5 comments about Burro Genius: A Memoir.

1. I bought this book a year ago, I enjoyed it tremendously, great story,many parts of the book reminded me of the time I spent in the Catholic school system of my youth. I bought three copies to give out at Christmas time. All who received a copy, also enjoyed it.
   This is a great read .People have told me that I resembled the kid on the running board of the car on the book cover.



2. I was under the impression that this book would focus on the author's triumphs over adversity (i.e. dyslexia, racism, etc.). Although the book did touch on the aforementioned themes to a certain degree, I felt that its central focus was steeped in some of the most prosaic, banal details of Villasenor's childhood. The author's writing has a way of making the most tragic experiences of Villasenor's life seem incidental. The majority of children have stories about growing up but I am not sure that they are all noteworthy enough to be chronicled in a memoir. Likewise, I think that Villasenora could have broadened his work's appeal if he would have omitted several lackluster childhood experiences. I started the book with an open mind and with each page I hoped that it would get better. Regrettably, the book did not meet my expectations.



3. I've read "Rain of Gold"(which I also recommend) and found "Burro Genius" to be just as wonderful. I recommend this book to everyone. Especially anyone of Mexican/American descent. If you've never read a book of Victor's, now's the time!



4. Excellency is the only word that describes this amazing tale! It is not Victor's fantasy but Victor's life in light of his dreams and struggles to be who he is. The Villaseñor's story is still the story of many inmmigrants, from many countries and many races. It is a redemptive experience that helps us to to keep on with life, no matter how hard it might be or turn. In a world where everything is "made" and taken for granted, Victor's creativity and desire to suceed over its limitations, emerges as a clear example for those who want to give up. It is simply remarkable! It is possible!



5. Victor's storytelling magic lies in his very natural ability to make you feel as if you are 'right there' as an observor or silent participant in the experiences and adventures he is describing. His stories are treasures because they take his Latino readers back to their own lives in this country AND they offer non-Latino readers a golden opportunity to experience life as seen through the eyes of an immigrant. This particular book, BURRO GENIUS, is just such a story. The key to understanding and feeling what Victor writes about is to try and 'check your cultural baggage at the door' and experience the stories with a clean canvas.

2 comments about Tina Turner: Break Every Rule.

1. If you want to know more about the private life of Tina Turner, buy "I, Tina" written by Tina Turner and Rolling Stone journalist Kurt Loder.
   What makes this book great is the fact that it gives you a very detailed view of Tina's recording career and the chart positions her records achieved in the US and the UK charts.
   Also a really great discography in the back of the book.
   For someone more interested in her achievements instead of her private life, I think this is a great item to add to your Tina Turner collection.



2. As a huge Tina fan, I became very excited when I heard about this book. Unfortunately, this book didn't live up to my expectations.

   I think the main flaw lies with the author's research. It doesn't appear as if he interviewed Tina or anyone connected with her. If he had, it might have made a world of difference. The book seems to be a compilation gleaned from every other Tina bio that has been written. There is very little info that hasn't been printed before. Even worse, there are numerous incorrect facts. Most of which could have been fixed had the author done better research.

   Case in point: the author states that after leaving Ike and starting her solo career, Tina never again performed the songs A FOOL IN LOVE and ITS GONNA WORK OUT FINE until they had to be re-recorded for her 1993 film biography. Not true. In a commercially-released concert home video from the late 70s, Tina indeed performs both of those songs, along with I'VE BEEN LOVING YOU TOO LONG (another song that the author claims Tina dropped after leaving Ike.)

   For those who have not read any other bios on Tina, this is a good introduction and a quick read. But those who have closely followed Tina's life and career will be hard pressed to find anything new here.

5 comments about Chaka! Through the Fire.

1. It begins kind of boring because she is talking about people we really don't care about (her relatives), but once she starts talking about her teen years, her black power years, her marriage, her sucess, it is very interesting!!! It is more like listening to her talk than it is "literary", but I'm glad to get info on Chaka anyway I can!!!



2. Recently checked out this book and thought it was not bad as celebrity memoirs go. Though the book is a collaborative effort, it is unmistakeably the voice of Chaka Khan. She frankly discusses both the successes, spoils and the pressures of an unexpectedly rapid rise to pop stardom. As the powerhouse tomboy of seventies soul music, Chaka Khan created a amazing body of work with the integrated pop/rock/soul band Rufus. On her own, she has been less successful but no less interesting. Indeed, she is now getting her well-deserved props for the white-hot trail she blazed in pop/R&B music. At the same time, she is also upfront about her legendary drug problems, romantic failings and her flaws as a parent. All told, this is a quick read, enjoyable and very down-to-earth.



3. This opening comment is directed to the writer who titled their review; "Chaka Uncut".
   
   Aretha gave birth to her first child when she was thirteen years of age. She most certainly could be Chaka's momma. As we used to say in the neighborhood a very looong time ago...."So talk what you know!"
   
   A good read. Boring if you are looking for lots of juicy details about intimate and private portions of the author's life.
   
   I believe this is an honest and forthright book that makes Chaka transparent before her fans and the world. Chaka's drug addiction and addled behavior was a well know industry secret.
   
   It's good to know she is clean and moving forward with her life. She purports to be a Christian these days. Lets all wish her the best.
   
   In Uncharacteristic Charity,
   
   Miss Ross



4. Too bad not enough people know about Chaka Khan in 2005.
   
   One great female vocalist.
   
   This is a great book.



5. I truly enjoyed this memoir written by Chaka Khan and Tonya Bolden and would recommend it to any Chaka Khan fan or anyone curious as to how this siren of song came to be and lived.
   
   I've been a Chaka fan since childhood. She is my favorite all-time vocalist. My father bought Rufus' first album but I didn't pay much attention until the second, "Rags to Rufus". Chaka's raw primal energy on the microphone had me hooked from the first guitar riff of "You Got the Love" and "Tell Me Something Good". The third album, "Rufusized", sealed my fate as a lifelong Rufus and Chaka Khan fan. I would sit, listen and ogle over the album covers for hours on end. In my naive young mind, Chaka Khan was the epitome of womanhood. I wanted to be her. All at once this woman was incredibly talented, beautiful, vivacious, tender... exuding tremendous confidence, power and an animal-like sensuality. I would shake my braids loose, dress up in my summer halter and bell-bottoms and dance about the family room doing that side-to-side-jerk-shimmy thing that was her trademark. The band's appearances on shows like Bandstand and Soul Train were moments that I lived for. My father even bought my first guitar to help appease my obsession. It was only much later that I discovered all that glitters is not gold... in regard to my idol and otherwise. My first live Chaka experience was at a mid-80's concert in the Chicago area. She was good... but clearly trashed and suffering. It broke my heart. My adulation remains however, and I'd always yearned to know her story.
   
   The thing that I enjoyed most about the book is the conveyance of her personality through the words. Her candid expression and frankness are qualities that I deeply appreciate. Her matter-of-fact sense of humor tends to come out of nowhere. From the first mention of her first-born you can sense the guilt that haunted her career, having left her child for long periods to pursue her career. Others have remarked on the brevity and lack of detail throughout some periods of her career (if not MOST of it). I would agree. Though personal and to the point, her recollections are fairly vague. I don't know if she was limited to a certain number of pages, by deadlines, or simply couldn't recall those times through the haze of substance abuse. I will say that I wished there were more... much more. (C'mon Chaka... girl if you're gonna write it... write it) Perhaps the intent was to focus on a few specific moments and what she pulled from those experiences. To the self-dubbed "in-the-moment gal", I gather everything else was irrelevant. I would like to know more about her rise with Rufus beyond the formative years, more detail on the inter-relationships (she could've devoted an entire chapter to her and Tony Maiden alone), inspiration for songs that she penned and adventures on the road. Most importantly, more on where that voice derived it's passion and fire. She seems to have completed this book for the purposes of exorcising demons, rather than putting focus on the beauty and legend that she created. In a way the book IS optimistic, in the sense that she feels that she has now gotten the upper hand on her demons. She continues to look forward, taking each day as it comes. I wish her the very best.

5 comments about I'm the One That I Want.

1. 
   The book begins with some very painful childhood experiences... she was not just bullied, she was reviled. Even at a church sponsored summer camp, she was traded off by girls who should have been her friends, but sought social acceptance by joining in Margaret's (Moran's) humiliation. There are no adults around to intercede. Her parents seem to agree with the world's negative opinion of her. It is no surprise that she drops (flunks) out of school and finds companionship among those in society's other outcast groups.
   
   There are many raw examples of what was wrong with her life. For this reason, the book is probably censored away from the many badgered and taunted teenage girls who could use these reality lessons to understand the dynamics that are working against them. Margaret figures it out finally--- after some real hard knocks lessons.
   
   I read this in succession with Steve Martin's memoir about his stand up career Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life. In contrast, Margaret's book is much more intimate, informative and graphic. While Steve says it's lonely on the road-- Margaret describes it. The vignettes about finding a room around Fordham, driving on black ice, the booing in Monroe and the off duty bell hop, and more give the reader a real feel for what happens. Similarly, she describes how TV pilots are made from the business meeting with the humorless executives who decide what comedy shows will fly, to the high priority on the actress's weight, to the lack of interaction of the star and the writers. Martin reveals none of his experiences here.
   
   This book is raw and real. Fortunately it has an affirming ending for the reader, but especially for Margaret.



2. I've always really liked Margaret Cho when I've seen her do stand-up on television. She can be extremely funny and edgy. Imagine my disappointment, then, when I listened to (most of) this CD. I couldn't even finish it, it's so bad. It's just her reading her routines, and not even doing that very well. She sounds like she's sitting alone in a studio, bored, reading from a script - no energy, no life. Don't waste your money.



3. Valley Gay Press Book Reviewer: Liz Bradbury (Author of Angel Food and Devil Dogs - A Maggie Gale Mystery)
   Margaret Cho's autobiography, a deeply personal and revealing journey through her life and career, draws you in and fascinates you. The book, written in 2001, candidly chronicles some of the most painful events imaginable. Anyone who has ever been discriminated against can relate. Cho, who is (for the most part) straight but remarkly and sincerely supportive and part of the queer community, felt the sting of anti-woman and anti-Asian prejudice from pre-school on and endured astonding "body-type" discrimination as well. She openly presents her pain, and her drug and alcohol abuse reaction to it, in a remarkably direct and frequently funny way. It's one of the few autobiographies ever that doesn't insist at the end that all the problems have been solved (autobiographers usually write that whether it's true or not.) Yet, there is a strength in Maraget Cho's words that makes the reader feel hope.
   "I'm the One That I Want," By Margeret Cho, Ballantine Books $22.95



4. i literally couldn't put the thing down. there was just nowhere that i wanted to stop! it's margaret cho's life in a nutshell and it really teaches you some things about her life that you never knew happened, that she doesn't mention in her stand-up.
   an autobiography is an autobiography. but if you love margaret cho, get this book immediately. one of the only books i actually own.



5. Margaret Cho does a great job in revealing her identity as one that is complex -- I love how she talked about her ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and race! She's not just a comedian. Or just a Korean American. Or just a woman. Or just an Asian American. Her book weaves together all those different aspects of her. I suppose I may be biased because I was already a fan of hers to begin with, but I really had a blast reading this book!

5 comments about Blue Monday: Fats Domino and the Lost Dawn of Rock 'n' Roll.

1. Blue Monday is an interesting but not a compelling read. We never get inside Fat's head to understand the man, so we get an expanded discography. The dates, times and places seem to be well researched which begins to wear after a while. The matter of fact style just does not bring Fat's personal life into focus, although there are many descriptions of incedents about him. He remains a mystery in reference to his personal motivation, dual life style, and reclusive habits.
   Russ H.



2. I guess if Antoine "Fats" Domino could keep the President and First Lady waiting, then he could keep us waiting for his first biography - this is a Natural Born book about a musical genius, intriquing personality, and unassuming cultural revolutionary.
   The author tells his story and includes many entertaining anecdotes about life at home and on the road with several sets of support players - the greatest names of course being Dave Bartholomew, Herb Hardesty, and Lee Allen. We get a strong picture of the smiling, "safe" rock and roller, as the often defiant man's-man. And a complex artist/showman: he could sing The Rooster Song while flashing rings to make Freddie Blassie envious.
   A great bunch of previously unpublished black and white photographs from Look magazine, among other handsome prints of lesser known shots really bolster the text.
   A serious ommission for the audiophiles: not even a selected discography and no sessionography. [Though there are "Notes" in the back of the book on the mysterious Broadmoor recordings, including personnale and dates!]. Of course the '50s period sessions can be found as a booklet in the Bear Family 8-CD set, and in a European book, "Jazz Records"; also in a fairly recent issue of Goldmine magazine. But Fats Domino ABC-Paramount, Mercury, Broadmoor and Reprise FD session data has never, to my knowledge, appeared in print, and what a fabulous component that would have made.
   Speaking of the ABC-Paramount tracks, the author did not mention in the text a very important 4-CD set, "The Paramount Years", which included the *incredibly* rare fourth l.p. for that label, plus the 1980 "If I Get Rich" from another record company!
   The idea that "The Fat Man" is the first R & R record also doesn't agree with me. Yes, the elements are there, the upbeat shuffle and bright lead vocal, but that powerful sound (and many others by Fats in that '49 to '54 period) were not *primarily* for the youth. The first discs to be produced for teenage tastes came much later. I wouldn't even include "Tutti Frutti" in that category, as it too, lyrically and instrumentally echoed an earlier, "swingin'" sound. [It was "Ready Teddy" folks which screamed out...Rock and Roll!!!].
   Still, this book should be "required reading" for those dedicated followers of those Rock and Roll Hall of Famers.



3. From his first record in 1949 until his harrowing escape from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Antoine "Fats" Domino has defined New Orleans and its culture. This book puts Fats, his city, and his music into perspective in amazing detail. In the process, Rick Coleman convincingly demonstrates that Fats and his collaborators--especially songwriter/arranger Dave Bartholomew and producer Cosimo Matassa--have as solid a claim as Elvis, Carl, and Jerry Lee with Sam Phillips in Memphis or Wolf, Muddy, and Chuck with the Chess brothers in Chicago as the prime architects of rock 'n' roll. The product of more than 20 years of exhaustive research, this is, surprisingly, the first biography of one of the greatest early rock stars. Coleman had his work cut out for him; Fats is notoriously reclusive. Nevertheless, you come away from this book admiring Fats's talent and drive, and Coleman's exhaustive research and evocative writing. All the other great Louisiana rockers are here--the bayou wild men, backwoods musical savants, and forgotten honkers, shouters, string-benders, and drum-thumpers who helped create the Crescent City sound. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to understand the real, complete history of rock 'n' roll instead of the revisionist pap that passes for such. -Mark Hoffman, co-author of "Moanin' at Midnight: The Life and Times of Howlin' Wolf"



4. Rick Coleman's new book "Blue Monday" is the first full biography of Fats Domino. Many interesting things are therein.
   - Fats was the first black rock & roll star. His records made the pop charts before r&r's dawn in 1955.
   - Kids did not buy albums in the 50s, but Fats' albums sold, meaning he had an adult following like Louis Armstrong's.
   - Fats concerts were often scenes of teenage riots. He may be known for `Blueberry Hill,' but his fierce rolling piano ignited his audience.
   - "Blueberry Hill" was the product of a botched session. Engineer Bunny Robyn edited together the best parts of several incomplete takes and simply repeated the chorus.
   - The string-laden "Walkin' To New Orleans" was a big breakthrough which traditionalists lamented. But it hit R&B (#2) even higher than pop (#6).
   - Roy Brown once ditched a plan to have Fats open for him on tour. Fats never forgot it, and refused to have Brown open shows for him when the tables were turned.
   
   Of the Big Five (EP, FD, CB, JLL, LR), Fats is the least lionized because he was not a "rebel." Historians normally embrace only people with bold lifestyles.



5. Boy ol Boy, Rick Coleman has written a great book on the TRUE story of Rock & Roll! I know as I was there and if you want to know what it was really like to be on the scene when true rock & roll was called race music on a juke box, Boogie Woogie and the down home blues was taking over the country then get this book and turn others on to it also. No one person was more responsible for the birth of R&R and R&B than the Fat Man! This was long before Elvis, Haley and the hand full of others came on the bandwagon. [...]

5 comments about Rebel for the Hell of It: The Life of Tupac Shakur.

1. this book was not well thought out. it was just an attempt to sound intelligent, but failed. the purpose of a book the should be to enlighten your readers not with big sounding words but with good ones that best describe the situation you are trying to get across. to me the book had nothing to do with tupac, it dealt with the author's lack of ability to put words together to form a sentence that could capture his audience. he just used the icon's name to sell his book, and true we fell for it, the true fans of tupac. we try so hard to grasp hold on anything and anyone that can give us more facts than we already have, so it pains me when people do things like this book which was so so so poorly written. i would hate to have a face to face conversation with him. PAC will always be in our hearts, thoughts and thanks to the real Gs he will be on our radios, TVs, VCRs & DVDs. as PAC would say, "NEVER IGNORANT GETTING GOALS ACCOMPLISHED."



2. A great x-ray of Tupac and a much better book than Michael Eric Dyson's foolish cashing-in on a dead rapper's tattooed body. A lot of stupid stuff has been written by the VIBE and Village/Stone people who just want to make money off 'Pac. REBEL makes you understand Tupac's confusion and the analysis of the rap lyrics are the best I've ever read about a rap star. (The chapter on "Dear Mama" should be included in every school literature class.) I recommend this book to anybody who loves 'Pac and loves hiphop. When Dyson's stupid book goes the way of the dodo, REBEL will still be read. It's the most serious and amazing Tupac book anyone could want.



3. a dude like pac only come around once (maybe twice) a life. get this book. it have pictures too.



4. Ever since the first time I heard 2pac rapping with Digital Underground. I feel in love with the lyrics he put out from Brendas got a baby, to Got keep your head up! And so many more. No matter what people though of him as being the THUG N***** he was somebody real. When others never understood where 2pac was coming from he made music that everybody could groove to and understand. He's the one who put potery to its most. The day he passed a way felt like I had lost some one I knew and loved. I'am a true Tupac lover and only wish he was still here blessing everyone and even ME with his True words of wisdom. It's been almost six years since his death and no matter if he's dead or alive he'll continue to put out the music he so muched loved to do and the music everybody loved. This is a man that should've e still been here and listening to his new ablum makes me think if he is still alive and if you are may GOD be with you and you with him in your deepest glory. Bury me as a "G" RIP I LOVE YOU TUPAC. L-Boogie and S Loc OKC



5. Ever since the first time I heard 2pac rapping with Digital Underground. I feel in love with the lyrics he put out from Brendas got a baby, to Got keep your head up! And so many more. No matter what people though of him as being the THUG N***** he was somebody real. When others never understood where 2pac was coming from he made music that everybody could groove to and understand. He's the one who put potery to its most. The day he passed a way felt like I had lost some one I knew and loved. I'am a true Tupac lover and only wish he was still here blessing everyone and even ME with his True words of wisdom. It's been almost six years since his death and no matter if he's dead or alive he'll continue to put out the music he so muched loved to do and the music everybody loved. This is a man that should've e still been here and listening to his new ablum makes me think if he is still alive and if you are may GOD be with you and you with him in your deepest glory. Bury me as a "G" RIP I LOVE YOU TUPAC. L-Boogie, OKC

2 comments about An Illuminated Life: Belle da Costa Greene's Journey from Prejudice to Privilege.

1. Serious bibliophiles know that J.P. Morgan's Library (The Morgan Library & Museum is its current name) is the holy shrine of book collecting - the greatest archive of rare books, historical and literary original manuscripts, exquisite medieval illuminated manuscripts, music manuscripts, fine art drawings, ancient seals, etc... in the Western Hemisphere - and perhaps the world. Belle da Costa Greene, as one of the primary forces in molding the collection, and the institution's first director, would be worthy of note for that role alone. But Belle is far more. She was a brilliant art historian, whose tastes and scholarship made a real impact on bibliography and art criticism. She was also a coquettish beauty and epic flirt, whose long and literary infatuations (particularly the torrid one with the titanic art critic Bernard Berenson) are worthy of note. She's also worthy of note as a pioneering independent woman in a field dominated by men. Ultimately, however, it's her ambiguous and troubling racial identity for which she is best known.
   
   The fact is that Belle Greene's father, Richard Greener, was the first African American graduate of Harvard University. Greener had a distinguished but troubled career as a civil rights leader - ending up estranged from his family and serving as a diplomat in Vladivostok. Belle's mother took the family across the racial line in Belle's late childhood and they all passed as white. So Belle was raised as a black in her early childhood and as a white in her late childhood. She attended Amherst and Princeton as a white (obviously, since Princeton wouldn't have a black graduate until 1951). She worked very closely with J.P. Morgan - a man of very traditional racial and ethnic biases. (J.P. Morgan famously wouldn't meet with Joe Kennedy (JFK's father, and director of the NY Stock Exchange at the time) because he was Irish). She also had a close professional relationship with Jack Morgan - J.P.'s son and CEO of the Morgan empire through its period of greatest power - who had even more conservative views than his father. Belle traversed the world of high society, constantly attending the cultural events, parties, and dinners of the NY elite 400. How she reconciled race, power, prestige, and her own identity is a fascinating subject. Heidi Ardizzone treats the subject with admirable finesse - particularly her lovely postmodern racial sensibility that the label of "blackness" was prejudicial and punitive - that the notion of "passing" is limited and obsolete. No one should be quick to judge Belle for her actions, given that the question of which of her roughly equal mix of white and black ancestries should take precedence is a racist question to begin with. The issue of dishonor in not acknowledging race is complicated by the amoral quality of wrongful discrimination in the categorizing of race to begin with.
   
   Belle is a tough subject for a biography because she burned all her papers near the end of her life - a romantic and extravagant gesture for a romantic and extravagant woman. Ardizzone pulls a rabbit out of hat in creating a detailed biography by sheer grit and determination. She has combed all the archives of those who conversed with Belle (at a time when everyone was prolific letter writers and the letters of important people were often saved). Bernard Berenson's archives contained 400 of Belle's letters - but Ardizzone went far further. She takes historical sources of all kinds from the places she knew Belle was to reconstruct parts of Belle's life for which there are no primary sources. The end result has pockets of speculation, but a remarkable wealth of detail. The whole thing is rigorously end-noted. I'll confess that sometimes I found it had too much detail slowing the narrative pace - but Belles amazing life makes the bit of persistence necessary worth the (sometimes) effort. Ardizzone isn't too dry. I love the moment where she punctuates a combative exchange between powerful women with the decidedly un-academic narrative flourish "Meow"! Ultimately, it's easy to recommend this book to anyone with a taste for biography and an interest in art history, The Morgan, or identity politics.



2. In 1911 one Bella da Costa Greene made New York newspaper headlines by buying a book from one of Britain's finest printers, succeeding at a high-profile auction which allowed her to walk away with the book for half of what her employer had authorized her to pay, despite aggressive bidding. She would spend some forty years at her employer's resulting library and become its first director - but the real story of her achievement, which includes her African-American heritage, lack of formal art education, and bohemian lifestyle, remained hidden until now. AN ILLUMINATED LIFE charts her rise to culture and prosperity and provides an extraordinary, gripping memoir of an amazing woman which is perfect for any general interest library strong in biographical memoirs, art history, or even Afro-American notable figures.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch

5 comments about Forbidden Fruit: Love Stories from the Underground Railroad.

1. These are not "stories" persay. There is no dialogue or charachter development. The book is all narrated. Rather, they are historical and factual accounts of slaves' lives (that involve escaping or other HUGE sacrifices or risks--done for the sake of love). The author has done alot of research and the accounts are very good and very heavy on history. She gives alot of dates and information about legislation/laws and social atmosphere. I do highly recommend this book--if you are looking for what I described.



2. This book is so well written that I felt like I was right there as the stories unfolded. Betty has great skill at this. I live in the metro area where she wrote for the local daily paper. She is so talented and this book needs to be read by anyone interested in this era. Extraordinary book.



3. This book contains not only love stories, but inspiring stories of faith, strength, endurance and resilience as well as stories of suffering and heartache. The book is written by a jouralist which is evident in the historical details of the unfolding stories. I found it interesting, entertaining , informative and educational. I am a minister and used it in a Bible study on the subject of "eros."



4. FORBIDDEN FRUIT: Love Stories from the Underground Railroad by Betty DeRamus is an earth-shaking book of short stories about what African Americans were willing to do to keep their loved ones in their lives. In "The Special Delivery Package," a female slave, Lear Green, was willing to have herself shipped in a sailor's chest to the north to meet her husband-to-be. With no food, water and scant air, she traveled 18 hours to Philadelphia. James Smith, "A Love Worth Waiting For," was beaten bloody on several occasions as he attempted to escape to the wife he'd been sold away from. A black overseer heard him praying for him and the white men who abused him and was so moved that he unchained Smith so that he could finally successfully escape. Isaac Berry, of "Hound Dogs Hate Red Pepper," put red pepper in his shoes to throw the dogs off his scent as he rushed toward the north. There were many people, including those of the Underground Railroad, who helped him in his escape. The Underground Railroad, operating at the peril of the conductors, rushed slaves seeking freedom across the US border into Canada because the Fugitive Slave laws frequently made it dangerous, if not impossible, for them to find peace even in the northern United States.
   
   All of the stories were heart wrenching and it made you wonder if you would have the strength, the persistence, the nerve, that these early Africans had to pursue love at any cost. The tales also brought to the forefront the tragedies that our ancestors survived daily: beatings, being sold from family and friends, early death from abuse, starvation and terror. Ms. DeRamus brings the stories of these brave people alive and puts it in your face where you can't hide. She awakens the sleeping and lost history of the brave people of Africa and what it took for them to survive. It is an excellent read, smooth and enticing, bringing forth not only the history, but the bravery of the displaced Africans of yesteryear. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand what slavery was really all about.
   
   Reviewed by Alice Holman
   of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers



5. I was hooked on this one when I picked it up. I was just going to read a paragraph or two to see how it reads. The next thing I knew the phone was ringing, and when I answered the phone, I realized that I had been reading for a couple of hours. I had to control my urges to pick up the book when I had appointments or other things I needed to do first. It is a really interesting read. And it reads well also.

1 comments about The Birth of African-American Culture: An Anthropological Perspective.

1. 'The Birth of African-American Culture: An Anthropological Perspective' is an early 1970s reaction to the `swift' establishment of Afro-American and Black Studies programmes within the U.S. American Universities, in the aftermath of the Civil Rights Movement. Its authors-Sidney Mintz and Richard Price-feared that, with the `explosion' of general interest in Black History, ideological concerns might sidetrack the invaluable `scholarly quest' previously established by the likes of W.E.B. Du Bois and Zora Neale Hurston (in the U.S.A.) Jean Price-Mars (in Haiti) or Fernando Ortiz (in Cuba) to name a few. Therefore, 'The Birth of African-American Culture' cautiously offers strategies/approaches to study the Afro-American past that would do justice to the complexity of the subject. Its central thesis, supported both by documentary material and speculation, is straightforward: continuities between the so-called `Old' and `New' Worlds must be established on a comprehension of the `basic conditions' under which the migrations of `enslaved Africans' took place.
   Today, that the analysis of the development of Afro-American culture should focus on `process' is no longer an issue; the works of renowned scholars such as Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Lawrence W. Levine are a testimony to it. In a sense, these academics vindicate Mintz and Price who, two decades earlier, have emphasised the need for more analytical subtlety, flexibility, and sound socio-historical research in Afro-American Studies. What is more, Mintz and Price are aware of the book's achievement, even though, in its 1992 re-edition, caution is still strong in the way they reassert their belief in a two decade-old thesis. For example, in the new preface, Mintz and Price repeat that the unavoidable fact in the study of Afro-America is `the humanity of the oppressed, and the inhumanity of the systems that oppressed them.' Both believe that such oppression `has by no means ended should be clear to everyone, as it is to us.'
   The text of 'The Birth of African-American Culture', including introduction and conclusion, is eighty-five pages long; yet amazingly it covers a broad range of complex issues focused on slave society, from the origins and beginnings of Afro-American societies and cultures to questions of kinship and sex roles therein. In their rigorously balanced, albeit too tentative at times, analysis of Afro-American Culture the authors rightfully argue that the transfer of culture intact from Africa to the Americas is more fiction than reality. Mintz and Price believe that `Retentions' and `Survivals' are more the exception than the rule in any group's transport of beliefs and values from one locale to another (Europeans included).
   The Birth of African-American Culture is thought provoking; it is still very useful in the scholarship on slavery, and issues of the origins and development of Afro-American culture. It is also a must-read for those Africans who refuse to be carelessly melted in the pot of global Blackness. Because of never-ending and multifaceted oppression, contemporary Africans and Afro-Americans still need to negotiate an awful number of complex issues before being `brothers' and `sisters': it has been so for centuries despite the numerous bonds that (do) exist between members of the Black Diaspora. Like Mintz and Price, it is my profound conviction that `the nature of oppression, while obvious in its most familiar forms, involves subtleties as well, one of these being the way it divides and confuses honest [souls] by perpetuating suspicion and fear.' However, in its future editions, 'The Birth of African-American Culture''s authors need to:
   (1) Go beyond offering startegies/approaches to the study of the Afro-American past, and present results of such studies, albeit selectively, if only to corroborate and strengthen their own thesis/be bolder in their arguments. I believe that Mintz and Price missed this opportunity two decades after the first publication of their book but, still, it can be done;
   (2) Spend time to explain to the reader how `Caribbeanist' scholars like themselves can write about (Afro-) `American' culture. In other words the intertwined issues of what `America' is, what `Americans' are and how they relate to the subject matter of 'The Birth of African-American Culture' must be tackled in much detail and clarity.

5 comments about The Fire Next Time (Hrw Library).

1. The Fire Next Time (1963) by James Baldwin begins with "My Dungeon Shook", a letter to his nephew; a `let's keep it real' moment between elder and youth. Baldwin informs to his nephew that because of the color of his skin, white America has cast him in a role in which he has no control:
   
   "You were born into a society....You were not expected to aspire to excellence; you were expected to make peace with mediocrity."
   
   The selection that follows, "Down At The Cross", offers a flashback to Baldwin's most impressionable adolescent years where he vividly recounts the state of affairs of black folk in Harlem:
   
   "For the wages of sin were visible everywhere, in every wine-stained...hallway, in every clanging ambulance bell..., in every helpless, newborn baby being brought into this danger, in every...fight on the Avenue, and in every disastrous bulletin: a cousin, mother of six, suddenly gone mad, the children parcelled out here and there; an indestructible aunt rewarded for years of hard labor by a slow agonizing death in a terrible small room..."
   
   This then broadens into a frank discussion concerning faith, which consumes the remainder of the book. From Baldwin's religious enlightenment and conversion, to his meeting with Elijah Muhammed, to his views on the treatment of the American Negro, you will discover what makes this book such an interesting read.
   
   The Fire Next Time is an exploration into the complexities of the 1960s through the thoughts of one of the most significant Black writers of the time.



2. The Fire Next Time is a wonderful collection of 2
   spirited essays on Baldwin's evolution from a naive
   church boy into a spirited man. His journey leads
   him to question his relationship with Christ and
   particularly Christianity. He truly believes that
   one should not be drawn into a particular religion
   out of fear but out of love for humanity.
   
   His beliefs on the acceptance of others and racial
   equality are provocative and yet sorely needed in
   today's mixed-up world. However, I believe that
   Baldwin is almost utopic to the point of being
   naive in believing that racism will one day
   completely evaporate, though I do believe that
   things have gotten better. Still, it's truly sad
   that this book and his work has been swept under
   the rug but Baldwin always seems to amaze me with
   his thought-provoking outlook on life. This book
   is a gem of a novel, an easy read and his underlying
   message of believing in humanity is sure to be praised
   by open-minded readers for years to come.



3. I had to read this book, as many people told me if your a reader this is one you must not simply read but own. So I got it and started reading. It never really grabbed me, but I made it through. I plan to read it again within at a different time.



4. The man knew what he was talking about, when he said the U S would burn because of racial discord.



5. My sense is that Baldwin wrote The Fire Next Time for anyone who had ears to hear, regardless of color or faith or gender. The emotional intelligence with which he speaks is riveting.