Black Issues Book Review articles from July 2005

Black Issues Book Review archives from July 2005

Books make summer forever.(from the editor-in-chief)(Editorial)(Obituary)
July 1, 2005... As you read this, you are probably thinking it is too late for an obituary for Johnnie Cochran, because he passed away months ago. His awesome life was quite celebrated in the press, and now, those like me, who were his personal friends, mourn...

Executive editor's view.
July 1, 2005... Our summer issue is always one of our favorites. And if you are reading this, chances are you love books as much as we do here. If we are all lucky, this season will bring some hours for relaxing with our families, reflecting in solitude and...

In appreciation.(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2005... The May-June cover, "Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, Parting Words," held my attention longer than any cover in memory. How wonderful to have experienced the Dee-Davis duo even from afar. Next, I nearly cried as I read Gregory Bryant's letter to...

Page to screen.(between the lines: the inside scoop on what's happening in the publishing industry)
July 1, 2005... Danny Glover announced plans to use his new film company to produce a film adapted from God's Bits of Wood by Ousmane Sembene (Heinemann, February 1996). It is a novel based on the history of the 1947 labor strike on the Dakar-Niger railway in...

Time out.(between the lines: the inside scoop on what's happening in the publishing industry)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... This year marks the fifteenth anniversary of the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Foundation, which offers programs and awards to black writers.--During the anniversary year, however, two of the foundation's annual programs have been...

Pulitzer Prize.(Moving Up!)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Henry Louis Gates Jr., the prolific author/ editor and Harvard professor, has been elected chair of the Pulitzer Prize board. He's been a member of the board since 1997. It selects winners for the annual awards given by Columbia University that...

Doug Smith.(Awards)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Writers Notes: Doug Smith, a veteran journalist and visiting professor in the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications at Hampton University, has been awarded a 2005 Writers Notes Book Award for his book Whirlwind: The Godfather...

Booklovers' bonanza: the world's largest book club meeting lets black readers and authors fellowship.(books & clubs)
July 1, 2005... PROFILE What: National Book Club Conference 2005 Where: Intercontinental Buckhead Hotel, Atlanta, Georgia Who: 400 to 500 attendees; 70 clubs, more than 25 authors. When: August 5-7, 2005 How often it meets: Annually ...

'Round the clock fun: NBCC schedule of events, 2005.(books & clubs)(Calendar)
July 1, 2005... Friday, August 5 9-10:30 A.M. Conference Opening Breakfast with J. California Cooper 10:40-2:50 P.M. Breakout sessions with Valerie Wilson Wesley, Virginia DeBerry, Donna Grant and others. 1-2:30 P.M. Lunch with Walter Mosley,...

Signings & sightings.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
July 1, 2005... CINCINNATI, OHIO The Toni Morrison Literary Society announces it's fourth biennial conference, Toni Morrison and Sites of Memory. The event runs from July 14-17, 2005, at Northern Kentucky University. To register online and for more...

Sun, fun and books: two Florida clubs dominate essay contest for chat with the author of Upstate.(books & clubs)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Two book clubs were chosen as winners of St. Martin's Press/BIBR Upstate contest. They are Woman2Woman of DeLand, Florida, www.woman2woman.4t.com, and Nubian Circle of Orlando/Central Florida, http://Nubiancirclebookclub.tripod.com. We...

Clean sweep: Andrea Levy defines what it is to be black, British and a literary lioness.(spotlight)(Interview)(Biography)
July 1, 2005... Last year, Andrea Levy saw her luck begin to turn after publishing her fourth novel, Small Island (February 2004) in England, racking up sales of more than 430,000 copies worldwide. Following her previous three critically acclaimed but...

Charting the journey.(In Motion: The African-American Relocation Experience)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... In Motion: The African-American Relocation Experience by Howard Dodson and Sylvain A. Diouf National Geographic Books, January 2005 $35, ISBN 0-792-27385-0 In Motion is as big and bold as the history it seeks to relate. Dodson, director of...

Noteworthy titles.(books)
July 1, 2005... Beauford Delaney: From New York to Paris by Patricia Sue Canterbury, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts/University of Washington Press May 2005, $35, ISBN 0-912-96492-8 A catalogue of the abstract-Expressionist painter's works from his...

In the twinkling of an eye: Malcolm Gladwell tops best-seller lists with a stealth approach to race. His books probe the way fads catch fire and the mind's ability to process fact and prejudice quickly.(The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference)(Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... Books by Malcolm Gladwell The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference Back Bay Books (reprint), January 2002 $14.95, ISBN 0-316-34662-4 Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking Little, Brown and Company, January...

Fresh breezes: spend the summer discovering new writers.
July 1, 2005... SHORTLY AFTER KALISHA BUCKHANON found out that her story Upstate (St. Martin's Press, January 2005) was going to be published, her initial response was a resounding "Oh my goodness!" Her elation quickly cooled some. The tragic story of two...

The art of brevity: collections from two masters raise the question: what ever happened to short stories?
July 1, 2005... The publication of two stellar collections of stories out this season--God's Gym: Stories and I Got Somebody in Staunton--by such excellent storytellers as John Edgar Wideman and William Henry Lewis is a rare occurrence. The popularity of the...

Paris: inspiration on every corner: African American writers have long found a home away from home in the City of Lights.(DESTINATIONS)
July 1, 2005... For writers of all nationalities, creeds and colors, Paris represents an irresistible place to search for one's muse. African American authors such as James Baldwin, Richard Wright and Barbara Chase-Riboud have found inspiration there, and...

I'll fly away.(Passport Diaries)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... If you prefer traveling vicariously, you might want to follow along with the protagonist of Tamara T. Gregory's Passport Diaries Amistad/HarperCollins. August 2005. $22.95 SBN 0-060-78927-1) Look for BIBR's excerpt in "Fresh Breezes." page 27....

A dream of an island: on Sapelo Island, an idea takes form as a haven for the artists of the word.(DESTINATIONS)
July 1, 2005... Dreams have a funny way of simply just "sitting there" unless the dreamer gets up off her butt and gets to work. I'm not preaching. I'm testifying. Not just about my dream, but also about my assignment. I have just returned from Sapelo Island,...

Beside still waters: memories of the Paden Institute and Retreat for writers of Color.(DESTINATIONS)
July 1, 2005... I am a writer-in-residence at the Paden Institute and Retreat for Writers of Color in Essex, New York. It is dusk, and as I sit on a green wooden bench, facing the vast expanse of water that is Lake Champlain in the North Country, I reflect on...

Have books, will travel: events that bring authors and readers together are a new front in the evolution of the black book market.(DESTINATIONS)
July 1, 2005... Pack your bags and hit the road--or the high seas. Readers are gathering in hotels, in secluded resorts and on cruise ships for weekend or weeklong vacations that include their favorite authors--and there's one that is perfect for you. Reader...

Preparation meets opportunity lofty book events are golden for the independent author.(self-publishing)
July 1, 2005... With so many books on the shelves, it is difficult for a spanking-new writer to break through the "noise." Traditional events, such as bookstore signings, are smart ways for an author to put themselves in front of readers. A number of special...

The Interruption of Everything.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... * THE INTERRUPTION OF EVERYTHING by Terry McMillan Viking, July 2005 $25.95, ISBN 0-670-03144-5 The author of the runaway best-seller Waiting to Exhale (Viking, 1992) and four other genre-defining, entertaining hits is back with a...

* Genevieve.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... * GENEVIEVE by Eric Jerome Dickey Dutton, May 2005 $24.95, ISBN 0-525-94878-3 Dickey, author of such best-sellers as Drive Me Crazy, (Penguin, July 2004) and The Other Woman (Dutton, May 2003), writes contemporary novels that "speak" to...

Boss Lady.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... BOSS LADY by Omar Tyree Simon & Schuster, July 2005 $21.95, ISBN 0-743-22868-5 Young filmmaker and protegee Vanessa Tracy Smith's observations of life, the Hollywood film industry, and her mentor, screenwriter and actress Tracy Ellison,...

1996.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... 1996 by Gloria Naylor Third World Press, July 2005 $19.95, ISBN 0-883-78263-4 This "fictionalized memoir"/novel offers an account of a writer's minor fracas with a crotchety neighbor on St. Helena Island, off South Carolina's coast (whose...

When Love Calls, You Better Answer.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... WHEN LOVE CALLS, YOU BETTER ANSWER by Bertice Berry Broadway Books, June 2005 $19.95, ISBN 0-385-51083-7 Sankofa, an Akan word meaning "We must go back and reclaim our past so we can move forward," is the essence of Bertice Berry's fourth...

Dateline: 135th Street, New York City: the Harlem Book Fair draws booklovers from all over to events uptown.
July 1, 2005... The Harlem Book Fair will kick off on Friday, July 22, with the 2005 Wheatley Book Awards at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The 2005 honorees include three renowned authors: Rosa Guy, Julius Lester and Gordon Parks....

Street smarts: book vendors count on foot traffic, marketing instincts and the First Amendment in the battle for profits.(market buzz)
July 1, 2005... Selling books on the street can be intimidating and confusing, yet it's a lucrative business for the aggressive and savvy, say authors and booksellers who play the game. It is played hardest on the sidewalks of New York City, specifically...

Leaving a trail: oral history project seeks to record a pioneering generation of journalists.
July 1, 2005... This year, the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) will celebrate its 30th anniversary at its annual convention (August 3rd to 7th in Atlanta, Georgia.)--recalling an important passage in the nation's history. The organization was...

To make a journalist black: a legacy of books by and about African Americans in the field catalogue their successes and struggles.
July 1, 2005... --Here is BIBR's selective list of some of the best books by and about the lives of African American journalists, past and present, in alphabetical order. [ASIN numbers designate those that are out of print. They are usually available in many...

A preaching man: volumes of Gardner C. Taylor's sermons offer a window on his theology.(faith)(The Words of Gardner Taylor)
July 1, 2005... Dr. Gardner C. Taylor is a busy man. Even at the age of 87, one of America's most renowned theologians, scholars and preachers is in high demand--traveling extensively to conferences and preaching almost every Sunday. Scheduling a telephone...

How can they hear without a preacher?(Blow the Trumpet in Zion: Global Vision and Action for the 21st-Century Black Church)(Against All Odds: The Struggle for Racial Integration in Religious Organizations)(Daughters of the King: Finding Victory Through Your God-Given Personal Style)(His Rules: God's Practical Road Map for Becoming and Attracting Mr. or Mrs. Right)(The Souls of Purgatory: The Spiritual Diary of a Seventeenth-Century Afro-Peruvian Mystic, Ursula de Jesus)(Out of Hell and Living Well)(I Told the Mountain to Move)(Word: For Everyone Who Thought Christianity Was for Suckas)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... Blow the Trumpet in Zion: Global Vision and Action for the 21st-Century Black Church Edited by Iva E. Carruthers, Frederick D. Haynes, III and Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. Augsburg Fortress Publishers, January 2005 $15, ISBN 0-800-63712-7 Where...

Parental guidance: gangsta lit: do you really know what your teenager is reading?('round the way)
July 1, 2005... Movies have ratings, and some music CDs have stickers warning parents of "Explicit content." Books have neither, and with growing numbers of young readers devouring the hugely popular urban/street/hip-hop fiction, how can parents be comfortable...

Don't Ever Wonder.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... Don't Ever Wonder by Darren Coleman Amistad/HarperCollins, July 2005 $14.95, ISBN 0-060-59486-1 In his second book, Don't Ever Wonder, Darren Coleman pieces together a tale of love, heartache, sex, maturity, success and failure. He...

Other Men's Wives.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... Other Men's Wives by Freddie Lee Johnson III One World/Ballantine, May 2005 $13.95, ISBN 0-345-44601-1 A new novel by a bold and exciting author puts a unique spin on a familiar activity experienced by many couples--cheating. Denmark...

Gets No Love.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... Gets No Love by Eric E. Pete New American Library Trade, December 2004 $12.95, ISBN 0-451-21324-6 That adage "What's done in the dark will come to light" boldly applies to Pete's tempestuous and sexually charged new book. The protagonist...

If It Ain't One Thing.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... If It Ain't One Thing by Cheryl Robinson New American Library, February 2005 $13.95, ISBN 0-451-21405-6 As the novel opens, Porter Washington wakes from a restless sleep, his best friend Damion's, words racing through his head: "That's not...

God Helps Those ...(Brief Article)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... God Helps Those... by Alan Cramer Bronx Village Publishers, January 2005 $14, ISBN 0-975-32051-3 This urban novel is about the perils of the sin and vice associated with the crack epidemic in the 1980s. With snappy dialogue, Cramer takes a...

Among friends: young readers give author Marie Bradby feedback on her book and their lives.(Panel Discussion)
July 1, 2005... How hard can it be, really, to write a book for kids? Not too many big words, cute illustrations, and maybe a few colorful pop-ups slapped between two covers, and voila! It's a book! But that's hardly the case. "It's a myth that children's...

Tall Tales: Walter Mosley draws on a triumphant mythical hero for his debut in the teen genre.
July 1, 2005... Walter Mosley, one of the best-known and best-selling authors for fiction and nonfiction anywhere, published his first novel for the young adult market this May. He is, of course, the author of the wildly popular and critically anointed Easy...

47.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... 47 by Walter Mosley Little, Brown and Company, May 2005 $16.99, ISBN 0-316-11035-3 In Walter Mosley's latest gripping tale, 47, the story begins in 1832 on the Corinthian Plantation, where Tobias Turner is the master and 47 is among the...

Echoes of a Distant Storm.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... Echoes of a Distant Storm by Wendy Simpson Kids' Dimension/New Age Dimensions, July 2004 $15.99, ISBN 1-596-11014-7 Generations before the young Blackshear's existence, more than one century ago, a powerfully evil being called the Entity...

Venus and Serena: Serving From the Hip: 10 Rules for Living, Loving, and Winning.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... Serving From the Hip: 10 Rules for Living, Loving, and Winning. by Venus and Serena Williams Houghton Mifflin Company, March 2005 $14, ISBN 0-618-57653-3 Sisters and international tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams, along with...

A houseful of Georges: Foreman tries his hand at a children's book.(Interview)
July 1, 2005... George Foreman's playful spirit is alive and well in his latest book, Let George Do It! (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, May 2005), a charming little romp highlighting a day in the life of the Foreman clan. It's Big George's birthday...

Cream of the crop: something for every young reader.(children's books)
July 1, 2005... A Suggested Summer Reading List from the Coretta Scott King Book Award Committee of the American Library Association for Black Issues Book Review. Preschoolers Ellington Was Not a Street by Ntozake Shange Pictures by Kadir Nelson...

Structure and smiles: start a summer reading club.(children's bookshelf)
July 1, 2005... Summer is the perfect time for children to catch up on their reading. These ideas for groups offer a little structure to the process, but the most important thing of all is to make it fun for them. Get ideas from your children on how they would...

Fire it up; a black man and his grill, some meat and a secret sauce--it's a beautiful thing.(the welcome table)(Real Men Cook: Rites Rituals and Recipes for Living)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... It's summertime, the weather's warm, and you're hungry. You know what you need to do: fire up that grill, grab some meat, spices and sauce, and have a barbecue. While cooking out seems like a relatively easy process, there's a world of...

Looking for more 'cue? Try these other cookbooks.
July 1, 2005... Al Roker's Big Bad Book of Barbecue: 100 Easy Recipes for Backyard Barbecue by Al Roker Scribner, June 2002, $27.95 ISBN 0-743-22864-2 This is an ode to the complete outdoor meal experience. Roker, the NBC Today Show weatherman who has...

On the Side: More Than 100 Recipes for Sides, Salads, and Condiments That Make the Meal.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... On the Side: More Than 100 Recipes for Sides, Salads, and Condiments That Make the Meal. by Jessica B. Harris Simon & Schuster, September 2004 $23, ISBN 0-743-24917-8 Pity the poor side dish. It's often an afterthought, a last-minute...

Story lines for the adventurous mind: literary fiction offerings ponder obesity, piracy and a Ralph Ellison tale.(Death Of a Fat Man)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... Death Of a Fat Man by Hank Sanders Imani Way Enterprises, May 2004 $24, ISBN 0-975-27330-2 On the copyright page of Hank Sanders's Death of a Fat Man, the book is characterized as fictional, mystery, inspirational, sell-help, and obesity....

What is "real?" The author of The Professor's Daughter spends a lot of time explaining that her novel isn't autobiography.(the writing life)
July 1, 2005... A month before my novel was to be published, my publicist told me she had an uncomfortable question she needed me to answer. I braced myself. She wanted to know if my grandfather had really been lynched. I bristled. "I'd rather not answer...

Rest for the weary: the stories behind two black havens and a study on literary women offer enrichment.(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... * Finding Martha's Vineyard: African Americans at Home on an Island by Jill Nelson, Doubleday, May 2005, $27.50, ISBN 0-385-50566-3 Finding Martha's Vineyard is a must-read for those who want to understand the magic, power and draw of that...

Flying off the shelves.
July 1, 2005... Hardcover Fiction 1. Afterburn/Zane (2) ($24.95, Atria Books, ISBN 0-743-47097-4) In the latest erotic romantic romp from BIBR best-selling author Zane, two hapless lovers get lost in a dating game gone awry. 2. Some People,...