5 comments about Creating Equal: My Fight Against Race Preferences.

1. As a young person growing up in America, and observing that some people are looked upon with disdain, over something as simple as skin color sickens me. Even more that we as a Nation condoned such behavior as a matter of Law. I read about internment camps for Japanese Americans, during World War II, and these people were treated this way because of their Nation of origin. But very few people in internment camps were either German, or Italian. Equally our enemy, but White.
   
   Remarkably, Americans of African decent who put their lives on the line for this Nation during World War II had less rights than German POWs, our enemies. What a sad state of affairs. These people fought for someone elses freedom, and had none of their own, in their own Nation.
   
   Dr. King led this whole Nation out of the darkness that was "Jim Crow", and caused a Nation to look at itself in the mirror. At the same time there were those of the Black race who did not support, and spoke harshly of Dr. King's efforts, relating he was just a trouble maker, and that He should go home, and leave the rest of us alone. Stop stirring up trouble.
   
   Trying to make a Nation treat all of its citizens with the same dignity and respect is stirring up trouble. Forcing a Nation to live up to the principle of "One man one vote", is stirring up trouble. These were the same kinds of Black people who fought on behalf of the Confederacy during the Civil War. Mr. Connerly fits here.
   
   As a people not all Blacks, nor all Asians, nor all Latinos, or all Whites, are universal in their thoughts or soulotions to the social problems in this Nation. Some like things just as they are. Others feel the Nation can and should do more to see to it that no group is left behind. Sadly this is not the case as Mr. Connerly sees things.
   
   Mr. Connerly rails aganist Affirative Action, saying it is more of a hinderance, than a help. OK. So what do we put in its place? Some say nothing. Let the sticks fall as they may. It will work itself out in the end. Others are more aggressive, such as Mr. Connerly.
   
   Mr. Connerly makes some good points, because one shoe does not fit all. Our education system is a good case. The system stinks. Instead of trying to make the student adapt to the education system, it should be the other way around. Something Mr. Connerly misses.
   
   Even now, compair so called Suburban schools to those in the Inner City and the difference is day and night. Mr. Connerly misses these differences as well. Inner city schools are over crowded understaffed, and lack parental input for various reasons. More money is continually spent on the Suburban schools, as opposed to the Inner city schools.
   
   These are the short comings Mr. Connerly fails to take into consideration when he speaks out aganist Affirmative Action. The there are programs set aside by some Ivy League Universities, for the offspring of the Alumni, for preferential treatment when it comes to addmissions. Mr. Connerly is not up in arms about these programs.
   
   His book should say level the "Playing Field" for all, but alas ths is a plateau this Nation wants to have anything to do with, and certainly not Mr. Connerly.
   
   I am dismayed that some other so called Black leaders do not think he (Mr. Connerly) should air this dirty laundry in public. The differences between Blacks. But it is after all Mr. Connerly's right to have his say.
   
   After reading this book I found Mr. Connerly to be that which Ronald Ragan taught us to be, a Covert racist, using code words such as "Most Qualified",and requiring College Degrees for certain jobs which never required one before Affirmative Action. Had the concept of a level playing field been in place when George Bush applied for addmission to Yale, he would have been turned away. He had neither the grades, nor the work ethics for entry.
   
   So do away with Affirmative Action, and all programs designed to give one an advantage over another. Money, background, the works.



2. What a total sell out. This book is complete hogwash. Thanks to his hateful policies the number of minorities in CA campuses has gone down drastically. Diversity is very important. How can we learn about each other if we never have the experience of being around each other. What a silly little man. There is still a lot of racism against minority people in this country and his idea of a colorblind society is really unrealistic.



3. Connerly's books is part autobiography and partly a history of the modern ideological shift against racial preferences. Connerly is a black man from a very modest background who found himself leading the fight against "affirmative action." He was the driving force behind California's Prop 209 and similar initiatives. The political intrigue behind this struggle is as interesting as Connerly's life and the philosophical issues underlying the controversy. A good read. The only disappointment is that the book was written in the year 2000, and the reader is left wanting more of an update.



4. He shows us that we shouldn't receive a helping hand because of the color of our skin, but that we should work hard to acheive what we can. He shows how someone that works harder to succeed is cast to the side for someone that didn't to make it to college just for them to fail and dampen the hopes of our hardest workers. That what's so damaging about affirmative action cause it tells people that they don't have to work hard to advance but that the government will always be there to play mommy and daddy.



5. Equal opportunity and personal responsibility are two sides of the same coin necessary to reach ones' potential. On a National level, Affirmative Action has been improperly implemented via lowering educational requirements and discrimination that has diminished individual effort and created resentment. Clearly this is not the way to accomplish diversity. Government must do its' part to assure equal opportunity, while the individual creates equal for self through the personal responsibility efforts of hard work and study. Creating Equal implies a mutual responsibility on both government and individual citizen, to do the proper amount of work, regardless of background.

3 comments about Shush! Growing Up Jewish under Stalin: A Memoir.

1. This is an eye-opening memoir. It is a compelling story. It provides a rare insight into not just the tragedy of the persecution of the Jewish people in the Soviet Union after World War II (and for centuries before by the Russians), but also gives a rare glimpse into the often bitter harshness of post-World War II life in the Soviet Union under Stalin's regime. Must reading.



2. Imagine a young Jewish boy now an adult, who still utters the word "Jewish" only sotto voce. The subtitle of Emil Draitser's heartwarming and heartbreaking memoir Shush! Growing up Jewish Under Stalin explains why. Multiply the ordinary difficulties of childhood and adolescence exponentially to comprehend what happened to Jewish families (not to mention others) in Russia. Certainly this book will strike a chord with readers who have had similar experiences. And perhaps these readers with direct experience of the atrocities of the Stalinist regime will need as much courage to read it as the author must have had to write it--people are generally inclined to relegate painful memories to the past and avoid resurrecting them.
   
   It has obviously taken the author years to sort through the dire circumstances of his childhood and to reclaim his identity and roots--an affirmation of the strong values that somehow survived and a credit to his parents and extended family. In circumstances that could justifiably bring out the worst in people, what shines through in this family are pride, dignity, and principles.
   
   Draitser's visual and well-paced writing balances the sad with the humorous. His descriptions of his parents' mannerisms made me laugh out loud. But then, the opposite effect occurs; for example, there's a photo of a young couple--the author's aunt and uncle, the parents of three small children--looking bright-eyed, and, one imagines, forward to life--and suddenly you read that the entire family perished!
   
   I am not Russian or Jewish. I was not raised in a repressed society or discriminated against. But this book has a much broader appeal--don't be fooled by the title. It also reminds us how profoundly marked we are by our childhood impressions, and evokes anyone's painful first days as a young school pupil. Jewish, Russian, black, white, Asian, whatever--kids are mean! My mother occasionally packed leftover "ethnic" food in our lunch boxes. This never failed to attract the attention and derision of the kids sitting nearby eating their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We begged our mother to please stop packing the stuff. It's no fun being the brunt of jokes.
   
   This is a fine memoir, well-written and courageous--an inspiring book for readers of all backgrounds and ages.



3. Shush is Emil Draister's memoir of growing up a Jew, in Russia , during Stalin's time. It is the story of a boy's search for pride in his Jewish identity. Historical events are seen through the eyes of the author, a member of the "Young Pioneers", indoctrinated in communist propaganda, and through his parents and family, as they try to survive under a Russian regime threatening to Jews.
   
   Draitser, as a child, unquestioningly accepts his inferior status. He looks different, his name is unusual and he is the victim of his classmates' cruelty and, as a voracious reader, finds even his favorite authors portraying Jews as evil. I felt his pain, his parents' fears, and the specter of prejudice-something I never experienced growing up in U.S. as an American-born, Russian, non-religious Jew in the 1950's and 1960's.
   
   This was the first book that ever made me laugh out loud. Draitser mixes humor, poetry, prose and suspense, enveloping the reader in the culture and events of Russia , particularly Odessa in the 1940's and early 1950's. In addition, the stories of the author's grandparents give the reader insight into Jewish life during pre-revolutionary Russia , from where my own father and grandfather fled.
   
   It is a must read for every Jew born in this country, practicing or not, yet it also goes beyond the Jewish experience. It is a story for everyone who has been the victim of prejudice.

No comments about Stories from El Barrio.

4 comments about Cathy Williams: From Slave to Female Buffalo Soldier (Great novels and memoirs of World War I).

1. There is greater awareness because of the magnitude of this book and
   its message. And I'll wager that there are few Americans today, Black
   or White, who know about the incredible life of Cathy Williams. This
   remarkable story now has a voice.

   Once a slave in Independence, Missouri, Cathy Williams lived and
   worked in the 'big house' as a servant to its mistress. And though
   being a house servant carried greater privilege and status than
   that of the field hand, Cathy began to resent the menial tasks she
   performed as much as she resented her masters.

   After the death of her owner, and having the good fortune of not
   being sold to pay debts, Cathy realized that the fundamental premise
   of slavery was a lie and this life was not her chosen destiny. So in
   November 1866 she disguised herself as a man, used the name William
   Cathay, and enlisted in Company A, 38th U.S. Infantry and became a
   Buffalo Soldier. As the first and only African American woman to
   serve in one of the six black units formed following the Civil War.
   Interestingly enough, Williams was able to become a member of the
   Army without detection of her sex, and it was imperative that she
   keep her true identity unknown. Her adventures took her from Missouri
   to the Mexican border where she served for nearly two years. After
   her military career Cathy did not envision returning to her roots in
   Missouri, plus her heart was now in the West. So she married and
   created a life for herself on the Western frontier, as a business-
   woman in Trinidad, CO.
   
   There is much contention surrounding the validity of Cathy's story.
   Historians claim Tucker's only source about Williams' alleged service
   as a Buffalo soldier is based on a newspaper account published in
   1876 and that there are no official records in existence to
   authenticate her Civil War service. Some believe it was easy for
   Williams to get discharge certificates from the 'real' William
   Cathay and pass it off as her own. And that 'Far too many of the
   speculations about Williams are colored by a 21st century
   "politically correct" perspective'.

   Yet others offer a more positive analogy, "Phillip Thomas Tucker the
   prize-winning author of The Confederacy's Fighting Chaplain tells
   this remarkable tale of Pvt. William Cathay of Company A, 38th U.S.
   Infantry, who in fact was a big-boned, 5' 7" black woman named Cathy
   Williams. This is a unique story of gender and race, time and place.

   Tucker's work is a recommended read that reaches across categories,
   from American, African American, and military history to Western and
   women's history." -- Thomas J. Davis, Arizona State Univ.

   Regardless of the controversy, this was a fascinating story presented
   more in the vein of a documentary than a novel and it allows readers
   to experience a non-traditional, non-typical life for a 'Colored'
   woman in the 1800's. Tucker uses this storyline to captivate and
   educate, and he introduces a believable character who unknowingly and
   unintentionally charted a course for the role of today's women in all
   branches of the military. This story vividly brings to life another
   chapter of our colorful history.

   Reviewed by aNN Brown
   of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers




2. I just finished this wonderful book....enjoyed it very much..One can see all the truly great research that went into this book...This Missouri Author Phillip Tucker has written about 25 Civil War Books..All have best good sellers...I would recommend everyone reading his books....Dr. AJ & Janet Canpbell



3. I found this book to be interesting and very enjoyable. It is an example of how one woman turned adversity into her triumph. I would recommend it highly.



4. This is a book that should, at best, have been an article in a scholarly journal or popular magazine. The great majority of the text is what politely might be termed "fluff." There is so little actually known about the subject of the book that the author has filled his pages with generalities and speculations to lengthen to story. The first three chapters deal with Cathy Williams' supposed service with the 8th Indiana Infantry Regiment, which is based exclusively on a newspaper account published in 1876. Tucker admits "no official record existed of her Civil War service" yet takes that article at face value and attempts to find support for it. One aspect of the tale should serve to show how weak it is. Williams claimed to have been with the regiment during the Red River Campaign in 1864. This was patently impossible because, at that time, the unit was home on veteran furlough. Tucker apparently did not research this or chose to ignore the fact since it contradicts Williams' tale.

   Again, there is no proof that the person calling herself "Cathy Williams" for the newspaper story had, in fact, disguised herself as a man and served as "William Cathay" in the 38th U. S. Infantry after the Civil War. The woman whose tale was published might easily have gotten the discharge certificate from the real William Cathay and then claimed it as her own. Tucker's six chapters on the service of William Cathay are also almost exclusively "fluff." They are replete with "probablys" and "might haves" since not one scintilla of evidence exists to describe Williams' activities if she actually had been in the 38th U. S. Infantry. Far too many of these speculations about Williams' feelings and thoughts are colored by a 21st century "politically correct" perspective.

   Finally, in talking about a doctor who examined Williams and found her in good health, Tucker writes: "It is possible that he had not served in the Civil War or in any Indian War like Cathy Williams, and felt that he was less of a man upon meeting a female veteran of two wars." This and other comments that follow reek of "politically correct" psychobabble and impugn the reputation of a man about whom Tucker knows nothing. He too easily points a finger at "racism" and "sexism" as the reasons for denying Williams' pension application, when the truth is that there simply was no evidence to support her claim. Oddly, Tucker fails to cite Williams' pension file found in the National Archives even though it is available to any researcher. His only source is a journal article about Williams' alleged service as a Buffalo soldier.

5 comments about When We Were Colored: A Mother's Story.

1. Eva Rutland's When We Were Colored is the slightest of these three books, but in some ways the most intriguing. A collection of personal essays originally printed during the 1950s in women's magazines such as Redbook, Woman's Day, and Ladies Home Journal, they were first published in 1964 under the title The Trouble with Being a Mama. Thus, with the exception of the new preface written for this reissue, the book is not retrospective but rather a series of contemporaneous accounts of her family's experience of what she calls "integration qualms." At times, Rutland would agree with Henry Louis Gates Jr., who wrote in his better-known memoir Colored People (1996), "For many of the colored people in Piedmont . . .integration was experienced as a loss. The warmth and nurturance of the womblike colored world was slowly and inevitably disappearing." However, Rutland's overall purpose was not to indulge such nostalgia, but to educate her readership, who were largely white women. Her pedagogical methods are shrewd. She begins each essay "seeking common ground with white mothers" on issues such as the role of "psychology" in childrearing, helping your children make friends, moving the family to a new neighborhood, difficulties with husbands and fathers, preparing children for school and dating, and joining the PTA.
   
   Once she has built firm connections with her readers, she introduces the "hook" at the end of each essay. She describes the day her brothers, walking home from work, were jumped by a group of "white boys" and cut with switchblades. She ends the essay with a reflection on her brother Sam, a college graduate:
   
   the deep, ugly bruises of a lifetime of blows--the long, long walk on a cold, wintry day to the segregated school, the push to the back of the bus, the climb to the "jim crow" section of the theater to see a special movie, the longing walk past the spacious parks and swimming pools reserved for whites, and job--truck driver, under the supervision of a man whose education could not touch his own. The switchblade marks were only the surface marks--a symbol of "what they think I am."
   Many essays end with similar anecdotes: her daughter's white schoolmate whose mother won't let her "come over"; a bright black child with excellent grades placed with the "slow learners" in school; a school dance so fraught with racial and sexual tension that her daughter asks later: "I was so embarrassed . . . Why didn't they just tell me not to come?" In places she addresses her audience directly: "But I can only tell you that they are human as are your own children." Of the night she watches Vivian Malone walk past Governor Wallace and enter the University of Alabama under armed guard, she writes, "I cannot help but believe that somewhere, perhaps in the South, a white mother, simply because she was a mother, also watched with tears and pride and fear."
   
   Rutland returns frequently to the theme of social class: her father was a pharmacist and though she insists they were poor, she admits "we were so much better off than many of our Negro neighbors." All her mother's relatives had graduated from college, and her mother consistently had hired help. As a child her world existed "across town," where friends and members of her extended family lived among the black bourgeoisie of Atlanta. Of her friends, she says "All had cars--comparatively rare in my day--many had fine houses, some had maids, and most attended private schools." Returning as an adult to these neighborhoods, she writes:
   
   Visiting Atlanta, I would go from one spacious home to another--luncheon and bridge during the day, parties at night. Or we would visit Lincoln Country Club--the Negroes' private club with its own little golf course. Or we would take the children to visit our alma maters and the other surrounding Negro universities, stroll on the beautiful campuses, listen to a lecture, attend a University Players production, walk through the library. How I wished my children could grow up there, go to school there. How beautiful it seemed--Atlanta with its ermine-trimmed, diamond-studded, velvety cloak of segregation.
   Though one may read the above sentence as tinged with irony, Rutland was a proud woman: proud of her race and class; proud of her family, especially her compassionate and tolerant mother; proud of her children; and proud of the "brave young people" who decided "segregation was wrong anywhere--schools, bus stations, lunch counters--and picketed all over the country"--even when they shut down her beloved five-and-ten cent store.
   
   At the same time, though she denies it, she is touched by shame. She writes that the color of her skin is the mark of the slave ship, the stamp of shame upon her heritage. As she explains,
   
   The shame transmits itself to you, and you lower your head when confronted with the symbols of your past--a bandanaed Aunt Jemima, a black-faced comedian with a Negro dialect, a bare-footed boy with his face sunk in watermelon.
   
   And the shame becomes a burden on your heart, a chip on your shoulder, carried with you into the marketplace, the streets, the schools.
   In the next breath, though, she insists that because of her family and her segregated schooling, where she learned Negro history and literature (especially the poetry of Paul Lawrence Dunbar), "I think I escaped the shame altogether, and the chip rests lightly on my shoulder." I'm not so sure. She does have a sense of humor and is able to laugh at herself. But in her urgency to convince her white female readers of the full humanity of Negro mothers and children, pride battles shame. Continually imagining herself through white eyes, she remains shadowed by what "they" think, the double-vision so well described by W.E.B. DuBois in Souls of Black Folk (1903). In the end, pride wins out. Her book closes as she watches the 1963 March on Washington: "But most of all I was proud of the people, black and white, who stood in the sweltering sun, tired and weary, quiet and dignified, saying more eloquently than we ever could, We, the people of the United States."
   
   From the January/February 2008 Issue
   "Stepping Out and Moving Forward" by Margo Culley



2. Ready or not, here comes the picture perfect African-American family
   Norman Rockwell never got around to painting. Eva Rutland, with
   absolutely no formal child-rearing knowledge, is the ever so
   delightful wife, and mother of four children. She makes it
   possible for us to sigh and then laugh in WHEN WE WERE COLORED. She
   shows how raising four African-American children during the early
   years of segregation was accomplished. There were no textbooks or
   how-to magazines, and rarely does Rutland seem to be even advised
   by her own mother; trial and error is the order of the day.
   Recognizing no priorities keeps her sane, if you can call it that.
   She is the normal African-American mother who is not afraid to take
   advantage of segregated neighborhoods and allow her children to
   develop into who they will become. Rutland is the pioneer
   of "Mother Knows Best"(tm) or better stated, let the housework wait and
   just go with the flow. She is the mother who never made it to the
   sit-coms.
   
   In a very charming and witty fashion, Rutland discovers mothering
   four different individuals requires patience, delegation,
   flexibility, and creativity. Plus adequate amounts of keeping her
   children involved in community and church leaves no time for
   destructive behavior. Just when her patience runs out, Rutland is
   canny enough to pass the torch to Bill, her husband. She is
   brilliantly funny enough to know when to retreat into the bathroom
   with a magazine and locked door. Readers can follow this mother
   through her children's dating years and laugh in spite of themselves
   when she suggests how her daughter can remain a lady on her first
   date.
   
   You feel the peace emanating from this mother who courageously
   selects a house in an all-white neighborhood instinctively trusting
   her children will cope. Yes, Rutland is the quintessential mother of
   yesteryear and all mothers can learn from reading WHEN WE WERE
   COLORED: A Mother's Story. It will leave you enlightened
   and inspired, it will make you proud that segregation, racism,
   discrimination, riots, and prejudice did not weaken this strong
   mother, or inhibit how her children turned out.
   
   Rutland's memoir earned several awards and the only thing left to do, is come up with even more awards for this wonderful story.
   
   Reviewed by Swaggie Coleman
   for The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers



3. Eva Rutland takes us back to a time of penny candy, 5and 10 -cent stores, and racism. In times when the world seemed much gentler, some Americans could not simply sit down to eat at restaurants unless it was marked Colored, and could not go to the school of their choice. Ms Rutland struggled to rear her children without the emotional scars that sometimes came with dealing with racism.
   
   
   Eva had an open door policy. All were welcome at her door; no one was discriminated against. Eva was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia in the house that her grandfather, a freed slave, built himself. That community had not segregated itself. Although Atlanta was segregated, where Eva lived, everyone knew each other and Eva knew how to find common ground with her neighbors no matter what race they were.
   
   Bill Rutland, Eva's husband, was a trailblazer. He joined the Air Force at the time that it was first desegregated. Not wanting to be separated from his family, he packed them up and moved them to California. Bill met discrimination when he went out in advance to find a home for his family. Some neighborhoods were integrated but Bill had a hard time finding them or a realtor that would help him. Whenever Bill found a house that he wanted, he would have trouble procuring a loan to purchase it. He found a run-down house in a neighborhood that Whites had began to desert because of integration. When the family wanted to move to better surroundings they had to get one of Bill's co-workers to buy it for them, much to the outrage of the seller.
   
   Eva combated racism by becoming a den mother, joining the PTA and every other group that she could find; so that she could help her kids understand that not everyone was a racist. Eva found that every mother has the same fears for their children so she reached out to all mothers and not just members of her own race. Instead of looking for adversity, Eva always looked for the common ground. Eva was a tireless worker who was so busy insuring that her children's mental health did not get ruined that she often did not have time for herself.
   
   
   
   I loved this story! Rutland wrote strictly from a mother's point-of-view and did not let bitterness enter into the equation. I read this book and cheered for her She bared her heart to her readers and wrote with honesty stating flaws and all. Every man, woman and child, especially the younger generation, could benefit from reading this book. This book is not about color but about a mother trying to do what is best for her children, in a world determined to keep them as second-class citizens. Every race would gain something by reading this story.
   
   Margaret Ball
   
   APOOO BookClub- .



4. Book review of "When We Were Colored: A mother's Story" by Eva Rutland, 2007, IWP Book Publishers, ISBN 13: 978-1-934178-00-3, 152 pp.
   
   Book reviewer: Joe Fabel, American Authors Association Review Board
   
   Eva Rutland is a most unique individual who has shared with the reader the wisdom of her life as an individual, a wife and a mother. She is unique because she values the virtues which lie within. Exterior behavior norms are not what she is about for her family. Yes, she teaches her children how to live with others; yet she goes beyond to emphasize the true value of living a life of commitment to excellence. She instills within her children, whenever they will sit still and pay attention, the virtues of living and choosing to perfect themselves as full human beings.
   
   There is reference to her upbringing in the South, a time of sheltering within the black community as defined by white segregation mores. She states that it was a time of comfort in the sense that she and her folks understood the boundaries established, knowing what the segregating Southern whites demanded. There was never a question of what one could or couldn't do.
   
   The quiet segregation experienced among people in the West, the quiet yet definite
   "lines marked in the sands" is a daily occurrence. Eva Rutland emphasizes that each of her family must achieve academically, socially and personally according to their abilities and gifts. There must be no question of squandering what the good Lord has allotted each of us.
   
   This is a story by an insightful and sharing mother. The book should be on all reading lists of all levels of the schools, available for the parents of all the students. It contains
   messages by which each individual must live his or her life, be you a child, a parent,
   a neighbor or simply a citizen. Eva's message is a golden rule to live by.



5. "Eva Rutland has done all of us a grand favor - [to] tell the powerful and poignant story of the courage and love of a black mother in a society that devalues black children."
   -- Cornel West, author, "Race Matters," Professor of Religion, Princeton University
   
   "Eva Rutland's chronicle of child rearing during the transition from segregation to civil rights is warm, poignant, and funny. It is also a powerful object lesson in how and why women - as mommas and grandmothers -have long anchored the soul of Black America."
   ---Willie L. Brown, Jr., former Mayor of San Francisco and former Speaker of the California State Assembly
   
   "Rutland brings the reader back to a time and place in this country when there weren't protected civil right, when she couldn't swin in the local pools, when a visit from a neighboring white girl who wanted to use their phone prompted a dangerous visit from the police..."
   ---Martha Mendoza, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, Associated Press
   
   "'When We Were Colored' has an amusing 'Moma Knows Best' sensibility. The book also gives the reader a serious look at the West's black middle class - usually invisible in American storytelling."
   ---Janet Clayton, assistant Managing Editor, Los Angeles Times
   
   "Eva Rutland's evocation of race, place, and time has near perfect poignancy and verisimilitude. With a wonderful blend of intemacy and sociology, 'When We Were Colored' recaptures the wisdom, resiliency, and love of a family overcoming a world once oppressively divided into black and white."
   ---David Levering Lewis, Professor of History, New York University, and recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Biography

5 comments about Desert Dawn.

1. This book show me the incredible journey that Ms. Dirie went through. And no matter how she lived throughout her life she could not forget how she was raised. Great book



2. Waris Dirie is my favority author. I think she writes honestly about her life experiences and gives a different perspective than the average writer does. I would recommend everyone read this book.



3. This book was most useful to me by showing the life of a tribal family in Somalia from the viewpoint of someone who has experienced western life but is still sensative to the viewpoint of tribal nomadic life. It provides a really interesting insight rarely seen.



4. Once started to read I just couldn't stop. Just so amazing how Waris was caught between her home in somalia and New York. I support her courage



5. Desert Flower was a fantastic book giving insight into a culture that blindly follows old fashioned and cruel rituals. Desert Dawn however repeats most of Desert Flower and just gives a bit of additional information about the further life of Waris. Sadly enough Waris has not learned much from her own mutilation, which she documents in circumcising her own son. Waris seems to forget that women play an important role in culture and rituals through upbringing and education of their own children. Circumcision and mutilation is not in nature's nor in any god's plan, otherwise they would have taken care about it.

2 comments about If I Stop, I'll Die: The Comedy and Tragedy of Richard Pryor.

1. This is a good look at Pryor's work and effect on culture that goes beyond the normal biography. A few areas where the book fails, beyond some typos, are in places where it misinterprets the comedy.
   
   For example, calling Cleavon Little's character in "Blazing Saddles" "merely a sidekick and buffoon" is the authors' take on it, which is way off the mark. Bart is extremely cool (and complemented by Wilder's character, not overshadowed by it), and the times he looks foolish is in outlandish situations, as when he takes himself hostage.
   
   Also, some lines from a Mudbone routine (not Mudbones, as he is constantly called in the book) are totally misheard. On page 103 of the 2006 paperback edition, the joke is that Mudbone is from Tupelo [where Elvis Presley was born] and, asked where that is, Mudbone replies "by One-pelo." Get it? Two, One? The authors have it as "Tougaloo" and "Woomaloo" which degrades the comedy into no joke at all, much less "There is no 'Woomaloo' but Pryor met the challenge, and the [audience's] roar is praise for his quick thinking."
   
   Also, little things like saying that the 1975 Laff "Down and Dirty" LP was "artistically disappointing" is misleading for anyone not knowing the story behind Pryor's Laff recordings. He put out "Craps (After Hours)" with Laff, and then wanted to jump ship to Partee/Stax, a bigger label (which first issued "That Nigger's Crazy", which was then reissued by Warner Bros. when Stax was going under). To get out of the Laff contract, Pryor agreed to let them issue (and reissue, as in the case of the Redd Foxx/Pryor "Down and Dirty" which had only selected "Craps" material on it) work that they had recorded or had in their possession. Pryor later got the rights back to the Laff material, some of which he put out on "Evolution/Revolution", and included "Craps" in its entirety. Basically, the authors mention the reissuing of the Laff recordings, and Pryor's attitude about it, but then make a critical comment about an LP without remembering the context. Putting "Down and Dirty" and "Was It Something I Said?" next to each other as contemporary Pryor "products" is apples and oranges.



2. This is the first book I've read on Richard Pryor. I think it is a good book. It is very difficult to convey Richard Pryor's impact on the black community in the 70's and 80's. It is comparable to the impacts Muhammad Ali and James Brown had in the 60's and 70's. This book captures some if not most of the reasons for Pryor's great popularity.

1 comments about Stepin Fetchit: The Life & Times of Lincoln Perry.

1. Before reading this book, I had read a lot of mean things about this character. Whenever folks wanted to put someone down, they would call them "step and fetch it." However, after reading about Mr. Lincoln, it is evident that he is a very smart and talented man. He played into racial stereotypes. He embodied Brer Rabbit, the trickster, in African American folktale. This character is also known in African/Ghanaian folklore as Anase the spider. He out foxed the fox.
   
   His dimwitted portrayal was simply him playing in the Brer Rabbit tradition. I surely now have more respect for the character and the genius of the man.
   
   Of course, the Black elite crown was up in a roar and despised the man. However, he was loved by the masses, who knew that he was purposely portraying a dimwitted character. They could laugh it him because each day of their lives they had to "wear the mask." They knew exactly what he was doing. It was about survival in a hostile and violent society.
   
   The sad thing is that Mr. Perry did not consider the future. He wasted his wealth and ended up a pauper. Well I guess he had fun while it lasted. This is a lesson. When the getting is good, you better save some for later.

5 comments about Papa Jack: Jack Johnson And The Era Of White Hopes.

1. AS a boxing historian I really enjoyed Robert's book having reread it many times. I feel Robert's did a tremendous amount of research and is very well informed about his subject. You cannot study Johnson without discussing how he reflected his times and how thy effected him. My only criticism and it is a serious one is that I feel Robert's was extremely hard in judging his subject as a man. No athlete in American history had to live through the constant painful attacks that Jack Johnson did every day from 1908 on when he took the title from Tommy Burn's ... the pressures had to be exceptionally overwhelming and in hindsight I feel Johnson should not have been judged so harshly as a man. He deserved better ... he was decades ahead of his time, a highly intelligent, self-educated and cultured man and one of the greatest fighter that ever lived.



2. I guess it would be to much to objectively view Jack Johnson as a man and not a symbol. As with all Johnson biography's the author apparently feels compelled to reduce his subject to a level that is readily digestable to the reader. Though you don't find the author referring to Johnson as a "shiftless coon" in the tradition of Denzil Batchelor, Mr. Roberts summation that Johnson was "not the hero..." places his work in line with practically every other book written on Jack Johnson.
   
   So what makes a man dead 60 years a threat to an establishment and culture which says it long ago set aside the error of its ways inregard to race relations. If this were true would we still be reading books which at every turn question the methods and motives of a Jack Johnson? Would the words of angry racists in the guise of official government reports carry the weight and ring of truth the author gives them while pointing out frequently that the subjects life style, choice of company and words are subject to scrutiny due to his ego and self-centered nature?
   
   In this age of ego driven athletes, businessmen, politicians, clergy etc., it was a wasted point to declare that Johnson's greatest strength "his ego," was his most glaring weakness. I think it safe to make this assumption of many men. Though we have politicians admired for their drive and commitment to the very values which Jack Johnson was and apparently continues to be viewed as a threat to. Their egos nor motives are challenged. What man worth his salt doesn't believe he is the best at the things he commits himself to mastering?
   
   Jack Johnson was harshly scrutinized and mistreated because of his ability to dominate his circumstances. Be they opponents or a system which physically, financially and emotionally abused the hopes and dreams of his people, Jack Johnson was an overcomer. Jack Johnson is despised today as a symbol. A bad example of what happens when one man is allowed to much independence. In every since of the word Jack Johnson was a revolutionary. We are told he wasn't a hero, nor was he a man to be admired but I would disagree whole-heartedly. Jack Johnson was simply a man born a century to soon.
   
   Mr. Roberts says their is no ghost in the house, but how wrong you are Sir. The ghost is in the house everytime a camera snaps a photo of Tiger Woods and his wife. Everytime you see a clip of Ali with his arms thrust high in the air in victory look closely you'll see the ghost smiling his golden capped smile in the front row. For every man who longs to live free you'll find the ghost dancing in his heart. Long live the spirit of freedom and the ghost of Jack Johnson.



3. Jack Johnson did tell his own tale but this was in a haphazard, uneven, entertaining if not always believable book ("Jack Johnson Is A Dandy"). Because of this we have to look elsewhere for more reliable testimony. Randy Robert's `Papa Jack' from the mid 80s was for a long time the definitive bio on the first black heavyweight champion. In the absence of people still living from Johnson's day, Roberts researches heavily and of course has the unenviable task of unearthing the facts from the deeply racist and hate filled press of the time (among many other sources all of which are referenced in detail).
   
   The book itself is an easy read. Information from Johnson's early years is scant at best, so Roberts providing an account of his family and how they came to be in Galveston, Texas in the late 1800's is not only fascinating but very admirable. How he came to box and his patchy early years in the fight game are deciphered, as is his rise to notoriety (forced to continually fight the same batch of outcast super-tough black boxers) and historic title winning fight with Tommy Burns and subsequent seven year reign (including defences against the likes of Ketchel and Jeffries), through to a 37 year old, mentally weary Johnson dropping the title to the huge but ordinary Jess Willard.
   
   For the very real danger any black man faced at the time, Johnson's fearlessness is near beyond belief. Robert's does a good job recounting his personal life cavorting with a crew of white men, romancing a string of white women, shady business practices and misadventures the world over, many times correcting the claims Johnson made in his autobiography. It makes for great reading.
   
   As for gripes? A few. The major being Roberts annoying use of obvious misquotes. Supposedly this colourful and intelligent man spoke like this: "de fight was good, erm, me tink Jeffries was good challenger" etc. A man of Robert's intellect should have gathered that this was the racist press of the time stereotyping Johnson in their reports as a mentally slow Neanderthal, whereas existing recordings of Johnson's voice prove he was a lucid speaker. This is made worse because elsewhere Robert's includes more believable coherent Johnson quotes, yet doesn't spot the discrepancy in his own work. Otherwise, what pictures are included are great, but we would have liked more. Also, there is no fight record at the back, nor are many of his later fights covered.
   
   But overall, this is a good read. Robert's does the best he can with what he had to work with, and for so long this has been the reliable and comprehensive account of the Galveston Giant. However, recently Geoffrey C Ward's award winning `Unforgivable Blackness' has surfaced, complete with supposedly far more extensive research and a greater depth of information and material. I look forward to reading that book and cannot at the time offer any comparison, however for a concise overview I would recommend combing the two and educating yourself on the incredible life of the master boxer and controversial man that was Jack Johnson.



4. Randy Roberts absolutely nails it with this wonderful and thoughtful biography of the extraordinary Jack Johnson. A must-read for any student of U.S. history and the social impact of sport. The semi-literate, one-star review below says far more about its writer than it does about this book. Can this person even read? Ignore these idiotic blitherings.



5. This is truly a terrific book - easily the best and clearest view of who Jack Johnson really was. Exhaustively researched and beautifully written - this book is well worth your time if you're interested in learning about one of the 20th century's most controversial figures.

5 comments about Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince.

1. This book was pretty good, it showed a lot of background history of the albums as well as individual songs. For me it helped piece together the albums and showed Prince in a more human light, which made me appreciate him even more. It's a bit bitter sweet.
   I know the Sign of the Times/Black album/Lovesexy era was a really exciting and quick time, but there wasn't a lot on what was happening as far as band members and song writing concerned.
   
   I did appreciate the last few sentences of the book which forshadowed Prince starting to emerge from the cloud of those dark years which I consider Graffiti Bridge - Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic



2. If you want to know about the full details of Prince's career and personal life, this is the book for you. I couldn't put it down, finished it in a few days. Prince is an incredible musician as well as a control freak in which you will learn. He also is very comfortable in contradicting himself as well. None the less, its a fascinating story. Seems like he had a burn out in the early nineties. Up until then, this guy was on fire and seemed unstoppable. I really like how he stuck up for himself and never let the industry put him into one category. As an artist this is something that many artist wish in their wildest dreams they could pull off, but very few can. In fact none to my knowledge has been able to as well as the purple one. Even less would have the courage to try.
   
   The one thing that stuck out to me is Prince's dedication to his career, but lack of balance in personal life. Total workaholic to the point of obsession. Because of this it eventually influenced his career in a bad way. I think he could of stood to take some time off over the years, too much in the thick of it to get a clear head.
   
   I'm a huge Prince fan, as amazing as he is........he is human like the rest of us, flaws and all. This book shows you the human element of this guy. A real vicarious view through the life of Mr. Nelson. Let me tell you, one amazing life.
   
   If you have any curiosity behind the mystery of Prince, gotta get this book.



3. Author Alex Hahn clearly thinks very little of Prince. As such, this book reads as one long explication of just how arrogant, selfish, and nearly two-albums-of-a-talent Hahn thinks Prince is. Aside from occasionally referring to individual songs as "brilliant" and openly admiring the albums "Purple Rain" and "Sign O' the Times", Hahn repeatedly and continually bashes Prince's every move. It gets utterly boring and irritating. There's nothing wrong with writing a book that's a true examination of how a brilliant artist lost his edge. But, it requires a talent for writing and an ability to psychologically analyze someone, skills that Hahn clearly does not possess.
   
   A major problem with even trying to read this book is that Hahn is a very poor writer. He does nothing to draw the reader in to the stories he tells; they're told with a flat, journalistic distance. He's also absolutely horrid at using quotations. There aren't very many direct quotations (which says a lot about Hahn's access to his sources). They're also poorly used, scattered willy-nilly throughout the text, providing little feeling for the people who said them. Especially irritating is that he feels the need to follow every positive comment he makes with a "but this is how Prince is a jerk" counter-statement. It's like he's afraid you'll forget his "point" if he dares to explore anything decent about Prince, even for a moment.
   
   All in all, this reads like an overly long high-school essay, fearfully overemphasizing its negative "thesis". Don't waste your time on it.



4. Although Prince has enjoyed a popular `comeback' since the publication of this book, I felt the author was a little critical of Princes musical and output especially in the late 80s/90s. Personally I thought Lovesexy and Diamonds and pearls great albums.
   Whilst we all loved the punky attitude of the 80s, we have to remember that Prince wanted to stand out from the generally conservative looking R & B crowd. When you are young, you naturally feels much free to explore sexuality and how you look you are open to more influence. For a young talented, and good looking African American growing up when he did, Prince embraced all of what that period had to offer whether it was cross dressing, punk, new wave and dating women from ethnicities other than his own. Naturally as one gets older, one normally becomes more conservative and reverts back to what really felt comfortable to them such as hanging out with the African American NPG. Prince was never really the effete, and camp person that some like Alex Hahn wanted him to be, he was merely playing a role which no doubt attracted a certain type of woman. Even others such as Andre Cymone would blend boundaries of taste and fashion, to attract a certain type of women i.e. exotic, to differentiate themselves from other `brothers'
   Once hip hop culture became all embracing Prince knew that he could no longer be the effeminate acting brother, he decided to revert back to `keeping it real' whether musically or image.



5. As a Prince fan for nearly thirty years, I've read just about every review, biography, interview and article ever written about The Artist. Far and away, this is the most penetrating, well-written, and insightful book ever published. It avoids gossip and sensationalism, yet does not compromise on providing an in-depth look into Prince's music and his life. Rarely has a truly critical (but never unfair) analysis been written about a musician's career. Prince fans owe it to themselves to give this book a thorough read.