No comments about The Souls of Purgatory: The Spiritual Diary of a Seventeenth-Century Afro-Peruvian Mystic, Ursula de Jesús (Dialogos Series).

1 comments about Appropriating Blackness: Performance and the Politics of Authenticity.

1. APPROPRIATING BLACKNESS demonstrates a mastery of the field of performance studies and of the shifts and turns it has taken in its evolution. This fact makes Johnson's own observations about "performance" as trope all the more convincing and authoritative. This is the through-line that unites these essays into what a strong, rich, and important book to scholars working in performance studies, cultural studies, gender studies, American studies, and African American studies to name but a few areas. This broad appeal and significance represents Johnson's real success as an inter-disciplinarian where so many authors published today with such aspirations fall short. This is a very timely and impressively readable book presented with the air and authority of a scholar's expertise, but written in a style that is extremely approachable by general readers.

4 comments about I Wonder as I Wander: An Autobiographical Journey (American Century Series).

1. Mr. Hughes brings a zen like quality to his stories regarding his life and what he was forced to endure. He persevered, triumphed and soared. If you want to feel at peace with yourself this is a book to help you get there. Mr. Hughes is a role model that we should be glad we have. a gracious kind compassionate human. imho ;>)



2. Mr. Hughes, in my opinion, is the best African American writer, whom describes the life as a balck man traveling throughout the world. This book is poignant and evokes a sense constant despair and the writer confronts different predjudice throughout the world.



3. As the sequel to "The Big Sea", Mr.Hughes again speaks the language of a poet so well that he makes the reading of his life seem like a first-person experience. After his travels on several ships and the taste of his first successes(and failures), he simply explores and writes: of Paris, Russia, and Cuba, and shares his experiences with the reader. His writing is so rich and vivid that he makes every location in the world seem like poetry in motion. This book and "The Big Sea" should definitely be on reading lists everywhere-or, if you have a friend or relative who feels like they're a "wandering spirit", these books would make great gifts. Mr.Hughes touches on everything human: from the strained relationship with his father to the blatant racism he encounters everyday; to the women he becomes fond of and his neverending thirst for experience and knowledge; to the countless sights of wonder in the world that one never sees when they are ignorant. Beautiful writing by a true poet.



4. IN THIS BOOK , MR. HUGHES REALLY OPENS UP AND LETS THE READER INTO HIS WORLD. IT IS NOT HARD TO IMAGINE BEING IN THE PLACES THAT HE DESCRIBES. THE EVENTS AND CHARACTERS POP OUT AT YOU. THIS BOOK IS AN ENJOYABLE READ

3 comments about Mastery, Tyranny, and Desire: Thomas Thistlewood and His Slaves in the Anglo-Jamaican World.

1. This is an absolutely brilliant book, and I do not use that word lightly. It is must reading for anyone interested (even tangentially) in Caribbean history or indeed in fascinating history in general.



2. This fascinating book is scrupulously researched and very well-written. It is also, in its fine-grained portrayal of the slave-holder Thomas Thistlewood, deeply disturbing. The paradox that Burnard explores is how Thistlewood, an amateur botanist and would-be student of the enlightenment, could also be a sadistic slave-holder in a viciously degrading society. It's extremely thought-provoking, and Burnard's own careful judgments seem consistently on the money. For me, this is an ideal work of academic history.



3. I recently read a thorough review for this book and can hardly wait to receive it now. I've read bits about Thistlewood before, but this book, based heavily on his diaries, seems like it will cover more on the man and his life in Jamaica.

4 comments about Never in a Hurry: Essays on People and Places.

1. This is my favorite of Naomi Nye's books. She has such a gift for describing human experiences and some of her stories make me cry and laugh at the same time.



2. Naomi Shihab Nye is a bridge-builder. She reaches out to those of other cultures, and always expresses understanding of those sometimes forgotten in our society. A good book for all ages!



3. Possibly the best book in this genre. Nye's essays are thought provoking because they could happen in any of our lives. If you are going to be stranded on an island, take this book with you.



4. Her essays read like poetry. This book is wonderful

4 comments about Alfreda's World.

1. I really do not have words to describe my feelings about this book. It has absolutely wonderful paintings to illustrate it and the writing is sensitive, understandable, and a tribute to women and a way of life that I knew nothing about. It celebrates the human spirit in words and images from the artist/author. I've lent this book to people I know and each one has been impressed.



2. My mom, an artist, received this book as a gift. I was intrigued by the paintings, started reading it and found I could not put it down. The life lessons spoken/lived by Alfreda and her friends touched my heart. If only we could all live accordingly. A deeply moving book. A wonderfully inspiring gift of encouragement.



3. A heartwarming true story for all ages, with incredible color paintings by a talented Charleston artist.

   This would be a great gift for moms, sisters, grandmoms. A must-read for anyone who loved When I Am An Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple, or The Secret Life of Bees!

   Here's to Alfreda and to all the wise women at the Hebron Zion Church on John's Island. You are an inspiration!




4. The book is wonderful, it is easy to read. This book is breath taking.

5 comments about Cooking with Grease: Stirring the Pots in American Politics.

1. Excellent book, it kept my interest. Awesome stories of her life as a kid in New Orleans. Now when I see Donna on CNN I can understand a little better where she's coming from.



2. One word, awful. I am both a political junky and an avid cable news watcher. I've enjoyed Ms. Brazile's political savvy and her insight on politics. However, this book was not that. The story was flat most of the book with Ms. Brazile playing "Monday morning quarter back" about what the Dems (Al Gore) should have done with the Florida recount. Half the book she named dropped and made a poor attempts at trying to connect the dots.
   
   Donna is not an exciting story teller and failed (just like her many campaigns) at providing context to the most controversial election of our times. Overall the book was bland as though she has never cooked with grease. I've tasted more flavor and style in other political books then in this dull recount of an unsuspecting campaign strategist. It was not worth my money or time.



3. I had the chance to meet Ms. Brazile at a college graduation. She was the commencement speaker and I found her surprisingly down to earth and a good natured. The book adds to my opinion of her. As a woman in a man's world, she handled herself in good fashion.
   Pick it up and enjoy!



4. "Cooking With Grease" will be interesting for any political junkie though obviously liberals will enjoy it far more than conservatives. Brazile gives a highly detailed inside look at how Democrats approach elections but a problem is her writing style, which sometimes obscures critical points. As she discusses Eleanor Norton's campaign, she says a tax problem was resolved thusly: "We decided to just write a check, no matter what the amount was..." Now doesn't that sound like the campaign paid the candidate's back taxes? In another case, she is describing the fact that the campaign staff is tense and needs some time for relaxation. She explains that campaigns are "notorious for sexual escapades and relationships." Then they (Brazile and Tony Coelho) plan a party for the campaign workers and "[t]he kids got down all night and so did Tony and I." Doesn't that seem to imply that she and Tony had an affair. Yet another passage left me scratching my head: "I decided to help Craig, the former campaign manager, line up clients to continue helping me out with my new duties." Does this mean she sent business Craig's way in order to increase his revenues so he would be available to help her in her campaign duties? I am sure she would be appalled to have given these impressions but couldn't she write more clearly?
   Also, can someone get this woman a dictionary and explain to her that the word "literally" is not a contraction of "like, totally" as in a situation that was "literally down to the wire."
   Conservatives will have a hard time getting through this book; I know I did. Brazile has a vision of America where people are perpetual victims in need of protection from the evil rich. She believes poverty and homelessness are uniquely Black issues (God help the White politician who says that.) She adores the electoral process until anyone other than Democrats want to play. For example, she boasts of her ability to assemble large crowds on short notice but derides Republicans for "bringing in people to create a mob-like atmosphere."
   Brazile, or someone much like her, will be running Democratic campaigns in the near future. It will pay to understand how they think and what their tactics are like.
   P.S. In true liberal fashion, my library copy has been annotated in pen.



5. This is a wonderful, informative book that tells it like it is. I've always enjoyed watching Ms. Brazile on CNN and her book made me like her even more. This memoir is so powerful and inspiring that it will make you want to run for public office, or at the very least, go out and register to vote!
   
   Ms. Brazile is obviously a woman of passionate convictions and strong will--she would have had to be to fight her first successful political fight at the age of nine! A triumphant story about a woman who grew up poor only to become the first African-American woman to head a major presidential campaign, this should be a must-read for all high school and college students. Add it to your collection!

5 comments about Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke.

1. I enjoyed this book, not only because I'm a huge Sam Cooke fan, but because it gives context to the times and the environment of Sam Cooke's short, but impactful visit to this earth. The little details like how the Soul Stirrers came to be, the grooming and refinement of their talent as a group and Sam's talent as an individual gave me a different perspective from what I had. Though I haven't finished reading the whole book, I have read enough to grasp the historical value of the work. Often, time period accounts contain analyses and language that comes across as boring and doesn't really place the reader there. Not so with this book. It's records like this one that help us to understand the generation before us, how they dreamed and how they reached for those dreams in a very real and tangible way. Another book that I'd strongly recommend is You Send Me: The Life and Times of Sam Cooke.



2. Sam Cooke's life -- his amazing rise and tragic death -- is wonderfully told in Peter Guralnick's "Dream Boogie." The intensely researched book does a wonderful job of putting Sam's life in context. While there was too much detail on Sam's early days as a gospel singer for my taste, I admire the author's dedication to the details. I think the book really picks up when Sam moves to LA and tries to become a pop star. From there, his life and the entertainment factor of the book takes flight. Above all -- read it to the end, and then you'll get the reward of seeing how the tragedy unfolds. You'll close the book being supremely glad you read it. So go buy it!



3. I'm giving this book 4 stars inseated of 5, because although it's an excellent book, you dont need it in order to get the most out of Sam's music. In fact some parts of it, especially those relating to Sam's dealings with women, might actually put you off the man and his (to me, outstanding) work. It's very strong on the business and financial side of things - a niche readership for that I would have thought. If you're interested in the civil rights movement of the 60s, the supporting cast looms large, including Malcolm X, Dr King and Cassius Clay. Some of the details about the way Sam and his band were treated in the South are very disturbing and illuminating, and you wonder at how the hard shell this must have formed around him never manifested itself in his resolutely positve and confident music. It seems we've come a long way in the past 40-odd years, socially and sonically, although if you do go back to those records after reading, you'll find there's not much made since which can hold a candle to his output, which ended tragically and somewhat sordidly in 1963.



4. Peter Guralnick could write the phone book and it would be a great read !!



5. Peter Guralnick knows how to tell the history of a life, and Dream Boogie is a well written account not just of Sam Cooke but of the history of popular music at perhaps its most significant stage. The author details the coming together--forced to varying degrees from the circumstance of segregation--of gospel and blues, art and commerce, glamour and shabbiness. Guralnick brings this last combination to vivid perspective in particular: while on tour and 'Wonderful World' is high in the charts, for instance, segregation still limits Sam's choice of accommodation to run-down hotels. As Guralnick shows, however, the religious and the secular were two things that were already well entwined: Dream Boogie emphasizes how the church was rooted in material success--how preoccupied its gospel stars were with sexual and financial, as well as spiritual, concerns.
   
   I'd like to clear up a confusion that other reviews suffer from: when Guralnick, say, talks about Sam Cooke's 'naked avariciousness', he's talking from a business opponent's point of view. This is why statements seemingly flatly contradict. We get impressions of greed and generosity, but just because words aren't in inverted commas, it doesn't mean they represent the author's beliefs. It's a literary conceit (you could call it 'shifting third person subjective' or some such if you liked), and Sam Cooke appears through this composite approach. Guralnick has said in interview that his professional intention is to 'disappear', and mostly he does--by the device of presenting a series of opinions.
   
   Too much of Sam's life seems little more than a series of tour itineraries. It's a fault that overruns the middle section of the book, although it's tempting to accept as a by-product of honesty and thoroughness. The end, though, is filled with revelation, and it becomes clear the author has consciously chosen to concentrate even on Sam's trivial triumphs above examples of tawdriness: the death of our hero is met with such a conspicuous absence of sorrow from those closest to him that it creates an absence of sorrow in us, too--all we can feel primarily is surprise.
   
   If you've ever wondered about the myriad personal ramifications of instantly recognizable genius, and if you want to know how things were, how things happened, at the birth of rhythm & blues--and rock & roll--this book provides answers. Dream Boogie reminds us that things only spring out of nowhere at the quantum level. Sam Cooke, after all, had contemporaries: the primary difference was *that* voice.

4 comments about Only the Strong Survive: Memoirs of a Soul Survivor (Black Music and Expressive Culture).

1. Excellent autobiography from one of the giants of Chicago soul and a giant in the world of pop music in general.
   
   Lots of anecdotes about life on the road and the Chicago music scene from the 50s through the 90s.
   
   Butler is a major talent as well as an intelligent, literate man. A must read for fans of popular music in the last half of the 20th century.
   
   
   
   
   
   



2. A friend of mine gave me "Only the Strong Survive" as a Christmas gift, and now I treasure it as one of the best gifts I've ever received.

   This is more than a book about music--although eighty percent of it is. It is a history book, political book, inspirational book -- you name it! One would never think that a rhythm and blues singer had that much depth. For example, Mr. Butler uses the tragic case of his former bongo player to show the horrors of the war in Vietnam. Then, turning to politics, he reminds us of the debt we owe the late Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, and what all of us can do to make this world a better place. It is at once inspirational and entertaining, thought-provoking and profound -- a must-read for all serious readers!




3. A MUST READ ESPECIALLY FOR DUSTY RECORD FANS. MR. BUTLER IS CLASSY AND ONE OF THE BEST PERFORMERS BACK FROM THE 60'S, A TRUE PROFESSIONAL. I STARTED READING THE BOOK AND COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. TRUST ME THIS BOOK WILL NOT BORE YOU, WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT IS JERRY AND EARL ADD A TOUCH OF HUMOR TO JUST ABOUT EVERY CHAPTER. THIS BOOK IS A KEEPSAKE. JERRY ALSO HAS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VOICES I HAVE EVER HEARD, DID YOU KNOW THAT HE WAS THE LEAD SINGER OF THE IMPRESSIONS AT ONE TIME AND HE LED ON THE SONG "FOR YOUR PRECIOUS LOVE" I AM A LIBRARIAN, AND I CONSTANTLY REVIEW AND PREVIEW BOOKS AND THIS IS A WINNER. AS JERRY SINGS IN ONE OF HIS SONGS "I'M A TELLING YOU".



4. Jerry Butler's book tells an important--and fun--story about his history as the one great rnb singers. Did you know he co-wrote I've Been Loving You Too Long, with Otis Redding. Butler also worked with Curtis Mayfield, who produced and wrote for him. His composition "Brand New Me," has been covered by countless artists from Dusty Springfield to Phoebe Snow. Don't just get the book--pick up his greatest hits too.

5 comments about Barack Obama: This Improbable Quest.

1. I recommend that voters read this and The Audacity of Hope as written by Senator Barack Obama so that they can get to know what this incredible young man has to offer America. What a wonderful opportunity we all have to elect a person as thoughtful and comprehensive as Senator Obama. Both books will help you understand why Obama has been nominated for the Presidency of the United States and why everyone who cares about America should support him.



2. This is not an objective publication so know this before you buy the book. It also bothers me that the author on his C SPAN appearance dismissed William Ayers who served on a multi million dollar non profit with Senator Obama, as basically harmless because the bombs he was involved in making and setting off, didn't kill anyone. Had Mr Ayers been a middle east terrorist like those on 9/11, who simply hadn't killed anyone would we really be dismissing anyone's close association with Mr. Ayers? And 49 million dollars isnt chump change!
   
   Also of great interest to me is the fact Senator Obama who indeed is a gifted speaker, was raised by the side of his family who were white. So why are we to assume he's a black man with black ideas? Why doesn't the author make more of a point about how white he is? Or ask the question what would have happened had he ran for state and federal positions as a biracial or white candidate? Had he run as a bi racial rather than black label would he have been as successful?
   
   Also missing is any discussion as to why Senator Obama didn't try and try again to get elected to Chicago posts since Chicago has such a horrid reputation for being a corrupt system in need of cleaning up. Had he helped clean up Chicago he would have been an example of someone who tried and tried until he succeeded.
   
   And why so little information of any success besides writing a book, since being elected to the Senate. Or little mention of the fact that from day one of taking office as Senator he spent his time running for the Democratic nomination?
   
   There are much better books about Senator Obama including the Senators own two books. This author does little to help Senator Obama and may in fact harm him.



3. Mr. Wilson many times starts with an interesting analysis that most of the time seems to lead to conclusions like: Obama is a genius, brilliant, selfless public servant and he wants to "...restore faith in Government and hope." And yet the author had the nerve to put on the inside flap of his book the following: "Amid all the hype, this book provides the first in-depth look at the controversies surrounding Obama's run for the presidency...". That is an audacious and false claim. I thought the piece on Tony Rezko read like a whitewash. Obama refuses to release the final settlement statement for the house. What is he covering up?
   But John Wilson did clear up a false impression I had about the "madrassa myth" that I keep hearing about in talking media. I thought that meant that Obama really had nothing to do with Islamic schools that it was something the right-wing smear groups made up. But I had been ignorant of the details. It turns out, according to the author's research: "Obama did often attend Friday prayers in the local mosque." ... Obama was officially registered as a Muslim and went to Koranic studies but at the same time he went to Catholic school. I should listen more closely! This is a qualified "myth" to the say the least. This, of course, does not prove that Obama is a secret anything - Muslim or Catholic. If he is anything different deep down from what he appears -- probably only Barack knows.
   I wanted to see the author skillfully cast a favorable light on Obama's association with Bill Ayers. I was disappointed I could not find the dangerous Bill Ayers in the book. If you don't want to buy this book and take the time to read it and can't accept my word that it is hype, just look at the eight photographs in the middle of the book. You might start to wonder if secret Obama campaign money has not flowed to the author?
   I would have awarded three stars if title had been something like: "Why I'd love to see Obama as President".



4. This blatantly positive profile of presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama presents the man, his positions and specific responses to the criticisms against him. Extensive direct quotes from the candidate himself plus 30 pages of footnotes buttress the book's powerful, if partisan, presentation. John K. Wilson, a former student of Obama's, omits some important things, however, it is only fair to note that some hot campaign topics (such as Reverend Wright) emerged after the book's publication. Wilson also makes a few odd comments (for instance, drawing a link between low black unemployment and the high incarceration rate under Bill Clinton). Still, he sets forth a compelling case for Obama and provides observations about the Senator's formative years, accomplishments and policies. He offers some good insights, for example, he discusses the role cynicism plays in politics and the role of white guilt. While Wilson sometimes gets carried away with his support of the candidate, he notes that both the far right and the far left have attacked Obama, so he must be doing something correctly. getAbstract recommends this to voters who want the story (albeit somewhat sunny) behind the candidate and to Obama supporters seeking more information about their presidential hopeful.



5. I am 68 years old and I have never been as excited about any politician since John F. Kennedy. This man has integrity . I really enjoyed reading this book. John K. Wilson kept my interest and curiosity.