2 comments about Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman and POW.

1. Col. Jefferson has written an excellent personal memoir that is a unique addition to the literature of those who fought and served America so well in World War II and after. I bought the book after hearing the author speak (to a standing ovation) and was pleased to get the additional well written and presented detail of his experiences. His numerous drawings of the places he served, especially the POW camp, helped transport the reader to a better understanding than from merely a written description.



2. Among the many groups to whom we owe more than we can ever repay there is the Tuskegee Airmen. Determined to become Army Air Crop pilots and to fight for America, these men enlisted in the army. In spite of the determination of some to make them fail, they didn't. In spite of a 'quota' as to how many would be allowed to graduate (not discovered until many years later) some 900 made it through the system. Most became fighter pilots, after all if they flew bombers they might have had white crewmen under them and in those days that just wouldn't do.
   
   Lt. Jefferson made it through. And eventually he flew with the famous 332nd, the Red Tails. Most of the missions of the 332nd were to escort bombers. NO Bombers were ever lost to Enemy Aircraft while being escorted by the 332nd.
   
   On his 19th mission Lt. Jefferson was shot down by anti-aircraft fire. He spent the next nine months in a German POW camp. When finally returned to the United States after being liberated he walked off the ship to be told, "Whites to the right, niggers to the left."
   
   Thank you Alexander Jefferson for all that you did, including writing this book.

No comments about Michelle Obama's Speech at the Democratic National Convention - Complete Text.

2 comments about La Vida Loca (Always Running): El Testimonio de un Pandillero en Los Angeles.

1. This book was excellent! I read it in just a couple of days. Since I first started I couldn't take my eyes of what I was reading. The story is shocking and rude, yet interesting and mind-opening. It explicitly tells the struggles of growing up in a foreign country with everything against you and yet find the way to a new world full of possibilities. Excellent for tenagers, parents, and students.



2. THIS WAS ONE THAT COULD NOT BE PUT DOWN FOR LONG.I DO NOT READ ALOT BUT I TOOK A GLANCE AT THIS AND CONTINUED READING TILL THE END. IT WAS REALLY SOMETHING GREAT TO READ.MY EYES COULDNT GET ENOUGH.

5 comments about I Make My Own Rules.

1. Good book, not great. A look into the life of L L. It's a very positive book. I was disappointed that he wasn't more specific on some issues. He only very briefly talks about Fubu. He doesn't mention the controversey with the Troop clothing line at all. He doesn't include his famous rap battles with Kool Moe Dee or Ice T or the battle he had against Jay Z. He talks briefly about how he almost went broke but he doesn't specifically cover how he was losing so much money. He doesn't talk at all on what made him get more involved in body building. I hoped the book would be more; but it's still good. It's a "feel good" kind of up book. It's good reading for any age.



2. If you are as much as an LL Fan as I am, then you won't want to miss out on this book. LL doesn't hold back anything in this book. He reveals it all. Everything. From his wild experiences with groupies, his relationship with Quincy Jones's daughter, his trials and tribulations, and even the abuse that he suffered as child by his step father.



3. What a good book! He has a very deep history and I love the fact that he was not at all trying to brag about being rough when he was young (help him with a"ganster rap" image) or by how big he has become. He is a very REAL human- down to earth. You feel it in his music, but really get to learn through this book. Just a great guy!



4. I'm not a person who has a lot of respect for rappers or hip-hop. Yes, it's a legal way for black people to make money, but I have a major problem with the imaging, content, and attitudes of most hip hop artists who are our most visible representatives to the world. And the way they behave has a trickle down effect on me and every other black person regardless of the way WE behave. Being black and from the ghetto doesn't make it okay to be devoid of class and dignity. Our behavior puts us in the doghouse more than our color does. And I don't see much respectable behavior in hip hop.
   
   Nevertheless, I find LL Cool J more respectable and likeable than most of them; and his story is an interesting, worthwhile one. Maybe if the public were more exposed to the real, living, breathing individuals in rap music rather than just the "star" we could empathize more with their situations and be less critical of their flaws.
   
   LL gets emotionally naked as he informs his readers and fans alike of his life: from growing up to becoming a man with superstar status and millions of admirers.
   
   He discusses...
   
   ...his relationship with his father who severely wounded his mother and grandfather with a shotgun; and his stepfather who physically and emotionally abused him behind his mother's back.
   
   ...his sex life with women: including groupies, Quincy Jones' daughter and his current wife.
   
   ...his career
   
   ...his ability to forgive and to mature in order to survive and stay relevant



5. VERY DETAILED AND HONEST AUTOBIO HE HAS TRULY MATURED AND HAD A WILD LIFE TO SAY THE LEAST! I DONT WANNA GIVE THE BOOK AWAY BUT IF U R A LL COOL J FAN U NEED TO GET THIS ONE AND LEARN ABOUT JAMES TOOD SMITH!

5 comments about He Talk Like a White Boy.

1. While I enjoyed Joseph C. Phillips book and agreed with alot of what he had to say about fatherhood and the family, his political views spack of Republican rhetoric. He may be a conversative, but he is not a proud black man as he states. How any intelligent black person can align themselves with a party that shows allegiance to people like Strom Thurmond, Jesse Helms, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, Tom Delay, Trent Lott, need I go on. People who if not blantently racist, are outright hostile to African American, or minorities in general. Their bigotry is evident everyday, despite their attempts to disquise it as political satire or rhetoric. All you have to do is google those individuals and you can find their contempt for African American. But it's not just them, to which points to my disapppointment and disgust with Mr. Phillips, Clarence Thomas, Shelby Steele, Ward Connelly and other so-called black conservatives. They have aligned themselves with an ideology that despises their existence. While I don't believe blacks should be beholding to Democrats, there is no sane reason to align yourself with a party that is outright hostile to us. Look at the three leading Republican presidential candidates. They refused to attend a debate at Morgan State University because the audience was mostly African American. They blamed it on scheduling conflict. Of course black conservative like Mr. Phillips either make excuses for them or refuse to even address the issue. It is a moderate to liberal ideology that was the backbone of the civil rights movement and forced the federal government to act on behalf of all citizens. Mr. Phillips is another example of a lost black man who has been manipulated into believing that somehow the GW Bush's of the world really understand the plight of the poor and minorities in this country. Look at what Bush has done to the Justice Department, specifically the civil rights division. Look at how his administration refuses to take on the issue of the disparity between crack and powder cocaine. Mr. Phillips allegiance to G.W. Bush is sadly misguided and selfish.



2. "...pleasantly surprised by the writing skills and command of the English language that Mr. Phillips demonstrated..."
   
   Ouch...
   
   It's like two sides of the same coin, I tell you...



3. The hard thing about reviewing books like these is figuring out what context to put it in. For all intents and purposes, this is a book about Mr. Phillips. It's about his perspective on family, the state of the world, and religion, among other things. Since it's about him and how he views the world, it would be hypocritical for anyone to review the book based on his views and personality (no one can say that they are perfect in every way).
   
   That said, I found this book to be very engaging. At times, I found myself laughing out loud about situations that occurred between him and his kids and wife. I found that I could relate to situations that he went through (as a matter of fact, the reason I bought the book is because the title is something I've heard a number of times before), and even when I couldn't, I still found that I had to keep reading at times. I do not completely agree with a number of his views, such as his religious stance and Republican affiliation (I view myself an independent). But he did get me to think about a lot of issues, and that is one of the most important things to get out of a book. This book is probably not going to go down in history as one of the greatest books of all time, but, because of how personal the book was for him, its unique perspective, and its humor, it is something that you can pick up and enjoy at any time, and maybe learn a thing or two.



4. I saw Mr Phillips on C-Span talking about this book. It should not be entitled "He Talk Like A White Boy", it should be "He Talk Like a Dittohead".
   
   His prescription to what ails us? Why "America-first, UN bad, the world hates us, believe in God, moral relativism is bad, my country right or wrong" Blah, blah, blah, Republican talking points, blah blah and some more blah.
   
   Oh, if stealing is ALWAYS bad, ALWAYS wrong - Mr Phillips quotes this to be a moral absolute, why coming from Nottinghanm in the UK was I brought up to revere Robin Hood? Why is the US a Republic and not still under the Crown? I'm sure one of Mr Phillips' moral absolutes is "respect your leaders".
   
   Sorry Mr Phillips, we're not buying this brand of political pap and homily today.
   
   Please note I didn't say "Shut Up And Act".



5. HE TALK LIKE A WHITE BOY: REFLECTIONS ON FAITH, FAMILY, POLITICS AND AUTHENTICITY comes from an actor, writer and social commentator best known for his role on the Cosby Show, who is tired of the limits impose on black individuality and the pessimistic vision of black America. He's not a politician or an academic, but a father, an actor, and a conservative black man: his opinions, observations and reflections paint quite a different view of the black male in modern America than many titles and provides many candid assessments a wide audience will appreciate.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch

5 comments about Laughing in the Dark: From Colored Girl to Woman of Color--A Journey From Prison to Power.

1. Patrice Gaines is a veteran Washington Post reporter and nationally renowned speaker who grew up in insulated middle-class military brat society, became a teenage mother and drug abuser, served time in jail, and found her inner power to change her life. Gaines blames her disastrous life choices on her dependency and poor choice in men. She writes that it was only when she started loving herself, and stopped looking for outside affirmation of her self-worth, was she finally able to come into her own.
   
   As a guest on the Oprah Winfrey show, Patrice Gaines inspired Oprah to make a spontaneous admission that she, too, had smoked crack cocaine in her youth, at the behest of a man. Tearful, Oprah admitted that "It's my life's great big secret. It was such a secret because...the tabloids would exploit it...But I was involved with a man in my 20s who introduced me to the same drug that you've been talking about and, like Patrice, I always felt that the drug itself is not the problem but that I was addicted to the man. I can't think of anything I wouldn't have done for that man."
   
   Gaines has made great strides growing from a convicted felon to an accomplished, award-winning journalist, and her story will inspire readers of all shades and stripes.



2. Laughing in the Dark was a testament of resilience and strength in overcoming poor decisions, horrific assaults and personal tragedies. The author bared her soul in sharing her story which detailed a life of abandonment, low self-esteem, desparation and crime. Fortunately, she began the healing process, made some changes and started the journey to power.



3. Magnificent in its honesty, compelling and surprising.I picked up this book yesterday and I couldn't put it down.This is more than a coming of age story by a Black woman, this is a tale of an insightful healer who happens to be a journalist. I found so many things of value in this book that I'll stop right here.I loved this book and I applaud this author-



4. Patrice Gaines-an amazing woman who has gone through almost everything you could think of. Laughing in the Dark is an amazing autobiography. I would recommend this book to anyone that is going through trouble in life; this book is could give them a better understanding of what they are going through because people can't see what is happening to themselves, but when they see another person going through they can understand it better. Not only do I recommend it to those with troubled lives but anyone that likes to read what is going on in the world with someone besides themselves. This book is amazing and I could read it over and over again and not get sick of it. So read it.



5. "Laughing in the Dark" is the Black female side of Nathan McCall's "Makes Me Wanna Holler." Both works share the stories of young African people growing up with harsh realities and obstalces. Both books are about "how I overcame," and what it takes to endure the hardships of life.

   Ms. Gaines's book though is rare, for we don't have nearly enough coming-of-age books by African women. The focus is mainly on the plight of African men.

   Though "Laughing in the Dark" is somewhat depressing, it serves to remind us of those Black women who are not "waiting to exhale" and can't get their groove on because they don't have the privileges to do so. They must find strength in themselves where there might not be very much strength.

   I hope more books like Gaines will be written. I'm sure there are many more sistahs out there with similiar stories to tell.

4 comments about Foster Care Odyssey: A Black Girl's Story (Willie Morris Books in Memoir and Biography).

1. I am very touched by the events that the author of this book had to share. She is indeed a very strong person. The average person could not survive the various pitfalls and bouts of discouragement that she had to suffer. She was placed in foster care at very young age. Although she felt bitter, she later discovered that it was better then being with her real mother. This young lady searched and found her mother, by way of the grapevine network within the black community. To her disappointment she did not find a loving mother. She found a discouraging woman living in confusion and poverty.
   
   This was not the stopping point for the young lady in the book. She pushed herself. She even worked and saved her money. With the help of a kind social worker, she was able to go to college. I'm so proud of her.
   The foster care system, is often one void of real love. As a parent and one who loves children, I take the care of children personally. Any child placed in my home for whatever reason is my child. I feel like it's up to me to love and protect that child. The elements of life are harsh enough. Children have day to day challanges just like adults. Foster parents your young charges need you. You are their guardians. LOVE THEM, PROTECT THEM, TREAT THEM LIKE YOUR OWN CHILDREN.
   
   I was a bit surprised to find out how racially bias Buffalo, New York was. But the wonderful, wonderful thing is the good and positive life that the writer of this book is reaping. Hats Off to her. Keep On Pushing!



2. Theresa Cameron's difficult odyssey began when her biological mother did not make decisions with her daughter's best interests in mind. As difficult as it might have been for the mother to admit that adoption was the best route for her to follow, she simply abandoned a beautiful child and left her at the mercy of an inadequate system. As strong as Ms Cameron obviously is, as an unwilling participant in the foster care system, her childhood was unnecessarily harsh and often cruel. Rarely can we says such a story has meaning in all our lives. I recommend this book for all who face the irreversible decision of creating a child.



3. This book reveals the emotional impact of life in the foster care system for a black girl who was bounced from one foster home to another from birth until the age of 18. Except for the nationally publicized case of Baby Jessica, who was forcibly removed from her adoptive family at the age of two to be reunited with her birth mother and father, it is rare that the public gets a glimpse of the emotional damage done to the child. This book should be MUST reading for everyone involved in foster care.



4. This is a heartfelt, painfully true story of how one child can be forgotten in the "system". Even the cover itself is revealing...the only photograph the author has from her childhood and it does not even show her face.

   By far my favorite book of alltime. I recommend it to all socialworkers, teachers, counselors, mothers, fathers, ministers, politicians, EVERYONE! It is well-written and easy to read, although it caused me to lose sleep at night knowing children are out there--alone, forgotten by their caseworkers, and lacking the basic needs such as touch, hugs, encouragement, or even a smile from those whose care they are in.

   How Ms.Cameron did what she did all alone is beyond me. She is simply amazing.

   After reading this book I wanted to reach out and hug Ms. Cameron.
   She has made me a better mother.

3 comments about Raising Kanye: Life Lessons from the Mother of a Hip-Hop Superstar.

1. This book is definitely well written and worth the purchase for not only parents, or even those of us who are fans of Mr. Kanye West, but also for all who would one day like to become a parent, as well as for anyone who is surrounded constantly by the appearence of the existence of persistent social and economic resistance (even on a daily basis).
   
   "Raising Kanye" is about love, motherhood, proper parenting, education, romantic relationships, family, music, traveling, politics, and so much more. I personally have learned much from the parenting and life lessons of God through Ms. Donda West; and even though I've never met my spiritual mother Ms. Donda West, or my spiritual brother Mr. Kanye West, I did learn that we attended the same church in Chicago, Christ Universal Temple; (realizing that) the world is indeed a small place in comparison and relation with the eternal being of God being One Love (as well as the betterment of the better of tomorrow and its' beautifully boundless beyond).
   
   Breathe...
   
   ... and a little longer.
   
   Now, believe... knowing that your mother's love is faithfully unfolding for you forever, however, in God's grace... STRONGER!



2. I think that this is a very good book. Ms. Donda West was inspiring to a mother raising a son in this period in history. She was practical, encouraging and frank. I feel that Donda's parenting techniques adds a dose of reality in today's society. She recognized the differences, yet affirmed her basic beliefs and standards for life.
   Congratulations Donda West, you pressure developed a jewel.



3. Donda West, English college professor, and unlikely mother of rap superstar Kanye West had some interesting points to make about parenting. She says she made sure that she raised Kanye to be respectful but also to be truthful -- hence his famous rant that George Bush doesn't care about black people. On the other hand, when Kanye fell asleep at the wheel in a car accident, the insurance company broker advised him to say he had been trying to avoid another car in order to get paid out. He refused to do that either. Growing up, she pretty much gave Kanye anything he wanted, in return for doing his chores and whatever else was expected. (I was surprised when she gave him $1,000 to buy recording equipment at age 13!) My biggest problem was that she had changed her opinion of the N-word and found it acceptable speech because words shouldn't have that much weight. Could that have ANYTHING at all to do with the fact that her son uses it alot in his music and she is involved in managing him? Hmmm. All in all, a fast entertainng read.

2 comments about Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown.

1. This genre, the slave narrative, created by fugitive slaves, is one that I knew nothing about, but was one that fascinated audiences and often made celebrities out of their authors. Narratives written by escaped slaves were very popular in the mid 1800s as they recounted stories of abuse, cruelty, escape, and their lives as free people in the north.

   None of these slave narratives was as curious and compelling as that of Henry "Box" Brown, who actually boxed himself up and shipped himself to freedom in 1849, from Virginia to an abolitionist in Philadelphia. Risking death and/or suffocation to be free showed the desperation of the slaves even in a state like Virginia, where cruelty was purported to be less than in other parts of the south. Brown's story showed this not to be true. His escape was motivated by the sale of his wife and children, sent to parts unknown and never seen again.

   His book was originally written by a Charles Stearns, described as a radical, argumentative ideologue and was written in an overwrought style.

   Brown fled to England in 1850 when the Fugitive Slave Act was passed. He was a controversial figure, criticized for revealing how he escaped (and profiting from this) rather than sharing it with other slaves who might have used the same method.

   When Brown got to England, his book was re-written in a more honest and simple style, and the edition that I am reviewing is the American version of that book. The difference is that this book is said to be written in Brown's voice and the lack of turgid prose makes it 20+ pages shorter.

   I have my doubts if this was Brown's voice...it seems to be the voice of a well-spoken, educated person with a large vocabulary, capable of complex sentence structure and high levels of organization. For example, he writes: "I might perhaps have dragged my chains of quietude to the grave, and have found a tomb in a slavery-polluted land; but thanks be to God I heard the glorious sound and felt its inspiring influence on my heart, and having satisfied myself of the value of freedom, I resolved to purchase it whatever should be the price."

   Despite this, the book was an incredibly interesting account of Brown's early life, his life as an adult slave, his escape.




2. We may be thankful that we are no longer producing a particularly American form of literature, the slave narrative. Hundreds of slaves told their stories in the nineteenth century, making some money thereby and striking a blow against slavery when their stories were used as abolitionist tracts. One of the most incredible was the _Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown_ (Oxford University Press). That "Box" as a middle name was adopted by Brown in commemoration of the method by which he gained his freedom. He had himself crated up and shipped from slavery to liberty. His audacious plan worked, and this is his story.

   Remarkably, this is the first time this edition has been printed in the US. Brown writes in his preface, "The tale of my own sufferings is not one of great interest to those who delight to read of hair-breadth adventures, of tragic occurrences, and scenes of blood - my life, even in slavery, has been in many respects comparatively comfortable." Of course the telling word there is "comparatively." The torture worse than any was worry about his family being sold away, and eventually they were, and he never saw them again. The other main theme in his pre-box narrative is the involvement of the church in supporting slavery, a hypocrisy which revolts Brown, a religious man. The loss of his family convinced Brown to make his remarkable escape: "The idea suddenly flashed upon my mind of shutting myself up in a box and getting myself conveyed as dry goods to a free state." He arranged to have himself nailed into a wooden crate, 37 by 24 by 30 inches, lined in baize. He was shipped by dray, railroad car, steamboat, and horse cart, 350 miles from Richmond to Philadelphia in 27 hours. The box bore the label, "THIS SIDE UP WITH CARE," but shipping agents back then paid as little attention to those directions as they do now, and Brown had to survive some jostling and spells upside down. Philadelphia's Anti-Slavery Committee sent for the box, and opened it nervously at their office. Brown emerged calmly, said, "How do you do, gentlemen?" and fainted. Upon awakening, he sang the fortieth psalm.

   Brown's narrative ends with his emergence from what could have been his coffin, but the useful introduction by Richard Newman explains that Brown went on the lecture circuit, telling about his slavery experiences and of course his curious escape. He had to flee to England to avoid recapture, and prospered on the stage telling his story. His eventual fate is unknown. However, we have his book now, in as near to his words as we can get, finally published in the land he chastised for restricting it's grand freedoms to slave-holders. His stark account of slave life makes a poignant memoir, and of course his brave (or foolhardy) and novel way of escaping it is thrilling. Students of the Underground Railroad already know of Brown, and this new edition of his book should enlarge his merited fame.

4 comments about Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves (Race and Ethnicity in the American West).

1. A reviewer, curator of AfroAmericanHeritage.com, 03/13/2007
   Highly recommended!
   Brief though the period of the Wild West was, the exploits of its villains and lawmen have fascinated people around the world, and been disproportionately represented in pop culture. But the multicultural nature of the Wild West has rarely been evidenced in the plethora of films, books and television shows. Which probably explains why the arrival of Sheriff Black Bart in Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" (1974) elicited such a stunned response from the townspeople, and a riot of laughter from the audience. Imagine: a black lawman in the Old West! Imagine no more. Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves, a former slave, served for nearly 30 years in the Oklahoma and Indian Territories, the most deadly location for U.S. marshals. And according to glowing accounts of his bravery, skill and steadfast devotion to duty (found in white newspapers of the time, mind you) nobody was laughing when he rode into to town, especially not the bad guys. As this book amply illustrates, Reeves is remarkable not merely for being a black marshal (there were others) but for being one of the greatest U.S. Marshals, period. But Reeves' story - with the exception of references published here and there - has been largely ignored by western historians. Though widely known and respected during his lifetime, he was illiterate and left behind no diaries or letters, so what little has come down has been in the form of oral history and legends. Art T. Burton has spent the better part of 20 years reclaiming the heritage of African Americans in the American West, and has scoured through a wide range of primary sources - including Reeves' federal criminal court cases available in the National Archives, and account books at Fort Smith Historic Site - to separate legend from fact and painstakingly piece together the story of this American hero. The book is not a biography in the traditional sense, but as the subtitle states, a reader. It reproduces many of the court documents and contemporary newspaper articles with just enough narrative to put them into context. Not being a Wild West buff myself, I felt the author did an excellent job providing background to help me make sense of it all. As the author recounts, one of the first responses he received from a local town historical society in Oklahoma when inquiring about Reeves was "I am sorry, we didn't keep black people's history." This book is the perfect example of the wealth of information which can be gleaned by a creative, dedicated historian who looks beyond the usual sources in order to root out the hidden history of multicultural America. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Western history and culture, law enforcement, American or African American Studies. And I hope this book inspires someone to finally bring the life and times of Bass Reeves to the big screen.



2. This is a very intereting book about a black marshal that rode for Judge Parker. I was amazed at the amount of money he made as a "non-paid" marshal. His influence on the court and the city of Fort Smith at the time was also interesting. An interesting twist to see a marshal on trial, and obviously, motivated by hatred.



3. 
   
   Brief though the period of the Wild West was, the exploits of its villains and lawmen have fascinated people around the world, and been disproportionately represented in pop culture. But the multicultural nature of the Wild West has rarely been evidenced in the plethora of films, books and television shows. Which probably explains why the arrival of Sheriff Black Bart in Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" (1974) elicited such a stunned response from the townspeople, and a riot of laughter from the audience. Imagine: a black lawman in the Old West!
   
   Imagine no more. Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves, a former slave, served for nearly 30 years in the Oklahoma and Indian Territories, the most deadly location for U.S. marshals. And according to glowing accounts of his bravery, skill and steadfast devotion to duty (found in white newspapers of the time, mind you) nobody was laughing when he rode into to town, especially not the bad guys. As this book amply illustrates, Reeves is remarkable not merely for being a black marshal (there were others) but for being one of the greatest U.S. Marshals, period.
   
   But Reeves' story - with the exception of references published here and there - has been largely ignored by western historians. Though widely known and respected during his lifetime, he was illiterate and left behind no diaries or letters, so what little has come down has been in the form of oral history and legends. Art T. Burton has spent the better part of 20 years reclaiming the heritage of African Americans in the American West, and has scoured through a wide range of primary sources - including Reeves' federal criminal court cases available in the National Archives, and account books at Fort Smith Historic Site - to separate legend from fact and painstakingly piece together the story of this American hero.
   
   The book is not a biography in the traditional sense, but as the subtitle states, a reader. It reproduces many of the court documents and contemporary newspaper articles with just enough narrative to put them into context. Not being a Wild West buff myself, I felt the author did an excellent job providing background to help me make sense of it all.
   
   As the author recounts, one of the first responses he received from a local town historical society in Oklahoma when inquiring about Reeves was "I am sorry, we didn't keep black people's history." This book is the perfect example of the wealth of information which can be gleaned by a creative, dedicated historian who looks beyond the usual sources in order to root out the hidden history of multicultural America. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Western history and culture, law enforcement, American or African American Studies.
   
   And I hope this book inspires someone to finally bring the life and times of Bass Reeves to the big screen.



4. Professor Burton's book about Bass Reeves combines thorough, meticulous scholarship on the details of Reeves' long career as a lawman with a most impressive general knowledge of the times in which he lived. The result is a biography unlikely to be surpassed.
   
   A question that has long interested me, and is asked by this book, concerns the criteria of historical remembrance. Why, for example, is Wyatt Earp (to pick just one example) remembered and even celebrated to this day, when--at the very least--equally deserving historical figures, such as Reeves, languish in relative obscurity? Were history fair (and of course it is not) the reverse should be the case, as by any objective measure Reeves was the superior lawman. One is cynically tempted to conclude that too often subsequent historical recognition is far more a result of puffery than of merit.
   
   Burton does an admirable job of reconstructing what can now be known about Reeves' remarkable life, and adeptly separates myth from fact along the way. This was a difficult task, as Reeves was illiterate, meaning that the record of his life is only indirectly available primarily through court transcripts, oral histories by others, and sketchy accounts in contemporary newspapers not often disposed to celebrate the accomplishment of a black man.
   
   In addition, Burton is able to present new and significant information. I, for one, had not known that, toward the end of his career, Reeves was prominently involved in a spectacular shootout (every bit as dramatic as the OK Corral) in Muskogee with a deadly gang of religious fanatics. Until now, lawman Bud Ledbetter (the "Fourth Guardsman") got most of the credit for confronting these dangerous criminals.
   
   Professor Burton notes that he's been working on this project, intermittently, for some twenty years--the result is worth the wait.