievements would be superceded by his work in South Africa - and MR. AMBASSADOR: WARRIOR FOR PEACE tells it all.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch

5 comments about The Delany Sisters' Book of Everyday Wisdom.

1. Delightful and insightful! I discovered these two women when I read The Delaney Sisters Having Our Say and could not wait to buy their other books!



2. What an experience reading about these two delightful sisters who were winners in every area of life...Back when Black people weren't accepted by most white people the one sister became a dentist of all things...Here she was Negro, a woman on top of it and going against all odds she didn't let that stop her! During the depression years they made candy and sold it at dept. stores. and survived without any kind of welfare. Never had a phone in their house. "if people wanted to talk with us they could come see us" was their motto..
   
   The time they moved the refrigerator downstairs from an upper floor because the man they had hired kept putting them off day after day....and they were near 100 yrs old! Forget the exact age but they never let anything stop them if they needed to do it.
   
   They did their yoga exercises and shows pictures of them. Also some simple recipes they used over the years. They never bought detergent or dishwashing liquid...made their own and the recipe is included. They even include a recipe for Rose Wine and their hot yeast rolls. The candy recipe is included also.
   
   This book is my all-time favorite and I have ended up buying it 3 times since I am in the health care business and work with seniors and try to encourage and give them the joy and hope of this wonderful book.
   
   The Delaney sisters' Book of Everyday Wisdom
   
   Lovelaffs



3. I came across this book at a library book sale. It really wasn't anything I would normally read but the price was right and I was so pleasantly suprised at the book. I've recommented it to family, friends and my grown kids. I'm now checking out other books written about them.



4. There's nothing quite like wisdom from someone who's older and has gone through a lot. Readers will delight in the nuggets here, as well as the humor that goes along with them.



5. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The title is very fitting for this little book of wisdom. These ladies are living a full life and have alot of experiences to share that are common to all peoples of all walks of life. I continually found myself reading this book out loud to whoever was around. It is funny, contemplative, and inspiring. It's one you'll want to share with friends and family.

5 comments about Voices in the Mirror: An Autobiography (Harlem Moon Classics).

1. This is an excellent book and all young people should read this. It contains history lessons that will open ones eyes.



2. I'm surprised that this book has not gained more notarity. I am an admirer of Gordon Parks. His story is one of inspiration and challenge. An imperfect man who maximized his potential. Gordon Parks is an American Icon. Author, composer, photographer, and mentor his life is simply amazing. From being proclaimed dead at birth to succeeding at everything he touched; his life embodies hope and aspiration.



3. This book is full of life lessons and was told by a man who had plenty of experience to tell them. He speaks about his upbringing, which was humbling to say the least. He tells about the first camera he ever purchased. Not having much experience at all, he took some shots, and the rest was history from that standpoint. He was always humble, and just enjoyed doing the things he loved: photography, literature, and music. He made the most of his opportunities when he was given them. His undying love and support for the poor and the less fortunate is well-chronicled, and his loyalty to fellow Blacks at the harshest of times put him in very compromising situations, but he was always able to adapt, sympathize, and relate to his subjects, and it showed in all of his work. He never compromised his beliefs for personal gain, and he was widely respected for it. This book is a reminder to all who may give up on hoping, dreaming, and staying positive. It's a reminder that life is full of twists and turns, hills and mountains. If you stick it out, the sky's the limit. He is an inspiration to all.



4. I enjoy reading about a person's life and IN VOICES IN THE MIRROR, the autobiography of Gordon Parks, I found his story interesting, edifying and at times inspirational. Mr. Parks was born into a life where the world made differences in people based on the color of their skin and not their character. However, instead of using their biases as a crutch to not succeed, he worked hard to make his dreams come to fruition.
   
   Mr. Park's life spans many decades, wars and social climates in America. At age 15, he was homeless and living a depressing existence. He worked menial jobs to survive. He persevered and went from working on the railroad to being the first African-American photographer for Life and Vogue magazines. His life's adventures took him all over the world to cover some of the most politically disturbed countries, America's civil right's struggles, as well as Third World areas where poverty was rampant, all which were captured for posterity with his camera. He also composed a musical concerto, wrote books and penned poetry. His first novel, The Learning Tree was made into a motion picture, where he was the director and executive producer, which was an unknown anomaly during this period of time. Let's not forget he was the director of Shaft. His stories and pictures touched the hearts of many Americans, and during his life he received many accolades for what he enjoyed doing. So from the dirt roads of Kansas, Mr. Parks graduated from the school of hard knocks but lived a life that is and was so illustrious, fulfilling and awe-inspiring.
   
   This autobiography presents itself as an honest rendition of Mr. Park's life. He tells his story eloquently and allows readers to feel the emotions he was experiencing in each particular time of his life. He tells readers how powerful a picture can be and the pictures interspersed throughout are a testament to this truth. Readers get a glimpse into his marriages, children and even grandchildren and he shows us he is fallible as well. I truly enjoyed every aspect of this autobiography from the private conversations with Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali; to showing the people in his hometown he indeed was successful, because his life is a history lesson. He made great strides for African-Americans, and no matter how angry and depressed with the situations he faced, he continued to move forward. When the final door shuts on his life, his legacy will always remain.
   
   Reviewed by Cashana Seals
   of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers



5. Never before have I read a book with such honesty flowing off the pages. As Gordon Parks talks about his life from a young boy to a man you can feel everything he is going through. He doen't hide his feelings and lets you know how he felt at certain times in his life. When he talks about the hate he saw growing up and how he felt about white men, you can sence what it must have been like for him to challenge the odds and become one of the most powerful photographers of his time. Another thing that real made this book powerful was when he talked about his time as a Photo journalist for Time, having to tell people everything through the voice of a journalist and not an activist. He also makes the clear point that pictures speak louder than words. He remarks many times that he used his camera when others like red jackson used a gun. The camera is a powerful weapon in the right hands. If you have ever seen an of Gordon Parks's work or seen his movies, you will enjoy this book. It is a personal glimps in to the life of the man behind the camera.

4 comments about The Art Forgers Handbook.

1. Be warned, this book contains a lot of recipes for art materials - so if you are reading just for the anecdotes you might be a bit lost in some of the process descriptions. However, Eric has done a wonderful job of weaving wit and humor into the text; it is never dry or technical. A painter looking for recipes to create decorative fakes will find this book useful, altho I think it is far too vague to provide any information to the serious forger. It excells in the anecdotes about Erics own forgeries, the art establishment, and the nature of collectors. I found myself laughing out loud at many points - a rare accomplishment for a book.



2. Interesting to read and covers a wide area of the forgers requirements, however its like swimming.
   
   You can read about it all day long but unless you do it the books pretty much useless.



3. The art forgers handbook is an intriguing confession. While having reference worthy material I would advise against
   believing the book is the bible on the subject. Forgery involves a talent for broad and bizarre logic that involves not
   only the crafting but also a mental empathy inside the universal mind of the collector, the dealer, and the expert.

   As far as I'm concerned there are more valuable resources how ever there can be no complete source that one book
   could provide and Hebborns books makes a decent edition. The real success in a forgers ability would be in there
   logic and this is something that Hebborn can't teach. Hebborn never the less seems to be a master and his
   confessions add light on how one might tackle the subject.

   I do hold the book in high regards but in fact I have learned very little from it. A study in the history of artist
   materials and techniques, conservation, authentication, and a study of how these have been flawed, artistic
   competence in craft, creative logic, and ones own trial and error will be the only all inclusive bible into successful
   forgeries.

   The book has a catchy title, is informative and intriguing just don't be misled that the book will give you the ability
   to turn Degas and Rembrants. In my opinion there is only an illusion when it comes to success in forgery. The real
   success of the book is a demonstration that history is flawed and art; mystical and intriguing art is indeed a
   commodity illusion and nobody in the field is safe if fakes are indeed fakes in what ever context a fake is regarded
   in. If you are interested in the subject read the book it may after all have cost the artist his own life. Oh yeah, look for
   my own book in two-three years!

   Good luck




4. Hebborn certainlly knew his stuff and succeeded in selling many of his "creations" through dealers such as London's Colnagi. If you are interested in the nuts and bolts of forging old masters, this will certainly get you started. Other good, though more technical, books to look at are Gettens and Stout (and don't overlook the bibliography) and the immortal Max Doerner. There are some errors in the book, e.g., bistre and orpiment are easily found, if you know where to look. Still, Hebborn writes with rare wit and, quite often, with more humor than you will find in most deliberately humorous books. Well, are ya gonna do it? Assuming, of course, you have the skill.... That's up to you and if this book has a weak spot, it is in its cloying self-justification for doing this.

No comments about Floyd Patterson: A Biography.

4 comments about Black Apollo of Science: The Life of Ernest Everett Just.

1. A fascinating study of an all-but-ignored American scientific genius who was staggeringly original and prolific --and an incidental indictment of U.S. racism.



2. The book was put together with alot of admiration and validity. Ernest Everett Just was definetely ahead of his time and his vision was carried well into the 21 century. I feel the scientific cloning and bone marrow technology owes its success to pioneers like Ernest E. Just, unfortunately due to his race he was not given just due until after his death. the book shows a little justice and I admired the hard work of a talented author as Mr. Manning displayed in this book.



3. With all due respect to the other reviewer, I cannot understand how the word "excellent" can be used in a admiring review - followed by the assignment of only three stars! This a is four-star book at a minimum, and I think it deserves five stars. This is an exemplary biography in it terms of the underlying research, choice of subject and material to be included, and the style of writing. As a biologist, I am familiar with Just's work and some of the primary literature of his time, and can only add my praise for the author's adept handling of the technical topics. Highly recomended, moving, under-rated and under-read book!



4. Black Apollo of Science, The Life of Ernest Everett Just in my opinion is a very excellent portrail of the complicated and exciting life of one of the leading black scientist of the early 20th century. If you are serious about learning every detail about E.E Just, then this is the book for you. It is the story of his life which goes from his early life and struggles to gain an education to hi later life where he fights to give other African Americans the opportunity to recieve a quality education. Although most of his life commitments were based to further the education of African Americans, he also had his own personal motives. He was a dedicated researcher who was not afraid to express his opinions at whatever cost it was, personally and professionally. This book offers great motivation to anyone that is fighting against the norms and against dicrimination. I recommend it to scholars as along to layman that wish to learn more about American scientifc history.

3 comments about The Life of Langston Hughes: Volume II: 1914-1967, I Dream a World (Life of Langston Hughes, 1941-1967).

1. Langston Hughes was a Poets Poet.he had words that were uplifting that took you to another time&Place.Arnold Rampersad does a great job of telling the story of Langston Hughes&showcasing the Greatness of His Writings.Langston Hughes was ahead of time&Very Gifted African-American Writer.He left behind Ground-Breaking work that still speaks volumes to this day.



2. Arnold Rampersad's LIFE OF LANGSTON HUGHES Volume 2 retains much of Hughes' evident black pride that is inescapable no matter the type of biography and critical analysis done on him and his body of work. Hughes wrote about many other things during his lifetime, but he mostly celebrated his African American culture without shame or apology.
   
   Volume 2 picks up where the first left off. Langston Hughes is at the crossroads of a lived life. His career as a writer has stalled a bit, he has becomes disillusioned by the predominantely white left who rufuses to understand fully and acknowledge the plight of the black American, and he is ill. Eventually, his career begins to get back on track and Rampersad takes the reader along with Hughes through the rest of his life to his death in 1967. Langston reaches out to the rest of the world through his love for his fellow black Americans and their stories and concerns. He faces the McCarthy hearings successfully but with a slight change from the politcal rhetoric expressed so openly in the 1930's where he had merged racial pride with a radical socialism to insure that the left could not
   exclude blacks from the agenda. He witnesses the rise of a new generation of black writers, some who pleased him and others who did not, some who loved and respected him and others who did not. He challeged them to be proud of their black American heritage in their writing but also to be objective in their evaluations. He felt the sting of some of these young black writers who felt that he was out of touch and not angry enough. And, he witnessed the return of appreciation from the outside world for his body of work and humanity. Despite a general dislike he held for white people, some wasn't as liked by him as they believed themselves to be, it never materialized into open hate as it did with many in the Black Power Movement. Rampersad provides the best example of this by recounting a moment of outright rage in Hughes where he raises his voice to express his frustration and anger toward white folks, "benevolent anger" as opposed to the "malignant anger" of many in the Black Power Movement. Hughe fully understood the error of blanketing all white people as the same in prejudice.
   
   Arnold Rampersad depth of exhaustive research is evident in the facts he uncovers in Hughes's complicated character. And, some readers will be surprised by what they will read such as his understanding of the short comings of integration where African Americans would to a large degree abandon their own infrastructure instead of building on it to be more secure without self-segregation and imposed segregation from the outside. Rampersad presents Hughes as the human being with foibles and not just a mythic icon of African American and American literature in general. Perhaps willingly to some degree to keep money in the bank as he "sharecropped" his way through his long career, the reader will definitely come away with the knowledged that Hughes was a famous African American of his day being exploited, again to a degree, by the larger community. This is very evident in some of the working situations Hughes would have outside the black community.
   
   Volume 2 is free of much of the rheteric that came dangerously close to blatent homophobia in Volume 1. Rampersad doesn't come out and declare Hughes as gay, but does make the surprising admission that Hughes had a preference for black men like the late Gilbert Price, and, especially dark skinned black men in his life as well as work. This dissonance between not wanting to identify Hughes as gay and Hughes's very evident preference for black men as discovered by Rampersad during his exhaustive research is pandemic among certain scholars who believe sexuality has no bearing on creativity, at lease when it comes to certain icons as Hughes is to black America. But, Rampersad isn't a homophobe and it is unfair to cast him as one. Rampersad is to be applauded for this admission that he could have conveniently suppressed but chose not to do. Kudos!!!! Rampersad comes across as wanting to declare Hughes as gay, but holds back allowing the reader to read the obvious between the lines by patently stating Hughes primary interest for other black men. Rampersad does make references to the women Hughes was only "friendly" with without the slighthest romantic interest, Hughes even going out of his way make it clear that he was not interested in them romantically. This can be attributed to the condition in the black communty where black gay men are often required to "pass" as straight (as done to the ultimate degree by fellow black gay members of the Harlem Renaissance: Countee Cullen, Wallace Thurman, and Richard Bruce Nugent).
   
   To me, Langston Hughes was and is a hero made to order! Hughes icon status still burns bright, beautifully, and unblemished for me and his other admirers regardless of any shortcomings and prejudices outside the love for his people.



3. This book has 425 pages in. It is wonderful and full of energy. It starts with one of Hughes poems and leads you down the ailes. The book is interesting, to the point and gives you enough information to find out more about how great Hughes is. I loved reading it and it gives you so much information to help you fully get to know Mr. Hughes. It is long but worth reading every page of it. I highly recommend reading this book.