Reviews (1)

Excellent
I work at a Cherokee historic site and I highly recommend this book. It reads like a novel and is gripping! By far the most in-depth, unbiased work written on the "Trail of Tears". If you buy no other Cherokee history book, buy this one! ... Read more

Book Description

Baby Boy Fisher was raised in institutions from the moment of his birth in prison to a single mother. He ultimately came to live with a foster family, where he endured near-constant verbal and physical abuse. In his mid-teens he escaped and enlisted in the navy, where he became a man of the world, raised by the family he created for himself.

Finding Fish shows how, out of this unlikely mix of deprivation and hope, an artist was born -- first as the child who painted the feelings his words dared not speak, then as a poet and storyteller who would eventually become one of Hollywood's most sought-after screenwriters.

A tumultuous and ultimately gratifying tale of self-discovery written in Fisher's gritty yet melodic literary voice, Finding Fish is an unforgettable reading experience.

Reviews (78)

¿An Abandoned Child's Relentless Determination to Survive"
"Finding Fish" is the unforgettable autobiography of Antwone Quenton Fisher, who triumphed from the perils of being abandoned by his mother, followed by years of unbelievably excessive and unwarranted child abuse.

Skillfully crafted with lifelike imagery, Antwone Fisher shares an "untold story" revealing all the horrors, challenges and complexities he encountered as an unwanted foster child. A haunting tale that would have broken the spirit of a lesser man, "Finding Fish" is compelling, suspenseful, imaginative and sometimes chilling, but is robust with intrigue and unpredictable humor.

If you liked the screen adaptation of this sensational novel......"The Antwone Fisher Story"... heralded as 'The Emotional Event of the Year", you will absolutely love "Finding Fish"!

Written with great courage and startling compassion, "Finding Fish" stretches the imagination and often compels the reader to sit up, take notice and ponder about aspects of his or her own childhood.... long after putting the novel down. Brilliantly cinematic, the three-dimensional characters come to life in a manner that engages every aspect of your emotions.

"Finding Fish" explores with passion and intensity a beautiful story that no reader will be able to resist. This is exceptional storytelling that is not undermined by predicting what will happen next.

A must read!

Thought Provoking
After reading the review titled, "Overrated" and hearing of all the horrible stories in the news lately about the terrible situations that children endure in the foster care system in this country, I must say that reading Mr. Fisher's book makes me believe that ALL foster care stories, good and bad, must be shared and read and understood. It is my hope that as a result of the kind of honesty and painful truth shared by Mr. Fisher in this wonderful book and beautifully woven story, that as a community, we can find alternatives to the current system so that no other children will suffer the way Mr. Fisher suffered as a child.

The author of the review "Overrated" alludes that it is better to stay in one foster home and be abused physically and emotionally by one family than to be moved from place to place and endure abuse in various homes. To that I must say, one incident of abuse is too much! And it does not matter where it occures or with whom, the abuse is still horrible. The Pickett family that Mr. Fisher describes in this book can not feel better about themselves because they provided a roof over the heads of those foster children. What the Picketts did was collect a check on a monthly basis, not out of compassion, but as a business venture. The care of those children was paid for by the taxpayers in the state of Ohio, so foster parents who abuse have no right to feel like martyrs.

In Finding Fish, Mr. Fisher also shares the unfortunate events of the other children left in the care of this Pickett family. It is clear that Mr. Fisher is compassionate and sympathetic to the treatment of all children. My sense of the book is that Mr. Fisher does not want to reveal himself as a victim. He never feels sorry for himself, but through the beautiful language, we all feel for Little Antwone and the other children in that household.

The author of the "Overrated" review says that we can say that Mr. Fisher is "lucky" for his story and that Denzel Washington found an interest in it, but I think that an actor and a humanitarian of the caliber of Denzel Washington understands our duty as a nation to share our secrets and prevent terrible things from happening to children. I don't think luck had anything to do with it. Mr. Fisher is a very talented storyteller and writer. I am happy he is being recognized for that talent and that the terrible people he lived with did not have the ability to prevent his talent from flourishing.

So, read Finding Fish not because it is a new story that is told, but rather, read it because unfortunately, this story happens far too frequently and oftentimes is not told quite this well. To the author of the "Overrated" review, I must say perhaps you should read Finding Fish again. I am sure there are worse stories, but most of us don't have the stomach to read about them.

Mr. Fisher told his story with humor and poetry and dignity and he deserves the happy ending that we, as readers, longed to read about.

Very well done
<br /> This is a very well written book, with much emotion behind the story. The trauma and turbulation that this author went through is astounding.I haven't see the movie yet, but will do that very soon. thank you Mr. Fisher <br /> Also recommended: Nightmares Echo,Beauty For Ashes and Running With Scissors...all the above books are 5 star+ <br />

Amazing Story with Great Ending
As a former juvenile court magistrate, I know that the story of Antwone Fisher should never have happened. But it did, and does, frequently, in Ohio and the 51 other states, DC and Puerto Rico. What seldom happens is the kind of ending we have here. This book tears at your heart, makes you want to becme a guardian ad litem for every child in the foster care system, and raises your awareness of your own blessings.

A killer book from a fine writer with a great ending. A keeper.

Reading Excellence
This was one of the best books that I have ever read. I found that the story was well told and it was fun to read. I liked how Fisher uses description to make the story more interesting.
This was a great book and I would recommend you to go out and read this book if you like to read new stuff then this is the book for you.
After you read the book see the movie they are very similar not like the other book, movie relationships. The movie is just like the book. ... Read more

Book Description

This acclaimed memoir by Bebe Moore Campbell, the bestselling author of Brothers and Sisters and Singing in the Comeback Choir, recalls the sweet summers spent with her father--an extraordinary man of dreams and inspiration--in the American South of the 1960s.

"Unforgettable." --New York Times Book Review

"Fearlessly unveils the pain of loss and the ecstasy of love. I am grateful for Bebe Moore Campbell and for such a Sweet Summer." --Maya Angelou

"Mature insight, as well as a deft gift for language, gives this memoir its poignant, honest shape." --Chicago Tribune

"An uplifting reflection on family love." --San Francisco Examiner-Chronicle

"A remarkable achievement." --Philadelphia Inquirer

"Poignant...a beautiful tribute." --Newsday

"Campbell is a master." --Entertainment Weekly

"Touching....[A] candid account and loving tribute to a special man." --New York Daily News ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Moore Campbell's Masterpiece
Once in a great while - about as often as Halley's Comet - a book comes along which stirs the soul and rattles your heart; a book which can transcend race, gender, age, place and time. This is such a book. Moore-Campbell is a magnificent writer; her verses poetic, her theme universal. Her autobiogrophy tells the story of growing up black and young without a full-time father, and the affects it can have on a child. It's not just her story; she shares this life with her cousin Michael (again, young and black without a full-time father), their Mothers, Grandmothers, Aunts, and assorted 'father figures': Dads, Uncles, Reverands, Neighbors. One child (BeBe) can learn to adapt graciously, while the other (Michael) has a tougher time, as they each learn difficult 'truths' about their patriarchy. Beautifully written, the reader hangs on every word, as this wonderful story unfolds.

WONDERFUL
This is a wonderful book and I recommend it to any one out there living or growing up with and without a father.

A Powerful Book
Bebe Moore Campbell writes from personal expierance in the novel, Sweet Summer. Campbell tells about growing up as an African American girl living in the South during the 60's. Through this story I learned the prejudice of racism, the struggle of growing up with a divoraced family, and the will to live life. This story touched my heart, because it provided me to a differnt point of view about life.

I thoroughly enjoyed this poignant story!!!!!!!!
This was a well written story detailing accounts of her childhood and early adulthood with class and style. BeBe made me think twice about the men in my life who were ordinary superstars. kudos!

Sweet Summer is a book that embraces you with lots of love.
I enjoyed reading "Sweet Summer" so much that I had to share it with all my coworkers that wanted to listen. This book was really easy reading. I follwed the storyline as if it was my own life story. It was especially interesting because the storyline dealt with a familiar place, Northeastern North Carolina, my homestead. Anyone in Northeastern North Carolina that has not read this book needs to stop what they are doing now and purchase this book or go to their local library and read it. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Don't get it twisted - A Powerful Book
First off, for anyone who finds this book dry or boring, understand one thing: this is not pop fiction. You're not going to get neat drawn-out analogies that compares human struggle to a football game or any such nonsense. It's a very intelligent, articulate book that doesn't try to dumb down its message for the uninitiated. But it's also not rocket science. Read it with an open mind and any knowledge you may have of the 60's and 70's and you'll do just fine.

What is often misunderstood is that Ms. Davis did not like the idea of a 'personal' autobiography and was very reluctant to do the book in the first place. She didn't see herself as so special or disconnected in any way from the lives of the millions of struggling people that she and her struggle sought to better. So, she wrote a 'political' autobiography. Every facet of her own life that she chose to share with us is tied in some way to that struggle to bring dignity to the masses of human beings exploited throughout the world. What you walk away with after reading this book is how much she really does care the lives of people. It's not just a bunch of abstract ideas, neat theories, or some trivial intellectual excercise. It really is life and death issues. And she fought for the lives of many as if she would fight for her own.

I think the most important thing you walk away with, and what she wants you to walk away with, is a clear and powerful demonstration of just how much people can bring about real change when we work together collectively in mass and fight for what we believe is right. Time and time again, victory after victory, against what some would consider insurmountable odds, the will of the people were heard. Not because they elected some noble politician who changed it from within. And not because of the kindness of those in power. But because thousands of everyday people like you and me took to the streets and DEMANDED that obvious wrongs be made right. Anyone who takes for granted the 5-day work week, child labor laws, civil rights, humane working conditions, fair and equal compensation, should not take lightly the efforts of people throughout history like Ms. Angela Davis. We benefit from all those things because people got in the street, fought and died for those things. Check your history.

The bottom line is if you are looking for 'light' entertainment reading, you might not find it in this book. But, if you are politicially minded or even curious about the social environment of the 60's, this is a must read. If you care about the plight of black people and opressed people everywhere, get this book. If all you've ever known about revolution, black power struggle, and those damn communists is what you've read about in school or in the papers and you KNOW they're not telling the full story, get this book. Finally, if you know how messed up things are in this country but don't know what to do about it, your life will be changed by this book.

Peace!

A Work of Its Time
A careful, political work of its time that has more to do with that challenging time in 1960s and 1970s America. It was written before the the current celebrity tell all genre of autobiography and might be less boring for those reading it in conjunction with other works of or about the times. One could wish for a newer work to put this dynamic thinker and political activist's life into perspective thirty years after the publication of An Autobiography, but one should not blame the author for creating a work of its time.

Inspiring
Angela Davis stands in my perspective as one of the most accomplished women of the postmodern era. This autobiography draws from her childhood to her young adulthood. Her account of prison life offers an unsentimental analysis of the sexual habits of women in prison. One factor that prevents me from giving this memoir a 5-star is her abandonment of her personal life as a woman. She focuses entirely on the black power movement. In closing, this memoir can offer women the strength to fight injustice but encouraging them to first empower themselves.

For communists unrepentant
Not a particularly interesting or politically compelling book, except maybe to devout communists (are there any?) A radical departure from the left and just causes. Even Alexander Solzhenitsyn railed against her since she said she felt that USSR dissidents deserved imprisonment

don't waste your time
One of the most socially divisive works I have ever read. In it Angela clearly continues establishment efforts to try to guilt trip America into giving her and other minorities a free pass to commit their own form of oppression in this day and age. Not worth the sitting required to read it. ... Read more

Book Description

America is browning. As politicians, schoolteachers, and grandparents attempt to decipher what that might mean, Richard Rodriguez argues America has been brown from its inception, as he himself is.

As a brown man, I think . . .
(But do we really think that color colors thought?)

In his two previous memoirs, Hunger of Memory and Days of Obligation, Rodriguez wrote about the intersection of his private life with public issues of class and ethnicity. With Brown, his consideration of race, Rodriguez completes his "trilogy on American public life."

For Rodriguez, brown is not a singular color. Brown is evidence of mixture. Brown is a shade created by desire-an emblem of the erotic history of America, which began the moment the African and the European met within the Indian eye. Rodriguez reflects on various cultural associations of the color brown-toil, decay, impurity, time-arranging dazzling juxtapositions for which he is justly famous: Alexis de Tocqueville, Malcolm X, minstrel shows, Broadway musicals, Puritanism, the Sistine Chapel, Cubism, homosexuality, and the influence on his life of two federal figures-Ben Franklin and Richard Nixon ("the dark father of Hispanicity").

At the core of the book is an assessment of the meaning of Hispanics to the life of America. Reflecting upon the new demographic profile of our country, Rodriguez observes that Hispanics are becoming Americanized at the same rate that the United States is becoming Latinized. Hispanics are coloring an American identity that traditionally has chosen to describe itself as black and white. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

The Great American Melded Pot
Anyone that things that race relations as an issue has fallen by the wayside or is somehow is a moot point will be enlightened by the eloquent, poetic point of view brought forth by Richard Rodriguez' latest book. Rodriguez does not forgo the often oversimplistic Black-White issue but suggests that they were always a hybrid issue of 'Brown'. America as a dynamic hotbed of ever-Westward expansion; and once the West was won of expansion of a more global nature. Selling the 'American Dream' in an effort to conquer and re-conquer in a never-ending quest for collective conciousness. Rodriguez suggests that the issue of race is not a physical one, but rather how one responds to this conciousness brought about by assimilation.

His anecdotes brings things down to a very personal level without which 'Brown' would come across as speculative and academic. Rodriguez paces things so well and his words are so graceful that one is moved not only by his observations and experiences, but also their self-awareness in a historical context.

It's A Brown World
Richard Rodriguez's Brown is a stream of consciousness journey through brown as metaphor for the very mixed world we are headed towards. As a man of mixed culture [gay, Catholic, American, Mexican descent, indian, writer, etc.], Rodriguez is the perfect person to take us on this brown journey. I know of Rodriguez's writings from the Sunday Los Angeles Times and I read this book on the strength of the newspaper pieces. It was a thought provoking read that had my head swirling and I only got bogged down in chapter 2. Be ready to hit the dictionary and the encyclopedia. I live in a brown neighborhood in Whittier, California, I teach at a brown high school in La Habra, California, and even though my students would label me Anglo [I have reddish hair and spotted skin if anyone cares], given my very eclectic upbringing and interesting ancestry, I hope that I fit in well to the brown world around me. I recommend that you read this book and let Richard Rodriguez get into your head.

A thoughtful book..
When I found this book in the library I was surprised by how small it was. I'd heard of it before. It took me only about three days to get through it. It was a dreamlike essay from which I found nuggets of truth glistening here and there to pick up on and think, "oh yes, I've wondered about that myself!" I'm not sure what to think of Mr. Rodriguez but he is a very good writer. Sometimes his descriptions get sort of overdone, but mostly it's a good read. I would like to continue checking out his other books.

Where's the meat????
I was excited to get this book after listening to Mr. Rodriquez on NPR. But as too often happens, the book makes most of its points by referring to people, places, literary texts, etc. that are not familiar to a normal person with a college education in something other than literature. This book was obviously written to impress ideas on the elite, whether educationally, politically, or otherwise. If you are willing to trudge through a very lyrical, almost poetic writing style, there are some very good stories and points to be made. But reading this book just wore me out. I think if only the relevent text had been printed, it would have been long enough for an editorial, not a book.

We're all Brown
As the child of a West African father and Black American mother I too am brown, although I'm black. I have often been disturbed by the American tendency to believe in absolute categories, and to assume that certain behaviors, opinions and tastes naturally accompany these categories. For them I am an anomaly, for me they are too. It is heartening to hear a voice speaking directly to America's mixed heritage and confronting her color/caste assumptions. Though Mr. Rodriguez meanders more than usual this time around, the final destination is worth it. ... Read more

Book Description

Conceived during Thomas Jefferson's junket in Paris, Thomas Woodson was Jefferson's first child by Sally Hemings. He was banished from Monticello at the age of 12, after a journalist exposed Jefferson's relationship with his young slave. A President in the Family traces Thomas Woodson's subsequent journey from Virginia to Ohio and documents the Woodson family's present-day efforts to uncover documentation in support of an oral history that has survived independently in five branches of the family tree. Thomas, the oldest of the five surviving children born to Sally Hemings and Jefferson, would carry on the family tradition of education, leadership, and public service. This is the amazing story of the Woodson family and its continuing pursuit to reveal its illustrious past to the American public. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

The Only Problem Is It's Not True
The existence of 'Black Tom' is highly questionable, though Woodson is quite right about the erasure in Jefferson's records, I've seen it too in a holograph edition of his Farm Book.
Unfortunately for Mr. Woodson's thesis 'Tom's' name should certainly have appeared more than once. His 'mother' and 'brothers and sister' are listed not only on Jefferson's Slave Census but in distributions of rations and clothing as well. 'Black Tom' supposedly lived at Monticello till 1802, his name most certainly should have appeared in those records just as the rest of the Hemmings family's names did.
However the even if the existence of 'Black Tom' were proven it would do the Woodsons no good. The famous DNA tests that proved the Eston Jeffersons are indeed descended from *A* Jefferson male, (possibly Thomas but his brother or nephew is equally probable) also proved that though Thomas Woodson was undoubtedly sired by a white man that man was *not* a Jefferson.
The Woodson family has chosen to ignore this incontrovertable scientific evidence and cling to their family myth. Frankly I find it pitiable that this extraordinarily accomplished and successful family should be so fixated on a fictitious illegitimate descent from a Founding Father. The achievements of generations of Woodsons, against unbelievable odds, is in itself a heritage to be proud of, they don't need Jefferson's blood to validate their role in American history.

Oops! No President in this family!
This is pretty sad really. I started out as a believer in the Woodson story and Woodson has obviously done a lot of research on his family history. Certainly, there are many distinguished people in Woodson's family...sadly, Thomas Jefferson has been pretty definitely proven by DNA (no match after testing 6 Woodson lines!) not to be one of them! Since Woodson was the Hemings child with the strongest "oral history"/family lore--the fact that there was no link to Jefferson really calls into question the whole story since obviously Sally got pregnant by somebody else in Paris. And the allegations started about a "Black Tom"....Still and all, with irrefutable evidence that someone in Woodson's family lied to create a link that science has proven doesn't exist, Woodson still can't give it up, claiming the 'no match" was the result of illegitimacy later in the line...which Woodson still doesn't seem to get would still mean he is not related to the Great Man. Bottom line: Don't waste your money.

Disapointing scholarship but interesting story
As a "roots" like story of a family's rise from slavery to the present day, this book is a pleasant read. However, for elucidating any ties to Thomas Jefferson, it is a tremendous disappointment. Having been greatly impressed by the poise, strength of character, and intelligence of Robert Cooley, the father one of the authors, I always hoped that his boast of being decended from Thomas Jefferson was true. However, the historic record left me in doubt. I bought "A President in the Family" with hopes that reading the Woodson family story would dispel some of that doubt, providing substance to the strong oral history. Sadly, I have been left hanging.

The truth is the truth
Congressman Gary Condit and President William Clinton were not the first government officials to have affairs. This "behavior" has been present throughout our nation's history (and probably present throughout the history of mankind).

As historians, it our duty to explain the positive things but also tell the truth about the less postive things that happen.

When an affair translates into a pregnancy, it is the natural inclination of both parties and their affiliates to pursue self-protective mechanisms. Before the computer age, these mechanisms included erasing and throwing away documents. These methods were used to hide President Jefferson's affair (and pregnancy) with a female slave.

Yes, we should respect our presidents! We also have to be wise enough to recognize that they are human and make the same stupid mistakes that other men make (like cheating on their wives).

I'm glad Mr. Woodson is honest and enlightens the rest of us to the honest truth. His book provides detailed evidence of the affair, the pregnancy, and the cover-up.

What would President Jefferson say today? "I didn't inhale" or would he throw away a watch box and say nothing, like Gary Condit is doing. ... Read more

Book Description

"My granddaddy would get mad at all of us. He couldn't just get mad at one of us. 'Ain't nobody got...
You know what? Go to bed! All y'all, go to bed!'
It'd be like two o'clock in the afternoon. 'Go to bed!'"

Bernie Mac, the royal king of the Original Kings of Comedy, is salty and pissed off. The Chicago-bred performer has issues to get off his chest, and he doesn't mince words when he lets loose. No surprise, his live appearances have earned him a reputation as perhaps the truest voice of modern humor. Now, Mac has captured his comedic genius in print with his hilarious debut book.

Tearing through a wide range of topics with equal parts insight and irreverence, Bernie Mac shares views that may not sit well with everyone -- especially if you're caught in the crosshairs of his rants ("Kids today don't get the kind of injuries we used to get as children -- cut, bruised. Now, these lil' muh'fuckas just continuously get shot"). Still, his way of looking at the world will probably make you think and it's all but guaranteed to make you laugh. Taking on superstar athletes, the movie business, his fellow comedians, his marriage, and his friends and family ("You always knew when your grandmother was at home because her wig was on that little Styrofoam stand"), Mac unleashes side-splitting riffs on sex, religion, hygiene, money, and more.

Nobody is safe; nothing is sacred. Not even Bernie himself. Throughout I Ain't Scared Of You, Mac turns his humor inward, firing off self-deprecating salvos about his golf game, his own personal hypocrisies, even his sexual prowess -- "Women got toys...You can't compete with no dildo."

Mac's insights have earned him critical acclaim and international popularity. Now, I Ain't Scared Of You captures Bernie Mac's humor whole -- unadorned, unpretentious, and unafraid. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Terrible!
I listened to this as a book on tape, read by the author. I liked Bernie and looked forward to listening to this. However, after the first few chapters I was bored out of my mind and after a few more, I was disgusted by his language and detailed references to sexual acts regarding his daughter. Of the four CD's, by number three, I threw the CD's in the garbage where they belong! I didn't laugh once - not even a chuckle. Spend your money on something more valuable - like dirt!

This is hilarious
If you love to laugh you must get this tape! To hear Bernie read this audio tape is just downright hilarity. Bernie is the best comedian out there today. He tells it like it is. People dont like when people tell it like it is. I guess thats why this tape has not got a 5 star review all the way around.

Now,if you have the book thats cool. But you must get the audio tape or cd. Bernie is hilarious. He covers everything from growing up in the hood. Why he wont go back to the hood-or should I say remember were you came from. He comments on his family,funerals,sex,relstionships-I had tears running down my eyes with the THOR story and every time Bernie yells out "Down goes Frazier!"He also comments on other comedians-why he would kill Moe from the three stooges. Lending money,and on and on and on.
If you like to laugh,you have to have this tape. I will buy the book also,just to have around,but I will listen to this tape until it wears out then I will go get another one. Bernie is the funniest man on the market right now. He will be around for a long time.

Poor organization.
I agree, the book is put together poorly.

There were a few jokes that I wanted to go back and read, but it's too much of a hassle to find them, and all the chapters read the same, with many of the jokes repeating.

...pretty funny, but not worth the [money]they charge here.

Not Good
I'm a huge fan of Bernie, that is why I am so disappointed with this book.

Before you buy this book wait until you go to a bookstore and thumb through the last chapter, which is sizable.You'll see the book is completely unorganized.Bernie will start off talking about his wife and as he gets going he'll suddenly switch to talking about racism for a sentence, then sex for two sentences, then his sister's drug habit for a sentence, then how his daughter is going to college for a sentence, all in half a page with no connecting theme or idea of any kind. Kind of a stream of thought type of writing. Just a totally random narrative. Very difficult to read.

Also, many, many words being shorten with an appostrophy after it "wo' ya' stop dat' Berine."Yes, I know Bernie talks like this, and there is nothing wrong with it, it is just that it did not translate well from hearing Bernie say it to reading it.

The big sin is when the book starts using the same jokes with only slight changes. It also uses the same picture twice. Seriously, I thought I bought a misprint; didn't I see this picture before? Didn't I read this joke before? Oh ya, I did, here, it is about 40 pages back! I think they did this because the book is short and need some more pages.

Regardless, I spent $ for this? Bernie has a great story that needs to be told.The background he came from was harsh, and how he became one of the funniest men around is a victory for the human spirit.If you just *have to* get this book, get the audio version, my guess is it would be somewhat better to hear Bernie tell it. Otherwise, let's hope his next book is better.

Bernie Mac could have put together a better book
I have been a big long time fan of Bernie Mac for many years now but this book is a disappointment.Bernie Mac has a great show on Television every week as well as some great movies but this book is not what I expected Bernie Mac to put out.The sentences in this book are put together like they are from a little kid just learning how to use english for the first time.Bernie Mac is still an Original King of Comedy and I will continue to be his fan and support him but this book is just flop he will have deal with in his career. ... Read more

Amazon.com Audiobook Reviews

These 11 historic sermons--some complete recordings of entire addresses, others reconstructed from various church services--make plain why Martin Luther King Jr. considered his "first calling and greatest commitment" to be a preacher of the gospel. As an orator he is second to none, drawing his audience in with an urgency that resonates through every soaring cadence of his familiar, powerful voice. Using insights from psychology, philosophy, and the Bible, he appeals to the heads as well as the hearts of his congregations, explaining that personal and social change can only be effected by adopting a morality of love in service of God and humankind. While King's concern for social justice is a common theme throughout, each sermon is a jewel of literary artistry, as it presents a simple problem, examines its complications, and offers a startling and often challenging resolution. Topics range from "Rediscovering Lost Values," a caution that scientific progress without moral progress can result only in a step backward for humanity, to "An American Dream," a wake-up call to the "self-evident truth" of equality proclaimed in the Constitution.

Brief introductions to the sermons from spiritual leaders and friends, including Dr. Joan Campbell, Billy Graham, Dr. Robert Franklin, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, offer personal insights into King's life, work, and legacy. An interesting note from the producers explains how the recordings of the sermons (published in a hardcover companion of the same name) were pieced together. In word and in voice, these are masterpieces of theological literature from one of the world's great orators, who Robert Franklin rightly says may well be "the greatest religious intellectual of the twentieth century." (Running time: 8 hours, 6 cassettes) --Uma Kukathas ... Read more

Reviews (8)

King still inspires
Forget about the sweet-toned, hagiographic introductions and organ play at the beginning of each sermon and you've got 6 cassetes with remarkable good and lively preaching. The sermons of the early King and the rather boring sermon on the American dream excluded you've got some retorical outstanding sermons like 'Love your enemies' and 'Why Jesus calls a man a fool'. Listening to King makes me wonder where this acute relevance of the gospel has gone...and how we can get this vigor back.

A Profound Message
The sermons in A Knock at Midnight are both deeply moving and a powerful reminder of the greatness of Dr. King. This collection should be read and heard by everyone, especially the young of today who have been fed a Dr. King who somehow only delivered one speech ("I Have a Dream"). As a middle school teacher I found the sermons to be an excellent way for my students to move beyond the platitudes about Dr. King to a much deeper understanding of his life and ministry. To read and listen to these great sermons is an absolutely wonderful experience, but at the same time a sad reminder that today we have no great voice of moral authority like his. Fortunately we do have his words and voice preserved for us and our children.

I wish I could give this EXPERIENCE 10 stars!
Notice I refer to the cassettes and the companion book as an EXPERIENCE as I both listened to and read the REVEREND King! Although the media focused on the visible part of his ministry, the civil rights movement, his sermons are profound and awesome in their implications for today as well as their in their powerful delivery during the mid-1950's through 1960's. Although I will cherish both the cassette series and the book, it is through hearing the SPEAKING of Dr. King that really made me breathless! Thank you LORD God for sending us your messenger Dr. King to give us a wonderful earthly ministry for a brilliant and brief time (much like Jesus Christ). Simply awesome!

A fabulous collection of soul-stirring preaching.
A fabulous collection of soul-stirring preaching by one of this century's finest preachers. Many people know King as a great political leader, fiery orator, and creative organizer. This collection of sermons will convince the world that King was first and foremost an anointed preacher. His sermons ring with authenticity and resound with relevancy. Kings messages speak profoundly to our troubled times and offer both prophetic insight and divine guidance as we attempt to find our way into the next millinium. This collection of sermons, with their superb introductions and commentaries, is perhaps one of the finest efforts of its kind. It will certainly be a source of pleasure and insight for generations to come.

Answering the World!!!!!
A Knock At Midnight is frightfully prophetic,subperbly truthful and dynamically inspiring.It shows what the great mind of King brings and brought to the forefront while he was living and while he continues to live in our hearts.These sermons are chillingly lifelike as if King speaks directly to your heart and mind---NOW! It is truly a must read! The sermon A Knock at Midnight delivers the powerful and sensitive message concerning where the Church has to take the people as far as their needs are concerned and it deals with the advocacy of having to open the door to the truly oppressed and needy.It is a thought provoking theme set against the veil of modern times.There is a a Knock At Midnight and it is now answering the world. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Great Perspective of the South during a Tumultous Time
I decided to read this book for purely personal motives. Having been raised in California by a father who grew up in Birmingham in the early twenties and thirties, I had a desire to understand this man, my father, who seemed at times to have such radical world views. Reading Paul Hemphill's story, specifically the retelling of details of growing up in a working class family, including the bigoted views his father held, helped me to understand the world that molded many whites prior to the civil rights movement. When chosing this book, I wasn't looking for a dry detailed history but rather an insiders view of what this world of "Birmingham, Alabama" must have been like growing up. Why it created such biogtry? And How can we continue to change? Paul Hemphill, through this book, helped me to understand, what kind of a world Birmingham was, and how it shaped and molded the people who grew up there.

A Student's Perspective
This book was required reading for my Civil Rights class. Although at times a bit too detailed and tangent prone, Hemphill's style is very gripping and kept my attention. The way in which the formation and development of Birmingham is disussed, enterpreted, and explained is superb. Hemphill does an excellent job of juxtaposing the racial, economic, and social climate that evolved and gripped the city of Birmingham throughout the years. I would consider this autobiography of sorts a must read for any person interested in issues pertaining to the Civil Rights Movement. Just get through the few dry parts, the rest is well worth the read!

Probes the ethnic relationships in Birmingham
In 1963 Alabama was the site of racial violence: native Hemphill decides here to return to his hometown, to come to terms with his family and life. Leaving Birmingham probes the ethnic relationships in Birmingham past and present, providing an intriguing analysis of the tensions and present-day life.

Not Just For Southerners
The reader should note that this book is not a history, but an honest reminiscence by the author. Paul Hemphill was born and raised in a Birmingham that no longer exists, and his story is a sentimental, though often melancholy, remembrance of his journey from childhood to an adulthood marked by his departure from his native city. Unlike other native sons, such as Roy Blount and Howell Raines, who long ago moved to New York and have spent the majority of their adult lives apologizing for having been born in the South, Hemphill offers the reader a painfully honest autobiography that parallels the mutually exclusive forces of change and retrenchment within Birmingham before and after World War II. He presents an insightful glimpse of a city unique in the South, a city created atop one of the richest iron ore deposits in the country, with no antebellum, gentrified past, a tough, muscular city. It is a Birmingham as it truly was, a city divided not in two parts, but three: the Birmingham of poor, legally segregated blacks, the Birmingham of working-class whites who manned the steel, iron and coke factories during their height, and the Birmingham of the Mountain Brook overseers, the representatives of the absentee landlords who owned these factories, the men of a separate community entirely, who publicly stayed above the fray of civil rights strife, all the while stoking and manipulating the blue collar whites to whom civil rights appeared a supreme threat. It was into such a working-class family that Hemphill was born. His descriptions of his hard-working, traditionalist father, his mother and the neighborhood in which he grew up, are perhaps the finest elements of the book. It is evident that this was no easy book for Hemphill to write. He must counter-balance the admiration he holds for his parents and the joys of his childhood, with the ultimate revulsion he felt in adulthood toward a civilization predisposed all along toward heightened brutality. It is not only his personal journey, but the journey of Birmingham from "the Magic City" to "Bad Birmingham"; the journey of Bull Connor from "voice of the Barons" to the "voice of legalized segregation". Hemphill witnessed all of this and it is sadness, not cold judgement, that pervades this book and sets it apart from the many other books written about that city and that time. This reviewer highly recommends this book to anyone who has an interest in gaining a personal perspective of the Birmingham of mid-20th Century America. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

wish it had a little more-but killer nontheless
i had the chance to meet the author in one of the most unusual circumstances & found him to be a really nice guy. he gave me a copy of this book & when i started to read it, i couldn't put it down. how he speaks of the prison system & how they work things in there is right on point. the beatings, the unfair treatment because of color & sexual preference, and the lack of cooperation from the people who were suppose to be helping him made me want to cry for this guy. having had first hand experience with the prisoners & the prison itself, i felt kind of bad for the author. i don't care what he did to get in there (robbery maybe?), it doesn't make it right for him to be treated that way & besides, there are straight, white, rich men who do much worse & get much less time & punishment. the system sucks.
it was strange to see names that i recognized in the book as well as old friends. i just wish he would have wrote more about how he got in there & why he had the detainers. i'm hoping a second book comes out explaining what happened to him after he left the prison & how his life changed because of it. "Memoir" is not bad for a first book.

Still hunger
I am not sure how I came about this book. I believe I requested one book to review and somehow was given this one and another. Considering it was offered to me I felt compelled to read it and write a review.

I found Mr. Hall's debut to be quite interesting, but a slow story that never landed. While reading it I kept thinking something is going to happen but it never did. I am not sure what the authors attempt was. Maybe a memoir was not the way to go, possibly fiction?

I guess I expected something like this show on HBO called "Prisoner Cell Block H" gritty raw and ACTION PACKED. Memoir had no luster it lacked history and reasoning. I hope the authors next attempt "Smoking Cigarettes" has a much better story line.

MEMOIRS?
i brought memoirs two days after i heard reginald hall on power 99 in philadelphia. I wanted to know first hand what actually goes down in jail..a few people i know that have done time just come out and say "oh it was cool" or they don't say anything. i know for a fact that if someone was locked down for a nice minute they probaly have did some freaky stuff in jail. i know of dudes that came home with aids..the book was amusing but he could have went a lil' deeper into actual events that happened. i would recommend it though

An Emotional Rollercoaster
This book is a rollercoaster for a laughs and cries. I recommend this book to women and men.

Very Disappointed
I heard Reginald on the radio and I ran right to get his book and I was very disappointed with the book because he really didn't go into detail about what really happened while he was in Delaware County Prison. Because he is not really telling what went on in the prison as far as him talking about straight men that he turned out. ... Read more

Book Description

This is a story of the unexpected. In Destined to Witness, Hans Massaquoi has crafted a beautifully rendered memoir -- an astonishing true tale of how he came of age as a black child in Nazi Germany. The son of a prominent African and a German nurse, Hans remained behind with his mother when Hitler came to power, due to concerns about his fragile health, after his father returned to Liberia. Like other German boys, Hans went to school; like other German boys, he swiftly fell under the Fuhrer's spell. So he was crushed to learn that, as a black child, he was ineligible for the Hitler Youth. His path to a secondary education and an eventual profession was blocked. He now lived in fear that, at any moment, he might hear the Gestapo banging on the door -- or Allied bombs falling on his home. Ironic,, moving, and deeply human, Massaquoi's account of this lonely struggle for survival brims with courage and intelligence.

Reviews (51)

Witness
Destined to Witness Hans Massaquoi ISBN 0-688-17155-9 1999

"Destined to Witness" is the story of the son of a black Liberian diplomatic official and a white German woman growing up in Nazi times in Germany. Were this story not so convincingly told, one would have to question that the events of Mr. Massaquoi's life could have really taken place. But they did take place. Not only did the author survive the Hitler years without being killed by the Nazis, but he survived 200 British and American bombing raids that destroyed half of the Hamburg's homes, including his own, and killed 41,000 civilians.

From this book, one learns not only about Massaquoi's experience with racism in Germany in the Hitler era but about British and French colonial racism in Africa and racism in the United States in the South and in Chicago after the war. Hans Massaquoi would have us understand that these instances of racism were not unrelated.

This book begins with Hans Massaquoi's early schoolboy experiences growing up in Hamburg. It recounts the terrible racial taunting of pro-Nazi classmates and teachers. In one of his worst school episodes he tells how one teacher told him that after the Nazis had finished with the Jews they would take care of the likes of him. Massaquoi, growing up in the German culture, wanted to be like the other boys to a certain extent. At one point, he was rejected for admission to the Hitler Youth Corp on the basis of his race. Although initially Hitler was a hero to him, later he came to understand more clearly what Hitler represented.

This book describes a number of interesting historical events that Massaquoi witnessed. For example, one was the day the airship Hindenburg flew over his neighborhood in Hamburg, casting its giant shadow over the street on which he lived and all the people who gathered there to see it. In another place, the author describes the aftermath of Kristallnacht in November 1938, the first, Nazi-ordered, countrywide rampage against the Jews. Sidewalks along Hamburg's main shopping avenue, on both sides, for miles, were covered with broken glass in front of windowless stores where all the merchandise had been looted.

The author attributes his own survival through this period to the fact that there were few blacks in the Germany of that time, and Hitler's executioners initially focused their efforts on the Jews. Fortunately, Hitler was defeated before he could finish his ultimate goal of racial purification. Also, Mr. Massaquoi attributes his survival to the fact that, even in these dark hours, there were many Germans who retained their decency after it had 'gone totally out of style'. To these people, whose refusal to go along with the prevailing racism of the day, he gives recognition.

Massaquoi eventually came to the U.S. after the war, served in the army, attended college on the G. I. bill, marched with Martin Luther King, served as the managing editor of "Ebony" magazine and met American presidents.

This book presents a unique opportunity to look inside Nazi times in Germany, not through the eyes of an historian, but through the eyes of someone who lived in them, and as the title suggests, as a witness to history. I highly recommend this unusual book. It is extremely interesting reading. I believe some of those who travel this road will come away with the feeling that they have been changed by the journey.

Brief Student Review of Destined to Witness
The purpose of this brief essay is to review Hans J. Massaquoi's memoir, "Destined to Witness: Growing Up Black in Nazi Germany". This exceptional book provides a detailed account of Massaquoi's life experiences before, during and after Hitler's reign.
"Destined to Witness" is written in such a way that the reader is moved to laughter, anger, sadness and ultimately a better understanding of the day-to-day dealings of a "non-Aryan" in the era of World War II (WWII). Massaquoi recounts his run-ins with racist avid Nazi supporters and talks about how those experiences influenced him. He also mentions the people who were more tolerant and who positively affected his life. This book presents an interesting balance between people intent on belittling Massaquoi and those who tried to help him become a better person.
Massaquoi's book is a great find for all readers interested in learning about Nazi Germany, regardless of how much existing knowledge one has about the events of WWII. This intelligent memoir gives just enough information about the timeline of Nazi Germany so that one who is not a historian will understand and enjoy it, while the well-read student of WWII will not be overwhelmed with names and dates with which he is all too familiar. In closing, this amazingly honest book tells a tale that will provide the reader with much to think about long after the book is closed.

Amazing Personal Account and Unique Perspective
The only thing more amazing than Massoquoi's story is the fact that it is not an international best seller. This narrative is a gripping, insightful, humorous, tragic, and delightful coming of age story. This book provides a perspective of Nazi German, the Allied Forces, and WWII era American culture that can't be found in typical history books.

Destined to Witness is an especially great introduction to WWII for young people, adding a personal relevance to the well and lesser known events leading up to and through the second World War. This is one history book you won't want to end.

Black in Nazi Germany
I first read of Mr. Massaquoi's story in Studs Terkel's The Good War. I was always fascinated by that brief account and hoped to learn more about this man's life. I was overjoyed to find Mr. Massaquoi's autobiography while browsing in a book store here in New York City.

It is hardly surprising that Hans Massaquoi experienced terribly humiliating and life threatening experiences at the hands of Nazi era Germans. But it was far more surprising that ardent Nazis sometimes treated him with kindness and respect. I certainly don't want to give the impression that I am in anyway minimizing the great evil of Nazism, but it is clear that some of Mr. Massaquoi's experiences show a complexity of human action and emotion that I would not have expected from Germans of that era. This story shows that humans are as likely to practice kindness and love as they are to show hatred, depending on which aspects of their characters have been encouraged and supported. Hans Massaquoi's life reminds us how essential it is for all of us to speak up against hatred, especially when it is espoused by the state.

A Great Read
I read a lot of books (2 a week or so). This book was one of the best that I have ever read, partly because I could identify with the author. Hans was a black growing up in Nazi Germany, I was a white Jehovah's Witness growing up in America in the 1950s. Hans encountered much bigotry but also had much support from many kind teachers and friends. The many acts of kindness and fair treatment in the book was heart warming. I relived much of my childhood as I read, wishing I had experienced the support that Hans did (I remember being called a communist, a Nazi, and a fundamentalist by teachers and fellow students due to my religion). In contrast, Hans had only 2 really bad teachers and many good ones. Although most Jehovah's Witnesses ended up in the concentration camps in Nazi Germany, this book made me realize that I would rather have been a black in Naziland than a Witness in America. I left the Witnesses 30 years ago, but the mistreatment that resulted from my involvement with them still lives on (as does some of the experiences that Hans lived). Hans left Germany and ended up in the United States and was then able to escape his past to some degree, although he still had problems here (in contrast, my religion was the subject of endless discussion even long after I formally resigned from the Watchtower). Of course, with religion one has the advantage that one can leave the church, but Hans could not change his race. Nonetheless, as this book had a happy ending, it gave me hope that my story would too. It also gives hope in the belief that some people are very good at heart, even in Naziland. Maybe after reading this book a few more people will be less intolerant. I hope so. ... Read more

Amazon.com

It's not easy imagining a volume capable of capturing the grace, the joy, the flamboyance, and the wizardry of Michael Jordan, but this hybrid--melding autobiography, celebration, spectacular photography, and cutting-edge graphics--comes awfully close. Like Jordan driving the lane, it's a thing of beauty; harder to analyze than it is to admire, accept, gaze at, and enjoy.

As befits the ultimate star in a game that has marketed itself with perfect razzle-dazzle, For the Love of the Game is as visually brash as it is glitzy. In page after stunning page, Jordan traces his ascension from college star to object of worldwide adoration. While most of the focus is, of course, on the NBA, there are significant side trips into baseball, the 1992 Olympic Dream Team, his advertising omnipresence, his family, and even his privacy. On the surface, the pictures--and their presentation--are more than enough to preserve and praise the Jordan legend, but For the Love of the Game has something more. It has Michael Jordan.

Jordan's text is everything the flashy images are not; it is straight, thoughtful, and revealing. At times, the relationship of word and image is breathtaking, especially on a particular pair of two-page layouts. In the first, Jordan asks, "When does jumping become flying?" His answer, framed by photos that would turn Superman green with envy, indicates that Jordan is genuinely amazed by his own talents. The second is his reflection on "The Shot," his buzzer-beater over Cleveland's Craig Ehlo to win game 5 in the 1989 playoffs. The story is told in 24 pictures taken over the final three seconds. Below that is a chart of 25 of Jordan's game-winning shots. But it's this Jordan observation that pulls the image and text together: "I never considered the negative consequence of missing the last shot in a game." It's an attitude that defines the man, and For the Love of the Game reflects it with a stylish combination of elegance, power, and beauty. (Want more Jordan? Check out an image from his book. © 1998 by Rare Air, Ltd. Text copyright © 1998 by Michael Jordan. Photo credit: Walter Iooss, Jr) --Jeff Silverman ... Read more

Reviews (87)

Absolutely, positively outstanding!
As you read the narrative that is imaginatively layed out with different type and size mixed in with graphics and photos you can almost hear Michael Jordan speaking. They are his words and reveal some things about his life that I've never read before...and I've read everything written about him. As you can see I am a big fan and miss him so much on the basketball court. This book is just one of the many reasons that I along with millions of other people am a big fan of his. The book is as brilliant and polished as he is and also has the same good taste he has. Another great thing about "For the Love of the Game" is it will appeal to almost anyone of any age You can skim thru and look at the photos or read the stats or read every word. Whichever way you choose you will enjoy this book.

Michael Jordan: Author, Athlete, Superstar, and Idol.
For The Love of The Game: My Story is an exceptional easy to read book, which contains excellent photography. Jordan's life both inside and outside of his basketball career is explored and detailed. From why he signed with Nike to his relationship with his father to his turbulent meetings with Jerry Krause and to his life as a father and a husband are all explained with brilliant photography throughout the book. Jordan's confidence in himself is shown when he says, " On the day I decided to make myself available for the 1984 NBA Draft I knew I was going to Philadelphia." At the time Philadelphia had the first pick, however the lottery gave the first pick to the Houston Rockets. The Philadelphia 76ers had the fifth pick in the Draft that year, instead of picking Jordan the 76ers picked Charles Barkley because Jordan was already drafted. "He was my best friend and he knew everything about me," is how Jordan explains his relationship with his father. Jordan, the author of his life story, uses incredible graphics on each and every page of the book. These photgraphs capture the reader's attention. Each page's lettering is different in size, font, and color which grabs the eye of the reader immediately. When Jordan describes a shot he made to win a game, he includes a picture of the shot. Jordan does a great job describing his famous shot over Craig Ehlo, frame by frame photographs capture this Kodak moment. Inside the front and back covers are statistics of everything imaginable concerning basketball which further enhances the book. All-time stats at every arena where Jordan performed is another unique quality Jordan utilizes in this extraordinary book. Personally, as a fan of Michael Jordan, I found the book very interesting to read. From the second I opened the book until the very last word in the book I felt like I was with Jordan the entire time. My favorite parts were when Jordan kept comparing himself to Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. " When Bird acknowledged my performance, I became a player," Jordan remarked. I recommend any Michael Jordan fan, basketball fan, or young athlete who wants to "be like Mike," to read the book. Anybody who wants to read a book containing award winning photography should read For The Love of The Game: My Story as well. Anyone who wants to know the importance of a father-son relationship would enjoy this book. Michael Jordan, who wore number 23 for the Chicago Bulls for many years, clearly is more than just a basketball player. He proved all analysts wrong when he led the league in scoring and won the NBA Finals. " Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls, 1984-1993. The best there ever was. The best there ever will be." This message can be found outside the United Center in Chicago. Judge for yourself by reading For The Love of The Game: My Story.

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

#23
For The Love of the Game by Michael Jordan is the best book about Michael Jordan ever. This book is so cool. The pictures are great of Michael Jordan. I have read this book four times already and I also have the paperback and the hardback. This book means so much to me because I am going through what he went through when he was in high school. He got cut from his basketball team too, and he gives me ways in the book to put that behind me and keep me going on with my life.

A deep look into the mind and heart of brilliance
When I bought this, I was expecting a thick book filled with nothing but pages of reading, and I couldn't have been more excited about the chance of owning it. Upon receiving it, I was like, "What's this??" It was a thin book and it looked to be more filled with spectacular photographs moreso than interesting reading. I was disappointed at first glance because it wasn't what I was expecting, but before I'd know it, I would become deeply compelled by what this book has to offer. And I would also learn a valuable lesson in the process.

There's actually a good bit of reading here in this book, and the great photography of classic MJ moments, such as the free throw line dunks, the 1998 game-winner that won the Finals, etc., only enhance what is written in words from the man himself, Michael Jordan. For instance, MJ talks about how he used to tell people he could fly for awhile. He was just talking, but when he actually watched a video of his famous double-pump free throw line dunk, he even admits that he was in awe. On that same page is a few shots of him flying through the air with an eagle's grace. The photographs allow you to literally SEE what you're reading. A book with just pages of words wouldn't have been able to convey that imagery or subtle feeling as well.

The still photos that grace every single page are just icing on the cake, however. What's REALLY intriguing are some of the things you'll read. What did Michael Jordan do with all those pairs of Air Jordans? Does he think he's the greatest ever, or that he'll always be the greatest? Why did he like playing in Madison Square Garden so much? What does he TRULY think of Jerry Krause and the way he did what he did (VERY surprising what he has to say about this)? What one player would he like to play against, of all the ones that have ever played in the NBA?

Those are only a few of the questions that will be answered to those who read For the Love of the Game: My Story, by Michael Jordan. It covers nearly all the major stories and highlights of his career, including his baseball troubles and triumphs. Some of the responses and readings you'll probably remember or not be surprised by. But just wait until you read about MJ's opinion of Magic Johnson coming down with the AIDS virus, and about what MJ would do/think if he came down with it.

The book mainly focuses on each of Michael Jordan's six championships. He breaks them down separately and gives his views on the experiences, such as the 1992 NBA Finals between the Bulls and Portland, when almost everything was focused on how MJ would measure up to Clyde Drexler. Keep in mind, however, that this book was made in 1998. If you're wanting to read about MJ's Washington Wizards experiences, then look elsewhere, because everything, including the various statistics, all relate to Jordan's years with the Chicago Bulls.

One thing that For the Love of the Game: My Story really taught me is that looks can be deceiving. I like it even better than I would have liked a book filled with nothing but words, because the pictures really give the book its own life. Two heads are better than one, and the two heads in this case are the pictures and the words. If you're an avid Michael Jordan fan (he's certainly my favorite athlete of all time), then this is the one book you need to own. How could another one be better? The words are all from Jordan himself, and they cover his best years in basketball. ... Read more

Book Description

This is the book everyone has been waiting for-an inspiring celebration of the joy, challenges, and triumphs of being African American.

This great volume is focused on representing all facets of African American life-man and woman; young and old; rural, suburban, and urban; rich and poor; race conscious and mostly color-blind.

Chapters Include: Celebrating Our Strength, Strong Roots, The African American Family, Love and Relationships, The Power of Community, Praise, Worship and Prayer

Featured Celebrities Include: Maya Angelou, Angela Davis, E. Lynn Harris, Yolanda King (daughter of Martin Luther King), Muhammad Ali, Mean Joe Green, Bishop T.D. Jakes, Bill Cosby, Colin Powell

Book Description

Considered by many to be the most dangerous inmate in the history of the New York penal system, Willie Bosket is a brilliant, violent man who began his criminal career at age five. His slaying of two subway riders at fifteen led to the passage of the first law in the nation allowing teenagers to be tried as adults. Yet sadly, Willie is not an aberration within the Bosket family--but rather the latest in a long line of brutal, exceptionally intelligent malefactors who were driven by circumstances, racism, and a distinctly American craving for respect by any means necessary. In this groundbreaking work, award-winning journalist Fox Butterfield traces a troubled family's history back to the days of slavery in an attempt to get to the roots of the violence endemic in our society. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Excellent read: informative, sad and chilling
This book was exceptionally well written and well researched, giving a very detailed account of how violence in the African American community, and primarily in the Bosket family, got its start from the violence that was the norm in South Carolina, where the Boskets came from. The story of Willie's family, his ancestors all the way up to his parents and siblings, is a sobering one that explains how families can be "doomed" when they remain outside of the mainstream and do not have access to opportunity or given any hope. Butterfield does a good job describing the criminal justice system as it relates to children and how we have come to treat 12 and 13 year old children like adults. But what is being done to stop this madness?

Absolutely amazing, an excellent read, very insightful
Probably the best book I've read since Malcolm X. You know its good when you've got 15 people to review it and they all rate it high. This book is very hard to find, so if you get a chance to get your hands on it, then buy it.

The first 100 pages, or so, are good, but not as good as the rest of the book. But they are absolutely necessary to understanding the book. The book is very well written and researched. It took me through the full gambit of emotions. I couldn't put it down.

Interesting Book!
I found this book interesting as well as heartbreaking. When I first opened it up, I was unable to put it down. Alcoholism, physical abuse, sexual abuse, incest, rejection, and neglect were 6 factors in which had been existent within the Bosket family. It seems as if the only way they had learned to fight were with either weapons or with their bare hands. One of the saddest situations included Butch and the fact that he had raped his girlfriend's 6 year-old daughter, "Kristin". The girlfriend's name was Donna and she seemed to be a weak-willed woman. I couldn't believe that she had actually ignored her daughter's cries while he was raping her. I just kept reading it over and over again: 'Kristin could see her mother standing in the darkened doorway of her room, and she asked her to make Butch stop. When Donna heard her daughter's plea, she said, "No. I won't stop him."' In the end, because she had allowed it to go on, she had lost custody of both "Kristin" and her twin brother, Matthew. She was so taken by Butch that she seemed to care more about him than her own children and they hadn't even known each other that long. She lost her life because she had decided to follow behind him as if she didn't have any backbone. Sad.

I think part of Willie Jr.'s anger had been directed toward his grandfather, James Bosket (Butch's father), because he had sexually abused him on numerous occasions. I found it very disgusting and shocking. Willie was a young boy and had no idea what molestation meant and that it was wrong. Another part of his anger seemed to be directed toward his mother, Laura. Although she was trying very hard to raise Willie, she didn't make the situation any better by repeatedly telling him that he was going end up just like his father or giving him more negative feedback than positive. Her neglect and rejection of him was what drove him to threaten to commit suicide by jumping in front of an oncoming train. But then you have to look at it from her side also. She had become a single mother because Butch had gone to prison for killing two people in a pawn shop, leaving her to take care of Willie all by herself. She felt rejected herself because he had promised to be there for her and their son. She thought that she was going to live a happy life with the man she loved and he winds up going to prison. He even forced her to divorce him. I guess she resented him for it and took it out on Willie Jr. By the time Jr. was 21, he had gotten married to a woman named, Sharon (who wanted to bed him right after she had met him), who had a daughter by another man. I think Willie accepted her marriage proposal and had taken on the responsibility of helping her raise her daughter because he wanted to fulfill his dream of wanting a family. On top of that, the relationship seemed to be based on lust, not love.

I was glad to read that Jr. had calmed down quite a bit by 1995; I think because he's getting older, he realizes how much time he had wasted and actually does have remorse for the innocent people he had murdered and robbed and their families who suffered losing them. I'm not quite sure if he has been broken by the same system he was against but now, he has no choice but to sit in prison awaiting his release, which will be no time soon. As a matter of fact, he'll be an elderly man by then.

Far from fictional
During the time when i read this book I w