4 comments about Huey: Spirit of the Panther.

1. this is a good book for someone that doesn't know jack about the panthers. it touches on all the main points. i think fredericka newton puts a little too much dirty laundry out there, but then again, i didn't have to live with huey. i think she's earned the right to say whatever she damn well pleases. the main point for someone that doesn't know anything, isn't to judge the panthers, but to realize that through the force of a sense of justice and passion and commitment, the panthers went from semi-delusional youngsters who wanted to play at being superheroes, to growing, evolving, changing and becoming an army of justice for the overall black community. soldiers were killed. propoganda was disseminated, the u.s. govt. did everything they could to take them down and drive them apart. but in the final analysis, the "army" of the panthers laid their bodies down, fed, clothed, educated, nationalized and internationalized the struggle... and thus.. every black man and woman who breathes air today, is that much more advanced and able to walk upright due to the battles won by the panthers. yes, huey was only human. but you only have to scratch the surface of black history to understand the man, his angels, demons and choices. like i said. a good book for someone that wants to take a nice shortcut in their journey to understanding the black experience as seen through the eyes of the panthers.



2. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. are the two faces of the Civil Rights Movement that people identify with but the mainstream media undermines the heroic significance of Huey P. Newton and the organization he created, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. A revolutionary, leftist organization that fought for education, affordable housing, justice and combated police brutality, amongst other things. Due to under-documentation, David Hilliard's biographical account of Newton is well received and a breath of fresh air.
   
   While Hilliard documents the principles in which the Black Panther Party was founded on (the chapter on how Huey confronted the police with shotgun in hand is brilliant), Newton's legal troubles, the rift between Newton and Elridge Cleaver, and the constant surveillance Newton was under by the FBI very well, the book contains three flaws.
   
   1) The style of the writing isn't very captivating and is sometimes spoken in the first person, which sometimes makes it sound like a novice's personal journal. 2) Due to the fact that it is in first person at times and Hilliard is actually a surviving member of the Black Panthers, he does not present the material from a neutral perspective. More elaboration on how Huey was perceived by the media and people (interesting fact on how Richard Pryor paid for his rehab) would of been a welcomed addition. 3) There is a lack of detail in Huey's personal life. There's very little mention of his childhood, very little mention of his marriage and vague details surrounding his death. It doesn't explain the sequence of events. Who did it? Was he captured? Was there an investigation? How did the media cover the story? What is the consensus?
   
   As with every other human being, Huey was a flawed individual and aspects of his drug addiction is only discussed towards the end of the book, even though it has been something that has been prevalent throughout his entire life.
   
   For those who do not know the man behind the shotgun and the spear, should still pick up the book for basic recollections that are often misrepresented and swept under the rug. Huey was a courageous man with great influence that fought for a better country and diminish poverty. Either that or pick up Revolutionary Suicide.



3. As an authorized biography of Huey P. Newton, written by his longtime comrade David Hilliard, "Huey: Spirit of the Panther" presents the most thorough, friendly account of Newton, his ideas, his struggles and his downfall. Unfortunately, because Newton's life was so eventful, intersecting with all the major political, social and cultural of the late 1960s and early 1970s, many things are going to be overlooked. Also, because of Hilliard's closeness to the subject, we are not clearly presented with the reasons, legitimate or not, why Reagan or the FBI/the Nixon administration wanted to destroy him, no matter how obvious their racist/capitalist motives might seem. I found myself wanting to know exactly how Newton was portrayed in the mainstream press. But since Hilliard and co-writers Keith and Kent Zimmerman (who also co-wrote one of my favorite rock autobiographies, John Lydon's "Rotten" [1995]) are more concerned with the intimate details of Newton's life, as well they should, his biography lacks a more global, dialectical vision of the man, what he represented, and how people (ab-)used him for their own political advantage.
   
   Because Hilliard, one of the few surviving founding leaders of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was in the trenches with Newton, he has access to some excellent behind-the-scenes information. He does an excellent retelling of the James Frey shooting that landed Newton a three-year prison term. He also presents FBI and COINTELPRO documents, forged by the government in part to break-up the relationship between Newton and Eldridge Cleaver, adding a new wrinkle to their fraught friendship. He tells about how the FBI rented the apartment across from Newton's Penthouse for the sole purpose of spying on him. He finds it curious that blueprints of Newton's apartment were found in raids on SLA compounds in 1974 (but, unlike Elaine Brown, does not speculate that they were a counterrevolutionary group created by COINTELPRO). He also gives a wonderful account of Newton's exile in Cuba during the mid-1970s.
   
   Where Hilliard's book lacks punch is in the details he overlooks. He skims through Newton's childhood in Louisiana and his adolescence in Oakland. He doesn't talk about the regimentation of the Black Panther members' lifestyle (a model, early on, based on the Nation of Islam's dietary code), which was, apparently, contradicted by Newton's own problems with alcohol and controlled substances (Hilliard does not say if Newton did anything more than drink during while he actively lead the BPP, though he was in direct contact with some of Oakland's major drug dealers). Hilliard, in large part trying to protect the dignity of his fallen comrade, doesn't focus much on this life in the 1980s, after the Panthers had effectively dissolved (though he does talk about how Newton got his Ph.D. from UC Santa Cruz).
   
   That being said, the last two chapters--one a recounting of Huey's last days by his second wife Fredericka--show Newton, sadly, as a hopeless drug addict. The chapter does not forwardly state that he was addicted to crack, but implies it. This could have been an opportunity for Hilliard to talk about the infiltration of hard drugs into Oakland and other black urban centers in the 1970s and 1980s. These final two chapters humanize Newton, and they are tragically sad to read. These aspects of Newton's personality (who was, later in life, apparently diagnosed as bipolar), his excessiveness and his need for adrenaline, are not fully pursued throughout the preceding chapters. In the final chapter, Hilliard admits his own problems with substance abuse. Hilliard makes reference to himself several times throughout the biography, and it leaves me wishing that he would have said more about his role in the Panther Party and his relationship with Newton. I do not think this would in any wya make him seem self-important. Following the tragedy of his "reactionary" descent into drug abuse, Hilliard ends the book with a celebrated passage from Newton's autobiography, where he defines his idea of "revolutionary suicide." It is a fitting way to conclude the biography.
   
   While Hilliard's book is filled with wonderful inside information, it doesn't quite precisely articulate just how crazy his life was, especially during the period after he was released from prison in 1970. There was a lot of pressure on him from supporters and (government) detractors alike. Also, as I said earlier, there is just too much information that is left out, owing to the vastness of the Black Panther Party and the revolutionary movements of the times (Hilliard says there were BPP chapters, at one point, in 47 of the 50 United States). Criticisms aside, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this tumultous but necessary moment in America's history and to anybody fascinated with the visionary genius of Huey Newton, who ultimately rejected the term "revolution" in favor of "the transformation of society." Other books I highly recommend: Huey P. Newton's "Revolutionary Suicide," Elaine Brown's "A Taste of Power" and Eldridge Cleaver's "Soul on Ice."



4. This book should be taught in ALL college level US History courses. Not "special interest" African American studies courses, but mainstream education.
   
   It is EVERY CITIZEN OF THIS COUNTRY'S United States Government that it is revealed in this book. It is a moment in history never to be forgotten so that in this democratic society we do not ever yield to or turn a blind eye to such explicit violence and corruption; something we are still too close to today.
   
   Huey, Spirit of the Panther is a thoroughly referenced, footnoted historic documentation of the strategic workings of the US Government's branches of the Criminal Justice System and the Federal Bureau of Investigations to maintain an unjust and supremacist status quo. The mainstream needs to know and understand this history. White people, specifically, need to understand police brutality, unlawful arrest, explicit oppression of dark skinned people by the local, state and federal governing bodies of this country.
   
   People of all races will greatly benefit from understanding the true ideology-not the sensationalized FICTION that the state and federal governments succeeded in portraying in mainstream media-of the Black Panther Party and its critical contribution to this very important moment in the struggle for freedom in a white supremacist country.
   
   Huey, Spirit of the Panther reveals Huey P. Newton's true vision and his ideology for social transformation. We learn that Huey P. Newton was a revolutionary who understood that a revolution will not happen overnight, it is a constant work in progress. There is much to learn from his ideology: it is not about a war between any one organization and the oppressor but a war between the oppressor and those who are being oppressed.
   
   Thank you David Hilliard for this crucial historic document.

5 comments about The Storyteller's Daughter: One Woman's Return to Her Lost Homeland.

1. The Storyteller's Daughter is a tale of high adventure--a tough-minded, fearless and obviously incredibly fit woman travels with the mujahaddin in Afghanistan as they fight the Soviet army. What is even more compelling about this book is the insight we get into the growth of radical Islam and the woeful lack of understanding by western participants/observers as this struggle was going on--with enormous consequences for today, of course.



2. An absolutely delicious story! Afghanistan's lore and legend come to life in the author's own accounts of her bold adventures as a woman on the fronts of danger in Afghanistan. It being true made it all the more fun. I really could not put this book down; it is a fascinating tale that includes intrigue, suspense, and a uniquely satire sense of humor sprinkled throughout. Saira Shah transports the reader to a foreign land, a foreign way of life, a foreign way of thought. Yet, the tales echo familiar as she gives a spectacular presentation of the clash between mystical historical lore, modern day realities, and the blend of these two realms on humanity's culture, mind, and heart.



3. I am currently in Kabul, and have read almost every English-language book on Afghanistan that is popularly available. I have also lived in Kabul and traveled to Feyzbad, Kandahar,Mazar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad, Kunduz and along the Uzbek Border. I speak mediocre Dari. Among the books that I enjoyed were those by Saira Shah's grandmother (try "My Khyber Life") and her father, Idris Shah. The same cannot be said for Saira Shah's. Shah' work, however. Part of my complaint was that the book isn't about anything much - its just a list of what she claims were her experiences in and near Afghanistan. I would compare them to a series of interesting letters detailing what I did on my afghan vacation. What they don't provide is insight into what was happening in Afghanistan or Peshawar, why, or what is going on now, or much cultural or historical information.
   
   My other, more serious complaint, is that I think most of the book is not true, and that Ms. Shah either made it up entirely, seriously exaggerated or "borrowed" the story from someone else's experience. The issue is not that the book was not entertaining, because it was, but that I strongly suspect that it is entertaining only because she changed (or created) the facts to make it so.
   
   Too much of what she claims were her experiences in Afghanistan are general stories one hears here (such as the time she met a Mullah who spoke Arabic while claiming to be an Arab man. She says that he started faking speaking Arabic, and she pretended to understand him, so he declared them Arabs to keep his lie of Arabic proficiency and prestige that went with it. This story of two language frauds is heard in many incarnations. I even heard one in a German-language book I read 10 years ago in Austria. Also, some mountain mullahs do speak some Arabic. They may not be fluent, but they know a little bit and would spot someone who didn't, the same way you would if the only Spanish you knew was "what is your name?" and when you asked someone who claimed to be a Spaniard they didn't understand. She might have also been expected to talk to her companions and pray in Arabic - it would seem strange if she did neither, and if there is any Arabic people know here, its prayers).
   
   Another example of an improbable event is when she tells of a Buzgashi game during which the players rode their horses into the tent holding "the Great and the Good" and collapsed the tent on them. I'm guessing all of the spectators weren't the "Great and the Good," but it makes a better story if they were. Also, although Buzgashi is compared to polo, but it is really a lot more violent. All of the horses are stallions, and taught to kick and bite each other. The only rule for the players is no eye gouging. The game set-up is sort of like a race, as the player holding the goat as to ride around certain points before he can make a goal, and the others ride alongside trying to stop him. I play horse polo and have watched Buzgashi, and although a horse might run away, the whole group of players could avoid running into a spectator's tent (I've also never seen a tent for spectators, but maybe they really had that in Pakistan). If they were out of control, horses by instinct would head for open space or for home, not into an unknown tent full of people. If by some fluke a horse or horses did run into the tent, it would not have been funny. People would have been hurt, and probably killed - the same goes for the horses. If the horses just took out the tent supports, they still would have tripped, fallen and seriously injured themselves and their riders.
   
   
   Other stories just don't make sense - Dari is an older version of Farsi, it's true, but it''s not so ancient that people say "entomb thyself' instead of "take cover" as Ms Shah claims Afghans do. If Ms Shah met an Afghan who wanted her to take cover he would say "Hide!" "Get Down!" or "Cover!" He would only tell her to entomb herself if he wanted to her bury herself. It makes a quaint story about ancient languages and confusions cased by language, but it isn't true (I asked one of guards who work her at my office in Kabul, and who was previously a soldier for15 years and he agreed). By Ms. Shah's own admission her Dari wasn't so great, which makes me question if she would have understood an archaic command such as "entomb thyself," even if someone had spoken it. I also doubt that Ms.Shah spent so much time in men's clothes without anyone noticing - if she didn't have a beard, or stubble, or know how to pray with the men, they would eventually notice. From a distance I'm sure she blended in, and it would work short-term, but if she kept up for too long her secret would be out. I'm sure she did travel in men's gear, but I'm also sure it wasn't for as long as she implied, or as successfully. I used to "cross dress" in Saudi and it took abut 20 minutes before the strangers around me in the junk souk were certain I wasn't a man. There are may other such instances I doubt Ms. Shah truthfulness and stories that are too good to be true. (I was so angry when I was reading the book that I kept a list), but in the interest of a somewhat shorter review I'll stop at those examples. More generally, I find it unlikely that Ms. Shah's experience always fit so neatly into a "story,"or that her stock character friends (the rebellious Afghan girl who wants to be free, the prescient professor who sees the dangers ahead but is ignored by leaders etc.) always had the "inside scoop" and told it to her in short sound bites capturing the entire situation, or that she so frequently found herself in a situation so perfectly primed for maximum effect.
   
   
   The only part of the book that is not like this is near the end, when Ms. Shah brings a television crew to film two girls (she included them in an earlier news piece after their mother was raped and killed in front of them, and the resulting interest in their fate from paying news agencies promoted a return trip to try and help them and tape said efforts for a TV channel), by providing schooling for them, only to find them afraid to leave home and their father reluctant to let them go. This was messy, morally compromising and a without a real resolution, which makes me think it is the most true section of the book. The rest is neat, pat, a little funny sometimes tragic, and, in my opinion, almost always "enhanced," if not completely fabricated.
   
   In short read one of the many, many good books out there by the many, many truthful writer based in fact. They might not be quite so perfect and their writers not quite so in the middle of thing, but they are also more likely to be true, and you will therefore get more out of them.



4. Part memoir, part reportage, this beautifully written book is also an inquiry into the nature of myth, identity, and the limits of human endurance. Born in England and raised on the memories of her Afghan father's homeland, the author journeys as a young journalist to Afghanistan during the Soviet Occupation in the 1980s, traveling with the mujahidin rebels, who with massive infusions of weapons from the CIA eventually drive out the Russians and then quickly succumb again to an equally destructive civil war and the inevitable tyranny of the Taliban. A witness to these struggles and the widespread human misery they caused, Shah is present again in 2002 as the Americans retaliate in response to the 9/11 attacks.
   
   Through it all, she ponders her deep identification with the people of this war-torn land, fired by the cultural myths that have sustained them through millenia of invasions, occupations, and civil strife, where fierce tribal allegiances and a fatalistic fearlessness make death, brutality, and suffering a common experience. Over a period of 15 years, her belief in the myths is tested, and she begins to fully comprehend not only the immensity of the human cost of the war but the extreme difficulty of making a difference for those of its casualties most in need of help.
   
   Writing with a skilled reporter's powers of acute observation and an ability to convey images of people, places, and events in vivid and compelling prose, Shah interweaves stories, Afghan poems and sayings, and even humor, with accounts of her work as a journalist behind the lines. Readers unfamiliar with the last 50 years of Afghan history may be disoriented as Shah tells her own story, skipping as it does from one point in time to another. But read along with books like Christina Lamb's "The Sewing Circles of Herat" and Jason Eliot's "An Unexpected Light," she provides insights into her subject that are revealing, moving, and often riveting. Definitely recommended.



5. This book is one of the best books I have read. It was touching and made me realise what an amazing life Saira Shah has led. After I closed the book, I could not pick up annother book for a couple of days - I did not want to spoil the feeling it had left me with. This book will move you, make you think and touch you.
   I loved it!

5 comments about The World Don't Owe Me Nothing: The Life and Times of Delta Bluesman Honeyboy Edwards.

1. This is a biography about a blues singer named Honeyboy Edwards who was a contemporary of blues legend the late Robert Johnson. I became interested in his history when I saw a documentary on Robert Johnson's life containing interview footage of Honeyboy Edwards. The lives of musicians in the 20's, 30's and 40's tend to be fascinating and this is no exception. It is a great read.



2. AS A BLUES HISTORIAN AND GUITAR COLLECTOR I HAVE MANY BLUES RELATED BOOKS IN MY COLLECTION. THIS BOOK HOWEVER MUST RATE AT THE TOP OF THE PILE. WHAT FANTASTIC FLOWING STORY LINES, MAKING IT HARD TO PUT DOWN. IT GIVES A GREAT INSIGHT INTO THE WAY OF LIFE IN THOSE EARLY DAYS OF THE BLUES. THE PLACES HE HAS SEEN AND THE PEOPLE WHO HE GOT TO KNOW & MEET IS JUST MIND BLOWING. ANYONE WHO IS NOT BLUES MINDED SHOULD READ THIS BOOK JUST TO UNDERSTAND HOW HARD IT WAS IN THOSE DAYS JUST TO LIVE AND PUT FOOD ON THE TABLE.(I BET HE THOUGHT EVERONE IN THE MODEN WORLD WAS SOFT)TRULY ENJOYABLE.



3. Fans of blues music and musicians will relish this autobiography of Delta bluesman Edwards, which charts his rise to fame and his survival in a critical musical world. His first-person observations of the changing blues style and field are especially meaningful given that so many blues titles are not written by participants in the field.



4. Honey and his astute collaborators have given us the genuine article: a poignant, detailed, uproarous chronicle of what Robert Palmer called the"Deep Blues," the Delta tradition from which all other blues styles emanate. If you've heard Honey sing either in person or on his fine recordings, you will hear the voice you read. He offers dozens of unforgettable moments, from the first sounds he ushers from a broken-necked guitar to his mother's death to the death of Robert Johnson, that are alive and chilling. My only criticism is that the photographs featured in the book are spartan, contemporary views of critical sites in this artist's life. More historical photography would have enhanced the text. The publisher of this well-designed softcover has made the text relaxingly readable. After my first 50 pages, I wanted to purchase all of Honey's recordings and read more about him. He is an articulate, funny, precise chronicler of his own life. If only I could do the same with my own life! First rate.



5. This autobiography succeeds memorably on several levels. Told in spare, moving words, it provides a vivid picture of life in the Mississippi Delta long before the civil rights movements of the '50s. In addition, it's a kind of African-American "On the Road," told from the perspective of one who crisscrossed the Southern United States, scuffling to make a living playing the blues. And finally, it's a terrific history of the blues, told by a man who made a significant musical contribution himself and who played with nearly all the essential artists of the '30s and on.

   Edwards, born in the Delta around 1915, worked the fields as a kid before he learned to play the guitar and began hoboing around the South. He rode the rails, played in innumerable small towns, and polished his craft. Along the way, he hung out and played with the likes of Sunnyland Slim, Big Walter Horton, Little Walter Jacobs, Robert Junior Lockwood, Muddy Waters, B.B. King and yes, Robert Johnson. The book describes how these architects of the modern blues passed songs, licks, and stories back and forth, keeping a form that relies so heavily on tradition dynamic and vital.

   A major strength of the book is Edwards' distinctive voice, transcribed by his collaborators to retain its distinctive rhythms and dialect. The book's title sums up his attitude. His memories include violent death, physical and emotional loss, and great material want. Still, you sense strongly that he wouldn't have had his life any other way. His narrative is devoid of self-pity, but it never glosses over the difficulty of the times he endured, which included stints in prison.

   The book concludes with useful appendices that define key terms and offer capsule biographies and discographies of musicians Edwards encountered. A good bibliography is also included. Highly recommended for those interested in the blues and in American social history. Great read.

2 comments about Interviews/Entrevistas.

1. In this memoir-like collection, Anzaldua explores the intersections between her life, her writings, and post-colonial theory. The interviews contain clear explanations of Anzaldua's concept of the 'Borderlands' and 'mestizaje'; her use of the term 'New Tribalism'; and what she calls 'conocimientos' - alternate ways of knowing that synthesize reflections with action to challenge the status quo.



2. I took this with me on vacation, after earlier reading "La Frontera", and I believe the two should be read together. Gloria is the anti-white guy writer, no, not that she is anti-white guy, but that she is barely hanging on the fringes of American mainstream society. In a class I took, some of the Caucausian men thought that Gloria should "get over" her angst and anger. I say, I think she has only begun. I'd like to see her write some fairy tales, since she has so much--I think it's called "magic realism"--in her poetry in La Frontera. "Entrvistas" is like another window onto her writing mind, and the cool thing is that it's like an oral history--all interviews. A neat, and so non-traditional, way to write and communicate.

5 comments about No Place Safe.

1. This beautifully written book by Kim Reid is both sensitive and timeless. It is about so much more than it appears: A daughter's conflictual and complicated relationship with the mother she loves and yearns for, a black child coming to terms with the white majority, a child faced with the unstoppable murders of children just like her, and a child becoming a woman, to name just a few. Ms. Reid's writing is sensitive and emotional yet not cloying or annoying. She takes us into her experiences with a subtle and skilled hand that allows us to go there right along with her. I came out of reading this book with a profound respect for the writer, as well as a new appreciation of growing up black in the days of the Atlanta child murders. I highly recommend this book and look forward to seeing what the author comes up with next.



2. The way Reid interweaves the story of tragic lost lives of children with her own sort of "lost chldhood" is brilliant, esp. from the point of view of her cop mother being so deeply involved in the cases. It's just really a fantastic read. It has stayed with me for days, especially being a mom. Heartbreaking, of course. And they never found the killer, which just tears me up. But there's much more to the book than that. She weaves that story beautifully with her own.



3. I could not put this book down. I ended up reading all of it in two settings. It is an endearing story of a girl growing up in the most challenging of situations during her tender and impressionable teen years. The "coming of age" story allows the reader to feel like they are there, reflecting back to their own childhoods, and see a very complex world with unfathomable situations through the eyes of a street smart and feisty 13 year old. There were several parts that I laughed out loud and others I was aghast at the very pointed racism that this young teen had to experience. Great book Kim, you are to be well commended for such a great first book.



4. NO PLACE SAFE details the consuming, high-pressure investigations of the 1979-1981 disappearances and murders of black boys and young men in Atlanta--investigations in which author Kim Reid's mother worked as a lead investigator. While this story alone propels this book to read like a compelling novel, Kim's powerful revelations about her schools, her community, her family, and herself make this a powerful document of life in a major Southern city during an especially tumultuous time.



5. Author Kim Reid beautifully captured the voice of an Atlanta 13-year-old who is mother to her younger sister while their single mom works as a police officer; is one of few black students who attend an all-white private school in a distant, affluent neighborhood; and who lives unnervingly close to where dozens of black boys and young men have been murdered (Atlanta Child Murders starting in 1979).
   
   Reid includes information that isn't common knowledge--at least not to me: "Until the early sixties, black officers could arrest only black citizens. In 1979, white and black patrolmen had been allowed to partner in only the last ten years, and black cops were still in a minority, which meant they stuck together outside of work. The only tie that bound black and white cops then was the fact that on the job, they were cops regardless of what they looked like. Fortunately, that was usually enough."
   
   In one instance she brilliantly summarizes her mother's character: A white police officer stopped by her house at 2:00 a.m., expecting to be accommodated. "At two in the morning?' Ma said. Cop or no cop, she sounded like she was ready to bless the man out. There weren't many things that pleased Ma as much as a good night's sleep, which I always believed was here escape from having to work extra jobs, being a cop, a single mother, and just being a black woman in general."
   
   If this book had been written as a young adult novel set in 1979-1982, I would give it five stars. Why? Because it focuses on issues that are still important to teens today. Reid's title is also good for a novel, although I'd suggest she come up with one that hasn't been used before, so it'll be more recognizable. But as a memoir, the book is thin; it should have included more information about the murders, and an more in-depth analysis of what her mother and sister also went through.

4 comments about Die Nigger Die!: A Political Autobiography of Jamil Abdullah al-Amin.

1. This is the autobiography of the type of man who has long gone out of style in the black community--an original man. While down-to-earth in manner, H. Rap Brown had a understated intelligence that served him well. But it's his ability to translate thoughts into words that make this book worth reading. From issues like skin color to class divisions, Brown outlines many issues that still face the black community today.
   
   A lot of political works get caught in the trap of trying to reflect the intelligence of the writer, Brown does the best job of effectively communicating from the black street perspective.
   I'm sure he would like for everyone who reads this to read his Revolution by the Book, and when you compare the two you can chart the evolution of an original man, from street scholar to religious cleric. Read it for yourself and make up your own mind.



2. When H.Rap Brown's classic autobiography was first published, he was former chair of SNCC, the leading Black liberation group in the United States. Back then, I used this book as an introduction to the Black Power movement. Rap Brown was a grassroots leader, and he spoke the language of the grassroots community. In my estimate, H. Rap Brown was one of the most successful political agitators of the black revolt. With the exception of Malcolm X, there were few that could match his effectiveness of moving people in the streets. For that precise reason, Brown, now Imam Jamil Al-Amin, has been a key victim of repression, for fighting for black liberation.



3. H. Rap Brown has been called the african-american Jim Goad. In Mr. Brown's case, however, his screed is directed not at women and liberals but instead at "honkeys," "crackers" and, of course, "THE MAN!" This autobiography gives the reader insight into the anger that fueled one man's efforts to bring down "the system." Overall, though, the book is kinda insubstantial and considering the darn thing cost nearly 15 bones, there are much better books on the subject.



4. While rightfully cited as an articulation of Black anger in the 60s, there are portions of this book that are difficult to take seriously. Rap/El-Amin's hilarious descriptions of pilfering items in Lyndon Johnson's White House, the story of his being stopped by the Louisiana cops for wearing ragged clothes, his refusal to eat or drink anything in prison for 43 DAYS (last time I checked in biology class, no human could go that long without water) etc. come off like wild tall tales told by one of Richard Pryor's characters. Even when the book is serious, there is never a dull moment. His observations on Ebony magazine, poor whites, and the explaination of the book's title, will make you laugh as well as think. Oh yeah, check out his "Rap" early on in the book, the contents of which would make NWA blush!

   The recent noteriety of Rap/El-Amin adds a somber note to the proceedings, but in the meantime, read this. You can see why this wild, controversial, and colorful book was so popular in the late 1960s. A cross between Richard Pryor and Malcolm X! Certainly one of the most entertaining of the Black Power manifestos.

5 comments about Shakedown: Exposing the Real Jesse Jackson.

1. It's hard to miss how Timmerman is serving powerful interests by going after a very effective advocate for all working class people, not just African Americans. I hear Jesse Jackson's excellent radio show (Keep Hope Alive Radio) each weekend, and he is doing even more good work than most people could imagine. Jackson is there on picket lines when people are striking for better wages, or better working conditions. He is there when it comes to unjust sentencing regarding the death penalty, or the harsh penalties for drugs that pharmaceutical companies don't have a patent on. Jesse was there in Libya negotiating the release of a U.S. air force pilot who was being held there. Jesse is going all around the world promoting mutual respect and multicultural celebrations.
   And the list of Jackson's positive contributions goes on and on.
   What has Timmerman done with his life? Well, he has been paid to be a character assassin of the right-wing elite. Sometimes he'll go after individuals, sometimes he'll go after entire groups of people - like Muslim imams.
   I'm sure it pays well to protect multi-billion dollar corporations from the "shakedowns" of activists like Jackson.
   In an earlier period, America's right-wing would've killed Jackson, but they try to avoid creating martyrs, so they go with smear campaigns instead. Other members of the media lynch mob give Timmerman all kinds of publicity on America's airwaves, people like Sean Hannity and Limbaugh who also get paid to bear false witness in the interests of Big Business which hates activists, environmentalists, feminists, labor advocates, and anyone else who may reveal the insatiable greed of the corporate matrix.
   
   How sad that so many fall for it; or, so many choose to be deceived by shameless preachers of hate like Timmerman.
   Jesse: The Life and Pilgrimage of Jesse Jackson



2. I've always known that Jesse Jackson was an opportunist and a liar. Now
   I see him as much more than that! He is a danger to our Country and our way of life, and should be put UNDER the jail! The poor and uneducated who listen to him don't have a prayer of getting out of poverty until this man is off the scene. Let's hope he'll take to his rocking chair soon.
   
   I don't get it.....bright and promising young men get sent to prison for having a marajuana cigarette .....and a man like Jesse remains free! Go figure!! He was called a 'poverty pimp' and a 'race baiter' by acquaintances in the book. I couldn't agree more. It literally makes me sick to see him BLAME instead of TEACH. And if I see him 'marching' for anything at all, I become suspicious and head the other way. How sad that he takes advantage of the poorest and least educated among us.
   
   Jesse Jackson.... A PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN BEING!



3. The research that Mr Timmerman did is astounding. I heard rumors years ago about how his version of the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. was different from those who were present. Let every lie be reveal and the truth be exposed.



4. Thanks so much for this book about Jesse Jackson. Jesse Jackson is for himself. He has exploited Black people and used them for his own good. Where ever there is a cause he's present. Not so much for the sake of those involved, but more or less for his own benefit. It's ashame that he has to speak for the common good of man for a fee. Before he speaks he wants to come to a payment agreement. He uses Black people. A Black problem is his gain. Black people please get hip. Jesse Jackson is a pimp in the worse way. He pimps and profits from Black problems.
   
   What if he had won the presidential election? You talking about a mess. He would have sold the country out. Jesse came to the town that I live in to help a candidate get elected. He tried to steal the spotlight. Jesse Jackson out talked and over talked the person running for election. He uses every chance that he can get to promote Jesse Jackson.
   
   Jesse has no shame. It's all about him. Please stop paying him to speak. There is self gain in everything he does. He is a user. Racial problems and issues are his gain. He is glad when things go wrong. THINK ABOUT IT.



5. I've always had a thought about "REVERAND" Jackson, and this book proves it! Jesse jackson isn't black - He's just a white man that's so full of s**t tha his body long ago lost the ability to absorb it!

5 comments about For the Love of the Game : My Story.

1. This book tells about Micjaels jordans life all the way from his college life in north Carolina to the nab playing on the Bulls. He led them to 6 nab championships. Then he went on to win the gold in the summer olympics. He is the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



2. In the book For The Love Of The Game. One thing that I learned about this book is that you should never give up and always keep on trying. Even if you are not good at something at first then you should not give up and keep on trying untill you get good at the thing. And that you should not just stick with one thing but, try other things. You might be good at it. And that things just do not come to you, you have to work at it. That is what I learned about the book.



3. The book is full of great photos. I especially liked the one of Jordan and Dr. J! It also has great statistics from Michael Jordan's career. The layout is very different. I did not like it all that much. I was also a little disappointed that we did not really get to see more of the real Jordan. For a brief moment, we saw his humanity when he wrote about his father. Briefly, he mentioned his family. But mostly, he wrote about himself on the court. I guess I was hoping for more humility from this superstar. I believe he has it in him but the book doesn't show it. He certainly has much to brag about, but I thought he always let his bragging be seen through his play on the court.



4. The book I read was for the love of the game. It's about Michael Jordan and his life. I'd give it four stars because it explores through his basketball statistics to personal information. He talks about how he was drafted and how he almost didn't chose nike. It talks about all the inside information. It is one of the best autobiography's I've ever read. If you like basketball or a sport, you will reall like it. I learned a lot of stuff I'd probabaly would have never known. Some of the things I didn't know was that he played baseball. He also was number 45 in basketball for a year. His first Air Jordan was band from the league. I would recommend this book for people who like sports and biography's.



5. For The Love of the Game by Michael Jordan is the best book about Michael Jordan ever. This book is so cool. The pictures are great of Michael Jordan. I have read this book four times already and I also have the paperback and the hardback. This book means so much to me because I am going through what he went through when he was in high school. He got cut from his basketball team too, and he gives me ways in the book to put that behind me and keep me going on with my life.

5 comments about Lush Life: A Biography of Billy Strayhorn.

1. This was an excellent read and it was great to see that somebody finally came out with a biography on Billy Strayhorn. So why the 3 star rating? Well, the author actually attempts to overemphasize Staryhorn's importance to the Ellington band (hard as that is to do).
   
   The author unfortunately tries to paint a picture of Ellington as somebody that didn't appreciate Strayhorn's talent and put his name on Stayhorn's songs and basically didn't do much at all after the arrival of Strayhorn. This, of course, is a complete crock. Ellington wrote the vast majority of his most well known songs before Strayhorn even came into the picture ("Mood Indigo", "Sophisticated Lady", "It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing", "Rockin' In Rhythm", In A Sentimental Mood", and "Solitude" just to name a few). Are we really supposed to believe that all of a sudden Strayhorn comes and Ellington's compositional skills go down the drain and he relies on Strayhorn for everything thereafter? That's a little too much (actually way too much) to believe.
   
   Also, if Strayhorn was truly all the brains behind the post-1940 Ellington band, then how come Ellington was still writing great works after Strayhorn's death (New Orleans Suite anyone?)? It just doesn't add up.
   
   Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn were one of the greatest song writing teams of all time. Both were equally important players to the other's success after they joined together and each made his significant contributions. The author is probably a big Strayhorn fan and to make up for the lack of recognition that Strayhorn has received the author actually does a disservice to Strayhorn by overstating his importance to the Ellington band. Strayhorn accomplished so much it's just not necessary to do so.
   
   That being said, the book is still a great source for learning about the life of Billy Strayhorn and who he was and it's great that somebody finally wrote a book on his life.



2. The backbone of Duke Ellimgtons music was his association with Billy Strayhorn. Where such genius came from emanates from poverty and rather ordinary family roots. This is a fascinating and beautifully documented story that completes any previous knowledge of the beauty that is Ellingtons music. Strayhorn was obviously an unrecognized genius deserving of notoriety and equal prominence.



3. one of the most interesting biographies I've ever read. When Billy Strayhorn was growing up in Pittsburgh he met Duke Ellington in the back of the theatre after a concert Duke performed at. He blew Duke away when Billy played the piano for him. Years later Duke would remember him and asked Billy to come out to NYC to see him. When Billy asked for directions Duke would write on a piece of paper, take the A train. While on the A train to Upper Manhattan to see Duke, Billy wrote the music for 'Take the A Train". So it goes the great collaboration between Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn would begin. Always in the background and never given the proper credit for all the music he wrote Billy Strayhorn would live a lush life. Travelling the world and meeting the kings and queens of the jazz world, he could be the life of the party but the applause for Duke Ellington's music would bypass him. Being black and gay back in those days was not acceptable behavior so Billy stayed in the background and Duke kept him. Billy wrote the music and Duke played it, his own personal muse. Billy loved the 3 am hour the best, it was the happiest hour of the day when you're too exhausted to care anymore and numb to everything else. A wonderful book.



4. i find myself always enjoying Books on People&this is no exception.very well detailed Book on a Important Composer&His Many Demons&Surroundings.I heard a few years back that Will Smith was considering doing the Bio Movie on Billy Strayhorn.it would be really interesting to see how things would come out on the Big screen.this book reflects on Music Talent&whole Life.very well done book.



5. This book has a lot going for it. Do you like music, swing and jazz? Do you like intersting people? Did you live through the 30's, 40's and 50's? Do you enjoy reading about that era? Do you enjoy reading a well written biogratphy? If the answer to any of these is yes, you'll like this book, it the answer is yes to several of these questions then you'll LOVE this book. David Hajdu has done an exemplary job of documenting the life of Billy Strayhorn. I really felt like I knew the man after reading this. He has done his research and he also writes with a very smooth style that keeps you intersted. I love music and I've read bios of Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, BB King, Chuck Berry, Led Zepplin, Allman Bros. on and on. This is one of the best if not the best music bio I've read.

1 comments about Jubilee: The Emergence of African-American Culture.

1. The title surprised me. Never would I think of "Jubilee" when it comes to slavery. But the end of the slavery era was, indeed, a celebration. And now National Geographic has presented us with an astonishing and beautiful commemoration of the blood, sweat, tears, and toil of enslaved Africans. For a group of people who gave, literally, their labor to build the foundation of the world's greatest culture, we do indeed owe our collective thanks. National Geographic has done just that with this extraordinary book, done in collaboration with the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The essays help enormously, as they give voice to the descendants of that painful era. If ever there was a must-read, Jubilee is it!