Black Issues Book Review articles from January 2007

Black Issues Book Review archives from January 2007

Publisher's page.(Black Issues Book Review)(Editorial)
January 1, 2007... Eight years and 48 issues! When you're closely involved in your work, it's easy to lose sight of what it is your work is accomplishing beyond fulfilling a self-defined purpose. There is, of course, the necessity of making a riving, of simple...

A writer's writer.(Bebe Moore Campbell)(Editorial)
January 1, 2007... The New Year, of course, promises beginnings and marks endings in our lives. So it is with this eighth anniversary issue, as reflected in our stories. First, we mark the passing of the beloved writer Bebe Moore Campbell with a fitting tribute...

Connecting authors & readers.(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2007... Dear BIBR Editors Please accept my profound appreciation for selecting my novel Prospero's Daughter (Ballantine Books, 2006), as 2006 Best Novel of the Year. (See "Best of 2006" November/December 2006.) I was thrilled, honored and...

First Caribbean Literary Festival combines love of sun and books.(between the lines: the inside scoop on what's happening in the publishing industry)
January 1, 2007... This past November, there was more than just sunbathing and windsurfing at the Jolly Beach Resort in Antigua, when more than 100 attendees gathered for the first Caribbean International Literary Festival. Joy Bramble, publisher of The Baltimore...

It's not a best-seller yet, but cancelled O.J. book sells.(between the lines: the inside scoop on what's happening in the publishing industry)
January 1, 2007... In spite of the recall of O.J. Simpson's memoir/speculative rumination and confessional, If I Did It, and cancellation of a televised interview on Fox, some copies slipped out to stores and registered sales on Nielsen BookScan, Publishers'...

Mixed media: A Raisin in the Sun cast reunites for TV version.(between the lines: the inside scoop on what's happening in the publishing industry)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... A new television adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is in production and reportedly scheduled for broadcast on ABC later this year. Phylicia Rashad, Sean Combs, Audra McDonald and Sanaa Lathan, who all starred in the...

Dreamgirls books tie-in to The Movie Musical.(between the lines: the inside scoop on what's happening in the publishing industry)(Newmarket Press introduces Dreamgirls: The Movie Musical and Dreamgirls: Collector's Program)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Newmarket Press is offering two companion books: Dreamgirls: The Movie Musical and Dreamgirls: Collector's Program for the movie that was opening on Christmas Day. The Dreamgirls: Collector's Program is similar to Playbill programs given out at...

A literary odd couple: the Maya & Dave show.(between the lines: the inside scoop on what's happening in the publishing industry)(Sundance Channel L.L.C.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... The Sundance Channel's Iconoclasts series surely came up with a match one would not think was made in heaven when it put poet Maya Angelou and comedian Dave together for an episode in late November. The six-part, weekly, primetime series...

Singer wins recall of a book with unauthorized photograph.(between the lines: the inside scoop on what's happening in the publishing industry)(Marc Dorsey v. Black Pearl Inc.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... A federal judge in Newark, New Jersey, ordered a publisher to stop using an unauthorized photograph of a singer and music producer on the cover of an urban book from Black Pearl Books of Atlanta, Georgia, and to recall any distributed copies,...

Library of Congress.(In Other News)(JoAnn C. Jenkins appointed)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... JoAnn C. Jenkins has been appointed chief operating officer of the Library of Congress, the nation's oldest federal cultural institution. She will oversee the day-to-day operation of the largest library in the world. The Librarian of Congress...

Emma Rodgers of Black Images Book Bazaar in Dallas, Texas, told BIBR that her retail store would close at the end of December 2006.(In Other News)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Emma Rodgers of Black Images Book Bazaar in Dallas, Texas, told BIBR that her retail store would close at the end of December 2006. Premature reports of its death had circulated over the past two years. Customers and authors rallied to try to...

Signings & sightings: events.(between the lines: the inside scoop on what's happening in the publishing industry)
January 1, 2007... BROOKLYN, NEW YORK Zadie Smith, author of On Beauty and White Teeth, will be among the nine featured authors for the third season of Eat, Drink & Be Literary: Dinner and a Reading series in BAMcafe, presented by the National Book Awards...

Women reading women: Baltimore book club that was founded to support female authors marks its 20th year.(books & clubs)
January 1, 2007... More than 30 current and former members turned out for the 20th anniversary celebration of the Golo Lono Neai Book Club of Baltimore, Maryland, last October 29, held at the Edgar Allen Poe Room of Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library....

The Black Issues Book Review 2007 literary calendar.
January 1, 2007... JANUARY January 19-24 American Library Association Midwinter Meeting 2007 Seattle, Washington The exhibits will be on display January 19-22 at the Washington State Trade and Convention Center, downtown at 7th and Pike Streets....

A writer for our time: Bebe Moore Campbell, 1950-2006, is remembered as a finely tuned literary voice for her generation and all generations.(tribute)(In memoriam)
January 1, 2007... THE DEATH OF BEBE MOORE CAMPBELL STILL READS LIKE horrible fiction to the relatives, friends, fans and fellow authors who loved her and admired her work: The internationally acclaimed, best-selling author died of complications of brain cancer...

Hear ye, hear ye--the scriptures! Live remix!(Inspired By ... The Bible Experience: New Testament)(Sound recording review)
January 1, 2007... Inspired By... The Bible Experience: New Testament Zondervan, October 2006, Audio CD: $49.99, ISBN 0-310-92631-9; Audio MP3 CD: $34.99. ISBN 0-31092633-5 IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD. BUT THE WORD WAS INTERPRETED by religious leaders...

When God speaks.(The Talking Book: African Americans and the Bible)(Brief article)(Book review)
January 1, 2007... The Talking Book: African Americans and the Bible by Allen Dwight Callahan Yale University Press, October 2006 $30, ISBN 0-300-10936-9 "And the Word was God." The oft-quoted scripture from John 1:1 is the entry point to Callahan's lengthy...

The Politics of Jesus: Rediscovering the True Revolutionary Nature of Jesus' Teachings and How They Have Been Corrupted.(Book review)
January 1, 2007... The Politics of Jesus: Rediscovering the True Revolutionary Nature of Jesus' Teachings and How They Have Been Corrupted by Obery M. Hendricks Jr. Doubleday, August 2006 $26, ISBN 0-385-51664-9 Treating people's needs as holy is the crux of...

A heinous act: lynching is America's dirty secret of racial injustice and hatred.(Bibliography)
January 1, 2007... BOTH W.E.B. DU BOIS AND MARCUS GARVEY, TWO TITANS in the fight for human rights for blacks, shared one thing for certain--the unbridled rage they felt when the topic of lynching was mentioned. To this day, historians are unable to measure...

Marching as to war: an outpouring of new books addresses the divisions during and long after the Civil War.(Bibliography)
January 1, 2007... IN THE CURRENT EXHIBIT "NEW YORK DIVIDED: SLAVERY AND THE Civil War," at the New-York Historical Society (November 2006-September 2007), the curators explore the state's "seemingly contradictory role as both a major center of the nation's...

The power of reading: Philadelphia children's fair has a long tradition and an eager audience.(children's bookshelf)(Community College of Philadelphia)
January 1, 2007... WHEN VANESSE LLOYD-SGAMBATI was a girl, she read Langston Hughes and travel books, courtesy of a Bookmobile that visited her southwest Philadelphia neighborhood. "Reading," she explained, "allowed me to be transported to other worlds,' places...

Journey of discovery: new books explore African American triumphs.(Black History Month 2007)(Bibliography)
January 1, 2007... In celebration of Black History Month, we offer titles that represent the diversity and richness of African American culture and the strides made over time. Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story by Ellen Levine Illustrated by Kadir Nelson...

Keepers of the scrapbook: volume explores the treasured artifacts of the black diaspora preserved in the Moorland-Spingarn collections.(Legacy: Treasures of Black History)(Book review)
January 1, 2007... Legacy: Treasures of Black History Edited by Thomas C. Battle and Donna M. Wells Moorland-Spingarn Research Center Preface by John Hope Franklin National Geographic Books, October 2006 $35, ISBN 1-426-20006-4 I used to wonder if some people...

Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present.(Book review)
January 1, 2007... Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans From Colonial Times to the Present by Harriet A. Washington Doubleday, December 2006 $27.95, ISBN 0-385-50993-0 For years, accessing the medical establishment...

Not in My Family: AIDS in the African-American Community.(Book review)
January 1, 2007... Not in My Family: AIDS in the African-American Community by Gil L. Robertson IV Agate, December 2006 $16, ISBN 1-932-84124-5 I don't know anyone who hasn't witnessed someone close to them who has either died of AIDS or who is currently...

Deconstructing Tyrone: A New Look at Black Masculinity in the Hip-Hop Generation.(Book review)
January 1, 2007... Deconstructing Tyrone: A New Look at Black Masculinity in the Hip-Hop Generation by Natalie Hopkinson and Natalie Y. Moore Cleis Press, October 2006 $14.95, ISBN 1-573-44257-7 His name is Tyrone. He's a black man somewhere between 20 to 40...

The Black Digital Elite: African American Leaders of the Information Revolution.(Book review)
January 1, 2007... The Black Digital Elite: African American Leaders of the Information Revolution by John T. Barber Praeger, September 2006 $39.95, ISBN 0-275-98504-0 Scientists, policymakers, powerbrokers, educators. These are the 25 black men and one...

Girl, Get Your Credit Straight!: A Sister's Guide to Ditching Your Debt, Mending Your Credit, and Building a Strong Financial Future.(Book review)
January 1, 2007... Girl, Get Your Credit Straight! A Sister's Guide to Ditching Your Debt, Mending Your Credit, and Building a Strong Financial Future by Glinda Bridgforth Broadway Books, January 2007 $19.95, ISBN 0-767-92248-4 Shopping. Debt. Bad credit....

Red River.(Book review)
January 1, 2007... Red River by Lalita Tademy Warner Books January 2007 $24.95, ISBN 0-446-57898-3 The story line is familiar, so success is assured as the writer, former vice president of Sun Microsystems, mines the personal history of her family's...

Measuring Time.(Book review)
January 1, 2007... Measuring Time by Helon Habila W.W. Norton & Company, February 2007 $13.95, ISBN 0-393-05251-6 Four years ago, Habila, a young Nigerian writer, published a short-story collection, Waiting for an Angel (W.W. Norton & Company, 2002). The...

Half of a Yellow Sun.(Book review)
January 1, 2007... Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Knopf, September 2006 $24.95, ISBN 1-400-04416-2 In the unlikely event that this prize-winning author never writes another word, her place in literary history is secured with her second...

The Annotated Uncle Tom's Cabin.(Book review)
January 1, 2007... The Annotated Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe Edited by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Hollis Robbins W.W. Norton & Company, November 2006 $39.95, ISBN 0-393-05946-4 Significant books lend themselves to revisitation and revision on...

The Silver Crescent.(Book review)
January 1, 2007... The Silver Crescent by Leslie Woodward Gorgeous Notions Press, June 2006 $22.95, ISBN 0-974-34684-5 The Silver Crescent, a train that carried not only passengers but also their secrets, is the connecting are in Woodward's collection of...

The Legend of Quito Road.(Book review)
January 1, 2007... The Legend of Quito Road by Dwight Fryer Kimani Press, June 2006 $13.95, ISBN 1-583-14706-3 Scene: Son, a young black boy in Depression-era Tennessee is fighting with his friend Tom, a white boy. Son is the progeny of sharecroppers; Tom is...

Tropical Fish: Tales from Entebbe.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 1, 2007... Tropical Fish: Tales From Entebbe by Doreen Baingana Harlem Moon/Broadway Books September 2006 $9.95, ISBN 0-767-92510-6 What does it feel like to be a Ugandan girl living, growing and wondering about life in the aftermath of Idi Amin's...

Chasing Sophea.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 1, 2007... Chasing Sophea by Gabrielle Pina One World/Ballantine Books November 2006 $13.95, ISBN 0-345-47619-0 Pina, the author of Bliss (Strivers Row/Villard, 2002), has written a crafty sophomore novel. She picks up the momentum and gets down and...

Free Burning.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 1, 2007... Free Burning by Bayo Ojikutu Three Rivers Press, October 2006 $13.95, ISBN 1-400-08289-7 Free Burning, the follow-up to Ojikutu's debut novel, 47th Street Black, takes readers into the grim realities of lives so bound up in cycles of...

A Simple Distance.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 1, 2007... A Simple Distance by K. E. Silva Akashic Books, October 2006 $14.95, ISBN 1-933-35411-9 Mothers and daughters in conflict is nothing new: deep-seeded angst and a longing for parental love. Betting against a guilty conscience is hopeless...

Flying off the shelves.
January 1, 2007... Hardcover Fiction 1. Red Rivel/ Lalita Tademy (Warner Books, $24.99, ISBN 0-446-57898-3). The author of Cane River Warner 2001), an Oprah selection, returns with a saga of two families emerging from Reconstruction and the 1873 massacre...