2 comments about The Accommodation: The Politics of Race in an American City.

1. I bought and read this book many years ago when the local bookstore, Black Images, still had copies available. I had only lived in Dallas 10 years or so at that time but as a social worker in the city had come to know it well over the years. This book was amazing! By everything I knew it was very accurate and true and frightening that this could happen. I was thankful that such truths could be documented and put into print in our wonderful nation.
   
   Then I loaned my copy of the book to a friend, forgot who it was over the years, and could not find a copy when I searched for it years later. I finally found a copy of it online complete with Jim's signature and message giving it to a leading editorial writer of a major newspaper in Dallas.
   
   It is a powerful book but sadly I think many in Dallas want what it says to be hidden. As I recall I could not even find it in the Dallas Library, but that appears to have been due to my faulty searching, or else people have given enough copies of it to the Library that there are now many copies of it available throughout the Dallas Library System.



2. Mr. Schutze is a very talented columnist for the Dallas Observer. He writes this insightful look at the beguiling nature of Dallas Racial politics, adn how a group of oligarchs made a deal for desegregation, but left years of seething rage in place.

No comments about Distinguished Asian Americans: A Biographical Dictionary.

1 comments about Blues Boy: The Life and Music of B.B. King (American Made Music Series).

1. B. B. King wrote his autobiography, Blues All Around Me in 1996, and if you're interested in the story of B. B. King that's the book to read. Charles Keil's book Urban Blues is also quite good. Mr. Danchin adds no new information to the B. B. King story and includes some misinformation and bad judgements that are misleading.

   It would be difficult to overstate the influence B. B. King had on Blues music in the 1950's. B. B. was impressed by T-Bone Walker's sound. T-Bone recorded blues songs with jazz musicians in his band. The sound was light and swinging and T-Bone's singing was smooth and sophisticated. T-Bone featured his own guitar playing, using single note guitar solos, which blues players hadn't done before.

   Compare T-Bone's approach to B. B. King's approach. B. B.'s band was made up of blues musicians instead of jazz musicians. The beat was heavier than T-Bone's. B. B.'s singing style was more emotionally intense and gospel flavored. His guitar phrases were shorter than T-Bone's.

   Many of the young blues stars of the late 1950's liked B. B. King's sound and used B. B. King as a model for their own styles of singing, bandleading and guitar playing. Think of Freddie King, Otis Rush, Magic Sam and Buddy Guy.

   Danchin is often dismissive of B. B. King's early records like "Three O'Clock Blues" which he calls "pretty unpolished" and "not a new song". Danchin summarizes B. B.'s early appeal as "the climax of his development as an interpreter; rather than the triumph of an originator." But Freddie King, Otis Rush, Magic Sam and Buddy Guy knew something that Danchin missed. Lowell Fulson's version of "Three O'Clock Blues" didn't sound like B. B. King's version. B. B. King had a new exciting sound that made other people want to play like B. B. King. B. B.'s success was absolutely 'the triumph of an originator.'

   Danchin makes an egregious error when he writes "the importance of Jules Bihari in building B. B. King's career has been insufficiently appreciated. It was Jules, rather than King, who usually decided on the arrangements and the musicians, and sometimes it was his ideas that decided the repertoire, as his brother Joe explained in a rare interview: 'On some songs, they had them in their head, but couldn't quite get it together, and there was help. . .You might notice the name of Jules Taub on some songs. That was a pseudonym for Jules Bihari, who worked with the artists."

   In the 1950's it was common practice among independent record label owners to collect songwriting royalties that should have been paid to the artist, by claiming phony songwriting credit. When questioned about this practice later the label owners often gave explanations like the one above. A writer familiar with industry practices of the time should have been suspicious, but Danchin isn't. B. B. King writes in his autobiography that the thing he liked best about recording for the Bihari Brothers was that they left him alone in the recording studio and allowed him to do whatever he wanted! Danchin makes B. B. sound like a puppet of Bihari, which the evidence of King's continued sucess after leaving Bihari's record label doesn't support.

   The good news is that Sebastian Danchin wrote a book about blues guitar player Earl Hooker, which is much better than this book. The Earl Hooker book is well worth reading if you think you might be even slightly interested in the subject.

1 comments about Shine on Me: The Biography of an African American Woman, Born Blind.

1. Shine on Me : The Biography of an African American Woman, Born Blind is a must read for all generations. It is filled with intense, colorful characters which explore and celebrate life and love. This extraordinary debut expertly illustrates how a woman, an African American woman, with four strikes embraces her struggles and with the power of love and faith turns them into triumphs.

3 comments about Blue Daughter of the Red Sea: A Memoir.

1. In "Blue Daughter of the Red Sea" Meti Birabiro allows us to experience the struggles of her early years and subsequent immigration to Italy and then to America. We'll see through her eyes the tumultuous events of her childhood and the 'vampires' that dominated them. We'll follow her exodus from Ethiopia to Italy where she comes face to face with the ugly head of racism time and time again. We'll continue to follow her as she makes her way to Canada only to be 'detained' by immigration in America. We're shown life in a detention center where one's fate is uncertain. Equally mesmerizing is her new life as a refuge in America and the relationships she makes and journeys she takes.
   
   Her relationships with the people around her, how she views herself, the constant inquisitiveness of her personality, and how she decides to handle all the obstacles life throws her way are all laid bare. The one constant throughout this memoir is Meti's search for personal meaning and purpose; freedom to be herself and to feel. After reading this memoir you'll not only feel that you've met the real Meti, but you'll crave to know what has happened in her life since this writing. I wholeheartedly recommend "Blue Daughter of the Red Sea"; seeing the world through Meti Birabiro's eyes is fascinating...



2. Blue Daughter of the Red Sea is the page turning story of a girl's journey through life. The story begins in Ethiopia, takes the reader though Italy, and finally to the United States. I found Birabiro's vignettes to be most compelling. It is fascinating to see life through the eyes of someone who has gone from squalor to facing fascists to a detention center in the United States. I would highly recommend this book.



3. This book evokes the details and places that make sense to the reader as soon as we read the words, but which were beyond our imagination moments before. Very early in the book, in Ehiopia at the time of the early 1980s famine, Meti tells her friends that she was a "very interesting and quite phenomenal secret" way to get a state of sweet flavors, by eating small drops of glycerin from her mother's lotion.
   
   "Eew! I can't believe you've been drinking lotion. That's disgusting!"
   "You eat mud all the time, debeb!"
   "But that's different. Mud is cool. That's where food grows... [Y]our secrets are boring and stupid."
   
   To me, there's no way her life is boring--I didn't get to the book for a long time, but once I did, I read it not just once, but 1 1/2 times straight through--I had to ply myself away from it, to not just read it as if it were on repeat. This means that the book is not riveting, hard to put down, but fast and immensely fulfilling. Quickly, we learn about Ethiopia and its war, Meti being shipped off by herself to Italy at age 10, surrounded by nuns, Fascists, Communists, and fellow Ethiopians and Eritreans, Meti coming to the United States by herself at age 16, being detained in the Los Angeles airport, landing in Juvenile Hall, learning Spanish from Selena songs before she learned English. Along the way, we meet family members and friends we also root for, and others.... I didn't know whether I would've stood up to those others, or withered away before their eyes.
   
   The book's most unique characteristic, however, does not consist of specific episodes (and they are crazy) but its tone--straightforward syntax filled with deservedly lyric diction, declarative sentences undeterred by the circumstances around them, a bizarre mixture of indignation, imagination, and deep, deep faith. Because I not only know (from the words "A Memoir") but feel (from the language) that the "Meti" in the book is not a mask for the real Meti, not just a persona, I reeled with wonder for days after finishing the book.

1 comments about Black Liberation/Red Scare: Ben Davis and the Communist Party.

1. This book is an indepth, and intriguing analysis of the role played by African-American Communists, particularly Benjamin J. Davis, in the struggle for Black Liberation. The book is very-well researched and consistently objective, avoiding the standard anti-Communist, anti-Soviet biases we normally encounter.

   Dr. Horne presents a liitle known history, the positive role played by the Communist Party, USA (CPUSA), in the struggle for African-American civil rights. He details and corroborates numerous examples of positive Communist involvement and activity in the Black community in the 1930s and 1940s without using the worn out "red scare" or "Communist menace" shibboleths.

   He describes a very clear picture of the role played by Benjamin J. Davis, an open Communist from Harlem and twice elected to the New York City Council. It is amazing to read Horne's description of the tremendous support Davis received from both Harlemites and famous Black celebrities.

   Dr. Horne's theory that the Black American civil rights establishment was given the narrow choice of renouncing Communist support and Communists in order to win government support for civil rights, appears right on target and certainly supported by history.

   A very interesting and informative book.

5 comments about Reluctant Return: A Survivor's Journey to an Austrian Town (Jewish Literature and Culture).

1. "Reluctant Return" by David Weiss presents the intricate emotional landscape of a Holocaust survivor compelled by the sincerity and heart of a new Christian sect to return to his Austrian hometown of Wiener Neustadt on a mission of reconciliation. Ichthyus, a new Christian sect devoted to repairing the deep wounds caused by Christian anti-Judaism and anti-semitism, begins from the dreams and visions of a minister's wife, Uli Eiwen, who feels led by God to uncover the truth of 1000 years of Jew-hatred in her hometown, and to work to forge a reconciliation. Uli's visionary experiences lead her to the belief that God has abandoned Christianity because of two thousand years of Christian anti-Judaism. Recognizing her God as the God of the Jews, she feels that God's covenant with Abraham speaks directly about Christians in particular in the statement, "your enemies shall be my enemies." She convinces her husband, Helmuth, of the power of her beliefs after a chilling vision of the Nazi swastika during a mass he leads drives her from church screaming. He discovers the horrible history of Lutheran complicity with the SS in his hometown, resigns his ministry, and starts Ichthyus. Weiss and other Jews from Wiener Neustadt are convinced to return by the simplicity and honesty of the Eiwens, much to their own surprise. Weiss's mapping of the intricate and complex emotions he feels during his return has much to say about the destructiveness of prejudice and hatred, and the difficulty and beauty of forgiveness. Weiss writes with a pained lyricism in this profoundly moving book. I have used this recently in a course on religious autobiography (college level), and it has been a powerful source of knowledge and reflection for my students. Very highly recommended.



2. This is an astonishing work -- deeply revealing, personal, and yet universal in its message. David Weiss uses language with precision, describing complex emotions and internal conflicts with grace and originality. This book, regardless of our associations to the Holocaust, is one that we can all learn from. It reminds us that each human being must be judged as an individual, even when circumstances make it difficult for us to do so. For those of us who search within to overcome old biases and hatred, this book can be an epiphany. For any thoughtful person, it can illuminate a black period in history and inform our responses to it.



3. David Weiss opened his heart and soul with "Reluctant Return" and I was drawn into his life and experience so deeply that I finished the book in one sitting (with a dinner break). We all have our ghosts and parts of our past we have buried or refuse to acknowledge and we live our lives fully, successfully and quite happily. David Weiss lived like that until he was forced to take another look at his feelings about Austrians and growing up in antisemitic Austria. He shares his own survival experiences during the 1930-45 period and his feelings about pre- and postwar Germany, Germans, Austria and Austrians. He points out that Germany and many German people have openly acknowledged their role in the holocaust whereas Austria and the Austrian people are barely beginning this process. He describes his experiences and deepest feelings when he is returned to the town of his youth. Then how he shared his life and these feelings with groups of Austrian school children whose history books have deliberately omitted their country's role in the holocaust. The children start to realize and accept that their elders committed terrible crimes against other humans whose only error was to try to live peacefully in this small town in Austria.

   If this book were published by a BIG NAME publisher, it would be an instant best seller. I believe that "Reluctant Return" will take a path similar to "Under the Tuscan Sun" and "The Perfect Storm" and grow to be a classic.




4. David Weiss has written a profound memoir of a difficult encounter with people and his past. It is eloquent, brilliant, deeply moving and eminently readable.



5. This is the sad story of the Jewish community in wartime Nazi Austria and the return of surviving victims to Wiener Neustadt. A gripping tale told by the son of the former chief Rabbi of the town.

No comments about Cultural Life (Schomburg Studies on the Black Experience).

5 comments about The Chosen One: Tiger Woods and the Dilemma of Greatness.

1. The Chosen one was a very interesting book . But it only told about Tiger Wood's career and his life when he was older , getting into golf tornments and training . But otherwise it is a very good book if you were just wanting to know how he won tournments and becomeing famous . Also it told about how Tiger Woods was ridiculed by his race and how young he was , which was a problem towards his career due to reporters and newspapers.Tiger was also known as one of the multicultrual icons . Also what was interesting to people is Tiger was guided by his father rather than being pushed on.



2. This book was very true about the life of Tiger Woods. It keep me reading page after page. The author was a sports writer so he knew what he was writing aout and it was great.Tiger Woods is the best golfer.



3. A collection of few chapters with the authors own ideas and thoughts thrown in too liberally, it is more of the author's view of Tiger Woods. Does not qualify as an biography, just a bunch of articles. Does has a few gems which make it worthwhile.



4. Over the past century golf has produced some of the greatest players of all times. None, however, have reached the caliber of skill and magnitude of Eldrick "Tiger" Woods. In such a short time and at an early age Tiger has raised the sport of golf to a higher level. Who is this young man who has broken golf records, establishes new ones and inspires a new generation to seriously take up the sport of golf?

   David Owen deals with that question in this well written and concise book about Tiger Woods and his impact upon golf. He examines Woods' training, his place in history, his impact on the sport and the public's fascination with him. As a contributing editor of Golf Digest, our author doesn't inundate you with Woods' golf statistics. Nor does he give you an in depth expose of Tiger's life. Owen gives a positive even handed treatment of Woods life and career. He is just as fascinated with this young phenomenon of golf as we are but doesn't worship Woods. He respects and admires this young sportsman.

   I enjoyed this book because it enlighten me about the development of Woods' career. Tiger comes across as a disciplined young man who is highly competitive, focused and has high expectations of himself and for those around him. His aura and the way he has carried himself forces his opponents to improve their game. Tiger's impact upon golf is immense as Owen has shown throughout the story.

   This is an excellent book for fans of Woods, golf enthusiasts and those who love sports in general. I am not a sports fan but I picked up this book in passing. I was impressed by Woods' character, discipline and commitment. I highly recommend this book which has given us a snap shot of a true sportsman that adults and young people can admire and emulate. Woods has made himself one of the greatest golf players of all time but he has transcended the game. He serves as an example of excellence for life whose lessons we can certainly take to heart.




5. that is the only way to describe Tiger Woods.it seems He continues to Pave New Ground on the Golf Course.with Him Winning&holding many trophys ...Tiger Woods is the Jackie Robinson of the Golf World.He May Be the Most Important Athlete of this Century time will only tell.but He has made a Helluva Impact.He made the Golf Game Hip.Before Him only Rodney Dangerfield in CaddyShack was Appealing to Me.He has truly Opened up some Closed Gates.

No comments about Conversations: William Jefferson Clinton, from Hope to Harlem.