2 comments about Black Genius.

1. Most biographical profiles of African-Americans are to general in their view of the person or superficial in the analysis of that person's contribution to American life. Dick Russell avoids both mistakes by providing you with an in depth portrait of Black men and women whose lives and work impacted upon the cultural milieu of America.

   A genius is defined as one who has an exceptional natural capacity of intellect. Black Genius shows you such persons but goes further in documenting the distinctive character or spirit of African-American experience that birthed these individuals. You have men and women representative in the fields of the arts, science and theological realms. Their individual achievements in those fields are a part of a continuous thread of genius passed down from one generation to the next.

   You will find people here that are not well known (and their work) except within their own communities or fields. Such examples are Bob Moses, Carl & Allen Shaw, and Elma Lewis. Others are better known but the inner depth of their intellectual qualities are invisible. Albert Murray, Paul Robeson and others are just a few examples.

   Black Genius is a fresh look at African-American intellectuals from a different perspective and gives us a greater appreciation for their contributions. I enjoyed the fact that individuals were included that were not well known or hidden in obscurity. These are the people who serve as the continued thread and spirit of African-American life and culture. I highly recommend this text for those wanting to get a greater in depth look at the heart of what makes an African-American Genius.




2. This book should also be sold out of the inspirational section of bookstores. If read with an open mind (are you listening Kirkus?) one will find all sorts of tidbits that will motivate further study on the subjects being interviewed. As a result of my reading this book I have placed books by Albert Murray, Stanley Crouch and Alvin Ailley on my reading list As a 57 year old African-American I was embarrassed to be reading about people like Romare Bearden, Elma Lewis and Lois Jones for the first time. The Chairman of the Board, Frank Sinatra died last night. Frank was quoted as saying "he patterned his singing style after Bing Crosby." According to statements made in Black Genius, Bing Crosby patterned his singing style after Louis Armstrong. It's stuff like this that makes this book so interesting. Mr. Russell had a way of bringing out the characters that made them seem human and like folks we'd like to know better. . Reading about Paul Robeson, Jr who went to Technical High School in Springfield, Mass. with my aunts and uncles was quite interesting. I grew up hearing a lot about the Robesons, but Black Genius added to that knowledge. The Talmud says "we don't see things as they are, we see things as we are," therefore I'm happy that I felt good while reading this book. I plan to give it to my friends with a note saying, "you don't have to wait until Black History Month," " Keep the faith baby!" (You'll find the originator of that statement in the book also)

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

No comments about Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X.

No comments about Dusk of Dawn: An Essay Toward an Autobiography of a Race Concept (Black Classics of Social Science).

5 comments about Mercy, Mercy Me: The Art, Loves and Demons of Marvin Gaye.

1. Have you ever read a book so boring and pointless that you wish you could get back the hours of your life that were wasted reading it. Well if you would like to share my experience read this book. When I pick up a biography on Marvin Gaye it should be just that-a biography. What I got from this book was Mr. Dyson's views on the problems in Black America right now. And was there a reason the afterword was mostly about R.Kelly? I know he was supposed to be comparing the struggle of sensuality v. spirituality that both men experienced but come on. R.Kelly doesn't have an ounce of the talent Marvin Gaye had. It's a shame to even make comparisons (at least on a professional/artistic level) of these two men. The book was boring, sloppy and I came away angry. After reading it my thought was 'Mercy Mercy On Me'.



2. I say this because I read DIVIDED SOUL when it came out some 20 years ago, and it seems like Dyson has just read THAT book and has written an essay/review about it and thrown in some unsubstantiated allegations just to make the reading more "interesting." In short, any halfway decent college student enrolled in an upper-level writing course could have written this book. Bear in mind that unlike Ritz, Dyson didn't actually KNOW Marvin Gaye. David Ritz actually knew, worked with, and lived with Marvin Gaye, and even though there are things I could nitpick about with DIVIDED SOUL, that book is a FAR SUPERIOR read. It's far more informative and far more insightful than this offering from my favorite pseudo-intellectual.



3. It was an insightful passage of reading into the life of Marvin Gaye. Over all, a great book.



4. I thought the Publishers Weekly review was pretty accurate. This book read like a textbook. Maybe that is because Dyson is a college humanities professor. I could only get half way through before as Popeye said That's all I can stands, I can stands no more. Now I understand why I was able to purchase this book for 84 cents.



5. Michael Dyson is such a great author and activist. He really knows the ups and downs of Marvin Gaye's life. Oh that's such a blessing I think every Marvin Gaye fan should get this just b/c they wanna learn more 'bout this man. 2 me he's one of my idols I grew up 'cuz he's such an inspiration. This book tells it all from his days of sex, drugs, violence, threats between his dad, how he got involved in the resurrection of life and death and the coming side of R. Kelly's admirer of Gaye. You see Marvin never say "Give up on what u got". No he saids "Take it lightly and slowly when u dead and gone". That's why we need to check ourselves everyday to the fullest until we live this normal or martyred life. I haven't bought the book yet but I'll may go it ASAP once it's still here. This is such an interesting story from the man who did the lifetimes of Tupac Shakur, black women, black people, the culture of our nation and black music and now. Definitely recommend along w/ Mase's memoir and Miles' memoir.

4 comments about Hacker Cracker: A Journey from the Mean Streets of Brooklyn to the Frontiers of Cyberspace.

1. Hacker Cracker is a technological thriller for all us geeks, hackers, and security students/professionals in the world. Ejovi details his rise from a dangerous neighborhood where drugs, murder, and gangs ran rampent tothe discovery of a whole new world where it didn`t matter what color you were, only how smart you were. At times I felt as though I was reading parts of my past, the beauty of the baud, discovering warez chatrooms on AOL, and doing things to explore and find more out about this world of cyberspace. Definitly a great read for anyone who has seen the underside of the computer world.



2. The first part of the book deals entirely with the authors plight of growing up in a very rough area of town and the struggles that he faces with on a day to day basis. Apart from the first 4 or 5 pages, which contained a fast moving account of what happens when a rogue Chief Technology Officer gets sacked, for the first 71 pages I was wondering whether a differnet book had been slipped inside the jacket of hacker cracker as there was no mention of computers at all. The story was still pretty interesting though. Eventually he gets round to his first experience with computers and his encounters with hacking and the addictiveness of it all. Eventually the story ends up with a moving account of being at the site of the twin towers on 9/11 and a very touching part about a strange whistling noise (which I won't explain as it is a bit of a spoiler). An easy read and not really the usual hacker biography type book. I think this is partly due to the fact that the author is assuming his readers are not technical as some of the explanations (IRC for example) are very basic and some are almost "media stereotypical assumptions" of what really goes on.
   As the theme of the book is the struggle to overcome and make life a lot better for his family, the target audience for this book is increased beyond the geek and I think even my mother would like this book!



3. Ejovi Nuwere is from Bedford Stuyvesant a neighborhood in brooklyn he comes from somewhat of a brokenhome doesnot really know his father and has a mother who does just about anything in the world for her children but she is a drug addict and has Aids he lives with his grandmother uncle and brother and numerous others that hang out at his grandmothers apartment were something is always going on.

   He faces the struggles most other intercity kids face with the gangs,drugs poverty and violence but he seems to pick up on the fact that the gangs and drugs are a losing way to go.In one part of the book while he attend a school for the performing arts he ends up joining a gang just for his own protection but it seem a somewhat differant type of gang besides the violence they where teaching the members. While in school he had a few brushes with some basic IBM computer but when he hooked up with the principal and asst. principal who had apple mac he started to develop a real interest in computer and this interest was fed by the uncle who also lived with who had a computer and would let Ejovi many 10-14 hour days on.
   Along with another computer hacker he had met in school they begin getting into hacker chat rooms and learning and developing their skills and trying to make a name as is the thing to do in the hacker community.With his knowledge and desire to succede he ends starting to get jobs while still a teenager and as time goes on decides that full time may not be the way to go one thing for sure it does not pay the bills
   Alot of the computer hacking involves stolen credit cards and manufactured cards one story when Ejovi couldnot stand it and decided to buy his own computer with a stolen number and has the computer delivered to a run down building nextdoor and the FBI ends up coming was pretty funny story.

   This is a pretty good book about somebody having the drive and desire to succcede even living in tough and living through tough conditions and making it along the way he also takes up a form of kung fu.It was a little difficult at times understanding some of the computer stuff for a novice like me but there are definitions in the back of the book and he describes thing pretty good.




4. This is an amazing story of a young man who goes from nothing to something, using technology. After reading this I was inspired to do something with my life!

   If you like hacking, if you like feel good stories, if you like excitement, this book has all of that!

5 comments about Wit, Will & Walls.

1. I enjoyed this book. I had never heard of Betty Kilby Fisher prior to reading the book, but I agree that her story had to be told, preserved in book form and made available to the world.
   
   The bookcover photo says more than words could ever say. I highly recommend this book not only to adults, but to young adults (High School Age) also. The author selected a title that was very fitting.



2. I always feel funny passing an author sitting like a jack-in-the-box behind a stack of their books. Ms. Betty was peeking out and I just had to stick out my hand for a shake. We started talking like old friends, I bought the book and didn't expect too much.

   I cried and I laughed and I pondered at how similar we are and how brave that little girl in the story was. Mz. Betty tells all the family secrets and I bet she gets some grief for that! Remember those Rockem-Sockem Robots that get punched down and they pop back up? Well you can just insert Mz. Betty's pretty face 'cause she just keeps coming back.

   I enjoyed the actual transcript from the courtroom where you can read how the lawyers work the rules of law around the rules of justice. I enjoyed walking with her through her life and I got a hug too!




3. When thinking of a list of significant Civil Rights leaders, Betty Kilby Fisher's name may not immediately come to mind. However, the sacrifices that Betty and her family made are immeasurable because of their lasting impact on Virginia's public school systems. In WIT, WILL & WALLS Betty Kilby Fisher shares a brief snapshot of her life. In the beginning of the book she shares her family's background by telling about the early lives of both of her parents. This background information provides a backdrop for the rest of her story because it helps readers better understand the goals and aspirations of her parents as they shaped the lives of Betty and her siblings. Next, she relates stories of her early childhood. During this phase of the book the author not only sheds life on her family life, but she also paints a vivid portrait of what the African American community was like when she was young. One of the culminating points of the book begins when Betty is set to begin high school. Despite the fact that the Brown vs. Board of Education decision ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional, Betty's local high school in Warren County, Virginia remained segregated and black children were required to travel huge distances to attend Manassas Regional High School. At this point her father, along with others in the community, decides to take a stand and fight to desegregate the local school. The story doesn't end here though, as the author concludes the book with an overview of her adult life and the "battles" she had to continue fighting.

   There were times in the book where I felt that it seemed more like a public record because the author spent too much attention documenting the factual details of a particular event. I would have preferred more of her personal story and the emotions that she and those close to her experienced. These portions of the book interrupted the overall flow, caused the story to drag, and weakened the emotional intensity of the story. In spite of this, I enjoyed reading the book and felt like I learned a great deal of valuable lessons in morality, tenacity, and history. Being born and raised in Northern Virginia and having had many relatives attend Manassas Regional High School made this story more real to me and allowed it to touch me in a deeply personal way. I thank the author for sharing her painful yet triumphant story with readers.

   Reviewed by Stacey Seay
   of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers




4. Determination is a key element in Wit, Will & Walls by Betty Kilby Fisher. This autobiographic account of one woman's journey to success provides the reader with windows into various aspects of Valley life over a significant portion of the twentieth century. Many of those windows reveal a not so pleasant view.

   One pivotal event in Ms. Fisher's life was being the named infant plaintiff in the 1958 civil action that brought about integration of the Warren County school system. Faced with the choice of having his 13 year old daughter board in Manassas or take a sixty-mile per day bus trip to high school in Berryville, her father elected to enroll her at Warren County High School. The ensuing court battle on behalf of Betty and twenty-two other black students led to the suspension of classes at the high school. Reaction to the suit was mixed in both the black and white communities. When the school was ordered to reopen in February 1959, 21 of the black students registered. No white students registered or attended Warren County High School during the rest of that term. As described in Wit, Will & Walls this was almost a relief from the tensions everyone had been living with for so long. The court battle and general attitude were not the only things the Kilby family had to deal with. Harassment, gunshots through the kitchen window, and loss of job security were all part of the picture. Ms. Fisher credits her father's will and determination for getting them through these trials. And the trials did not end in 1959.

   While integration is the most publicly notable event described in the book, there is much more. The book spends time with the Kilby and Ausberry family histories of the early 1900's and with Betty's constant struggle to succeed after high school. The earthy tone of the writing style in the early parts of Wit, Will & Walls helps to bring the reader closer to the reality of life during those years. The effect of one person's life experience on the next generation is clearly evident. As is the determination necessary to overcome the obstacles still present for blacks for many years after the schools were integrated.

   Despite all the roadblocks, Ms. Fisher managed to succeed through her own efforts. She was aided by her father's example, family support, and the strength of her faith. Her current title is CEO of Cultural Innovations, which she started in 2001. The mission of Cultural Innovations is "to provide businesses, organizations, schools and individuals with Cultural Education products and services. The products, a book titled "Wit, Will, and Walls" traces the life of an infant plaintiff in the integration of the schools in rural Virginia in the 60's. The Products also include personalized children's books and calendars. The services provided by Cultural Innovations Inc., include Motivational Speaking, Cultural Audit, Diversity Training and Facilitation of Cultural Interaction. We will work with our clients to examine basic assumptions, values and dynamics that pose barriers to a respectful, motivated and inclusive environment We build an understanding of cultural differences and how these differences impact the way we think, the way we act and the way we treat others."

   I became interested in reading Wit, Will & Walls after accidentally catching Ms. Fisher's interview with Barry Lee on the local cable channel. She has a positive presence and attitude that I found very appealing. Her story also intrigued me because of the local geography. In reading it I got a lot more than I had bargained for. One idea I now ponder as a result of reading Wit, Will & Walls is how many of our personal prejudices are habit, regardless of the side on which we stand.

   "I had no education beyond high school; no job skills and I couldn't even balance the checkbook, but every dark cloud brought joy to my life." Betty Kilby Fisher

   Wit, Will & Walls is a good read, thought provoking, and well worth the time spent




5. My wife and I alternately laughed and cried through the winter Saturday we read this book aloud to one another.

   "Wit, Will and Walls" is the first book I've encountered that successfully conveys what it actually FELT like to be one of the the African American children to break the apartheid grip of Jim Crow on schools in the American South. Betty Fisher's honest, heartfelt style is totally without pretense, and conveys all the conflicts, fears and courage of the young African American children who, sometimes against their will, were selected to take part in that dramatic moment in history.

   Fisher's voice is so authentic that it will do no harm for me to tell you a bit of what it covers:

   Fisher was 14 years old in 1959 when she walked into the all white Warren County High School in Front Royal, Va., with the first young blacks ever to enter those doors. For many months the black students attended school alone while whites boycotted it. Along the line, the Kilbys withstood terrors ranging from mutilation of the family's animals by white thugs, shots fired through the Kilby home.

   The Kilby family struggle had started long before 1959, when her father, family patriarch James Kilby, took on Old Virginia's deeply rooted racist system. Like his father before him, James Kilby had been raised in what can only be called inter-generational semi-slavery on a farm in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. Ultimately, James Kilby stood up and led his family on their journey through terror, isolation and repeated defeats toward victory in a U.S. Supreme Court decision and educational opportunity for his children equal to that of white society.

   Author Betty Kilby went on to change the management policy of Rubbermaid Corporation, and a successful management career in the airline industry.

   Sorrowing, yet often humorous, Fisher manages to covey the warmth and joy and hopefullness that also peremated her family's life, even amid the tumult of the times. It is more than just her autobiography. What makes the book special is that it is also a family saga still in progress. It is an American epic spanning generations of Kilbys, with many frank forays into such areas as the "kitchen babies," sired by her family's white bosses, right up to the heartbreak of her own daughter's addiction to crack cocaine.

   In all likelihood, most readers have never taken such an authentic journey, or met a warmer, more honest spokesperson for that dramatic era which so changed America.

No comments about Barack Obama: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies).

5 comments about Woman of Color, Daughter of Privilege: Amanda America Dickson, 1849-1893 (Brown Thrasher Books).

1. I finished this over Thanksgiving. My mom flipped through it, as did several other family members, asking was it a dissertation. I did not think that it was, but discovered my error in the Acknowledgements. I have a special affection for scholarly works that are compelling reading. The genius of non-fiction is a story that would not be believable if made up.
   
   Leslie documents every assertion, and includes transcripts of interviews and court proceedings so that there can be little question of context. The intermittent inclusion of belabored detail is a little odd to the casual reader, but there is often a gem in a table or list which helps transport the reader back over a 100 years (a list of schools in Augusta includes the only public one for blacks in the state - and that segregated, of course).
   
   The story itself is stunning (grown plantation owner forcibly rapes 13 year old slave girl before her first period, "getting" upon her a b*stard half breed upon whom he dotes all his life and to whom he leaves all that he has, making her the richest "colored" woman in America), but aside from the drama which unfolds chronologically in such a way that without device one is compelled to keep reading, one is almost by the way exposed to an entire sub-culture of "people of color" whose character, enterprise, integrity, ability, and or good fortune prevailed against all odds to create a world of privilege, the survival of which depended in part upon being invisible to less affluent whites. One of them married the grandson of a signer of the Declaration of Independence!
   
   Leslie presents the product of research of a phenomenon without mediated moralizing. Nor does the author speculate upon motive beyond presenting the range of possibilities. This volume belongs on your shelf next to Thurmond's Freedom, Meyer's The Children of Pride, and Reese's The Clamorous Malcontents, especially if you are a Georgian.



2. I first saw the movie, A House Divided and searched out and found out that there was a book. I read the book and i recommend this book for everyone to read. It is a good book. If you haven't seen the movie. SEE IT! the author that wrote this book should be commended. He did a very good job. I am about to write a paper for my history class on this book. Linda D. Westman Mannsville, Oklahoma



3. Hi my name is Ashlee Dickson and I am a descendent of Amanda America Dickson. I am very apprieciative to the people who have read the book and reviewed the website. I am also proud of my heritage and what she has done for the people of America. I am proud to be a Dickson.I am John R. Dickson's daughter's child. Thank you for your time.



4. Hi my name is Ashlee Dickson and I am a descendent of Amanda America Dickson. I am very appriciative to the people who have read the book and reviewed the website. I am also proud of my heritage and what she has done for the people of America. I am proud to be a Dickson.I am John R. Dickson's daughter's child. Thank you for your time.



5. I JUST RECENTLY FOUND OUT THAT THIS BOOK IS ABOUT A GGGG/MOTHER AN FOR THE OBVIOUS REASONS FOUND IT VERY INFORMATIVE I MEAN HOW MY OF US HAVE THE BENEFIT OF A BOOK BEING WRITTEN ABOUT A PAST RELATIVE THESE COMMENTS ARE NOT ONLY TO EXPRESS MY JOY TO FIND OUT ABOUT MY GENELOGY BUT I HOPE TO BE ABLE TO USE AS A VEHICLE TO REACH OUT TO ALL OF MY FAMILY MEMBERS THAT I DONT KNOW MY EMAIL ADDRESS IS PAULOTOTHEMAXX@AOL.COM MY GFATHER EDWIN EUBANKS DICKSON DIED HERE IN COL OHIO ON 04/09/46 AN THE TRIAL ENDS IF YOU HAVE ANY INFO FOR ME PAUL DICKSON OR MY FATHER JOHN R DICKSON OR MY AUNT EVA DELEROES DICKSON(THOMPSON) PLEASE EMAIL ME AT ABOVE ADDRESS THANKS

4 comments about A Course of Their Own: A History of African American Golfers.

1. Ordered item with no hassel and it arrived on time. Amazon does a great job and when ever there is a problem they are right there to assist.



2. This is a good introduction to the history of African Americans and their quest to enter the professional ranks / PGA. It needs to be read with Charlie Sifford's book which tells you the real deal. Kennedy really can't express the pain of black golfers, he gets close but the book is more of an overview. Key and critical details are left out of the book. I can't over emphasize how important it is for you to read Charlie Sifford's, Just Let Me Play as well as Calvin Sinnette's, Forbidden Fairways.



3. This is truly a long-overdue book. This was received as a birthday gift to my husband and I could not resist. Very well written and is a wonderful and tragic chronicle of America's history in human relations. Yes, we are better today. We are reminded of the wonders of all people and how much we have to learn from eachother. When will we have the ability to evaluate skill and talent beyond skin color or accent? This book reminds us to appreciate eachother. This should be required reading in our junior high schools as part of American history/social studies.



4. After you read this book you may be angry or you may be happy, but you will definitely be inspired. The author has written a long overdue book about the lives and struggles of the many African American professional golfers who toiled and struggled--largely in obscurity--under the thumb of racism before cracking golf's color barrier. Just about every sports fan in America knows about Jackie Robinson and his heroic deeds, but few know names such as Bill Spiller and Teddy Rhodes. Pity. This book may finally engender the respect and compassion long denied the black golfers who paved the way for Tiger Woods, who today is the world's most popular athlete. A hearty thumbs up for this one!