Book Description

From one of America's most beloved authors comes a raw and unnerving memoir that explores the transformation of an angry young man into the bestselling author we know today.

When Victor Villaseñor stood at the podium and looked at the group of teachers amassed before him, he became enraged. He had never spoken in public before. His mind was flooded with childhood memories filled with humiliation, misunderstanding, and abuse at the hands of his teachers. With his heart pounding, he began to speak of these incidents. To his disbelief, the teachers before him responded to his embittered recollection with a standing ovation. Many could not contain their own tears.

So begins a touching memoir of an extremely angry adolescent. Highly gifted and imaginative, Villaseñor coped with an untreated learning disability (he was finally diagnosed with extreme dyslexia at the age of forty-four) and the frustration he felt growing up Latino in an English-only American school system that had neither the cultural understanding nor the resources to deal with Hispanic students.

Often beaten by his teachers because he could not speak English, Villaseñor was made to feel ashamed about his heritage, and even questioned the core values prioritized by his tight-knit family. Villaseñor's dyslexia, and growing frustration over not fitting in, fueled his dream to one day become a writer. He is now considered one of the premier writers of our time.

With his signature passion, his gift as a storyteller, and his own incredible story, Villaseñor allows readers into the soul of a young life touched by insecurity yet encouraged by a personal sense of artistic destiny. Burro Genius, a complex and inspiring coming-of-age story, is certain to become an American classic.

Reviews (3)

This is about ALL OF US!
I was born in America, like Victor. I am not Hispanic. I relate to this book because my ancestors were from Italy. They came to America with very little, and with no knowledge of English. They built businesses, some of which flourish to this very day! They worked hard - often much harder than the people for whom they worked. They educated their children, often with very little help from the American school system. They survived drought, hunger, abuse, unfeeling teachers, uncaring political leaders. This is about Victor. And it is about all the people who built America. It is about you, me, our friends and relatives, our neighbors. Please read this. And please read WALKING STARS with your children. You are, after all -- each and every one of you -- a Burro Genius Miracle Maker!

Villasenor does it once again.........
Burro Genius has been added to my list of favorite books, along with some of his previous work....

Learning about the way his teachers abused him and the way his classmates disrespected and hated him because he was Mexican made me feel helpless.....it made me wish many times through out the book that it would've been me who they'd disrespected and slapped around just so that I could do something about it.

It's an experience that makes him feel out-of-place and turns him into an angry child who, at one point, becomes ashamed of who he is and where his family comes from.

It's crazy how Villasenor, along with other Mexican kids, was forced to speak "English Only" and now that's all changed. America encourages and almosts expects of people to learn more than one language. Like a slap in the face....

Something very special
Victor Villasenor has written well before, but this is something completely new and special. It's his story, compelling, heartbreaking, and funny. You want to keep reading just to find out what happens to this kid, who is at once precocious, confused, and angry.

Victor's voice rings through the pages. Even if you have never heard him in person, you will know his voice by the words he writes. And you'll know him, in a more personal way than you probably know your neighbors.

The book is definitely psychologically and politically challenging. You can't help but wonder why his world is the way it is, and what you can do, years later, to change it. ... Read more

Book Description

Most of the world remembers Crazy Horse as a peerless warrior who brought theU.S.Army to its knees at the Battle of Little Bighorn. But to his fellow LakotaIndians, he wasa dutiful son and humble fighting man who—with valor, spirit, respect, andunparalleledleadership—fought for his people’s land, livelihood, and honor. In thisfascinatingbiography, Joseph Marshall, himself a Lakota Indian, creates a vibrant portraitof theman, his times, and his legacy.

Drawing on firsthand research and his culture’s rich oral tradition (rarelyshared outsidethe Native American community), Marshall reveals many aspects of Crazy Horse’slife,including details of the powerful vision that convinced him of his duty to helppreservethe Lakota homeland—a vision that changed the course of Crazy Horse’s life andspurredhim confidently into battle time and time again.

The Journey of Crazy Horse is the true story of how one man’s fight forhispeople’s survival roused his true genius as a strategist, commander, and trustedleader.And it is an unforgettable portrayal of a revered human being and a profoundcelebrationof a culture, a community, and an enduring way of life. ... Read more

Book Description

From the critically acclaimed, best-selling author of Holler if You Hear Me, a fresh reassessment of the remarkable life, art, struggles, and death of an American icon.

Twenty years after his murder at the hands of his own father, Marvin Gaye continues to define the hopes and shattered dreams of the Motown generation. A performer whose career spanned the history of rhythm and blues, from doo-wop to the sultriest of soul music, Gaye's artistry magnified the contradictions that defined America's coming of age in the tumultuous 1970s. In his most searching and ambitious work to date, acclaimed critic Michael Eric Dyson illuminates both Marvin Gaye's stellar achievements and stunning personal decline--and offers an unparalleled assessment of the cultural and political legacy of R&B on American culture.

Through interviews with those close to Gaye--from his musical beginnings in a black church in Washington, D.C., to his days as a "ladies' man" in Motown's stable of young singers, from the artistic heights of the landmark album What's Going On? to his struggles with addiction and domestic violence--Dyson draws an indelible portrait of the tensions that shaped contemporary urban America: economic adversity, the drug industry, racism, and the long legacy of hardship.

Published to coincide with the twentieth anniversary of Gaye's death in 1984, and infused with the soulful prose that has become Michael Eric Dyson's trademark, Mercy, Mercy Me is at once a celebration of an American icon whose work continues to inspire, and a revelatory and incisive look at how a lost generation's moods, music, and moral vision continue to resonate today. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Good Review, but...
I've read most of the books that have been written about Marvin Gaye, this being my most recent. Although I found it to be a somewhat interesting read, I also found it to be a little too "clinically" written, for lack of a better term, much like an academic study of the man. The section on R. Kelley, and the author's conviction that he is very much like Marvin, was way off base for me. This book is one of those that you'll just have to read for yourself and form your own opinion.

A biography and social criticism combined
"In his guttural cries, his hectic moans, his elliptical ejaculations, and his plaintive whispers, Marvin explores the healing and redemptive dimensions of black romantic love."
- From page 132 of "Mercy, Mercy Me"

Man, does Dyson have a way with words!

I guess that I am one of those "public intellectuals" that finds Dyson's analyses of both Gaye's life and the social ills plaguing the black community so intriguing. Dyson, a minister himself, contrasts Gaye's life as a popular secular singer with his strict Pentacostal upbringing at the hands of his stern minister-father. The struggle that the singer endured played an important part in his music and the book dissects four of the artist's most challenging and enigmatic works: the classic and legendary "What's Going On", "Let's Get It On", "I Want You" and the controversial "Here, My Dear".

The author cuts down each album, layer by layer, revealing Gaye as a man in constant turmoil with the battle between his religious teachings and his desires as a man. Dyson also introduces the reader to many lost versions of Gaye's work, now coming to light in "deluxe editions" available for purchase.

Unlike most "men of the cloth", Dyson's approach is destined to draw criticism from traditional Christians for he suggests a greater openness in sexual matters, as well as less dependency on corporal punishment as a means of child-rearing. He implies that stiff and unbending Church doctrine may have contributed to Marvin's death at the hands of his preacher father.

The final chapter of the book compares Gaye's music and approach to life with the contemporary singer R. Kelly, an admirer of Gaye himself. This provides some interesting food for thought, as the two singers seem to share a bond transcending death and decades.

Dyson could've spent a little less time on social/culture commentary and more on the life of the singer at hand; however, the book is still a worthwhile read into the soul of a soul singer and the society that both uplifted and condemned him.

Detailed analysis of Gaye's musical history
I LOVED the first 5 chapters which breaks down Gaye's music on his popular What's Going On, Let's Get It On and I Want You. Dyson's interviews with those behind the scenes on those landmark classics and what went on very much was impressive to get their thoughts and them acknowledging the different takes Marvin did on songs. I actually wanted to go back and listen to What's Going On again after such a detailed breakdown of the songs and the feelings surrounding them. The book also goes into detail of Gaye's personal issues he was dealing with in the midst of the creation of those classic albums as well.

The final chapter in my view was a rehash of the final chapter of Divided Soul but Dyson brings in an analysis of Gaye Sr's disfunctional behavior and corporal punishment. Sadly that messed up influence leads his celebrated son into his own disfunctional drama and sadly his death by his own father (which 20 yrs ago as a kid and now 20 yrs later as an adult still saddens me and is still hard to understand why).

The afterword in which Dyson spoke to R. Kelly and how Gaye has influenced him was also very much amazing to me how similar both of these men are with conflicts they have of the spiritual and sexual. It makes me wonder if Gaye was alive today if he would do some kind of music collaboration with R. Kelly and (if he was able face his demons and win the war) if he could be of some mentor/father figure to him beyond the music scene.

I just only hope after reading R. Kelly's glowing praise of Gaye that Robert finds a positive way to face his own "Divided Soul" and get the help and seek positive guidance in the way his old school counterpart wasn't able to.

Most Intriguing, Profound Commentary on Marvin
Dyson explores the life and love and pain of one of the best musical geniuses of all times. He reveals little known facts and secrets such as his love affairs, some purposely blurred song lyrics, and his broad range of musical abilities including playing the piano and drums. This book deeply touched and inspired me. I have grown deeper in my fascination and admiration of Marvin. I have had the pleasure of meeting Dyson on a couple of occassions and he is very articulate, intelligent, charismatic, and also has a great sense of humor. This is a must read for any true Marvin fans!

Analyzing Marvin....
Upon fist glance, one would think this was another of many biographies on the legend that is, Marvin Gaye. This is not a biography however, but an analytical look at the life of Mr. Gaye; what made him do what he did, sing what he sang, and feel the way he felt. In an essence, Mr. Dyson disects events in Marvin's life to show what it was that made Marvin tick; what made him fall in love with the women that he fell in love with, and what made him rebel.

This book has surprises- one in particular that we all wondered about for some time. There is also an interesting parallel made between Marvin and another modern day singer, R. Kelly, that will surprise some readers. There are references to other Marvin Gaye biographies (Divided Soul by David Ritz; My Brother, Marvin Gaye by Frankie Gaye; and Trouble Man by Steve Turner, just to name a few), which are good for the readers who haven't read many books on Marvin, or want to know more about him outside of his music.

Michael Eric Dyson did a good job on bringing forth the "inner" Marvin, and revealing sides to him that weren't often documented prior to the release of this book.

A wonderful read for the die hard Marvin fan- such as myself- and those who want to know more about the spirit behind the music. ... Read more

Book Description

Originally published to wide critical acclaim in France, where it elicited comparisons to Art Spiegelman's Maus, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi's wise, funny, and heartbreaking memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah's regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran's last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.

Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran: of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life and of the enormous toll repressive regimes exact on the individual spirit. Marjane’s child's-eye-view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a stunning reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, through laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity.And, finally, it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love. ... Read more

Reviews (58)

The Iranian revolution viewed by a little girl: touching!
PERSEPOLIS is a graphical autobiography of the author, who experienced the Iranian revolution and the Iran-Iraq war as a child in the 1970s and 1980s. It is told in the beatiful black and white graphical language of a comic strip where simple pictures communicate strong feelings, much better than words could.

But PERSEPOLIS is also the story or a whole generation of young Iranians, who left their land in the quest of better conditions during the post-revolutionary era. I belong to this generation myself and I totally identified with the experiences Ms SATRAPI went through- her childhood in post revolutionary Iran, her description of Iranian society at the time, her exile in Austria- also in the volumes 2 & 3 (which already appeared in French).

Though conceived as a comic book, the book has messages which are not childish in nature: the child, through the naiveness of her views, points out to many of the contradictions of Iranian society that adults are unwilling to face.

It is also one of the rare unbiased personal accounts of what happened in Iran at the time of ther evolution and as such, is an interesting document on this period of Iranian history.
(It certainly contains more information on Iran and its people than the junk broadcasted on most TV channels).

Some readers (including reviews posted here) criticize this book for not being a realistic description of Iran. Though I totally disagree with this criticism, the main point is that PERSEPOLIS is NOT a history book nor a sociological study. It is a story, the story of a childhood and the author has never claimed it to be otherwise.

I definitely recommend this book, first to all Iranians who live abroad, especially those who did not grow up in Iran and did not
experience the revolution, and then to all readers interested in getting a human, insider view of what Iranian society was like in the early 1980s.

Excellent and Touching Read
I read this book recently and found it imposible to put it down, I finished reading the first time I picked it up. The author does an excellent job in telling and illustrating Iran's contemporary history, and she does so -I think- quite objectibly, squaring blame not only on the major powers for their share on Iran's internal repression, but also on Iranians themselves. This type of self-examination is a rare thing in Muslim countries, where local media is coerced by the local government or which panders to victimization of Muslims and/or demonization of the West.

Ms. Satrapi paints herself, no doubt, in the best light; as a curious, precocious, insightful child, who sometimes sounds too irreverent and self-aware for a 10 year old. Yet this is perhaps the most compelling aspect of Persepolis, she looks at a complex political transition as a child, yet without sounding over-simplistic. It brought together several key ideas I had read in other more technical books about the Islamic Revolution. She weighs the conflicting messages (so harmful to a child's self-esteem) she received from her parents and society and finds a way to navigate through them. Her parents are middle class idealistic leftists who call for 'equality' but who nevertheless spend vacations in Europe and more or less spoil her. On one ocassion she gets advise from her mother about the need to forgive one's enemies, a few pages later she calls for death to those who tortured her brother in jail. The author, as a child, is besieged by these polarities. Her parents had also welcomed the Islamic Revolution, as secular Iranians did, for the unity they could provide while hoping/expecting their influence to dissipate after the Shah was deposed.

Ms. Satrapi lets the reader understand that she was far from under-priviledged in post-revolutionary Iran. She and her friends find ways to be 'cool' in spite of the vice control police that roamed the city. One understands then that no one, no matter how rich, was safe from the repression that ensued. Her father is harassed for drinking alcohol and she for wearing 'punk' (a.k.a Nike) tennis shoes. At some point her parents have to smuggle posters for her, which would have otherwise been confiscated at the airport by customs (how she thought that Iron Maiden only had four members is beyond me, but we'll let that one go!)
A complaint is that the storming of the American embassy only gets a cursory glance. Surely the tension that aroused from this would have been part of her everyday life, because of the international crisis it provoked, not to mention the failed American military Operation ('Eagleclaw') to rescue them. I also expected her to criticize the hostage takeover. She didn't.

A minor glitch is the story of her uncle, a communist who was exiled to Russia, at some point in his story one is not sure whether he was detained by the police in Russia or in Iran (?).

Yet it is the Islamic Revolution who gets the block of her criticism. She tells examples of how the revolution killed the same revolutionaries who midwifed it to life, her uncle included. How even early on, it had become more repressive than the Shah had been.

This book will benefit those whose only image of Iran (as another reviewer eloquently remarked) is that of terrosists and hostage takers. This book gives a human face to a struggle and repression that most Americans cannot fathom, and in the end, shows us that we are not all that different. Most of all, it paints a picture of life in a regime that stiffles the very air out of its people. A regime this reader hopes is on its last leg, and one whose repression has -contrary to what many believe- made Iran a country where popular support for the West is unparalled.

Don't let the less than perfect score discourage you, this is a funny, uplifting and touching work, truly from the heart. What a wonderful book.

Excellent Autobiography
<br /> The Autobiographies/Memoirs have it this year, i haven't read one i didn't like. "Persepolis" is at the top of the list of spell binding, well written gut wrenching truth and honesty. <br /> Other books to read are: Nightmares Echo, Dry,Reading Lolita,Running With Scissors<br />

Quite possibly the best book of the year
"Persepolis" marks the third book in the almighty triumvirate of great autobiographical graphic novels that examine injustice. Joining the ranks of "Maus" by Art Spiegelman and "Palestine" by Joe Sacco, "Persepolis" has garnered a remarkable amount of attention. Positive attention, that is. Suddenly it's getting high marks in everything from "Entertainment Weekly" to "VOYA: Voice of Youth Advocates". I wonder to myself whether or not author/artist Marjane Satrapi has been surprised by the mounds of attention. I also wonder how it is that she was able to take her own life story and weave it seamlessly with the history of her own country, Iran. This book is like an illustrated version of "Midnight's Children", but far darker and far more real.

The first image in "Persepolis" is the same image you see on its cover. Marjane sits wearing a veil in 1980 for the first time. As the story continues, Marjane explains her own beginnings as well as the beginning of the "Cultural Revolution". In her own life, Marjane was an only child of middle class intellectual parents. She experienced the usual childhood ups and downs. Sometimes she believed she was God's next chosen prophet. Other times she wanted to demonstrate with her parents in the street against the Shah. Over the course of her childhood Marjane learns more about the limits of class in Iran as well as the secrets behind her family history. She finds that her grandfather was a prince, her uncle a political prisoner for years, and her parents far braver than she ever expected. Marjane deals with the danger of challenging authority under the rule of religious extremists while growing up as a normal girl. By the end, her parents determine that the only thing left to do is to send their only daughter to Vienna and Marjane must face a future without them by her side.

Before I read the book I scanned the illustrations and found them lacking. I thought (originally) that they were too simplistic to effectively convey a deep plot and deeper discussion of the human propensity for violence (and good). After reading the first page I discovered that this assumption, while normally correct, was wrongdy wrong wrong wrong. Yes, it's certainly true that Satrapi's style is simple. At the same time, it's also the ideal companion to the piece. In a book such as this you do not want to draw attention away from the narrative voice with inappropriately overdone illustrations. As for the writing itself, it's engaging to even the most reluctant reader. And what better way to teach people a little Iranian history? Quite frankly, I was baffled by some of the things I discovered here. I consider myself a lightly educated middle class individual. I know a little more world history than joe schmoe down the street, but not much more. Nonetheless, after reading roughly five pages of "Persepolis" I discovered, to my chagrin, that I know jack squat about Iran. Were you aware that Iranians are not, in fact, Arabs? How about the roots of the Cultural Revolution? How much do you know about that? Or the day to day routines of people living in Iran in the 1980s? No?

Today we the American people live in a country where our rulers like to toss about phrases like, "Axis of Evil", and condemn entire countries with a single blow. What "Persepolis" does so (apparently) effortlessly is to put a human face on inhuman suffering. Iranians have been through more horrors than can be recounted in a single book. I think what struck me the hardest about this story was the little things. The stories about girls in school skipping class to flirt with boys. Discussions with other kids about farting from kidney beans. Punk rock and Michael Jackson. All this took the book from being a personal voice of a nation's struggle to the point where your average reader identified deeply with the characters. The final image in this book is heart breaking. I only hope I have the guts to get "Persepolis 2" and read it cover to cover.

deep, and honest
As an iranian who has lived in similar years as Marjane is talking about, I could totally relate to what she says...This book is so refreshing, deep, and at the same time simple ... I could not put it down, and forced my self to read less so I would not have to wait too long for the second volume to come out... But no, I finished too fast and I'm waiting now... maybe I could start reading the french version... ... Read more

Book Description

A Chinese American woman tells of the Chinese myths, family stories and events of her California childhood that have shaped her identity. ... Read more

Reviews (153)

Wonderful Book for Older Readers
Although Maxine Hong Kingston does jump around from chapter to chapter (which seems to confuse most), she does a great job at explaining her life growing up as a Chinese-American. I can really relate to some of the aspects of the books. Kingston recalls constantly being filled with ridiculous stories. These stories, though, become a part of who she is and what she believes. The sub-title of the book, "Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts", explains a lot of what the author has to deal with. She has to deal with hearing that her friends and her are ghosts, because they are American. All of the people that surrounded Kingston's family were ghosts, except for the Chinese people who lived on the Gold Mountain, Chinatown in San Francisco. The children's teachers and coaches were ghosts. Kingston feels like a ghost herself: "...we had been born amonth ghosts, were taught by ghosts, and were ourselves ghost-like. They called us a kind of ghost."

This book is truely a page turner. There's always something to learn or laugh about in each turn. Wonderful book.

HOW TO GAIN PITY
Kingston, with her novel about misplaced and awkward lives in society, uses the first person narrative to make the reader understand the problems and opinions of herself, and the way she sees the world. A story about a Chinese girl lost and confused in a new culture, The Woman Warrior has very strong and savage views. These opinions are only enhanced by the first person, and give a greater impact to the message. Slightly disturbed and greatly angered by unfain treatment, Kingston's book is a rather hateful one. She uses strong words, blunt remarks, and subliminal messages to give the reader a feeling that she is simply lost in a world full of hallow ghosts. Throughout the entire novel she portrays herself as the victim, in an attempt to gain the reader's pity. A sad reflection of her own life, The Woman Warrior is truly a novel about a lost soul in an unfamiliar place.

One would first assume Kingston to be a very bitter person, but her strong opinions are formed by the society she lives in. An old Chinese saying, "Better to raise geese than girls," (pg. 46), angers Kingston as a child. Her entire lifestyle and culture, American and Chinese, revolves around the concept of male dominance. Throughout the book the reader sees the cynical hatred Kingston holds for anyone who who does not sympathize with her race and gender; even by writing this book she asks for the pity of others. Such an example can be found when Brave Orchid (Kingston's mother) and Moon Orchid (Kingston's aunt), set out to avenge the marriage of Moon Orchid's husband and new wife. It is not only the cultural differences which set the awkwardness of the confrontation, but Kingston's mother's rage against the weak, (a trait later found in Kingston), which make this argument concerning divorse troublesome. Moon Orchid is shy and afraid, while Brave Orchid, anger fuled by Moon Orchid's timidness and her own extreamly feminist views, demands that she reclaim her title as wife. By the way Kingston words and retells her mother's expiriances, the reader understands the implied message that it is the husband who divorced who is evil, and the shy female who is right; this makes the first person narrative effective in that the reader sees the very strong emotions felt by Kingston and her mother. THe first person is also used to create bias opinions and exagerated comments, such as with Moon Orchid's "animalistic" children. Seen as lying, rude, vain, and selfish, the harsh words of Kingston try to make the reader think the children really are so selfish and evil, when infact it is only a misunderstood cultural difference. By being in the first person, the reader sees the opinions of Kingston, and must try to formulate what is truth and what is exagerated. Kingston, her own views tainted and twisted by society's treatment, uses the first person point of view very well to try to gain the sympathy of the reader.

Well written and very vague, this book leaves the reader searching for the truth rather than Kingston's bias views. Slightly disturbed, she is able to claim the pity of her readers by displaying herself as a victim of racial and cultural differences, and the rest of the world as mindless and uncaring drones. With the first person narrative, she can turn the reader's opinion to fit her own. She very effectivly gain's the readers pity.

Trailblazer
I'm astonished to read so many virulently negative reviews. I read this book just after it came out, as a high-school student, and loved it for the strength of the writing and the vivid images, also the mix of fantasy and reality.

I do recall being a bit surprised at her anger, but up until then the only stories of Chinese-American girlhood that were available (all one or two of them, I think; this was the mid-70s) portrayed very dutiful, very quiet, very "good" girls. So this was an eye-opener and a stereotype buster, and should be welcomed for that. We have to remember that this was written nearly 30 years ago, when the whole multi-cultural debate was really just getting going; perhaps some things in it would be different now. But the trailblazers in any society often have to be angry to get their messages heard -- and taken seriously. And people like Maxine Hong Kingston laid the foundations that allowed literature by people like Amy Tan to be published. She deserves credit for this.

I can definitely see that aspects of the book could be annoying to Asian-Americans who find people taking this as gospel about Chinese culture, though.

But I'd also like to suggest that some of the negative responses might also come from people uneasy with the idea that non-white people are angry about the racism they've experienced in the United States. It's easy to think this anger is exaggerated if you've never experienced racism.

women warrior
The book by Maxine Kinston is based on five different stories about different Chinese women. The novel is filled with Chinese folktales and culture. This is a story that one as a Chinese or any other culture could relate to because throughout the novel shows ancestry and tales about myths and legends. The novel will take you through stories of deception and haunt that is told through the eyes of Kingston herself. Starting with long lost aunts followed by so-called ghost warriors and ending with stories about her mother's life back in china; this book will keep you reading until the end. I recommend this story to anyone who is interested in story tale and culture of a different sort, that of Chinese. I enjoyed reading the novel myself and it kept me reading in interest on the twist and turns of Kingston's life.

Interesting Chinese-American Read
I enjoyed reading the fictional tale Warrior Woman by Maxine Hong Kingston. I think anyone who likes to see how other cultures live and relate to one another will enjoy this story. Readers who enjoy fantasy type stories will also enjoy this book, because it is rich in both types of story telling. After reading the novel, I can appreciate Chinese culture more, and although I usually shy away from fantasy stories and novels, the sections dealing with fantastic themes drew me in. In the story White Tigers, I was attempted to skip pages until the end of the section, but somehow I kept reading the story and I became more involved in it. When I realized the story was being told to empower Chinese women, it gave the whole fantasy a new meaning to me. Women at the time of the story held little value in Chinese society. Girls grow up, go away, and leave their aged parents, but boys were expected to stay with the parents along with their wives to care for their elderly parents.
The story No Name Woman disturbed me as I read. No name woman was the narrator's aunt. The aunt became No Name Woman after her family disowned her for committing adultery and becoming pregnant. The aunt would never name the father, so he could bear in her shame. What bothered me most about this section is not so much that the father escaped punishment, although that bothered me too, but the total lack of forgiveness from the family. Because of this total lack of family forgiveness, this young woman killed herself and her newborn. How terribly sad!
Although the Chinese society seemed to value family and a tradition, I found it highly curious that they could not speak about sex at all and they went to great lengths to avoid even family intimacy. Kingston describes how family members in China shout into each other's faces and yell at each other across the room. At mealtimes, which is a sort of intimate family time, no one talks.
I found the section At the Western Place intriguing. I am aware that there are many immigrants who come to the United States to make a better life for themselves, many times leaving families behind until they can establish themselves. When I read how Moon Orchid had been waiting for her husband for over 30 years and he never returned, instead establishing a new family in the United States, to say I was taken back, is expressing my reaction mildly. Moon Orchid did not seem to mind the arrangement though. Could it have been because she was well provided for financially without the obligation of carrying out wifely duties? Perhaps she enjoyed the prestige of being a married woman. Whatever her reasons, I felt so sorry for her after her sister Brave Orchid forced a confrontation between the estranged spouses. Moon Orchid was devastated by the encounter and was never the same afterwards. Something intangible and innocent within her was forever altered.
I would recommend that this book be read in a thoughtful and serious manner, although the narrative is by no means heavy or serious, but the characters themselves as interesting as well as being a complex mixture of clashes between their own culture and their assimilation to American culture. There are marked differences between the struggles of the young people and the struggles of the older people and how both groups try to fit into the new society while holding onto parts of traditional Chinese culture. I found The Warrior Woman a good read. ... Read more

Book Description

Hailed by readers and critics across the country, this engrossing biography of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo reveals a woman of extreme magnetism and originality, an artist whose sensual vibrancy came straight from her own experiences: her childhood near Mexico City during the Mexican Revolution; a devastating accident at age eighteen that left her crippled and unable to bear children; her tempestuous marriage to muralist Diego Rivera and intermittent love affairs with men as diverse as Isamu Noguchi and Leon Trotsky; her association with the Communist Party; her absorption in Mexican folklore and culture; and her dramatic love of spectacle.

Here is the tumultuous life of an extraordinary twentieth-century woman -- with illustrations as rich and haunting as her legend.

Reviews (21)

The Best Book on Frida Kahlo
One cannot live in the modern world without regularly encountering self-portrait images of the beautiful and tragic Frida Kahlo. Whether on coffee mugs, t-shirts, posters, or Mexican artifacts, Frida's exquisite face with its darkly joined eyebrows and beribboned hair is immediately familiar to most observers, even if they do not know who she was. Yet Frida Kahlo's popularity in the twentieth century can be wholly attributed to her brilliance. Unlike the work of most modern artists, almost all of her 200 paintings depict realist, surrealist, and primitive self-portraits symbolizing the concerns and agonies of her life. Hayden Herrera's fine biography is still, seventeen years after its publication, the champion text on one of the most important, original, and phenomenal painters of our time.

Frida was born in 1910 (the year the Mexican Revolution began)to a Mexican mother and German father in the same cobalt blue house in Coyoacan, a suburb of Mexico City, where she later worked and shared her life with the great muralist Diego Rivera. Ironically, it is the house where her life also ended. Today it is a museum, open to the public and still festooned with her beautiful collections of retablos, pottery, and Mexican folk art. Frida's life was consumed by pain as a result of suffering polio at age 6 and a bus/trolley collision as a teenager when, thrown from the bus, she was gored by a steel rail. Frida spent most years of her life bedridden and in body casts (which she also painted)after some 30 surgeries meant to alleviate her suffering. Throughout her life,and even while prone in a bed with a mirrored canopy, she painted herself because of the focus created by chronic pain and said, "I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone." Her self-portraits suggest deep meanings as her face is always encircled with images derived from her physical and psychological life. The paintings are vibrant and, typical of many of her women contemporaries' works, tiny.

Hayden Herrera's book presents a comprehensive life study of the great artist, incorporating photographs, diaries, letters, painting reproductions, eye witness accounts, and local history and politics in the most readable, enjoyable, intelligent work available. An art historian, Ms. Herrera is thoroughly knowledgeable and writes beautifully, as well. One will be as engrossed by this book as by any great novel. Her work convincingly recreates the scenes from Frida's life and populates them with important contemporaries Frida knew and loved, including Andre Breton, Leon Trotsky, Tina Modotti, Pablo Picasso, and, of course, her own Diego Rivera who called her the greatest painter of our time.

There isn't a more engaging biography available about Frida Kahlo (in second place is Herrera's other text, Frida Kahlo:The Paintings), and one need not be an art student to be enthralled by this work. Ms. Herrera's compassionate, energetic account will capture anyone who wonders just what Frida Kahlo was like--her inspirations, occupations, and truly vivacious approach to her one very painful and amazingly productive life.

Thanks to this book, I discovered Frida!
It was thanks to this wonderful book that I discovered Frida Kahlo, who is now my heroine. I have read many books about her, but this is absolutely the best one. It made me laugh - and weep, too, because I could really feel Frida`s pain in my own body...
Today I am probably Sweden`s biggest Frida - fan, and I drive everybody crazy talking about her all the time! Thanks to her, I have started to paint and draw a lot, I dare to wear crazy clothes - and I dare to be my self.
Thank you, Hayden Herrera, for writing such a great book...

Complete and Complex Like Frida
Hayden Herrera has written an excellent portrait of the great artist Frida Kahlo, complete in thought and tender in describing a woman well lived.

Frida Kahlo is the ultimate survivor and represents women for their strength, tenderness, fierceness and suffering compassion. She lived during a time when women had few rights, especially Mexican women, she faced the dreadfulness of the Mexican Revolution in her early years, a bout with polio, a horrible bus accident that attempted to cripple her for life, an often unfaithful husband, criticism of her dreams, activism, accused Communism and many exciting adventures in life. She lived a true artistic life and her paintings represent the complicated nature of her inner soul. She loved hard and fought often, for her rights, her dreams and her man. While bed-ridden and suffering in the severest of agony she taught herself to paint, her body encased in a huge white cast, she painted to survive and reached the other end with a unique perspective on art. Her life and home were surrounded with color, a rainbow that never needed the promise of something golden at the end. She danced her own rhythm and never stopped walking her own path. This is a woman to be admired!

Herrera does an excellent job as the biographer of this phenomenally complicated woman. Her research is thorough and her suggestions entirely believable. You will be transported back in time into the life of a controversial woman who deserves every ounce of recognition that Herrera has given us.

A thorough rendering of an artist's life
This biography is a complete, engaging 440-page effort of sheer reportage. Herrera, an art historian and curator, has also written a book on Kahlo's art, and books on Mary Frank and Matisse, and you can see evidence of her thoroughness on every page. The book traces Kahlo's life by setting up the lives of her parents (her father was an Austrian immigrant to Mexico) all the way to her death and funeral with great detail. As Herrera follows the path of Kahlo's life, she includes letters to and from Kahlo, Kahlo's journal excerpts (illustrations, words and poems) and explicates Kahlo's art as it becomes relevant to the storyline of her life, either because paintings were done around the time of narrative points or because they illustrate incidents or themes in Kahlo's life. There are two color-plate sections and two black-and-white photo/painting sections to which the reader may refer.

Frida's life is certainly compelling, and Herrera doesn't need to resort to emotional language or hyperbole to make her interesting -- and, thankfully, she doesn't. The narrative is quite matter-of-fact, and illustrated with the subjects' own words, one feels that one can get to know Frida, and her husband, Diego Rivera, pretty well, for being somewhat removed from them (at least I feel that way living in the twenty-first century in Arkansas). The book incorporates the commonly known facts of Frida's life -- her devastating tram accident as a high-schooler in which she was impaled on a shaft of metal handrail, her turbulent and deep connection with and TWO subsequent marriages to Diego Rivera, her Mexicanista loyalties and sensibilities, her affair with Trotsky, her personal flamboyance and her great talent -- with the over-arching idea of Frida's alegría -- or happiness, joy -- in the face of her many hardships. As one of her friends said, Frida was a woman who "lived dying." Her many health problems and her problematic and sometimes painful relationship with Rivera were great obstacles to her, but her flamboyant alegría appears throughout her life as a constant, a will to enjoy, to overcome.

I think what the book offers most is Frida's personality, explicated as carefully and well as the paintings, and the effort helps inform the viewer's assessment and response to her work. Using Kahlo's own words often, Herrera allows Frida to tell us herself her reactions to incidents, events, her successes, her health problems.

She writes to her dear friend and medical adviser, Dr. Eloesser, in the United States when she is struggling with the decision to amputate her increasingly problematic foot: "My dearest Doctorcito: [The doctors] are driving me crazy and making me desperate. What should I do? It is as if I am being turned into an idiot and I am very tired of this f---ing foot and I would like to be painting and not worrying about so many problems. But, it can't be helped, I have to be miserable until the situation is resolved..."

This passage is emblematic of Kahlo, mixing her crass language with her charming endearments to her friends, her concern for her health and her resignation to the situation, "it can't be helped..." She often curses, refers to her reader as "kid" and to money as "dough," in English.

Herrera points out points at which Kahlo is not completely forthcoming with truthful details, for instance her age, the length of time she spent hospitalized at various stages, and her changing view on whether she was a Surrealist painter or not. She also illustrates Kahlo's changes in terms of the political situation of the international Communist party, her views about Trotsky, and her public vs. private comments on Diego's never-ending philandering.

In a book on Kahlo, these life details are relevant to her art because her art is confessional and personal. She's a "Sylvia Plath" of painting and mines her life and emotions for subjects until the end. Not long before she died, she had resolved her priorities, telling a friend, "I only want three things in life: to live with Diego, to continue painting, and to belong to the Communist party."

The people around her were deeply important to Frida Kahlo, and to the end of her life, she adored her friends, wrote winning and charming, caring notes to them, and wanted them around her at the end. Her love of others plays itself out in her political beliefs; she toured the world as an artist, but she drew her subjects and methods from Mexicanista traditions, and popular as well as pre-Columbian culture. Her personal illustrations are appealing because of that understanding of others, and Herrera's sound biography renders Kahlo's work and life even more poignant and remarkable. It's a good book. I recommend it.

(I do wish that this book had Frida Kahlo's own art or a photo of her on the cover, rather than a photo of Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo.)

Frida Kahlo is Alive and Well
The greatest compliment one could offer a biographer is that she has brought to life her subject with honesty and insight. Well, I offer this compliment to Hayden Herrera. It is supreme understatement for me to observe that the Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo, was a complex person filled with great contradictions. Yet, through liberal use of Frida's letters coupled with Herrera's own insightful analysis of her painting, "Frida" brings this great artist to life for us to bask in her brilliance, energy and strength. "Frida" is one of the most remarkable, illuminating and fulfilling biographies I have ever read. I highly recommend this magnificent book. ... Read more

Reviews (60)

Review for Coming of Age
What if you were a child that had to take on the responsibilities of getting a job to help out your family because you were going through tough times?
Anne Moody is a determined and pertinacious female, who has many dire straits as a teenager. Moody is the oldest out of seven children and sees the need to help her family because although her parents work, there still wasn't enough money to feed the family, so at the age of nine, she gets an after school job.
It wasn't until Moody was a student in high school, before she had "a completely new insight of Negroes in Mississippi." She started to see the hardship blacks had to encounter everyday and believed she could make a change. During her studies, at Tougaloo College, she joined the NAACP, a coherent group of African-Americans.
Coming of Age in Mississippi is an astonishing book that made me think about how life is so different now, than when the author was growing up. Anne Moody made me feel her sorrow and pain when I was reading this book. In comparison to other authors, Anne Moody used her own experience to help you feel what she felt in the most difficult time of her life. Moody's way of writing is a page-turner; she gets you caught in the moment so well that you have to see what happens next. Furthermore, the ending of this book leaves questions that you can only answer yourself and leaves things to the imagination.
Coming of Age in Mississippi is a historical autobiography that I would
recommend to you if you are a person who enjoys reading autobiographies about the struggles of African-American people in the 1950's and 60's. I would recommend Coming of Age in Mississippi because it teaches you about how people lived back then when the color of your skin really mattered.

An Aged Mississippian
This book is very moving and touching. Anne Moody's autobiography, "Coming of Age in Mississippi" is a wonderful book that tells the story of Anne's struggles growing up poor and black in the rural south. The author captures the reader's attention in the first few paragraphs using some slang dialect. We had vivid pictures in our minds of what was happening in the story through all of the use of imagery. There is a vivid image of a "rotten wood two room shack" as you read the pages. This book is well written and easy to read. It also helps one realize how many small steps it takes for ones dreams of a wonderful future to come true. We would love to meet Anne Moody, and we are thanking her for enabling us to get a glimpse of her life.

Essie Mae to Annie Mae
Anne Moody is a great and classical writer. After reading Coming of Age in Mississippi, I had a better understanding of how African Americans lived in the 1940s-1950s. Moody takes us back to that past time and relives her childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Her childhood was very uneasy especially when her mother separated from her father and she was left with a younger sister. Her Mama bears another three children with a different man who she was not yet married to. Food was scarce and she had to work and help out to survive. Times got harder when Moody entered high school and college. Blacks were getting killed left and right because of discrimination in Mississippi.

One good thing about the book is that Moody shows how hard she worked to get to where she is now. I was amazed during her childhood and her years in high school when she overcame many obstacles. She overcame most of her fears except one. "There was a new fear known to me- the fear of being killed just because I was black"(125). She had been scared about a murder that happened in a nearby town. A black boy was killed because he came out of his home with a white woman. So white men went after him and killed him and how sad it was that he was only 14. She overcame this fear later when she entered college and when the movement began.

Another good thing about Moody is that she speaks out for herself. She began to hate people especially the white men that killed Negroes. She also looked upon Negro men as cowards (129). Moody realized how Negro men could smile and be nice to white men, but behind closed doors, they kill innocent black men and women. She shows an abundance of courage later in the book and stands up for herself and other blacks. It was difficult to be black and earn money. Times were hard but she made it and made a difference.

I would read this book again!
What if you were a child that had to take on the responsibilities of getting a job to help out your family because you were going through tough times?
Anne Moody is a determined and pertinacious female, who has many dire straits as a teenager. Moody is the oldest out of seven children and sees the need to help her family because although her parents work, there still wasn't enough money to feed the family, so at the age of nine, she gets an after school job.
It wasn't until Moody was a student in high school, before she had 'a completely new insight of Negroes in Mississippi.' She started to see the hardship blacks had to encounter everyday and believed she could make a change. During her studies, at Tougaloo College, she joined the NAACP, a coherent group of African-Americans.
Coming of Age in Mississippi is an astonishing book that made me think about how life is so different now, than when the author was growing up. Anne Moody made me feel her sorrow and pain when I was reading this book. In comparison to other authors, Anne Moody used her own experience to help you feel what she felt in the most difficult time of her life. Moody's way of writing is a page-turner; she gets you caught in the moment so well that you have to see what happens next. Furthermore, the ending of this book leaves questions that you can only answer yourself and leaves things to the imagination.
Coming of Age in Mississippi is a historical autobiography that I would
recommend to you if you are a person who enjoys reading autobiographies about the struggles of African-American people in the 1950's and 60's. I would recommend Coming of Age in Mississippi because it teaches you about how people lived back then when the color of your skin really mattered.

What I thought
I bellieve that this book is very good. I think that every high school student should read and get educated. I liked this book because of the way it was writen. As though you were there with her. Going threw the things she went threw. I recommend this book to anyone who's looking for something they can sit down and read and get into. It's something that'll grab you as soon as you pick it up. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Johnnie Cochran had been famed as a folksy oratory in Los Angeles courtrooms since the 1960s, but the 1995 O.J. Simpson trial catapulted him to international fame--a status he gladly acknowledges in this bare-knuckles memoir of his years in court.

Cochran doesn't spend much time revisiting the Simpson case (except to proclaim O.J. innocent). Cochran devotes most of his account to less-celebrated cases that address repeated themes--police negligence and outright perjury; the difficulties minorities face in securing impartial justice; the inherent unfairness of racial profiling. Cochran describes his methods, and explains the reason for his rhyming summations ("If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit"): "Juries enjoyed them, understood them, and, more importantly, remembered them."

Readers may not be won over by Cochran, but his book will be widely enjoyed and remembered. --Gregory McNamee ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Defense of the Defense
A lady I worked for was making a snide comment about Johnnie Cochran and Michael Jackson, about how they think they're slick. I lit into her immediately about Michael, his childhood, and what he's done for the community, but I didn't have much to say about Cochran. I didn't know him. I knew about the O.J. trial because I didn't fall off the planet, but I didn't follow it. I do remember this goofy football player I knew standing outside screaming and dancing when he found out Simpson was acquitted of the charges. I shrugged it off. But when that lady called Cochran "Crocodile Cochran" in the same sentence as insulting Jackson, I decided to do my research. I already had an interest in criminal justice and after reading this book, I understand why everyone tries to make me understand that I need to become a lawyer. I loved the fact that he loved to debate, be right, and gave intelligent speeches with a touch of humor. I respect him for standing up for very intense cases (O.J., Puffy, Diallo, Amarou, reparations, etc.) and I will always commend anyone who fights against racial profiling. Needless to say, I got in touch with this critic and pointed out all of the contributions to society that Cochran has made, and told her to get over the O.J. trial. I even offered to buy the book for her. She wasn't convinced but atleast she now was forced to learn some things she originally never knew!

http://www.AtlantaAtLaw.com
If you need to develop your practice visit www.AtlantaAtLaw.com

A MUST for White Republicans.
...And I know you well, because I am a Black Republican - far to the Right - libertarian even. This book is not the typical liberal drivel from a neck bone-eatin' preacher. This is a good treatise on recent Black history, and an expose' on the justice system - in my view, the last vestige of true racism.

While I had to hold my nose in reading the very last chapter of the book (where he goes liberal), I could not refute the notion that that I was reading the words of a "wise old man." Such an opportunity should not be ignored, regardless of your race or political persuasion. If you can read this extremely pleasurable book, and still not at least understand the pov of the other side, then you truly don't have a heart.

It is enjoyable reading, unoffensive to all, and a good lesson on life in America from one of its premier insiders. Further, it advances the cause of racial harmony.

BUY THIS BOOK. You won't regret it.

A FOOT SOLDIER FOR JUSTICE
I FOUND THIS BOOK VERY HARD TO PUT DOWN. MR. COCHRAN LET US SEE THROUGH THIS BOOK THAT HE IS NOT JUST A BIG MONEY LAWYER FOR THE STARS, BUT A TRUE CHAMPION FOR JUSTICE FOR THE POOR AND OPPRESSED. THROUGH HIS MANY CIVIL SUITS AGAINST CORRUPT COPS AND BIG CORPORATIONS HE HAS CREATED A BETTER LIFE FOR ALL OF US.

Life Changing - Mind Boggling!
I read this book in a short period of time, due the fact that it was so interesting, and more importantly, I was so saddened by the REAL justice system in the United States. I was amazed and disgraced that racial injustices such as those described in this book have remained steady as if it were still the 1950s and 60s. I hope and pray that some day we as a people indeed "WILL OVERCOME."

I applaud Mr. Cochran for standing up for what is right for African Americans in the face of his many critics. I say "keep on keeping on, Johnnie." From the infamous Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream Speech," "And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back..." This quote may help those who are victims of racial discrimination and is a quote I refer to when times are tough.

This book has only solidified my desire to enter into the field of Law. I can only hope that I make half the progress towards achieving equality and leveling the scales of justice for my people as Mr. Cochran has. ... Read more

Book Description

Frank McCourt's glorious childhood memoir, Angela's Ashes, has been loved and celebrated by readers everywhere for its spirit, its wit and its profound humanity. A tale of redemption, in which storytelling itself is the source of salvation, it won the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Rarely has a book so swiftly found its place on the literary landscape.

And now we have 'Tis, the story of Frank's American journey from impoverished immigrant to brilliant teacher and raconteur. Frank lands in New York at age nineteen, in the company of a priest he meets on the boat. He gets a job at the Biltmore Hotel, where he immediately encounters the vivid hierarchies of this "classless country," and then is drafted into the army and is sent to Germany to train dogs and type reports. It is Frank's incomparable voice -- his uncanny humor and his astonishing ear for dialogue -- that renders these experiences spellbinding.

When Frank returns to America in 1953, he works on the docks, always resisting what everyone tells him, that men and women who have dreamed and toiled for years to get to America should "stick to their own kind" once they arrive. Somehow, Frank knows that he should be getting an education, and though he left school at fourteen, he talks his way into New York University. There, he falls in love with the quintessential Yankee, long-legged and blonde, and tries to live his dream. But it is not until he starts to teach -- and to write -- that Frank finds his place in the world. The same vulnerable but invincible spirit that captured the hearts of readers in Angela's Ashes comes of age.

As Malcolm Jones said in his Newsweek review of Angela's Ashes, "It is only the best storyteller who can so beguile his readers that he leaves them wanting more when he is done...and McCourt proves himself one of the very best." Frank McCourt's 'Tis is one of the most eagerly awaited books of our time, and it is a masterpiece. ... Read more

Reviews (528)

Frank McCourt is a brave, brave man . . .
Writing a memoir invites accusations of myopia and self-indulgence. Writing a sequel begs comparison (with novelty often tipping the scales in favor of the first work). Along comes Frank McCourt who combines the two and manages to succeed admirably. Picking up where Angela's Ashes leaves off, 'Tis recounts young Frankie's impoverished early days in New York, his broadening stint in the Army, and his subsequent development from an unschooled laborer to a teacher of creative writing able to inspire others to make that same arduous climb.

McCourts narrative voice is a paradoxical wonder. Muscular prose and keen observation lay bare dire circumstances and woeful ignorance. Financial poverty stands in sharp contrast to an abundance of imagination and desire. Indeed, it is his driving hunger--both physical and metaphorical --that spurs him to read and write his way out of despair.

McCourt's style captivates with his underlying Irish lyricism and his overlay of poetic repetition. Young Frankie's incredulous tone reveals a touching, often frightening, lack of sophistication. It's a wonder the lad survives his youth. Ever so slowly, he trades that innocence for a college degree, a young wife, and teaching jobs that range from thankless and intimidating to purposeful and rewarding. Never stooping to sentimentality, McCourt evokes plenty of genuine emotion, a skill that serves his reading public as well as it must have served his students.

It is in the final quarter of the book that McCourt stumbles. His hard-won (and much described) sweetheart mutates quickly into a difficult wife, then fades to near obscurity. That they eventually divorce is no excuse for this disappearing act. McCourt needn't have trashed the ex-wife to expose his own grappling. His daughter, with whom he ends up on better terms, suffers similar abridgement, aging years in the space of two pages. Subtext (not to mention the character of the author) suggests a backing off due to pain and guilt but that's an inexcusable squeamishness in a memoir. This abbreviation and lack of candor give the reader a sense of having been rushed through important territory.

His relationship with his parents is drawn with a bit more detail but then it's generally easier to focus on others' failures than to examine your own. Case in point--McCourt spoke of the abysmal effects of his father's chronic alcoholism and admitted he saw himself making some of the same mistakes, yet his reactions seemed to stay on the surface. I kept hoping he'd make peace with his father's fallibilty even as he came to grips with his own but he retains his judgemental tone till the end, missing a valuable connection that might have shed some light on a man he regarded as something of a mystery.

Despite these deficiencies. McCourt's story vibrates with honest intensity and the great ache of anyone whose passion intially exceeds his eloquence. Whatever he turns his hand to next (surely this isn't the last we've heard of him), the lad with the bad eyes, the bad teeth, and the gnawing belly grew into a man with much to be proud of.

A really good book for different reasons than Angelas Ashes
I really enjoyed the book and was disappointed when I read a New York Times book reviewer who panned it for being too cynical and bitter. The innocence, openness and hope that came out of Angelas Ashes reflected the child and youth of Frank McCourt during the time about which he was writing. In 'Tis, Frank confronts the reality of adulthood on his own, in the multi-cultural, and multi-spectral world of NYC - as an immigrant Irishman, Paddy-off-the-boat. His humanity shows. He describes with a lot of humor but not too much rancor, his envy, bitterness, anger, a tendency toward irresponsibility, and occassionally confusion about life's travails as they came his way. He also doesn't lose his ability to laugh at himself and see the humor and humanity in the situations and adventures he describes. It was about Frank's real life as an adult. It was written in the same lyrical,humorous and extremely perceptive style as Angela's Ashes and was just as much fun to read. I STRONGLY recommend it.

AMAZING STORY
Sequel of "Angela's ashes", I was not disappointed a second. The book starts exactly when Angela's...finished. It's written with talent. We hear about what happen to the dad & mum afterwards(You can also learn more on Malachy's first book...Read it).
By the way you'll learn of anything happened to Frank in USA, his return to Europe (after war as a soldier) and in Ireland.
A life that could have finished in an Irish lane fortunately made it in USA successfully.

WE WANT MORE!
What a follow up. His life was so bad is was good and he tells it the way only Frank could. You practically fall in love with him and pray to God to send you back in time to meet up with him when he steps into America. It was a good ending to a good beginning.

Tis is a must read for everyone
I read Angela's Ashes at the suggestion of a very good friend, Louis it was his favorite book and I have say I could see why. When a friend at work saw me reading it she told me about the sequel "Tis a Memoir", I just had to get it and I have to say that when I did, I could not put it down! It is an excellent book, Frank McCourt has such an engaging way of keep his reader hooked! Superb! I love his sense of humor, his triumphs a wonderful and give us all hope, a must read for all ages! ... Read more

Reviews (5)

This is Not Socialism, People
One cannot help but wonder why people who call themselves socialist distribute this book. Malcolm X is no radical, he is rather a third world nationalist. As some on the left may not yet realize, simply being anti-imperialist is not the touchstone of all that is progressive. Malcolm X is a fascinating figure and one eminently worth reading, but I have to register my objection to the tone of the other reviews and to the fact that this book continues to be distributed by supposedly radical socialist bookstores and socialist booksales on the street. One cannot help but believe that there is something disingenuous in the predominantly white socialist attempt to recruit Malcolm X to there cause so as to facilitate interest within "the black community." One cannot address race meaningfully in this country while failing to address the disastruous effects that black nationalist politics, inspired in large measure by Malcolm X, have had in fracturing and dispersing radical energies.

Malcolm X on Need for all-out struggle
In re-reading Malcolm X Speaks, I'm struck by how well he understood the viciousness of the U.S. system of oppression and how clearly he expressed the need for all-out, uncompromising struggle against it. The capitalist class lashed out at Malcolm X for these speeches, not just because he criticized their system, but because he dared to awaken the oppressed to their unconquerable human potential. Fighters from all over the world have studied this book, members of Sinn Fein in Ireland, farmers fighting foreclosure, opponents of police brutality, and supporters of the embattled Palestinians. Sharing the lessons of this book will advance our struggle!

His Own Words, the Way he wanted them!
This book of Malcolm X's Speeches was begun while Malcolm was alive with the publisher and the editor that Malcolm selected, and speeches he wanted in the book. This begins the series of books by Malcolm X published by Pathfinder Press in collaboration with his family as more speeches, interviews, and talks by Malcolm X have been discovered. The aim here is to put Malcolm X's words first. Read them for yourself. Find out why Malcolm was a reasoned, passionate, but uncompromising opponent of US imperialism's wars against oppressed peoples, in Africa, in Vietnam, in the Mid-East. Malcolm can really inspire you about the fights we need.

Best Book Ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This book lets the reader feel the power and intensity of the late El Hajj Malik El Shabazz (Malcolm X) from his time with the Nation of Islam to his Sunni Islamic belifs. While most books about Malcolm are written by PHD's who never met him this book is a combination of his OWN WORDS even a publisher cant mess this up.

a useful insight into the heart of the civil rights movement
this book includes excellent speeches, although at some times, they tend to repeat themselves. Through his speeches, Malcolm X will be seen better than through any other book, in this literature lies the heart of a man who would not dare turn the other cheek. ... Read more

Book Description

"I have been in Sorrow's kitchen and licked out all the pots. Then I have stood on the peaky mountain wrapped in rainbows with a harp and a sword in my hands."

First published in 1942 at the crest of her popularity, this is Zora Neale Hurston's unrestrained account of her rise from childhood poverty in the rural South to prominence among the leading artists and intellectuals of the Harlem Renaissance. Full of wit and wisdom, and audaciously spirited, Dust Tracks on a Road offers a rare, poignant glimpse of the life -- public and private -- of a premier African-American writer, artist, anthropologist and champion of the black heritage. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Dust Tracks seen from the eyes of a Slovene English student
Hurston's Dust Tracks on a Road is a true story of a smart little black girl, who has the intelligence and the perseverance to rise above her all-black community, Eatonville, and become a respected and well known novelist,short-story writer, folklorist and anthropologist.
However, it is not a typical autobiography, not in any way. It has often been said that Hurston lived her life 'half in shadow' and this is also characteristic also of this book. It is rare that ,after having read an autobiography, the reader is left without the information of the writer's year of birth, for instance. On the other hand, it is, in the words of Robert E. Hemenway, who also wrote her biography, 'a fascinating self-portrait, despite its inconsistencies, of one of the major black women artists of the twentieth century'.
The main reason for reeding Dust Tracks is its nature, i.e. the way she describes the struggle of a poor black girl to 'secure an education and catch fame'(R.E.Hemenway, Introduction to Dust Tracks on a Road, Second Edition) and the way she manages to collect her reflections and ideas about her own life into three unique chapters at the end of the book.

Khalia
This autobiography focuses equally on her opinions (highly untraditional)and her life (also highly unorthodox) giving the reader an unashamed glance to peer into the deepest wells of her being.

Good Book
The autobiography of Zora Neale Hurston, "Dust Tracks on the Road", proved to be an incredibly interesting book. This book shows the hardships that Zora underwent during her rise from childhood poverty in the rural south to a prominent place among the leading artists and intellectuals of the Harlem Renaissance. One part of the book that really caught my attention is how Zora manages to give her reader glimpses of a character that is a very public and privet artist, writer, and companion of black heritage. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to deepen as well as straighten their knowledge of the African American Heritige.

A Good Book
This autobiography of Zora Neale Hurston was very fascinating. She talks about her childhood on to her others works. I found this very humorous. I recommend this book for anyone wanting a interseting read.

eventually satisfying
I've just finished reading this book as a summer reading assignment for school, and to my surprise, I found myself actually enjoying it. I went into the reading of this book with reluctance. I've read THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD, and while I enjoyed that book at first, I was always frustrated that the main character had to find herself through dependence on men, namely Tea Cake, whom I despised because of his controlling nature and ultimate betrayal. However, despite my prejudices against it, this book managed to grab my attention.

That is, in the last three chapters. I did not think this book was mostly an account of the other books Hurston has written, as some other readers have stated. Hurston only focused one or two chapters toward the middle of the book on other works, but even then it was only to list when she wrote which book, not to go in depth on the process and motivation. However, it seemed to me that it was an account of Hurston's journey through life, including details on her childhood in Eatonville. This is all well and good, except, especially as Hurston gets into the adult years, she tends to gloss over much of the details, omitting names, and mentioning events which obviously impacted her life yet for some personal reason or another, refusing to describe to the reader these events for fear of who knows what.

This was only the first confusing element. I also had a difficulty with Hurston's writing style. She tends to jump from one anecdote in the middle of another with no explanation before returning to her original story, which left me as the reader, feeling befuddled. The sequence of the chapters, out of her childhood, also does not really seem to follow a sequential storyline.

I was also bothered with Hurston's portrayal of herself, especially her childhood self. She seems to portray herself as the only child there ever was with an active imagination. Perhaps I am actually a member of the privileged minority, but I know that I told myself stories and had imaginary friends when I was a child. I was also very devoted to literature, and reading, as I still am, though Hurston's individualities in that area are more understandable, perhaps, considering the circumstances.

Despite all this, I walked away from this book with a respect for Hurston that I hadn't felt before because of the last three or so chapters in the book where Hurston discusses her thoughts and feelings on her race, and the inter-racial strife which hurt the African-American Civil Rights movement. I also enjoyed the appendix in which the reader is allowed a glimpse at Hurston's more controversial writing.

I don't hold a grudge against Hurston's perhaps unorthodox method of writing an autobiography, far from it. In fact, I think this book would have benefited greatly if Hurston had included more of her personal view points on the world as she did in the last few chapters. Hurston was often criticized for writing African-American literature that was not a rousing cry for Civil Rights, in this book, Hurston finally explains WHY. It also would have been helpful if Hurston either would have detailed the events in her life which were so groundbreaking, or simply not mentioned them at all, instead of saying "Then this happened and it changed my life and for that I will be forever grateful, but I'm not going to tell you anything about what it was." The strange presence of such passages was much more disquieting then their absence would have been.

So in conclusion, I'm glad this book included an appendix, and I do feel Hurston deserves some plaudits for writing what was eventually a stimulating autobiography. ... Read more

Book Description

It must be a part of human nature to love drama. We never would have sold as many records -- and we never would have been this popular -- if our member changes did not happen. Up until that point, we were squeaky-clean nice girls who couldn't get on the cover of any magazines. --Beyoncé Knowles

They're beautiful, they're talented, they're bootylicious . . .

From first kisses and broken hearts to pillow fights and legal battles to losing friends and finding strength in God, Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams share it all. Their example of survival has made Destiny's Child one of the most beloved, bestselling female groups ever.

Here for the first time, the three share the struggles that have made them stronger, from Beyoncé's battles with weight loss and shyness, Kelly's coming to terms with growing up without a dad, and Michelle's triumph over grade-school bullies. They've grown up under the media microscope, and have had to deal with lineup changes and media rumors. Now they set the record straight.

The demands and drama, the schedules and scrutiny -- from the tour bus to the dressing rooms to backstage at awards shows, Beyoncé, Kelly, and Michelle talk about what it takes to be successful. Whether it's changing outfits in the rain, changing their hair color, or c