5 comments about Open Mike: Reflections on Philosophy, Race, Sex, Culture and Religion.

1. Unlike the first reviewer of Dyson's book who said he was a "pinhead" I find this book an extrodinary review of the social conditions, in which our society subjects us all too. And please, can we not call authors demeaning names when we write reviews??!!! The person who wrote the first review using the word "pinhead" must be an adolescent and sounds jealous and angry. Thanks.



2. Much is made of dyson's intellectual prowess; this just goes to show you that all things are relative. There are organisms shuffling down the street to whom dyson's intellect would, one assumes, seem impressive. But that don't necessarily make it so. You may, at some point, have heard the term pinhead. The term signifies that the owner of such a head has a tiny little brain, a "peabrain" if you will. This, in a nutshell, is dyson. He meanders around offering weak commentary and observation that appeals chiefly to the MTV and BET crowd. This is to say, he offers nothing of value other than allowing Penn to make their quota. Do yourself a favor and avoid at all costs.



3. Open Mike is a book that I picked up on accident and I thnak whatever angel was sitting on my shoulder that day. I had never been blessed enough to have been exposed to Dyson before and I was quite surprise about what I found. This man is BAD. He has the same theoretical and intellectual presence as Malcom, Martin, Carmichael, etc. In Open Mike, a series of interviews Dyson gave, I found that I was surprise that anyone could speak this way from the hip. I often wondered if he'd practiced what he had to say. Then I heard him speak at the State of the Black Chruch conference in Detroit, MI 2003. He's for real.

   Open Mike is an honest and revealing account of Dyson's life, his thoughts, and the controversies that he's started. No one is safe from this man 's tongue---no one. Pick it up and be enlightened.

   Also check out Race Rules: Navigating The Color Line; Holla If You Hear Me; and Why I Love Black Women.




4. As a mentee of Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, I can certainly attest to his rhetorical genius, his intellectual compassion, his scholarly depth and his cerebral authority on a wide range of cultural, philosophical and theoretical themes. But as it occurs, many acadamicians (i.e. Adolph Reed) have questioned his scholarship, and even if he is a serious intellectual, suggesting that his writing tends to gravitate toward petty motives that deal with popular culture and the commercialization of societal issues. Nevermind that one of the most noted philosophers, Antonio Gramsci proposed the notion of the "organic intellectual" as one who could arise from the people but never become so esoterically connected to some ebony or ivory academy. That is Dyson--the organic intellectual--and we Dysonians appreciate him as a defining intellectual acrobat regardless of the commentaries put out by PEDANTIC scholars who resist mainstream culture, pretty much because they, themselves, fail to identify with it.

   But still, Dyson answers his critics with Open Mike, a scholarly enterprise of the highest order. The book is a collection of conversations on philosophy, race, sex, culture and religion, that definitively evinces the "seriousness" of Dyson's scholarship. Dyson effortlessly registers his deepening intellectual and moral convictions on every subject from poststructuralist theory to the polyrhythmic structures of African American musical traditions and from Nietzsche's view of God to the prism through with Nas analyzed black social plight.

   As Mark Anthony Neal stated in the foreword, "Open Mike is a critical beat-down!" I recommend that this scholarly contribution be digested by every intellect for its complex exploration into the various layers and dimensions of black radical discourse, politics and ethics. And I even further, invite all general readers to add this book to their reading appetite, as Dyson's consistent flow and vivid portrayals are sure to delight your thirst for an impassioned discussion of the social dynamics that affect us all.




5. He is truly One of the Greatest Writers that I have Ever Read on.Brother Dyson has a way with words&bringing so much Groove in His Presentation.I truly applaud the way He tackles so many subjects&never misses a beat.He is a Deep Cat&always someone you have to Read a Couple of times to fully Digest His Knowledge&Wide Scope of things going on.

3 comments about The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues.

1. Exactly What It's title advertises - an alphabetical listings of players and personalities associated with the Negro Leagues of Baseball. Ranks with "Only the Ball Was White" and The works of John B.Holway as essntial to a study of the subject. Definitely recommended.



2. Editor James A. Riley is a renowned expert on the rich history of Negro League Baseball. His crowning achievement is honoring more than 4,000 players and those involved in management between the years of 1872-1950 in this comprehensive biographical encyclopedia.
   
   Included are biographies and statistics on each individual and team, a bibliography that lists the materials used in the research, along with a register of the interviews that Riley conducted.
   
   The Negro Leagues had a major economic and social impact in the black community, featured some of the greatest players & teams that the sport has ever had and was an integrated business on the diamond, inside the front offices and in the stands.
   
   I have always compared the play in the Negro Leagues v. the white MLB to that of the AFL v. NFL and ABA v. NBA; that it was on par or superior to the other major league. The encyclopedia is a celebration of the legacy left by those who not only challenged the institutionalized racial hatred of the times, but triumphed in ways that we can learn from and must never forget.



3. ...I question that love if you do not have this book. This is the most concise collection of biographies, stats, and information about every human involved with the development, management, and participation in every Negro League that ever existed. Even players whose first name was not known is listed with at least a few words about when they played and for whom. And the players with extensive history is detailed along with stats and other great side stories about them. There is even information on the teams in the Negro Leagues, which I found most interesting. I don't know of any other book that has as much information on the lesser-known players and behind-the-scenes people in the Negro Leagues than this one. If you are a Negro League fan, you probably already have this book. But if you are a baseball fan in general, you MUST have this book.

2 comments about Muhammad Ali.

1. Contiene un gran numero di foto spendide.
   
   Per appassionati di Cassius Clay



2. This book is a splendid and very interesting view into a Muhammad Ali's life and career. Very detailed and with beautiful photos. A book worth the money.

5 comments about Diana Ross: A Biography.

1. 
   This must be the ultimate Diana Ross biography. The author of this book seems to know the legendary singer all too well. In fact, if you look at his credentials, I think you'll be quite impressed: Mr. Taraborrelli begin following her career when he was just barely a teenager; he wrote countless of articles on her for various publications; he's interviewed dozens of her closest friends and family members throughout the years, including Diana Ross herself; he wrote two previous books on her, and, as proven with this book; he's an exceptionally talented writer.
   
   What's great about this biography - as in the case with virtually all biographies - is that you learn more than just about the "biographee." You learn about other people, places, and events. In this case, you learn about The Supremes, Motown Records, Berry Gordy, the sixties, the music industry, the movie industry, and much more. So to some degree, this biography is really a history book with an emphasis on entertainment, and where Diana Ross is the main subject. This is the sort of book that once you start reading, you can't put it down. And even though I'm not a huge fan of Diana Ross or Motown Records, I found this book captivating, fascinated by her life story.
   
   I think readers will be pleased with Taraborrelli's in depth look at Diana Ross' life: her personal life and relationships; her music career and other business ventures; and her family and children. Yet, even though the author admits to be a great fan of Diana Ross, this book doesn't seem to reflect that. The author holds nothing back. In fact, he gives us a very sincere portrayal of Diana Ross, and not a manufactured one. He tells us about her good side and bad side, her failures and successes, her good times and bad times. Some authors may be tempted to be a little bit biased, but not Taraborrelli in this case.
   
   My one and only disappointment is that there is no mention of Michael Jackson's song "Dirty Diana." Was it really a song about Diana Ross? I was hoping he would set the record straight and maybe even get Diana's own reaction to the song, but that didn't happen. Maybe he's got something written about that in his Michael Jackson biography, which I'm eager to read. But besides that, I found this book excellent all the way through. If you're even remotely interested in Motown Records, The Supremes, and of course, Diana Ross, I think you'll truly enjoy this book. As for me, I look forward to reading more books from this author.



2. An unabashed fan of Ross and the Supremes, the author of this bio lets all his own biases show. The writing is a little too gushing in places and the uncritical judgments seldom tempered. Still, if you don't already know this familiar story, there's interesting fodder here because the author has been an insider more or less for decades. The early years of the Supremes are well dissected and readers learn much, not the least of which is how much the group recorded beyond the hits. Ross's later years are also well documented and her somewhat sad decline and recent DUI chronicled. This is a very long book, so be prepared to wade through.



3. Even with Randy's third opus on Miss Ross I haven't any more of a clue as to who or what she really is but if you've bought the previous two books don't think this is just a rehash. It's a new book and impeccably researched and impeccably written. He's done his damnest to try to bring the complete person to the pages. Ross' own book showed she hasn't got a clue about who she really is (and, good grief, all the information and dates she had wrong or confused) and that she is the center of her universe, not the most sensitive to the feelings or viewpoint of others she's worked with. Since she'll never write the whole story, this book will do nicely. The most significant observation Randy makes is Ross' multiple personalities--almost every star in show business has them, a combination of sheer guts and ambition and power with total insecurity. It drives everyone around them nuts. (But not every star is a bundle of contradictions--some are in show business but not of show business and live their lives right side up.) As for Ross, I love her work--a fabulous career still chuggin' ahead--but I'd never want to get in her way.



4. As for readability, I'd give this book 5 stars. It read like a novel - with dialogue and drama and character exploration. But, is it really a "biography?" - that's not how it came across to me. I thought it read more like one obsessed author's suppositions, speculations, fantasies and desire to dish a bit of dirt. For example, he'll ascribe a motive or intention to some action Diana took. C'mon, as if he (or anyone but her) knew what she was thinking at that point in time. Buy it as fun read.....but go into it knowing that the author has filled in a lot of blanks with his own biases.



5. OK, there has been so much written about Miss Ross (most of which I have read) including this authors previous efforts. I couldn't put this one down, it is very well written and easily read. Although I have previously read much of what has been written on Diana Ross and have been an avid fan since she began her career, there was still some information in this piece with which I wasn't familiar. It saddens me that the one group whom I and millions of others so adored experienced such conflict within their ranks. RT clearly doesn't put the blame on any one "Supreme" for the turmoil that was evident through most of their time together. Towards the end of the Bio, even Scherrie Payne, a singer with the group after Diana left, and one of the singers that Diana invited to join the Diana Ross and The Supremes 2000 Return to Love Tour, voiced how she hopes that someday Diana, Mary and Cindy can look beyond their differences and once again give the fans an opportunity to see one of the premiere groups in the history of music. I for one would pay far more than the $250.00 asking price for that ticket. Whether or not you are a Diana Ross or a Supreme fan treat yourself to a well written biography about one hell of a stunning star! I was fortunate to have seen her numerous times over the years, including her performace at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles in 2004 and I already have my tickets for her show at the Gibson Universal Theatre in November of this year. At the risk of sounding cliche' Diana Ross ia a survivor and I know deep down that there is more to come! A great read! Highly, highly recommended.

4 comments about The Trials of Phillis Wheatley: America's First Black Poet and Encounters with the Founding Fathers.

1. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s _The Trials Phillis Wheatley_ considers Phillis Wheatley's career through the eyes of her readers over two centuries, from elite Massachussetts whites who in 1772 quizzed Wheatley to determine if she, a young slave, had indeed composed the poems herself, to twentieth-century critics who find her voice inauthentic and too forgiving of her white enslavers. Gates' book is a longer version of the prestigious Jefferson Lecture, which he gave in 2002, and is a great introduction to Phillis Wheatley. Wheatley's writing career, in particular her mastery of the classical forms of eighteenth-century English prosody, is fascinating.
   
   Wheatley was kidnapped as a seven-year old from her home in West Africa in 1761, survived the terrible Middle Passage, and then was sold into bondage to the Wheatley family in Massachusetts. Nine years later in 1770, at the age of 16, despite lacking formal schooling and having only nine years exposure to English, she was a published poet. Two years later in 1772 she published a volume of poetry _Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral_, which was the first book of poems published by a person of African origin.
   
   What is so strong about Gates' book is his discussion of the impact of Wheatley's poems and how her mastery of literacy challenged the racist ideology of slaveholders and their supporters. Wheatley corresponded with George Washington and other luminaries, and the international sensation of her poems prompted Thomas Jefferson to critique them as being unoriginal. Gates argues that Jefferson's critique in _Notes on the State of Virginia_, grounded in racism and defensiveness, ironically shaped African American literature in its vibrant, sustained critique of Jefferson's claims by contemporary and later writers, such as David Walker, William Hamilton, William Wells Brown, Frederick Douglass, and many others. Gates concludes his book by discussing how Wheatley's reputation slowly changed in the nineteenth century, mainly due to interpretations of one poem, "On Being Brought from Africa to America." Gates writes that for a number of readers, "the paragon of Negro achievement, was now given a new role: race traitor."
   
   Gates' work presents an excellent, readable overview of Wheatley's career by drawing from the breadth of existing scholarship. He makes a strong argument that Wheatley needs to be read with an awareness of late eighteenth-century history and understood for her vital contribution.
   
   Two criticisms of the book: First, I wish Gates had also published Wheatley's poems, which are expensive to purchase and not widely available in bookstores, and then made his work an introduction to the poems. Second, on a related point, I wish that Gates had interpreted more poems. Wheatley's poems are rich with transcultural underpinnings and insights, and it would have been wonderful to read more of his explications of her work. Her work can be challenging for contemporary readers unfamilar with the conventions of eighteenth-century poetry.



2. Gates' book places the writing life of Phillis Wheatley into a context that should prompt readers to reexamine popular condemnations (past and present) of her credibility and literary merit. This text is a refreshing reminder that we readers have a responsibility "to learn to read Wheatley anew, unblinkered by the anxieties of her time and ours. That's the only way to let Phillis Wheatley take a stand. The challenge isn't to read white, or read black; it is to read. If Wheatley stood for anything, it was the creed that culture was, could be, the equal possession of all humanity. It was a lesson she was swift to teach, and that we have been slow to learn" (89-90). This book is a quick read and would be an ideal text for instructors.



3. In 1773 a young woman burst onto the literary scene. And what made this particular author a sensation? The young woman in question was Phillis Wheatley, an African slave writing poetry in English. Her slender books of poems was a literary first, causing critics to mutter.

   Brought before an panel of eighteen learned gentleman of the time, Phillis Wheatley proved that persons of African descent could think, read and write works of literature. For a few brief years, Phillis was a author known to both the colonies and Europe, think Oprah, think Alice Walker, think Maya Angelou of her day. Sadly, with Revolution at hand, her literary career stumbled with Phillis and her only surviving child dying much too young.

   But that was not the end of Phillis Wheatley. Her surviving works have endured and been subjected to levels of awe and loathing in the centuries since her death. In some camps, Phillis Wheatley is a mother of the slave narrative, in others a sell-out, an Aunt Thomasina making her then masters happy.

   Author Henry Louis Gates, Jr does a wonderful job of looking at the literary life of a much loved and much reviled author. The only jarring point? The covers of this fine volume are much too close together, THE TRIALS OF PHILLIS WHEATLEY was a quick read and I found myself sad to have the book end.




4. Mostly a summary of the literary career of Phillis Wheatley, a teenaged slave, born in Africa and later bought by John and Susanna Wheatley of Boston for less than ten pounds, who would unknowingly kickstart the African American literary tradition with her "Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral," published in 1773. Described by Gates as "the Oprah Winfrey of her time," Wheatley defied the conventional racist wisdom of the time by proving that people of African descent could write poetry and produce European notions of Art. Gates does a good job of tracing the trajectory of her work throughout the years following her sad demise (her poetry would grant her manumission, but she would die free, poor and alone at the age of thirty). Gates' main critique in the book is of the unfair criticism he feels critics of the Black Power Movement gave her, by questioning her "authenticity" and accusing her of being "too white." He ties this in to Thomas Jefferson's criticisms of Wheatley some two-hundred years earlier, who dismissed her poetry as bad enough to prove that Africans indeed were inferior to Anglos in the arena of "reason." Citing a recent poll suggesting that "acting white" was aligned with "speaking standard English, getting straight A's, or even visiting the Smithsonian," Gates uses a bizarre logic to make his ultimate point: "In reviving the ideology of 'authenticity'--especially in a Hip Hop world where too many of our children think it's easier to become Michael Jordan than Vernon Jordan--we have ourselves reforged the manacles of an earlier, admittedly racist era" (p. 84-5). Whether one views Jefferson's or even Amiri Baraka's criticisms of Wheatley's poetry as remotely similar, Gates' little book does a tidy little job of setting up for the reader the historical processes and miracles that allowed for Wheatley to publish the poems (--good or bad--it's up to you to decide!) that initiated the African American literary tradition.

4 comments about Malcolm X: The Last Speeches (Malcolm X speeches & writings).

1. In 1991 I met Malikah Shabazz (one of M/X's daughters) and she autographed my copy of this, telling me that this was her favorite of the varying complations that filled bookstores at the time. I agreed then and now. This presents a more complex look at the varying stages of Malcolm's evolving philosophy while other such compliations are more selective to represent such phases in Malcolm X's evolution Elijah Muhammad's teachings (which I personally have no use for), socialism, black nationalism, etc. to promote the point of view of the compliers. Here, we see that M/X, while consistant in his search for something better for Black people. So it can rightly be called "A Malcolm X Reader" or "The Evolution of Malcolm X Thought."
   
   He also mentions Nelson Mandela in passing in this collection, and what he has to say about his days in the Nation of Islam near the end of this book will give fans of the pre-1964 thought of M/X much pause. After this, check out "Malcolm X Talks to Young People." While that is a representation of his later thought, it's also quite good. But read this after the "Autobiography" and M/X Speaks" to get the full enchilada of Malcolm X Thought.



2. Dr. Bruce Perry, former collaborator, more recently biographer of Malcolm X, searched for decades after Malcolm X died for more speeches and interviews by Malcolm X. He spent years tracking down the man who had the tapes that led to this book, finding him in the rain forest jungles of Guyana, and being able to interview him while the revolutionary government of Marice Bishop still ruled Grenada. He knew Pathfinder would publish them, because Pathfinder was the publisher Malcolm X chose while he was alive to publish his work, because they believe in Malcolm X's words because they are Malcolm's.
   There are three sections, two speeches given before Malcolm split from the Nation of Islam from January and February 1963, two interviews from december 1964, and the last two speeches we have in full, one he gave February 15, 1965 and another he gave the next day. Malcolm X was murdered on February 21, 1965.
   You can judge for yourself how Malcolm X grew and changed.l One thing, it wasn't to become someone just into peace and love and non-violence and all sorts of silly things that people say, but that Malcolm X never was into. I just leave you with the contrast in titles. The titles of the 1963 speeches are "Twenty million Black people in a political, economic, and mental prison" anmd "America's gravest crisis since the civil war," rooted in the problems of Black people in America. The speeches given in the last week of his life speak of the world: :There's a world wide revolution going on" and L:Not just an American problem, but a world problem."



3. This book has all of the themes that Malcolm spoke about during the last year of his life. He patiently explains over and over that the U.S. government is not and can't be "ours", not without a revolution : it is theirs, it belongs to the superrich
   ( mostly -white ) man. He calls this system " the power structure" or, most scientifically of all, then and now, "Western, or American, imperialism". He speaks of the need for Blacks in "America" to be proud of their African roots;
   the need to become and to stay politically independent of the twin parties of capitalist racism; of women's equality and dignity - that's right ; it's one of the main reasons he broke from the Nation of Islam - and he speaks of the Chinese, Vietnamese, and Cuban revolutions as examples to emulate HERE. Above all he teaches you , of whatever color , creed ,or sex , to start with the standpoint that most of the people in the world are your potential allies and what is called " America" - the U.S. government and the Yanqui Empire - is your and my deadly enemy. Anti-capitalist and pro-socialist, this is not the Malcolm of biographers, or movie directors, or other "interpreters" - it is Malcolm X speaking for himself, putting forward a line of march relevant to every fighter for meaningful social change today, tomorrow, and beyond.



4. If your view of Malcolm X is from the Spike Lee movie, reading this book and the other books of speeches from his last year "Malcolm X: The Final Speeches" will turn your head around. Malcolm is depicted as a purely humanist, apolitical person, after his trip to Mecca who simply loved everyone. The speeches and interviews from his last year show him as an increasingly political person who was working with Cuban, Congolese, Algerian revolutionists and with revolutionary socialists in the United States to fight for African liberation and against the growing US War in Indochina.
   
   Moreover, Malcolm's speeches from this year also document the reactionary and corrupt practices of the Nation of Islam under Elijah Muhammad and its terror campaign against Malcolm and anyone else who dissent. He had held back from this, but he needed to do this to expose the threats against himself and his family.
   
   As in his other speeches and interviews Malcolm speaks in a voice with lots of practical school-of-hard-knocks knowledge and reasoning, in a soul stirring, voice, with lots of wit as well as wisdom thrown in.
   
   
   While this book may not be directly available from Amazon at times, they are available from the booksfrompathfinder on Amazon that you can find by clicking on the new and used books on this page.

No comments about Race, Space, and Riots in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles.

5 comments about Teta, Mother, and Me: Three Generations of Arab Women.

1. I grew up in Cairo and now living in the US. I loved this book so much and relate to every word of it. I would defintely recommend it to my son to read in the future as it is a beautiful mix of sociology, history and psycology.



2. The social history and politics of Arab women illustrated by the author's love for her mother and grandmother.



3. Makdisi's memoir carefully collects fine details of the Arab Christian history in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Egypt. In tracing her mother and grandmother's and her own personal story and the families that surrounded them, Makdisi takes the reader on a journey that shows the meaningfulness of geographical origin in the arab culture as well as the inherent ability to change, transform and relocate.
   
   This memoir presents an opportunity to encounter in a very human way the event of the partition of Palestine and its effects on families' lives. It is broad in scope touching on everything from questions of class, the situation of women, colonialism, raising a family in a time of war, social movements and the upheaval of governments, being stateless, suffering loss...
   
   This book is recommended to the patient reader who is serious about garnering a deeper understanding of this area of the world or the related subject matter in women's studies.
   
   It is worth noting that Makdisi is the sister of Edward Said. I didn't realize this myself until many many pages into the book.



4. The impetus for this lively, emotionally engaging exploration of three generations in Makdisi's maternal line came from her conflicted feelings about feminism and the traditional domestic-centered woman's role as well as the friction between the two cultural influences in her life - East and West.
   
   Her father was an affluent Christian Palestinian who immigrated to the US and became an American citizen. He returned to Jerusalem to honor his mother's dying wish, "but never really forgave her for deflecting him from what he had seen as his destiny in the New World." Her mother was Lebanese and Palestinian, the daughter of a strict Baptist minister and his European-mission educated wife (Teta) who was, in turn, daughter of an Evangelical pastor.
   
   Makdisi and her siblings (which include the late Edward Said, professor, writer and pro-Palestinian activist, and the historian and writer Rosemarie Said Zahlan, who was also a pro-Palestinian activist) grew up with American passports, though she was born in Jerusalem in 1940 and grew up in Cairo.
   
   "Until 1948, and the Palestine war, our family moved regularly between Jerusalem and Cairo. For Palestinians, the year 1948 was a time of movement, of scattering, of families breaking up and moving apart. It was a time of breakdown, of entropy." Though a child and sheltered somewhat from outside events, she recalls the upheaval in their Cairo home as a stream of relations - distraught refugees - moved through.
   
   "In 1948 the heart of our family was torn out, and the centre of our existence was broken....It is only recently that I have come to understand how deeply affected we have all been by the Palestinian experience, how we have lived our lives in its shadow. Most of all, though we have lived well and done well and accomplished much, though we have made many deep friendships throughout the world, since 1948 we have been outsiders - not only my parents, but their children, and, I fear, their children's children as well."
   
   Makdisi does not dwell on "the Palestinian experience" in this book, which is as much biography and history as it is memoir, but its long shadow is always visible.
   
   As she moves backwards and forwards in time, she describes an arc - a move towards an ideal of "modernity," synonymous with westernization, that carried her grandmother and mother farther from the extended family that gave women support and strength into an isolated role in the nuclear family.
   
   This movement began with the values her grandmother absorbed in the mission schools and culminated in her own marooned existence in an affluent Washington DC suburb, frustrated, bored and conflicted between her role as perfect mother and housewife and her ambitions to be something in the world.
   
   A century-long embrace of Western culture is clearly to blame in her mind, though Makdisi certainly does not advocate a repudiation of all things Western. Instead she concludes her book with a call for a new synthesis of priorities, which combines the "sustenance" of home and family with a connection to the outside world. Well, sure. In the best of all worlds, anyway.
   
   Makdisi grew up thinking her grandmother led a sheltered, isolated, domestic existence, comfortable but limited. But as she researches this book - getting her own mother and uncles to write memoirs and delving into the history of the time, a more rounded and nuanced picture emerges of a woman who endured war and tragedy, love and loss, who worked to build her husband's congregation and who, during WWI and again after her husband's death, struggled alone to keep her family together with little financial support.
   
   Makdisi's mother, Hilda, continued the move away from Arab customs, filling her house with European furniture, dressing in the latest Western fashions, adopting Western tableware and eating habits. No one seemed to regard any of this as a rejection of Arab culture at the time - it seemed more a matter of fashion and sophistication.
   
   Only in retrospect does Makdisi see how it isolated her mother and grandmother from other women and robbed them of matriarchal status later in life. Yet her grandmother was miserable living with her mother-in-law and the matriarchal status seemed to work best when the financial power rested with the matriarchal generation.
   
   Makdisi makes a number of generalizations that readers may quibble with. While I don't know the joy and comfort of the extended family (and it certainly does not appeal) I do know you cannot extrapolate middle class American life from the homogenous confines of an affluent D.C. subdivision. Miserable in her isolation there as a newlywed (as I too would be) I wondered why she didn't move into town, which they could easily have afforded.
   
   The book touches on a century of culture and upheaval - the European occupation and recarving of boundaries after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, various ensuing rebellions, the rise of Zionism in a land where Jews had always lived and the belated reaction of alarm, the bitter legacy of exile and rootlessness following the 1948 war.
   
   She does not explore any of these events in a deep political way but rather notes how each specifically affected her family. Perhaps this is why she does not touch on certain issues, such as the practicality of co-existing Israeli and Palestinian states and the repeated Palestinian rejection of partition.
   
   This is a book filled with rich history, cultural detail and colorful anecdotes, all of which help illuminate a place and people that seem to grow more remote and frightening with every passing day. Makdisi is a fluent and visual writer, with a foot in two cultures and her book should be read by anyone with an interest in the Arab world.
   
   --Portsmouth Herald



5. The wife of Edward Said grew up, like her brother, among the richest of the Arab elite, the Bourguise that had come up with the Arab Awakening following the Arab revolt in 1917. This was a class of wealthy, European educated, mostly Arab Christians who became not only nationalists but highly knowledgable about the world. Because of their connections and the fact that they were inter-related with Arabs across the middle east they were very worldy.
   
   The Said family were two generatiosn removed from Baptist Arab converts in Lebanon who had immigrated to Palestine and then on to Egypt. They had summer homes both in Jerusalem and Lebanon. Theirs was a life of luxory and western ways, western dress, western values and eventually western self hate.
   
   THis memoir covers the period 1940-2000. We are given insights into life after the flight from Palestine in 1948, life in Beirut during the war and insights into the arab world. Despite being a 'housewife' Mrs. Said is not really immigrating to Lebanon when she marries a Lebanese instead she is merely returning to her homeland. This is where the memoir is problematic. It covers up the very unique status of the Said family trying instead to put them in a larger arab morass which they do not exist in. There is little difference in the upbringing, wealth and outlook of the Saids and their western counterparts in the richest sections of London or New York. This is not an account of Arab women because 99.99% of Arab women do not live like this jetting between capitals and conversing in multiple languages.
   
   Despite attempts at portraying her family as refugees one has only to compare the memoir with the truth of the many homes of the family to see a more complete picture. If this memoir is interesting it is interesting because the female protaganist did nothing for women's rights and gives us a journalistic account of life in the Arab world, a biased account of course covring up PLO atrocities, during the period.
   
   Seth J. Frantzman

No comments about Brown Face, Big Master (Caribbean Classics).

5 comments about A Song Flung Up to Heaven.

1. This is one of my favorite books of the last 200 years for the simple reason that my sister, Nancy, was walking down a street in New York and she heard a commotion from within a Manhattan bookstore, and when she poked her head in, who to her wondering eyes did appear but regal, imperious, humorous poet Maya Angelou reading from what was then (2004) her very latest autobiography. With trepidation, Nancy entered the store and managed to strike up a brief conversation with the author, and when she told Dr. Angelou that her brother, Kevin, was a poet in the Bay Area, the good Doctor grabbed a sharpie and scrawled my name on the title page, with a special message just for me--"Joy." Later I found out that this was not the most joyful time (personally speaking) for Dr. Angelou and that private trials and tribulations were wracking her soul and conscience--but she had the show business stance of, "give your audience what they deserve"and so she was able to impart her words of joy (or one word) to me once the book was wrapped and sitting underneath my Christmas tree. I shook it and held it to my ear, never guessing it was a book, never guessing that every word might have been written directly to be whispered into my ear.
   
   I enjoyed finding out what Malcolm X and Dr., King were like, not as political figures per se, but as friends. We all know their history and the huge place they filled in the civil rights struggle here in America, but in this book, volume 6 of her autobiography, we find out how they (and also Nichelle Nichols from the original STAR TREK) fit into the colorful and florid pattern of Dr. Angelou;s voyage. We are present when she is trying to keep body and soul together by scraping out radio jingles and topical songs based on Philip Roth's PORTNOY'S COMPLAINT. (By the way, when is that fugitive track going to appear on the long-awaited boxed set collection of Dr. Angelou's songwriting genius? We were promised this by Rhino over seven years ago!) She brings us to the intimate home life of the beautiful Abbey Lincoln and also Rosa Guy, both of them welcoming spirits who made a place in their homes for the wandering soul of rolling stone Maya Angelou. Is there any place that has not been blessed with a visit from the author?
   
   At bottom the book is sad, because, despite everything, she was in Ghana for much of the period exploring her African roots and the humid tendrils of her sexuality, and therefore she missed seeing firsthand what went down in the Audubon ballroom, a story she has often told. You don't really get a good sense of her relationships with people here, other than Guy a little bit. I think she was too mournful and driven to write this book with the same care as her previous books, but subsequent work both in Hallmark cards and other forms of writing, have seen a triumphant return. I wish her one word-- "Joy." Thanks, Nancy!



2. This is one of the six autobiographical works by Maya Angelou.
   
   Here, Maya Angelou returns to the U.S. after living in Ghana working with Malcolm X.
   
   When she gets back to her home, she finds out Malcolm X has been assassinated. This saddens and upsets her but confuses her too, since a black man has killed him. Eventually, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. asks Maya to go around to black churches to try to gain support for the Poor People's March. But he too gets assassinated.
   
   This work is full of depth and words that will help you delve into yourself and your feelings.
   
   If you like this book, you may like to read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings which follows this.



3. First let me say that I am a huge Maya Angelou fan! I couldn't wait to add "A Sung Flung Up to Heaven" to my library. When it arrived, I poured a cup of tea and dug in. When I finished, I felt a little cheated. It seemed that she rushed through this book, leaving me wanting more. It's a lovely book overall, but I expected more detail, more artistry... more Maya... in this final installment. I wanted more personal perspective on her relationships with Malcolm X and Dr. King. I'm still a big fan, but this book missed the mark a bit for me.



4. When a representative of Random House contacted Angelou with the suggestion that she write an autobiography at the tender age of forty, she demurred, and he lay down a challenge by saying that she might be right to refuse, for writing autobiography as literature is nearly impossible to do. Angelou picked up that challenge and met it squarely, for her six-volume autobiography does indeed qualify as literature. As has been noted in several reviews of her other books in this series, she writes not the dry facts of her existence but rather the colorful and expressive interpretation of those facts. Instead of recounting happenings, she paints for the reader her interpretation of them, their significance, and their place in her universe. History may underlie her writing, but it is the view that Angelou has of those historical events that gives her books interest and meaning.
   
   A SONG FLUNG UP TO HEAVEN is the concluding volume of Angelou's autobiographical writings, and, by itself, it is of limited instruction for the reader. It is quite brief, easily read in a single sitting. The first short chapters present a skeletal synopsis of her personal history. The final chapter gives wing to her philosophical view of humankind. In between, the reader is given a glimpse of the frustrations leading to the Watts Riots and of the despair occasioned by the assassinations of Malcolm X and of Martin Luther King. This volume also continues earlier books' insightful descriptions of King, Malcolm X, and James Baldwin, adding much to the understanding of these men by the general public.
   
   This slim volume is indeed the conclusion of the other five books that comprise Angelou's autobiographical works detailing the first half of her life. It is no more logical to begin reading this book without having first read the others than it is to read the final chapter of a novel before enjoying all of the preceding chapters. If one is to comprehend this book fully, he must begin with I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS and follow with its successors until he reaches A SONG FLUNG UP TO HEAVEN in the proper course of things.
   
   If a criticism must be lodged against this book, it is only that its brevity is such that it scarcely warrants being published as a separate volume. It could easily have been appended to the preceding book, ALL GOD'S CHILDREN NEED TRAVELING SHOES. The fact that the end of the book comes so quickly forces the reader to wonder whether Angelou tired of her writing project, ran headlong into an ultimate publishing deadline, or wished to eke out a bit more recompense from her publisher by forcing one additional volume through his presses.
   
   Some of the preceding autobiographical volumes have been described as having perhaps a bit too much virulence against Whites, perhaps a little too much hyperbole concerning the enduring effects of historical slavery. Some of Angelou's statements reveal a "reverse racism," to use one of her own phrases. Of course, the social climate in the United States during much of Angelou's life hardly engendered loving relations between White and Black citizens, yet the non-aggression of a Martin Luther King grew and matured in this environment, making Angelou's strident condemnations of the White population as much a factor of her own personality as of her social environment, and, after many pages, that stridency becomes tiresome. This final volume, however, is free of such hostility and is much more accepting of good people regardless of their color.
   
   In brief, if one has read the first five volumes of Angelou's autobiography, then by all means do finish with this sixth one. On the other hand, picking this one up and reading it first will deprive the reader of an accurate appreciation of Angelou's artistry, in both its strengths and its weaknesses, as a prose writer and may well leave the reader with a complete mis-perception of Angelou's autobiographical books. Angelou's autobiographical series is one of those things that really should be experienced in the order of their creation, and doing so will give the reader a captivating view of this most unusual author and poet.



5. I am an avid fan of Ms. Angelou and actively collect her books. Please continue to provide her works, especially her older books.