5 comments about The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography (Oprah's Book Club).

1. Brilliantly written novel! But than nothing less could be expected from Sidney Poitier. Also for all of you that are learning English as a second language it is an example of modern American English at its best. This is as good as it gets!



2. I bought this book in the hopes that it would be interesting enough to keep my attention...boy way I right! Once I started, I couldn't put it down! Mr. Poitier writes so eloquently that you feel as though you are experiencing and seeing everything first-hand.



3. I first encountered Poitier on screen in the film, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?, which my father insisted I watch with him along with many other classic films. Though I later couldn't recall many particulars about that movie, the memory of an urbane Black man exuding integrity and elegance stuck with me. I later had the pleasure of watching many of his other movies of which my favorite is, Lilies of the Field. So when I saw this book's spine while browsing in a used bookstore, it was a quick decision to buy it.
   
   Poitier refers to this book as a "spiritual autobiography" where he records his ruminations on life in contrast to an earlier autobiography which was simply a "book about my life". As I read, I imagined I heard Poitier's pleasing voice speaking to me in the many colloquial expressions that characterize the style of the book: "You see?", "Listen to me...", "You hear?". But Poitier combines this casualness with touching eloquence: "Well, I'm no scientist, and certainly I don't have Carl Sagan's technical understanding of the universe and our position within it. I simply believe that there's a very organic, immeasurable consciousness of which we're a part. I believe that this consciousness is a force so powerful that I'm incapable of comprehending its power through the puny instrument of my human mind. And yet I believe that this consciousness is so unimaginably calibrated in its sensitivity that not one leaf falls in the deepest of forests on the darkest of nights unnoticed." Sorry, Carl Sagan, but I'm with Sidney Poitier when it comes to appreciating how intimately connected we humans are with the universe.
   
   Included in the book is a delightful description of meeting Katherine Hepburn for the first time as they were preparing to film, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?: "When I arrived at her door and that door opened, she looked at me and didn't say a word and didn't crack a smile. But that was her M.O. After the longest while, she said, `Hello, Mr. Poitier,' and I said, `Hello, Miss Hepburn,' and the conversation began. I could tell that I was being sized up every time I spoke, every response I made. I could imagine a plus and a minus column, notations in her mind." Scenes such as this spoke to me as a member of a relatively small ethnic minority in the United States - Asian America. I found myself contemplating the possibility of an Asian-American Sidney Poitier to charismatically and with integrity shift Hollywood portrayals beyond demeaning stereotypes.
   
   I'm glad I found the book (or the book found me) as I find myself referring to it as an example of not giving in to bitterness, the importance of integrity, the truth about the interconnectedness of all things, and that at least for some members of the Hollywood community, spirituality does exist.



4. I grew up in the South and, when I was in high school in the early sixties, Mr. Poitier's two blockbusters, "Raison in the Sun" and "Lilies of the Field" came out. There was something about him, even then, that caught my attention. Who WAS this man? It always seemed he was a "thinker" - a "seeker" - a bit restless with himself.
   
   I recently picked up The Measure of a Man and my curiosity made me read it. Who IS this man - I wanted at last to find out.
   
   The book begins in Cat Island, the Bahamas where he was born and lived during his early years. As Mr. Poitier describes his youth, it is reflective and feels like an intimate fireside conversation with a friend talking about a loved one departed. There is gratitude and respect - a certain remorse for doing some "kid things" that are so hurtful to those you truly love - and a reexamination of some of the "truths" he was taught.
   
   Then the autobiography goes from there onto other stages in his life where he interacts with the realities and the illusions of life and comes to a sense of who he is and what is important. I guess I expected more of a "success story" about someone who is obviously very accomplished. What I got instead was a very touching and poignant sharing of a personal journey of a man making his way through life - no better and no worse than anyone else - immune from neither happiness nor disappointment - but glad to be alive.
   
   Because so much of Mr. Poitier's autobiography had to do with things both good and challenging that just showed up in his life, it reminded me of another book by Ariel & Shya Kane called Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment. In Being Here, the Kanes talk about things that have happened in their lives in a very light way that demonstrates how they and we can experience life more fully and more deeply - by just "being there" for what's happening when it's happening.
   
   I really enjoyed reading both of these books and recommend them



5. My husband(age 71)took this book with us to Hawaii. He couldn't put it down, which says a lot because he doesn't read very much. Reading usually puts him to sleep. But not this book! He found it totally engaging.

5 comments about Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life.

1. What an inspiration Coach Tony Dungy is and this book was one I could not put down.



2. As a Steeler fan who is old enough to remember Dungy as a part of the Steel Curtain defense (but not as large as I remembered!), as a Christian husband and father, and as a Patriots hater who cheers for any team against New England, I had three reasons to look forward to this book, and it was even better than I expected.
   
   Dungy's writing, with assistance by a co-author, reads as mild and humble as his (lets face it) nerdy appearance. Despite, or because of, this to-the-core character, Dungy has succeeded at the cutthroat business of professional football at the highest level. Remember, neither of the teams he has coached had any history of winning before his tenure, and he essentially won a Super Bowl with each team (Chucky Gruden won with Tony's players after Dungy was fired, and you can see what kind of success Chucky has had since!).
   
   One of the amazing aspects of Dungy's book is how wide spread his deep-rooted Christianity was amongst the "nasty" 70s Steelers--Dungy, Dirt Winston, Mel Blount, and Donnie Shell not alone made for one of the hardest-hitting defensive backfields in NFL history, but apparently one of its most mature and consistent Bible studies as well. It is encouraging to read about NFL players and coaches who focus on family and faith, not contracts and crime sprees.
   
   Dungy never sounds boastful or arrogant about his faith, usually demonstrating his life lessons from his own mistakes. My tears spotted the pages of the chapter when Dungy talked about his son's suicide and the rest of the way it was hard for me, and for Dungy as well, to focus on football. As he says in a later chapter, never confuse your goals (winning a Super Bowl) with your purpose (glorifying God).
   
   I needed reminding. Thanks, Tony!



3. This book is fantastic - I couldn't put it down! I have been a big fan of Tony since he was the coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, because of his presence on the football field. This book is an honest and inspiring account of Tony's life and the trials and successes he has encountered. Thank you Tony for a great read.



4. The autobiography, "Quiet Strength," of Tony Dungy is appropriately subtitled "The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life." Dungy recounts his life from its beginnings to the present as the Coach of the world champion Indianapolis Colts. A man of proactive faith, Dungy has been able to climb many mountains, from being one of the first black quarterbacks in NCAA college football to one of the first black head coaches in the National Football League.
   
   "Quiet Strength" details key formative relationships, those that helped him to become what he is today. They include his mother, The Most Athletic Dungy, who supported in him in a number of sports; his father who taught him what was most important - not the accolades and memories of success, but the way you respond when opportunities are denied; his high school assistant principal, Mr. Rockquemore, who took a great interest in him and Dungy claims things would have been different if he had not; and his first pro coach, Chuck Noll, who taught him how to win in the NFL and how to maintain family-career balance.
   
   Dungy always viewed his work in football as a means to do something more as a servant of God. When he was fired as the head coach of Tampa Bay, the firing itself was not the cause of shock, but rather, the thought that God was allowing this great experiment of using him as a head coach in the NFL to end. He wondered, what's next? How will God use him, whether in the NFL or not.
   
   I am grateful that Dungy went on from Tampa to win the Super Bowl as coach of Indianapolis. More than becoming the first African-American to win a Super Bowl, this extraordinary achievement provided an excellent platform from which to tell this great story.
   
   Dungy's story is inspirational, challenging, and encouraging - reminding us about what really is important in a world driven by the love of material success. He shows that one can live their Christian faith in the workplace and succeed - even in the demanding fish bowl atmosphere of the NFL. He is a living testimony of one man's faith in God.
   
   "Do you your best and let God do the rest."



5. Loved the book, many lessons to be learned, a little too much football at times but if you can look by that it is a quick and enjoyable read

5 comments about Inheriting the Trade: A Northern Family Confronts Its Legacy as the Largest Slave-Trading Dynasty in U.S. History.

1. Like Traces of the Trade, the authors lack the courage to jump in, and like the stink of Zen, grasping their pride and privilege, it all looks like new age capitalists creating a new ego of "nice people" with wayward ancestors, standing firmly on the high-ground on a very un-level playing field.
   Resting in wealth and capitalistic venture, what is so sad is the lack of courage to jump in the freezing water and suffer the death of their egos.
   Without taking a vow of poverty, these fat cats will always look like Zen priests in there pretty robes, in a world of immense suffering and pain as children are incested, burned, and beaten by their parents, also children of parents generations later. Where is the commitment?
   And they sell books...



2. Learning about your family's slave trading empire must be hard to stomach, and the members of the family who undertook to study the facts deserve credit for facing up to it. Too bad they didn't hire a qualified historian to write their story. Inheriting the Trade reminds me of those self-indulgent, melodramatic "encounter groups" that were so popular in the 1970's. Let's beat up on each other for things we never did, just for being who we are. And along the way, let's read endless descriptions about the participants' clothing, jobs, hair color, and denial. And let's ignore the fact that people of all races have been enslaved at one time or another, by one culture or another.
   Slavery is deplorable, but an avalanche of angst is useless and a waste of energy that could better be expended on finding solutions to the problems that separate the races in 2008. What did the deWolfs gain from the evils perpetrated by their ancestors? Well, among their apparently endless "privileges" is the right to write a book and make a TV program.



3. It is my pleasure to invite you to read this book. Inheriting the Trade is about Tom's journey with his relatives as they documented the story of their ancestors being the largest group of slave traders in America. Their experience is told in the recently released movie: Traces of the Trade.
   
   This book stopped me in my tracks and invited me to ask questions and see new truths about myself.
   It is not just the story of one family, but of an entire world and all of us in it.
   
   Be ready to take your time when you read this and listen to the questions that surface in your heart. Answer them honestly and you will learn about more than slavery in the past, you will discover your own position and how it is influenced by privilege, your own and others still today.
   
   I highly recommend this book.



4. I thought this book was fascinating. Here's this white guy from Oregon who grew up in a middle-class family in California without much knowledge of his family history. He moves to Oregon, to an affluent, largely white town, where he encounters a distant cousin. Suddenly, he's thrust into a huge extended family with long ties to New England. Slave traders! His forebears were slave traders? Does he want to be in a documentary about the slave trade? Does he want to go to Rhode Island, Ghana, and Cuba to retrace the route of the triangle trade?* He does, and in the process his eyes are opened to places and ways of living he knew nothing about - and this includes not only the African and Cuban cultures but also that of privileged New Englanders. What an amazing set of events!
   
   The author weaves together his own deep changes with description and reflection on the history of the slave trade and its continuing impact on our still racist society. The big idea is that white people in America are largely unaware of our own unearned privilege, and that becoming aware is one step in beginning the change to erasing racism. This book shows that it's a one-person-at-a-time effort, difficult but not impossible.
   
   *Traces of the Trade, by Katrina Browne, Thomas DeWolf's 7th cousin once removed, if I read the genealogical chart correctly.



5. The virtue of this book for me was that it didn't purport to be objective history; instead, the history of the Northern slave trade was the starting point for this family's, and the author's exploration of privilege and oppression. The author's voice is clear and distinct, and I admired how he was able to weave explanations of the slave trade -- the commerce in human beings -- conducted by Northerners with descriptions of the journey that he and his cousins took to retrace the trade routes, the people they encountered, and the emotional impact the journey had on the family. This book covers issues that most whites prefer to avoid, and it does so in a cogent, readable, and revealing way. I loved how it got me thinking, and opened my eyes in a non-threatening but persistent way to how different kinds of isms -- racism, classism, sexism -- pervade our lives. Simply learning how my assumptions about my freedom differ from a non-white's assumptions has made me aware, on a daily basis, of what benefits I take for granted, and make me think about what we need to do to promote greater, color-blind, access to those benefits.
   
   This book was like a good movie: I finished reading it and I keep thinking about it.

5 comments about The Pact.

1. I picked up this book after my wife and I started a group reading with my son of the book; "We Beat the Streets." "We Beat the Streets" book was written by the same authors but geared toward a younger crowd (suggested ages 9 to 15y/o). The pact was a great book as a source of inspiration. Being an African American male near the same age range, I was able to relate to at least one aspect of each of the three guys. At points where Rameck had a chip on his shoulder and struggle to put the anger behind him I related to that anger when confronted by unfair situations and judgmental people throughout college. Times when set backs occurred related to bad choices, an ill family member, or failing to pass a critical exam on the first try reminded me how as a young black male you feel like you're on the edge of falling of track at any given moment. Regardless of race and sex when you spear-headed the family into a new level of educational/professional success you will feel the weight of a lot of dreams and hopes placed on your shoulders daily. Often as a young man I felt times where I just didn't want to deal with that kind of pressure.
   
   This story reminded me that it is important to stay focused and move through the rough periods in order to be in a position to help friends and loved ones. By example let them know that they can achieve there goals/dreams.
   
   Two key factors in this story will continue to give me the courage to move forward. Never forget the 3 D's; Discipline, Determination, and Dedication. Always remember that choosing the right friends may mean the difference between success and failure in my life's goals. Friends are crucial when faced with situations in life that are difficult. I am proud to say that my wife is my best friend with an ear to listen. As I pursue my second master's degree my thoughts turn to adding to my list of goals a doctorate. Thank you Doctors Davis, Jenkins, and Hunt for this wonderful gift of brotherly love!
   
   I give this book a, 5 out of 5 stars. If you're a Dad it's a must read with your son or daughter. All they see is the man you are now; let them know that God, Faith, and loving relationships got you where you are today!!



2. This book is a must read for every African-American male, no, not only Africian-American males, but any young man that has felt that the odds were stacked up against him. The message is: all things are possible if you keep striving.



3. This is a great book to read. Being originally raised in Jersey City and Newark at the same time the writers were; it just proves that if young people put their mind to it, they can accomplish great things!



4. I give these young men 10 stars if I could. This story is for the young as well as the old. Everyone has a story and this story needed to be told, it doesn't matter what happened or where u have been, it's what your doing now and where u r going. It's an inspirational story and I am proud of them. For the reviewers that's being negative (get a life) maybe in today's world this story will inspire more children to go to college instead of being on the streets. I'm glad this story was written and told and they r an inspiration to all.



5. The Pact is about three young men who lived in the projects around drugs and peer pressure from old friends who did not want anything out of life. So George and Sam and Rameck made a pact to go to college. The young men had positive people in their lives, like a teacher, a friend's father, and a dentist. I would recommend this book to other people because the book tells how three young men made a pact with one another not to let peer presure rule their lives. They went to college and gave back to the neighborhood. They are all doctors and a dentist. They had some disappointments in their lives, but they made it. This is a true story.

5 comments about A Bound Man: Why We Are Excited About Obama and Why He Can't Win.

1. Shelby Steele is among a long ago generation that prefers using old arguments to push back against new realities. He prefers to fight old wars rather than positively confront new challenges. The thesis of the book is so small as to be nothing more than a magazine article. To enjoy the book you must suspend belief that anything has changed since 1960 and believe that race is still at the forefront of our country. Shame on Mr. Steele.



2. Shelby Steele's book is a fast read about the dilemma facing Barack Obama as a contender for our nation's number one position. Obama must deal with the extreme issues facing our nation and the world.....and still deal with the one constant that unfortunately creeps into this nation.....race and religion. Steele leaves you with much food for thought as we attempt to move on as a nation.



3. This book and a recent interview of Hoover institution with the author plus all his connections with the wrong and shady characters proves that he is a man of hoax rather than hope.



4. I picked up this book purely out of curiosity. It was a nice quick read and very insightful. The majority of the book actually explores the "black movement" in America, past and present. It then ties this movement into the role Obama "must" play as a presidential candidate. Mr. Steele is multiracial as Obama is which allows him to explore this topic from a very personal perspective. Whether or not you agree with his hypotheses it is a great book and provides some interesting observations on the challenges minorities face as we enter a new era of racism and assimilation.



5. This book is not about Obama losing because of his liberal/left wing policy position or his lack qualifications and experience. No he will lose, because of race. The author's main insight into Obama's racial/political dilemma is the following:
   Obama can't win because deep down he believes in personal responsibility but he is bound to the "antiresponsibility" (for blacks) left. "Black responsibility is verboten because it snuffs out the market for white innocence." (that black bargainers and challengers can exploit). If Mr. Obama tries to break out of this trap with straight talk about the evils of playing the victim card too many time he could lose votes as rapidly as Bill Cosby lost popularity when he did that.
   To make his black versus white theory work smoothly Shelby Steele portrays whites as one big monolithic group. All guilty of racial injustice. But if the author could bug a "White Barbershop" he would quickly learn that the White Guilty Verdict is not a universally accepted concept. He would hear rejection of this idea of collective white guilt in no uncertain terms.
   He would hear resentment against affirmative action expressed in no uncertain terms. And so on.
   The number of whites who do not buy into collective white guilt and will not be voting for Barack in order to receive from blacks the gift of innocence may be revealed in November. Some of the voting patterns in the Clinton Obama primary contest indicate that it will be a significant number.

5 comments about Dog Man: An Uncommon Life on a Faraway Mountain.

1. This book has touched me. The main character is morally strong, and the result of his strength has affected a breed of dog to a point beyond comprehension. If you own an Akita, this is a must read. If you do not own an Akita, you need to read this as well.



2. Heard about this book when Charlie Rose interviewed the author on his show. Apparently the Akita is a country dog bred in the mountains in Japan. During WWII, the breed was threatened--people ate them because they were starving--and this is the story of how one man formed a network of friends to save the breed and protect them. It is also the story of his family, including stories of the different dogs he saved. For dog lovers and Akita fans especially.



3. Haven't had a dog in years but love great books about dogs and this is a great book about a dog and the man who rescued the breed from extinction.
   
   And what a gentle man he is. Brings the word Zen to life for me. And to think he never accepted money for any of the dogs, and has lived such a simple pure life. Not only is it a story of a man saving a breed of dog, but it also has some priceless lessons about living simple, enjoying stillness and being content.
   
   I wonder if the Japanese exchange students we have had over the years who all owned Akitas know of Morie Sawataishi.



4. I bought this book because I'm very interested in dogs and had visited Japan. While the book really was about a man who saved Akitas after WWII, it was so much more. Interwoven was a very interesting history of what the Japanese endured from close to the end of the war until today. I was in awe of the hardships they faced and the tremendous number of things they achieved. I feel I'd need more than one lifetime to even approach accomplishing what they have.
   The author kept the momentum going and has produced a really wonderful book that was never dull and brought life during these times alive. Effortless reading.
   I have read that the Japanese take one idea and keep refining it, not just always looking for the next best thing. This is how Dog Man approached his life with dogs. Wonderful book.



5. ...he could have been a lot like Morie Sawataishi. Singular of mind, even monomaniacal. Narcissistic. Athletic and daring. And superhuman in his talent--rescuing the Akita "snow dog" breed from annihilation during World War II.
   
   Author Martha Sherrill manages to bring us to a sympathetic understanding of this man in her fine work Dog Man. Dog lovers will find it easier to comprehend Morie's fixation, and how he uses his beloved Akitas as an escape, even a bulwark, from his family and its war-time struggles with hunger and poverty. But Dog Man goes far beyond its esoteric main subject as we travel via Sherrill's fluid prose to Japan's fascinating post-war snow country, and bear witness as it enters the modern age. In the span of her book, the region goes from untouched country largely lacking electric power and prowled by bears and wild mountain men, to populated civilization served by bullet train. And the photos of all those beautiful dogs alone are worth the price of the hardcover. A great read that takes you far away!

5 comments about Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave Written By Himself.

1. 87 years after the Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation was enacted and after the the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution Enslaved Americans gained thier freedom.
   
   Before the civil war Abolitionist were the Advocates of change in America the struggle to gain ones freedom from the experiences of slavery in the south is told from the true experiences of Fredrick Douglass. From Slavery to the Struggle for freedom to escape is the story told here, but also the story of survival to activism in the Abolitionist movement to change America.
   
   During the nearly 100 years after the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of 1787 Black America finally found Freedom, But between Slavery and Freedom was the struggle of the freedom fighters of the Revolutionary Abolitinist Movement to bring slavery in America to an end. This is the story of the virtues of a victim of Slavery turned into a revolutionary success story, This is the story of Fredrick Douglass.



2. As a political junkie, I watch several news and commentary television shows. On the day that Barack Obama was declared the nominee of the Democratic Party for the presidency of the United States, black journalist Eugene Robinson was speaking. He said that we should all stop for a minute and appreciate the significance of this event. In the early 1960's black people had a very difficult time voting and in the southern United States, whites who killed blacks were generally acquitted if brought to trial. Now, there is the very real chance that a black person will be the next president.
   One of the greatest assets Obama has is his incredible gift for speech and communication. He is extremely articulate and is capable of delivering his words in a manner that resonates. I was privileged to attend one of his rallies and was even able to ask him a question.
   When blacks were slaves, they were property, nothing more. If their owner was dissatisfied, they could whip or even kill their slaves with impunity. Therefore, to truly appreciate and understand how far things have come in the United States, it is necessary to read some of the descriptions of how slaves were treated.
   This is one of the best accounts of the horrors of slavery ever written. Douglass was one of the first articulate blacks to appeal to whites. He was even the vice presidential candidate of the Equal Rights Party in 1872. The presidential candidate was Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for president of the United States.
   Douglass describes the brutal and indiscriminant treatment that a slave was forced to endure. When a slave showed any sign of independence, the goal of the white supremacists was to break them by any means necessary. Mothers and fathers were separated from their children, food was withheld and physical mistreatment were all weapons in the arsenal of the slave-breaker.
   In this moment of the triumph of racial equality, it is an excellent look back to read the writings of Douglass. It gives you a perspective on how truly historic the nomination of Barack Obama is and will continue to be.



3. "I expose slavery in this country, because to expose it is to kill it. Slavery is one of those monsters of darkness to whom the light of truth is death." Frederic Douglass
   
   Frederic Douglass tells us the REAL story about slavery in early America. From the first page to the last, I was totally transfixed. There are so many things to admire about this great American. On top of being brilliant and brave and benevolent and broad-minded, etc... what I truly admire about this amazing soul was the fact that he is able to tell us his story sans bitterness. For let me tell you, if the majority of us had to endure one iota of what this man went through... Let's just say that those saccharine sweet saga's like "Gone with the Wind" left a few pertinent things out!
   
   This is one hell of a powerful story! The brutalities of slavery will disgust you, but to see this beautiful soul rise above it all is something special. He is the most important figure in nineteenth-century black American literature and a man that merits more attention than he gets. This is a magnificient achievement, an important work of art.
   
   Very highly recommended!



4. Douglass' narrative is typically assigned to high school and college classes to provide a more personal, emotional account of slavery that is not typically found in history books. While this is important, I believe reading this Narrative can provide more than an account of the brutalities of slavery (though it certainly does show the brutality). One quote I think encompasses the book: "You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man." I look at this book as more of a character study for Douglass, how he remembers his life and chronicles the changes he goes through. It was also interesting to see how literacy changes not only his mind but his personality. Reading brings knowledge but also pain. If you've read Walter Ong's "Orality and Literacy" this becomes even more apparent and interesting. That aside, Douglass writes a poetic and interesting narrative of his life that I think people should WANT to read rather than feel forced to read.



5. I read this book some years ago and thought it the best American personnal slave narrative ever written.A forerunner of the 20th century's ,'Autobiography of Malcolm X'.This book is sadly forgotten by many,both among black and white educators.Frederick Douglass was more than an "American Moses",he could have been called ,an 'American Frederick Engels'.Douglass had the power of literacy,which the European-American christians always wanted surpressed and restricted for everybody,especially slaves and the church laity.Douglass had the power of knowledge,and the ablity to reason,which in turn leads to a better society.The more freedom of knowledge is restricted by authorities,the more explosive the base of society becomes.The free exchange of ideas has always allowed a democracy to flourish,and inturn a more stable and progressive society,a 'Great Society'.Frederick Douglass' Washingtonian beacon house still stands proudly on the hill overlooking the scenic and political landscape.This book is a short classic narrative,yet still worthy of investing one's time reading today.

3 comments about American Son: My Story.

1. The autobiography on "The Golden Boy," who parlayed his pugilistic skills into successful business and philanthropic ventures outside the squared-circle, is an informative and inspiring story on chasing and capturing a slice of the American Dream.
   
   It works because Oscar De La Hoya is candid about every facet of his professional and business careers & personal life, while co-author Steve Springer - through his award-winning reporting in the Los Angeles Times - has literally watched the champ grow up in public.
   
   The legend truly comes to life through De La Hoya's own words and honesty. Though the final chapter in boxing will be "written" later this year, this is an outstanding look into a life that is just starting to get into a top gear.



2. Thoroughly enjoyed the book. Extensively details who Oscar is and where he (and his family) came from. A truly rags-to-riches story. You cannot help but like this young man. A brisk, intelligent read for everybody especially boxing fans and people of Mexican heritage.
   
   Excellent book!



3. If you are a fan of Oscar you will love this book. It is a very short book though.

5 comments about The Pursuit of Happyness.

1. This book was very motivational and taught me a great lesson in humility, perserverace, and hope. I would recommend to everyone!



2. I have read a few reviews that where readers preferred the Disneyfied movie to the strong and honest look at a real human life that Chris Gardner exposits in his book. That's a bit sad. I find his honesty refreshing and courageous in a world where many look askance on the rougher edges of our humanness while ignoring the courage it takes to reveal warts.
   
   This book inspired me and is about to change my life. It is the portrait of a man who never succumbed to self pity in spite of many odds stacked against him. He did not give in to bitterness either. He blamed no one for his plight, simply pushed forward and found solutions to each crisis he faced. He has set an example for the many people of all races recovering from abusive childhoods.
   
   It is not so easy to get the demons of low self worth and self pity out of your head when they have been placed there by parental figures and communities either convinced of their own moral superiority or simply exercising their own brand of ignorance over a childhood span of 18 years. It is a struggle, daily, until it is rebuilt and often times depends solely on the kindness of strangers who may or may not be from the polished set.
   
   The fact that he prevailed from sheer dogged determination and a refusal to accept the labels others applied to him is a wondrous and beautiful thing and should spark hope into the hearts of those who know his story all too well from personal experience.
   
   If you prefer the pristine bubble of a Disneyified existence, stick to the movie. If you are not afraid of the grit of human life and are not easily offended, read the book. It is far superior and much more satisfying.



3. If you're interested in reading the book because you saw and loved the movie, you should be forewarned that you will find the effect of the movie somewhat diluted here, and also that the movie's version of events matches in very few particulars the actual events of his life as recorded in his autobiography.
   
   That said, the book provides much more background about Chris Gardner's life, and it is a fascinating and ultimately triumphant story--and, in the latter part of the story, his commitment to his son does shine through.
   
   His idol-worshipping meeting with Nelson Mandela at the end is a bit much, but otherwise Gardner's story is told with admirable sincerity and intelligence. And best of all, he's completely unapologetic about pursuing material wealth and prosperity, and saying that these are part of his pursuit of happiness. People who've been dirt poor are typically more honest about things like that than the self-righteous idiots who've been comfortable all their lives and never really had to work and then tell us sanctimoniously that "money can't buy happiness"--true, it can't, but it sure helps.
   
   And Chris Gardner's story is well worth the money.



4. If Chris Gardner had any morals I'm sure they wouldn't have come out in this book as he goes to great lengths to tell you every sexual exploit he's made in his lost, disgusting, immoral life. I couldn't finish it. Talk about all his sexual escapades! ...and his inability to keep his d**k in his pants, and worse still, his inability to keep a wife because of it! He's a moral black hole taking thousands of susceptible people with him into the depths of crude, rude, disgusting, immoral, sex addiction-type behavior. There's nothing HAPPY about this book!
   
   I just threw mine away. If it would have fit in the toilet I would have flushed it. I'm sure it would have gotten stuck in the u-bend causing me even more misery to add to the misery I felt reading this life-sucking black hole of a book.



5. Where the movie of the same name lifted me and inspired me, this book came crashing down on me. It crushed me because it turns out nothing in the movie was true. In fact, far from being the hero that Will Smith portrayed on film, the real Chris Gardner turns out to be a skank, a thief and a murderous thug. The fact that Gardner retains these attributes through to the end of the book and continues to defend them means there is no happy story of redemption and thus, no real happy ending (except that the man is now rich).
   
   Structurally, the book was supposed to be about a father's love for his child but Gardner's son doesn't enter the story until 2/3rds of the way through. Even then, the book continues on into exposition of the father's life, so it is more like a biography. I did like the writer's style but since the book was co-written, I doubt if it was Gardner himself that I was reading.
   
   If you loved the movie, do not buy this book. Continue to believe that Will Smith's character was an honest, moral man who deserved the success he got because he pursued it ethically and persisted against his hardships without complaint.

5 comments about Hiding in Hip Hop: On the Down Low in the Entertainment Industry--from Music to Hollywood.

1. I was in Houston visiting a friend when he pulled this book out. I was bored and started flipping through it... and then started to read it. I don't pretend to know ANYTHING about this lifestyle but I do know the book was very easy to read and very simply written - conversational style. I had no knowledge (still don't) of any of the references to hip hop or even the Hollywood references above the glaring obvious. I enjoyed reading this book and it's familiar written prose. Knowing what I know after reading it, I would buy the book. Thank you Terrance. I enjoyed it!



2. This book was just basically his life story. I did not like the book because he did not reveal any names. The clues he gives does not even give you a chance to narrow the list down. I'm glad that I checked this one out at my local library. Superhead's first book was off the chain. The second one was boring. But I'm glad that I didn't BUY the book. He doesn't even give a good description of the person's apperance. The only thing that I can say is that I believe he is gay because he was molested by a relative. His life may be quite different if he had some source of foundation growing up.



3. I have this book and I haven't finished it yet. It's pretty much about one mans struggle with what is so obvious (that he is so gay). It's pretty frustrating because he goes back and fourth so much. Then there is a point where he is only with men and describing his sex adventures. Then there is the whole spirituality struggle that he is dealing with. This book so far has really upset me with how much denial this person is in and everyone who he describes in his book. They surely don't care about the what they are doing to the black community by being on the "down low". I mean seriously if your mother and little brother had HIV/AIDS I don't think that you would be out here living this secret life, just because you want to be selfish. Like I said though I haven't finished this book and from what I hear I am only in the beginning of this book (page 123) this is still day one but I doubt I will finish it just as I tried to read that other DL book.



4. I first read about this book last year and I decided right then and there that I HAD to get a copy when it came out.I have had some of my suspicions of Hip Hop artists confirmed by this book-and it is very thought provoking,too.



5. 
   Terrance Dean dances gingerly through glass as he journeys from self-loathing to self-loving in a memoir that is at once brutally forthcoming and surprisingly discreet.
   
   He assigns aliases to the major and minor down low players in the entertainment industry, a world, as any insider knows, is about as gay as pink ink. And it's a good thing he does. Some are so thinly disguised that only the fear of self-outing is, perhaps, preventing legal action.
   
   "Hiding In Hip-Hop" is crammed with enough superstars with cover wives, rappers rolling in the hay with their homies, and enough stellar celebrities and big buff athletes same-sexing it to line a mile of red carpet. Same-sex orgies in private Hollywood Hills abodes and pick-you-out-a-man sex parties in the penthouses of Eastside Manhattan are mere weekly rituals for these brothas (and a whole lot of sistahs) who belong to an exclusive fraternity where effeminate men, overly butch women and openly gay anybodies are strictly forbidden.
   
   These hide-in-plain-site undercover homosexuals believe that they are having their cake and eating it too, but alas, the dark cloud of dishonesty, self-hatred, and the fear of discovery loom furtively above their heads.
   
   And therein lies Mr. Dean's thesis. He judges no one but himself, and in his self-disciplining he does not spare the rod.
   
   From the very beginning, his life, if it were not so tragic, seemed a cruel joke, a set-up for the kind of self-loathing that can prevent a man from loving himself as himself. Mr. Dean's early years factor greatly into his loathing of his sexual nature, just as surely as some others come to hate their dark skin, kinky hair, big noses, African roots.
   
   The first part of the book is gripping melodrama; chronicling events no child should have to go through. Born into the slums of Detroit to a prostitute mother, he was four-years-old when he had a gun put to his head by his mother's rapist when he and his grandmother happened to walk in on the assault. An adult male neighbor later sexually assaults him. His mother contracted AIDS and died of the then deadly disease while he was away at school(he was the first in his family to attend college). His baby brother, born with AIDS, died shortly thereafter.
   
   Arrested for car theft, Dean spent eight months in a Tennessee penitentiary. He remained estranged from his family, except for his beloved Grandmother Pearl. Broke and downtrodden, he resorted to drinking.
   
   Believing that his same-sex attraction was just another tarnish on his young life, he fought his desire for men with a passion.
   
   In spite of all that was going on in his life Dean had been a good student, made admirable grades and, after college, determined that he was going to turn his life around. He ended up in Hollywood, aligned himself with a female friend who was a writer's assistant on the TV show "Friends." He finally landed a job as a production assistant on the set of a porn movie.
   
   Being a hard worker who had made a Scarlet O'Hara vow to himself ("As God is my witness, I'll never go hungry again!"), Dean moved quickly through the ranks, each job better than the next, networking with the movers and shakers of the industry, where he found that most of the black men he knew had the same sexual secret as he. Once it was realized that he could be trusted, he was invited into the inner sexual circle where he found himself routinely getting it on with some of the most recognizable black male stars in the business.
   
   He soon discovered that the down low syndrome was even more pervasive in the hip-hop community, where homosexual hook-ups seemed more the rule than the exception.
   
   Eventually, the constant hiding in this secret society and constantly monitoring his conversations, careful not to use the wrong pronoun, was taking its toll. He began pulling away from the scene and meeting more openly gay men. This was beginning to have a positive effect on him. Dean writes:
   
   "These men were not hung up on what others thought of them. They were proud black gay men who lived their lives without fear or shame...They refuse to be unheard."
   
   The death of a down low friend, Kenny Greene, lead singer of the group Intro, who had broken his silence and admitted to being bisexual and having full-blown AIDS in a Sister 2 Sister magazine article convinced Dean to come out.
   
   As the founder of Men's Empowerment, Inc., an organization dedicated to self-empowering men of color and different sexual natures, Terrance Dean has turned his lemon of a life into lemonade for so many, and his book "Hiding In Hip Hop" is not simply a naughty Hollywood tell-all. It is a life lesson. In these pages we all find another way to look at that man in the mirror and like what you see. Looker: A Novel