2 comments about Our People and Our History: Fifty Creole Portraits.

1. anyone who reads and enjoys this book should know that it was credited as the main source for the book by anne rice " feast of all saints" and the subsequent movie of the same title produced by shotime in 2000 2001. a distant or not so distant relative of the author. my grandmother's maiden name is desdunes and we lived in haiti.



2. I have the first book Rodolphe L. Desdunes wrote
   and I enjoyed it. Also I am doing research on my ancestry
   so the book came out just in time.H e is my father's GGG
   uncle.

   PS:once again I have really enjoyed both of his books.
   
   Thank You

5 comments about Tattoos on My Soul: From the Ghetto to the Top of the World.

1. This is a good book that tells a powerful story.
   If the American Gangster movie is your forte, this book will be also.



2. This book is something else - what a page turner! For me, reading Tattoos had the same effect as going to Vegas - I developed a swagger like an unstoppable VIP, and suddenly, a wallet full of $100 bills didn't seem like an impossible goal. For those who commented that some of the stories are unbelievable, open your eyes: this kind of money exchanges hands in legal and illegal enterprises every day. Burrel has given us a rare glimpse into the world of big thinkers. Okay, sure, it's the literary version of a daredevil's televised stunt: kids, don't try this at home. But I think he does a good job of explaining WHY the gangsta life is ultimately self-defeating. Bravo!



3. It's raw reality, hard to swallow-but still true! He shows the glamour and the seduction of a successful gang leader, but as you keep on reading, he makes clear how shallow, empty and lifeless was his life. How easy to get in and how hard to get out! It trilled me to follow the thoughts that would lead him to get out of it all. Finally, he ends up giving it back - a confession to inspire personal growth without being a self-help book.



4. The first thing that called my attention was the book's title. I got totally hooked on this true story of a man who survived the best and the worst - many times in the same day. Burrel's story stood up to the powerful title. His character, his persona, his friends jump out of the page from beginning to end. I was very impressed that he had courage and determination not only to get out of the thug-business, but also to tell everything to the public. It's a story of survival indeed. Told by a man who has been there, seen that, done that. And that's one of the reasons that Burrel has the authority to talk about crime, drugs and the worst of the world with clarity and knowledge to people around the world - not just ghettos.



5. This ghetto dude glorifies a life of pimpin,druggin,and other illicit business's he spends about 2 pages in the book talking about his so called new profession as a life coach and mentor. I saw him on the news show fox thing in the morning in chicago and from the title of the book and his so called conversion from being a thug to being an honest businessman made me want to support the brother, but after reading this book I wished I had saved my money!
   
   I get the impression he is still probebly doing stuff that is illegal and his story is not one I would want my children or anyone I know imulating! Life Coach? Pulezze! There are alot of hardworking folks who grew up poor and made it without all of the activities he is glorifying in this book. This book is a waste of money!
   
   artj

5 comments about Mercy, Mercy Me: The Art, Loves, and Demons of Marvin Gaye.

1. Have you ever read a book so boring and pointless that you wish you could get back the hours of your life that were wasted reading it. Well if you would like to share my experience read this book. When I pick up a biography on Marvin Gaye it should be just that-a biography. What I got from this book was Mr. Dyson's views on the problems in Black America right now. And was there a reason the afterword was mostly about R.Kelly? I know he was supposed to be comparing the struggle of sensuality v. spirituality that both men experienced but come on. R.Kelly doesn't have an ounce of the talent Marvin Gaye had. It's a shame to even make comparisons (at least on a professional/artistic level) of these two men. The book was boring, sloppy and I came away angry. After reading it my thought was 'Mercy Mercy On Me'.



2. I say this because I read DIVIDED SOUL when it came out some 20 years ago, and it seems like Dyson has just read THAT book and has written an essay/review about it and thrown in some unsubstantiated allegations just to make the reading more "interesting." In short, any halfway decent college student enrolled in an upper-level writing course could have written this book. Bear in mind that unlike Ritz, Dyson didn't actually KNOW Marvin Gaye. David Ritz actually knew, worked with, and lived with Marvin Gaye, and even though there are things I could nitpick about with DIVIDED SOUL, that book is a FAR SUPERIOR read. It's far more informative and far more insightful than this offering from my favorite pseudo-intellectual.



3. It was an insightful passage of reading into the life of Marvin Gaye. Over all, a great book.



4. I thought the Publishers Weekly review was pretty accurate. This book read like a textbook. Maybe that is because Dyson is a college humanities professor. I could only get half way through before as Popeye said That's all I can stands, I can stands no more. Now I understand why I was able to purchase this book for 84 cents.



5. Michael Dyson is such a great author and activist. He really knows the ups and downs of Marvin Gaye's life. Oh that's such a blessing I think every Marvin Gaye fan should get this just b/c they wanna learn more 'bout this man. 2 me he's one of my idols I grew up 'cuz he's such an inspiration. This book tells it all from his days of sex, drugs, violence, threats between his dad, how he got involved in the resurrection of life and death and the coming side of R. Kelly's admirer of Gaye. You see Marvin never say "Give up on what u got". No he saids "Take it lightly and slowly when u dead and gone". That's why we need to check ourselves everyday to the fullest until we live this normal or martyred life. I haven't bought the book yet but I'll may go it ASAP once it's still here. This is such an interesting story from the man who did the lifetimes of Tupac Shakur, black women, black people, the culture of our nation and black music and now. Definitely recommend along w/ Mase's memoir and Miles' memoir.

5 comments about Facing Athens: Encounters with the Modern City.

1. George Sarrinikolaou has written a wonderful memoir of his trip to Athens. Sarrinikolaou was raised in Athens and returns looking for the home he remembered as a child only to find his homeland different. It is this blunt look at a changed Athens struggling to find its way in the world. Sarrinikolaou covers such topics as racism of different ethnics other than Greeks and the nouveau riche developing in the city.
   
   One of the most revealing sections talks about owning a car in a city clogged with traffic. Every Athenian hates the traffic, but they all want a car for the "freedom" they represent. It is this type of dichotomy the book represents.
   
   Sarrinikolaou writes with both anger and bitter sadness about the city of his childhood. He condemns, but it is also obvious he loves Athens. Much like those of us that moved away only to return later and remark, "I thought it was larger".
   
   The beauty of this book is that it is written in stark black and white. Sarrinikolaou calls it like he sees it and it is bleak.
   
   "Facing Athens" is a very personal account and it is bittersweet, but should not be missed. Highly recommended.



2. An exile returns home and these are his musings. Being Greek, he is under no obligation to invoke the ancients at every turn and he provides an unvarnished look at a city that is dysfunctional and charming at all once. He'll speak of Greek racism (the Albanians are blamed for nearly everything, the Gypsies for the rest), the total disaster of traffic through the city center, and the pull of the old neighborhoods now destroyed by callous development that is turning everything into concrete block apartment buildings.
   
   I've been to Athens and seem most of what he is talking about. The magic of Athens is not that it is perfect, but that in its great imperfections it still tugs at something inside you.



3. I think the author does a good job of describing and capturing the 'uglier' aspects of today's Athens (which certainly need to be discussed further), but leans towards the dour, missing many of the more positive aspects of life in Athens. As with many large, compact cities, our impressions can change from day to day. With Athens, and Greece in general, the best and the worst of humanity seem to become more apparent and immediate to the senses. I don't know why; maybe it's the close quarters.
   
   The issues that Sarrinikolaou artfully raises can be unsettling to those in the Greek Diaspora and should stir discussion. Our impressions of Greece and what it means to be Greek are based (for myself and for many, I believe) on the rural/island traditions and kinship ties of our parents/grandparents. The problems that face modern Athens are not a part of that inherited image and can be easily overlooked.
   
   But,I find that the more time I spend in the city and settle into its peculiar rhythm, the 'village' is made visible in many of the neighborhoods. From late night group sings in a small apartment and familiarity of corner shops and kiosks, to an entire street helping someone park their car, the city is different from what I expected it, or even may want it to be. But it's also more exciting, unpredictable, provocative, and yes, often comforting.



4. This is mostly a book about urban decay and the flight to the suburbs. While the specific examples are from Athens, the same words could describe the Bronx or the French banlieus. Because ownsership of cars spread in Greece later than in the United States its effects start appearing in the 1970s, later than in the US. I lived in Athens between 1940 and 1961 and when I visited the country in the late 1970's what struck me was that the Greeks were repeating all the errors that led to American (and Western European) urban problems. However few people ever learn from the errors of others. Other parts of the book deal with the superficial Greek church attendence, common in any country where there is an established church, and corruption, also common in several countries and certainly in the Middle East. (The heritage of the Ottoman empire of which the Balcans and the Middle East used to be part of.) He describes the contrast between affluent Greeks and the illegal Albanian immigrants who tend their gardens but, again, the same words could also describe American suburbanites and the illegal Latin American immigrants who tend their gardens.
   
   Because the author left Greece when he was only 10 years old, he may have had an idealized image of the place and was disappointed by the reality. I left Greece as an adult (after college and military service) and any time I go back I enjoy the place. Overall it has changed for the better. (I stay away from the blighted urban areas for the same reason I stay away from blighted urban areas anywhere else.)
   
   The best thing I can say about the book is that it short, only 144 pages, so I did not waste too much time reading it.



5. When you travel to Cairo, or Beijing, or Athens, you can focus your tourist eyes and attention on Pyramids, the Forbidden City, the Parthenon, and the people of the past. Or you can open your eyes and mind wider and also attempt to understand the cities and the people who live today in the shadows of antiquity. "Facing Athens" is for the latter group of travelers.
   
   George Sarrinikolaou faces Athens with eyes and mind wide open, with the memories of an Athenian child, and with a transplanted heart and soul that he also must open wider to accomplish his search for discovery and rediscovery.
   
   What results is a not only deft portrait of today's realities in a great and changing city, but a study that often can be applied, at least in part, to other cities (and countries). From it, a reader's own mind can formulate glimpses of what the future may hold for Athens and the world.
   
   "Facing Athens" is must-read for any thoughtful traveler who believes she/he is, or wishes to be, a true world citizen...and any armchair traveler who enjoys seeing through the eyes of the beholder.

5 comments about When She Was White: The True Story of a Family Divided by Race.

1. This book is an excellent read. I didn't want it to end. I found it interesting how the media followed this family from the beginning right up to the present. A documentary exists, also, which compells you to search for it and allows you to put faces to the names you read about. Excellent. This book led me to read other books with similar contents.



2. Firstly I have to admit that I haven't finished reading the book, I will edit my review when done. But I was curious about what other have said about it, so I paged to this review page.
   
   I bought this book because I vaguely remember the story of Sandra Laing from newspapers etc. as a kid growing up in South Africa. She is quite a bit older than me, I was rather young when the incident happened, and I cannot remember much about all the controversy.
   
   I mainly bought this book because I am quite interested in the genealogy of Afrikaner families. I have spent several years now documenting my own heritage. Frankly, I am surprised that the case of Sandra Laing stands out so much, as we Afrikaners are a creole nation who speaks a pidgin language - and I say this with pride. After 356 years in Africa, I don't believe that any of us are "pure whites" whatever that means. I guess it is not a well known fact (even amongst Afrikaners) that Afrikaners have on the average 6 to 12% of non-European blood (depending on which researcher's works you read). However, the majority of that proportion is Asian blood (particularly East Indian). In my own case I have verified this through DNA testing and genealogy - only because I was curious - my self-guestimate is 1/16th. I am sure the situation in the USA is not dissimilar.
   
   It is well known that people were formally classified as belonging to a race after 1948 (though I submit that Apartheid existed long before that). Physical appearance played some role. This was one of the stupidest acts of the then National Party. My family looked European, and we happened to have been classified as white. Though I know that we are not - completely.
   
   So why in the case of Sandra Laing was her appearance more African than many others? I don't know enough about biology to answer that question, as much as I don't know why my son's eyes are blue when neither my eyes nor my wife's eyes are blue. However, the way this family (and others) were treated due to physical appearance was certainly one of the many tragedies of the era.
   
   Flipping through the book, what really irritated my immensely, was the atrocious spelling of Afrikaans phrases in the book. They don't even resemble any language I am familiar with. Was the editor out to lunch? Could the author not spell-check her phrases in her word-processing program? My version of MS Word (purchased in Canada) can spell-check Afrikaans, why can't hers? Such poor attention to detail really diminishes the professional image and academic merits of the book.
   
   Another thing that irks me quite a bit are blanket racist statements by people like the first reviewer from that Bookclub - based on well-meant, but utter, ignorance (did she get her "facts" from the book?). While I agree with her summary and 'apartheid was bad' sentiments, she made too many factual and historical errors in her "review" for me to address here.
   
   In short. Afrikaners blood was never pure to start with - well-known fact - whatever they say or said. Afrikaners merely look less coloured than the coloureds. There were not 3 classifications (she goes on to mention 4) but many more initially. Afrikaners have much (about 20%) French blood as well, but never conquered the country. They may have conquered parts of it, but it was the British Empire that conquered the whole country (almost the whole continent!) for the "Queen" (for the mineral wealth, more to the point). While Afrikaners had a big role to play in institutionalising apartheid (unfortunately), they hardly invented it. They merely took over that role from the British in 1948. Williams talks about the American south - I believe that Afrikaner leaders actually studied laws in the American South before institutionalising apartheid in South Africa. There were several study tours by many to the American south (rather than to nazi-Germany as some believe). Etc, etc.
   
   Many Afrikaners were (and still are) racist, some Afrikaners supported the system, just like some Americans/Germans etc supported their systems. But the Afrikaner National Party could never stay in power without the English vote. Fact. So please don't blame the entire Afrikaner nation for the acts of some - even if the majority.
   
   Anyway, while a few historical and grammatical errors are clearly in need of being corrected, I am glad that someone wrote down the story and sad circumstances of Sandra Laing. This is a story that needed to be told again, so many years later, in context. It is worth reflecting on it and remembering it. Sadly, the country is not out of the woods. Today (2008), the future still don't look rosy, never mind that Afrikaner power left the scene 14 years ago after 46 years of running things. But I guess the problems are new and different today.



3. This was a great book! To see the struggle of this woman's life during aparteid in S. Africa rattled me to the core. And it brought to light some of our issues with race in this counrty. This is truly a book for the strong and I think we can all learn something from it.



4. I found Judith Stone's book on Sandra Laing wonderful as a chronicle of the history of race in South Africa. The book is a reminder, though, that people don't easily fit into categories. Sandra's white parents wanted her to be classified as white. I felt that the book presented convincing evidence that Sandra, despite her appearance, was the natural daughter of two white parents. Sandra herself felt more comfortable with blacks and wanted to fit in with them.
   
   Judith Stone clearly wants Sandra to be a victim of apartheid and a symbol of the new South Africa. Stone has a hard time making Sandra fit into this, though. Stone talks a lot about the hardships Sandra faced, and sometimes it seems she is bending over backwards to make excuses for Sandra's behavior. Although Stone doesn't say so, it seems clear from the story that Sandra is either borderline mentally retarded or somewhere close to it. Sandra claims she didn't know at the time she was expelled from school at nine that it was because of her color. Her parents homeschooled her until age 12, while working endlessly to get her the legal right to attend a good school. When they finally succeeded and Sandra returned to school, she was put back two grades, then found it difficult to pass even that. Sandra went on to fulfill every black stereotype in existence. At 15 or so, Sandra left school to move in with a black man who was already married to someone else and had three children to provide for. The thought that maybe it might be a good idea to finish school seems never to have once crossed her mind. She went on to have five children out of wedlock with three different black men, again without the slightest forethought. Three of Sandra's children were turned over to foster parents for nine years. Money Sandra received, both from working at menial jobs and from payments for her story, flowed through her hands like water. I frankly felt sympathetic with Sandra's white parents and brothers, who eventually cut off contact with Sandra and her train wreck of a life. Yes, there are plenty of white girls in the world who act just as foolishly. But making a heroine out of Sandra is difficult, no matter how much color prejudice she experienced as a child.
   
   This book presents good evidence that race classifications are superficial. Unfortunately, removing racial classifications is not enough to create responsible citizens.



5. I want to commend Judith Stone for the phenomenal work she has done in discussing a number of difficult subjects: Sandra Laing herself, the history of South Africa, and the nature of memory, family, and the examined life. Clearly, Sandra's lack (repression) of memory, and her inability to articulate her feelings, left Stone with an enormous challenge. She works through this brilliantly by marshaling the journalistic reports from the time and later, interviewing people who know Sandra, and sensitively explaining and exploring Apartheid's tortured history. Stone uses her knowledge of studies of PTSD, false-memory syndrome, and other relevant fields in psychology to examine Sandra's individual and South Africa's collective forgetfulness/refusal to admit reality. All in all, Stone has done a stunningly professional and sensitive job in illuminating one person's life, the cruel and terrible absurdities of Apartheid South Africa, and, more broadly still, what it means to live in a world where an ideological rigidity based on lies and hypocrisy sucks the life out of everyone--oppressor or oppressed.

5 comments about Betty Shabazz.

1. This is a telling story of a giant of a woman. One who held down a man who showed a entire nation of people how to walk upright after 150+ years of beggin and stratching for crumbs. Dr. Betty Shabazz, the total essence of beauty combined with strength.



2. I have yet to read this book. But the book is in good condition.



3. I received the book two weeks ago and finished it in four days. This is a well written, very informative insight into the life of Dr. Shabazz. She was a powerful woman, who did her best to protect her daughters from the evils of the world. Some might say that she sheltered them to much, but who can tell a mother that she's being overprotective of her babies? Against all odds she survived, her support system was outstanding, her vision was remarkable. I enjoyed every moment of this book.



4. This book is not only an informative and revealing biography of one of America's hero's, Dr. Betty Shabazz. This is also a historical biography of a remarkable woman. Most informative is the likeness and kinship many woman can identify with especially struggling mothers, aunts,and grandmothers who find themselves trying to raise young boys alone. Often without the assistance of fathers, grandfathers, and positve male role-models.
   
   Hers not only is the story of being Mrs. Malcolm X, Dr. Betty Shabazz, but also tragically grandmother/mother/counselor to our often time rebellious and misunderstood young black males searching for their fathers and father figures.
   
   But in the mist of this tragic situation her family can and must relish in the life of this remarkable, remarkable Queen Mother Betty.....
   
   Mr. Rickford gives us just that in this important piece of literature.
   
   Nisha Watson
   Durham, North Carolina



5. This book gives a lot of insight as well as details from Betty's perspective. At times you feel like you're reading from an autobiography.

2 comments about Migrant Daughter: Coming of Age as a Mexican American Woman.

1. The story of Frances E. Tywoniak is a very interesting and inspiring one, yet the writing of the book fails to meet the level of the story behind it. The writing in mediocre but I still believe Tywoniak's story is one that should be read.



2. At several points throughout Migrant Daughter, I found myself asking aloud, 'Was this book even edited?' The writing is unsophisticated to say the least. Choppy sentences, incoherrent recollections, unnecessary tangents, and childish descriptions fill the pages of this never-ending autobiography. The poor writing even makes this book somewhat uninteresting. If you appreciate quality of writing at all, do not read Migrant Daughter. This book was required reading for a course in American autobiography and I questioned the professor's decision to include this.

4 comments about The Oracles: My Filipino Grandparents in America.

1. Being an adult Filipino born in the Philippines and raised in the U.S. since I was 3 years old, I really enjoyed this book. I didn't have living grandparents to raise me so it was fun reading Pati's experience. I could relate to all the Filipino traditions that her grandparents were trying to instill in her. I enjoyed her storytelling and read the book in one day! I recommend this book to any Filipino born in the U.S. or the Philippines.
   
   Belinda



2. I finished reading this book in one direct plane ride from San Diego to Houston. It made me cry unashamedly in the airport and during the flight. It reminded me of how my parents raised my 3 daughters while I worked. Losing a parent in my case (a grandparent in my children's case) was a sad experience just as the author described it in the book.



3. I thoroughly enjoyed reading "The Oracles." For the past 35 years, I have been an educator in a school whose Filipino population numbers over 50%. During that time, often I have been struck by the challenges faced by immigrant parents and grandparents who are raising American kids. For me, this topic was the heart of "The Oracles." Just as we read "House on Mango Street" and "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" in our schools, "The Oracles" would be a worthy addition to our required reading lists. This book builds bridges of understanding. It doesn't get much better than that.



4. I loved this story. Pati writes in an engaging manner which makes it easy to read. I saw the author at a reading and she is throughly engaging. Her story is humorous, touching and will bring back many memories of growing up. It's interesting how a half-japanese and caucasian male can relate to so many of her stories of growing up in the Bay Area in the 1970's and 80's.

5 comments about Denmark Vesey: The Buried Story of America's Largest Slave Rebellion and the Man Who Led It.

1. 
   I find his work to be primarily "his story", rather than an objective historical account. He was unable to set aside his on prejudices and write a well-balanced account of Denmark Vesey. Is it possible that only a person of African American descent can tell our story truthfully. I generally say yes. But I have read a few non-Africans who have done an excellent job and dare write the truth.. But I believe if you want your story told right, you can't count on outsiders to tell it. However, I did learn some things and I have been directed to some real historians, which some of them are of African descent. So I am in hopes of getting a fuller view of the great Denmark Vesey, who would have led a successful rebellion of Charleston had it not been for a house slave running to massa to tattle.
   
   In addition, why is it seen as a crime to the people holding my neck under water, desperately trying to drown me that I wish to cut their throats if given a chance. It is not every human's right to destroy those who wish to destroy them? It is your God given right and command. I guess as long as they are the ones doing the killing, stealing and raping it is all good?!
   
   Some irritating comments by the author:
   
   Vesey motives were no peaceful."
   
   "Among the quasi-Christian slaves of the Sea Islands, he was a savage Chieftain who, as a token of his powers, had chosen Gullah Jack as his war advisor and his familiar.
   
   "This duality is central to Vesy's leadership - a free black who felt himself enslaved, a secular enlightenment autocrat who was also a passionate religionist, a liberator of the oppressed and a potential murder of the innocence."
   
   What a bunch of horse manure. Dah! I wonder why some folks think it is criminal for the oppressed to want to slaughter those who terrorize them, rob them of their labor, work them to death, rape their wives and daughters, sell their children off like cattle, etc. It is their duty. It is generally garbage, but even in garbage you can find a few gems. And those gems for me were his shoutin out some real historians I am familiar and who I know don't write any rubbish.
   
   "At the conclusion of this meeting, he insisted that everyone present contribute twelve and a half cent in order "to pay that black man's wages to his mistress." Author
   
   Is this a direct quote and what is the source? Or is the author using quotation marks for emphasis. I can't imagine a black man using the wording. Isn't it obvious that the man is black. Why the need to say "black man." This is why I doubt this is a direct quote made by black man in reference to another black man.
   
   "In both the old world and the New, the records of slave revolts are a testimony to the courage of human beings, but they also are evidence of the human unwillingness to accept the laws of probability?" Author
   
   This is rubbish. Let me remind the author the only way the white slave owning class knew about the slave revolt is because a house slave ran to his master to report it. Therefore, the probability that the revolt would have happened had it not been for this man is 100%. The author contradicts his own story. Also, may I remind the author of little island called Haiti. Every slave rebellion except that of Nat Turner was spoiled by a slave telling his owner about what was happening. I figure what gets them is that these Africans generally out smarted them and they only had information through another black, not their own intelligence, which the author said several times clearly in his own words. When it was first reported, the tattler's owner did not even believe him. So this is wishful thinking on the part of the author.
   
   I do not recommend this book. If you must read it, check it out at the library. Don't waste your money on it.



2. This is an empowering and inspiring story by a gifted storyteller who surprisingly managed to stay neutral and objective throughout his research into the man and the myth of Denmark Vesey. There are so many lessons for all Americans courageous enough to examine the actions and motives of their immediate ancestors as well as their own often conflicting feelings toward each other.



3. The parallels between Denmark Vesey's failed slave insurrection in Charleston in 1822 and the start of Toussaint's successful slave insurrection in Saint Domingue (now Haiti) in 1791 are striking. In both circumstances, black slaves comprised the vast majority of the population -- 75% in Charleston, 90% in Saint Domingue. In both, the hopeful liberators were former slaves who had become literate, fairly well-to-do, free blacks. Both Toussaint and Vesey distrusted mulattoes, who were regarded in both societies as a distinct class, with ambivalent loyalties. Both leaders took advantage of the disparate religious beliefs of their followers to enhance group cohesiveness.

   In any such mass event, planned well in advance, the risk of discovery or betrayal is always great. Remarkably, in both of these planned insurrections, rumors and confessions alerted authorities weeks in advance of the scheduled dates. And in both, the white slaveholders were incredulous that ignorant, simple blacks could possibly coordinate an uprising of the size suggested by their informants. In both instances, the threat was dismissed as fantasy. As we know, the French authorities of Saint Domingue were too late in recognizing the magnitude and reality of the uprising. Few of us, however, have grasped the slim margin of time by which white Charlestonians were able to prevent a similar success in Charleston. Considering that Charleston was the prime destination of French planters fleeing the conflagration in Saint Domingue, Charlestonians should have been more attuned to the threat brought on by their slaveholding, minority autocracy. But, as Robertson points out, there was a degree of theater involved in living as a dominant white minority among a vast population of black slaves, and part of that theater was the belief by slaveholders that their slaves were grateful for being well treated--that slaves could recognize that it is better to be fed and clothed and sheltered as a slave than to be free as a savage. This delusion led to the Charlestonians' nearly fatal delay in responding to the signs of impending insurrection.

   STRENGTHS: The story of Denmark Vesey is as fine an example of "Silencing the Past", in Michel-Rolph Trouillot's words, as the story of Saint Domingue. Despite the conscious efforts of Charlestonians to obliterate the history of the event (efforts well chronicled by Robertson) the author has assembled a creditable body of confirmed and "probable" details about Vesey and the planned insurrection. His unflinching thoroughness is revealed in such details as the fact that Peter Prioleau, the slave who initially betrayed the plot, was freed in 1822 by a special act of the legislature, and given a lifetime pension. We learn that by 1840, Prioleau is himself the owner of 7 slaves. The brief text (153 pages) is readable compelling, and well documented.

   In an appendix, Robertson includes 1 paragraph biographies of the other men who were executed along with Denmark Vesey. These poignant scraps are practically all that is know of many of these would be liberators.

   Interestingly, we learn that Vesey's attempted insurrection apparently led to the US's refusal to grant diplomatic recognition to the Republic of Haiti until the US Civil War. This veritable boycott of the Western Hemisphere's second oldest republic by its older brother may be seen as a significant cause of Haiti's financial and political instability during the first half of the 19th century.

   WEAKNESSES: I'm stumped here. Perhaps the only shortcoming I can point out is that the text would be enhanced by a period map of Charleston, to enable the reader to follow some of the geographical commentary.

   CONCLUSION: This short, fluidly written history of an event which could have resulted in a stunning alteration of American history, is also great reading.




4. David Robertson's book on the life of Denmark Vesey and the planned insurrection of slaves and freed blacks is a powerful, griping story unknown by most American blacks and whites.

   American school children are always instructed on the bravery of George Washington, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, etc. and other courageous Founding Fathers who rebelled against the mighty British Empire. As we know, the colonials fought for freedom, liberty and justice. While Americans are proud of the Founding Fathers, the English government believed our heroes were traitors and worthy of death. The labeling of one as a "hero/patriot" or "rebel/terrorist" is related to ones perspective of the "cause".

   In a brief 153 pages, Roberston leaves the reader grasping for more information about this free, skilled(carpenter), relatively well-off black male, who at the age of 60 risked his life to free slaves in a plan surely doomed for failure. How could a former slave believe an insurrection of this type would not only go undetected, but also ultimately succeed? Robertson provides the reader with enough historical information about Vesey that one believes the plan would have succeeded if not for a few informers. The fact that Vesey and his trusted compatriots enlisted 9000 slaves prepared to rebel clearly demonstrates his planning and leadership skills.

   After his betrayal, the manner in which Vesey conducted himself under tortuous conditions is inspiring. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the American judicial system.

   Upon reflection, what is evident in this story of Denmark Vesey is not that a slave rebellion ultimately failed and many of its organizers and participants executed. What is clear is that basic human rights, respect and dignity (as so eloquently delineated in the U.S. Constitution) are not only universally desired, but will ultimately be seized by those so denied. History is full of such brave men and women who pursue justice regardless of personal circumstances and comfort. Denmark Vesey was such a man; an American indoctrinated with the concept of freedom and willing to give his life so his fellow man could have it.




5. I was surprised to see that this wonderful biography has not been popular among Amazon.com customers. In telling a moving story of courage and rebellion, Robertson succeeds in bringing the reader to Vesey's time and place. This book should be taught in schools, particularly as it brings to life an important and largley overlooked figure in American history. I cannot recommend it highly enough to readers interested in American history, slavery, the South, and social justice.

1 comments about Sweet Freedom: Breaking the Bondage of Maurice Carter.

1. "Thanks is not enough. This book is more than just a book. This book is a part of me in more ways than one."
   - Wayne
   
   "I know this book will inspire others to neverr give up hope. I've passed this book on to other prisoners."
   - Charlotte
   
   "A wonderful work of skill, art, truth and heartfelt reality that I live daily."
   - Najee
   
   "Maurice is looking down smiling."
   - Efren
   
   "I am very impressed. Great job. How can my friends inside get a copy?"
   - Anthony (Death Row Inmate)
   
   "I read it twice from cover to cover. It held me spellbound."
   - John
   
   I have been reading and rereading this wonderrful book. I have been awash in emotion. Some bitter, mostly sweet."
   - Thad
   
   "Compassion and humanity were displaed throughout the book."
   - Warner
   
   "I cried, laughed, wept, and even felt joy over and over again."
   - Stephan
   
   "A beautiful testament to the spirit of genuine friendship, justice advocacy and fierce determination."
   - Reginald
   
   "It takes a lot to get an old warhorse like me to be brought to tears. This book does just that."
   - Steven
   
   "Magnificent!"
   - Jerry
   
   "I was personally touched by this book. I could not put it down"
   - Ed
   
   "Reading it made me cry, which I haven't done in years."
   - Lee
   
   "Wonderful!"
   - David
   
   "I was touched by this book."
   - TJ