Black Issues Book Review articles from May 2007

Black Issues Book Review archives from May 2007

May/June's celebrations, gatherings and observances.(from the editors)(Editorial)
May 1, 2007... While hip-hop culture continues to be a magnet for controversy, it's hard to deny that hip-hop lyrics at their best can be sharply observant, witty and even wise. And that's how I'd characterize the work of Kanye West. From the profound...

People get ready for another Cosby book.(between the lines: the inside scoop on what's happening in the publishing industry)("Come on, People!: On the Path From Victims to Victors" by Bill Cosby)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... "Come on, people!" That's what Bill Cosby (left) has been saying to the black community more loudly than usual in the past few years--from his notorious NAACP speech to his "call-out" sessions in local communities. And now he'll be saying it on...

Where there's a will ...(between the lines: the inside scoop on what's happening in the publishing industry)
May 1, 2007... Novelist and writing instructor Tina McElroy Ansa (left) recently launched an independent publishing company, DownSouth Press. The press will focus on African American literature--fiction and nonfiction by established and new authors who are...

Bringing the heat new young adult series.(between the lines: the inside scoop on what's happening in the publishing industry)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Scholastic won the auction for worldwide publishing rights to Hotlanta, a new paperback series featuring African American teen girls by authors Denene Millner and Mitzi Miller. The deal was negotiated by Scholastic's Andrea Pinkney and agent...

Cave Canem.(AWARDS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Cave Canem, the "home for Black poetry," has been awarded a three-year contingency grant in the amount of $150,000 for operational support from the Lannan Foundation. Awarded under the foundation's Literary Program, established in 1987 to...

Coe Booth.(AWARDS)(L.A. Times Book Prize Young Adult category)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Debut author Coe Booth received an L.A. Times Book Prize in the Young Adult category, on April 28, 2007, for her book Tyrell (Push/Scholastic Inc., 2006).

Marcus Samuelsson.(AWARDS)(James Beard Foundation/KitchenAid Book Award)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Renowned chef and author Marcus Samuelsson won the James Beard Foundation/KitchenAid Book Award, on May 7, 2007, in the international category, for his book The Soul of a New Cuisine: A Discovery of the Foods and Flavors of Africa (Wiley,...

Peniel E. Joseph.(AWARDS)(Mark Lynton History Award)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... On May 8, 2007, Peniel E. Joseph, an associate professor in Africana Studies at SUNY-Stony Brook, in New York, was named a finalist for the Mark Lynton History Award at Columbia University, for his book Waiting 'Til the Midnight Hour: A...

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.(AWARDS)(Anisfield-Wolf Book Award)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Nigerian-born author Chimarnanda Ngozi Adichie will receive an Anisfield-Wolf Book Award on September 6, 2007, for her novel Half of a Yellow Sun (Knopf, 2006), which is also shortlisted for the United Kimgdom's 2007 Orange Broadbent Prize for...

Eric Jerome Dickey.(CONTEST)
May 1, 2007... Review Eric Jerome Dickey's next book, Waking With Enemies, the sequel to Sleeping With Strangers, before the August 2007 publication date and get the chance to have your review appear in the July/August 2007 issue of Black Issues Book Review....

Jeff Henderson.(NONFICTION)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Film rights for Jeff Henderson's Cooked, a memoir about his journey from selling crack and spending time in jail, to becoming an award-winning chef, have been sold to Sony Studios in conjunction with Escape Artists and Will Smith's and...

C. Vivian Stringer.(NONFICTION)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... C. Vivian Stringer, Rutgers University women's basketball coach, has signed a deal to a write a book about her life. Tentatively titled Stepping Up and Standing Tall, the book is scheduled to be released in the first half of 2008, according to...

Lil' Kim.(NONFICTION)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Rapper Lil' Kim's The Price of Loyalty, a memoir about her time in prison, to Monique Patterson at St. Martin's Press for publication in 2008. MTV insider Terrance Dean's Hiding in Hip-Hop: Confessions of a Brother on the Down Low in the...

R&B diva Faith Evans with Aliya King's Keeping the Faith, about the author's romantic yet stormy marriage to hip-hop legend Notorious B.I.G. to Karen Thomas at Grand Central, in a significant deal, at auction, by Marc Gerald at The Agency Group.(NONFICTION)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... R&B diva Faith Evans with Aliya King's Keeping the Faith, about the author's romantic yet stormy marriage to hip-hop legend Notorious B.I.G. to Karen Thomas at Grand Central, in a significant deal, at auction, by Marc Gerald at The Agency...

Farrah Gray.(NONFICTION)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Self-made millionaire by age 14 and author of Reallionare, Farrah Gray's What's Holding You Back: Overcome the 7 Lies to Success and Create Radical Prosperity, a guide that challenges readers to dismiss common barriers to success and set an...

Moe Brighthaupt.(NONFICTION)
May 1, 2007... Former bodyguard for Anna Nicole Smith, Moe Brighthaupt's Baby Girl, tell-all about Smith's controversial life and death, Morrow/HarperEntertainment, by Mani Barron of MenzaBarron Agency.

Victoria Christopher Murray.(FICTION)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Victoria Christopher Murray's Too Little, Too Late, about sex addiction and redemption as the author revisits a character from her last novel, A Sin and a Shame, to Trish Grader at Touchstone Fireside, by Elaine Koster at Elaine Koster Agency.

On May 30, 2007, Up South Inc., and Hue-Man Bookstore present "Jammin' With Baraka Fundraising Gala.".(NEW YORK, NEW YORK)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... On May 30, 2007, Up South Inc., and Hue-Man Bookstore present "Jammin' With Baraka Fundraising Gala." The event to honor Amiri Baraka will take place at the Synod House on the campus of The Cathedral of St. John the Divine and will benefit the...

The Femme Fantastik Tour.(NATIONWIDE)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... The Femme Fantastik Tour, founded by authors Lori Bryant-Woolridge, Nina Foxx and Carmen Green in 2004 as a way to bring popular books to U.S. military bases bookstores and book-loving organizations, will kick off its 2007-2008 tour on...

The 3rd Annual Nyack Library African-American Author Conference & Book Fair.(NYACK, NEW YORK)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... The 3rd Annual Nyack Library African-American Author Conference & Book Fair will be held Saturday, September 29, 2007, and Sunday, September 30, 2007. On Saturday the fair will be at the Nyack Library, 10 A.M.-6 P.M.; and on Sunday, it will be...

Rooted in the written word: cosmetology, history and business training are at the heart of a book club in California.(books & clubs)
May 1, 2007... IN HER 21 YEARS AS A PROFESSIONAL LOCTICIAN, Akilah Uwimana Hatchett has found that many people go through a transformative process when they lock their hair. (A loctician is a person who has been professionally trained to guide someone getting...

The Confessions of Rick James: Memoirs of a Super Freak.(Book review)
May 1, 2007... The Confessions of Rick James: Memoirs of a Super Freak By Rick James Colossus Books/Amber Communications Group, May 2007 $18.95, ISBN 0-979-09763-8 Despite his many hits, Rick James did not have a tremendous impact on music. He certainly...

Beats, Rhymes and Life: What We Love and Hate About Hip-Hop.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Beats, Rhymes and Life: What We Love and Hate About Hip-Hop Edited by Kenji Jasper and Ytasha Womack Harlem Moon/Broadway Books, May 2007 $14, ISBN 0-767-91977-7 Without question, hip-hop culture and music have gone mainstream in ways that...

The Biography of Dr. Dre.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... The Biography of Dr. Dre By Ronin Ro Thunder's Mouth Press, May 2007 $24.95, ISBN 1-560-25921-3 Record producer Dr. Dre has been described as "a global phenomenon." And Ro's latest title--billed as the first biography of the multitalented...

Check the Technique: Liner Notes for Hip-Hop Junkies.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Check the Technique: Liner Notes for Hip-Hop Junkies By Brian Coleman Villard, June 2007, $16.95, ISBN 0-812-97775-0 in this updated edition of the cult classic Rakim Told Me: Wax Facts Straight From the Original Artists, the '80s (Wax...

Dark Magus: The Jekyll and Hyde Life of Miles Davis.(It's about That Time: Miles Davis on and off Record)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Dark Magus: The Jekyll and Hyde Life of Miles Davis By Gregory Davis with Les Sussman Backbeat Books, November 2006 $24.95, ISBN 0-879-30875-3 Add two new titles to the catalog of books written about the legendary jazz musician. In Dark...

Day-O!!! The Autobiography of Irving Burgie.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Day-O!!! The Autobiography of Irving Burgie By Irving Burgie Caribe Publishing, September 2006 $15, ISBN 0-978-90380-3 Brooklyn-born Irving Burgie penned 34 songs for singer Harry Belafonte, yet their version of the Banana Boat Song, a...

Frankie Manning: The Ambassador of the Lindy Hop.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Frankie Manning: The Ambassador of the Lindy Hop By Frankie Manning with Cynthia Millman Temple University Press, May 2007 $27.50, ISBN 1-592-13563-3 The Lindy hop was one of the most energizing dance crazes of the 20th century; and as the...

From Spirituals to Symphonies: African American Women Composers and Their Music.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... From Spirituals to Symphonies: African American Women Composers and Their Music By Helen Walker-Hill University of Illinois Press, April 2007 $25 (paperback), ISBN 0-252-07454-7 Undine Smith Moore (1904-1989) and Regina Harris Baiocchi (b....

The Notorious Ph.D.'s Guide to the Super Fly '70s: A Connoisseur's Journey Through the Fabulous Flix, Hip Sounds, and Cool Vibes That Defined a Decade.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... The Notorious Ph.D.'s Guide to the Super Fly '70s: A Connoisseur's Journey Through the Fabulous Flix, Hip Sounds, and Cool Vibes That Defined a Decade By Dr. Todd Boyd, Harlem Moon/Broadway Books, June 2007 $12.95, ISBN 0-767-92187-9 The...

Shout, Sister, Shout! The Untold Story of Rock-and-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Shout, Sister, Shout! The Untold Story of Rock-and-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe By Gayle F. Wald Beacon Press, February 2007 $25.95, ISBN 0-807-00984-9 Sister Rosetta Tharpe rocked! Raised in the Pentecostal Church, the guitarist...

Soul Covers: Rhythm and Blues Remakes and the Struggle for Artistic Identity (Aretha Franklin, AI Green, Phoebe Snow).(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Soul Covers: Rhythm and Blues Remakes and the Struggle for Artistic Identity (Aretha Franklin, AI Green, Phoebe Snow) By Michael Awkward Duke University Press, June 2007 $21.95, ISBN 0-822-33997-7 Awkward selected three uniquely different...

The route to riches: business strategists and entrepreneurs map the way to make more green in a recent crop of books.
May 1, 2007... MOST PEOPLE ADMIRE THE BUSINESS ACCOMPLISHMENTS of Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Dick Parsons, Russell Simmons and Oprah Winfrey. Each of these individuals achieved their success with vision, perseverance, talent, and a strong will coupled with a...

In the beginning was the word ... Donda West--an English professor who has written a book about raising her hip-hop superstar son, Kanye West--reflects on issues of language, literacy and creativity.(Interview)
May 1, 2007... I WILL NEVER FORGET THAT DAY IN MARCH 2003 WHEN MY longtime professional colleague Dr. Donda West and I realized that our sons not only knew each other, but they actually were performing together on tour. She and I are both veteran professors...

School of hip-hop: urban educators devise innovative hip-hop curricula to help elementary and secondary students succeed academically.
May 1, 2007... IN 1996, WHEN TIMOTHY JONES EMBARKED UPON a career change and started his first teaching job as a creative writing instructor, he found himself in unchartered territory. "I wasn't well-versed in classic literature at the time," he says. "All I...

Island women visionaries: how women writers are enhancing the Caribbean literary canon.
May 1, 2007... TIMES HAVE CERTAINLY CHANGED IN THE YEARS SINCE ISLAND Voices: Stories From the West Indies--with its all-male roster--was published in 1970. Today, with the inventive works of both established and emerging writers enhancing the august history...

At Home in the World.(An Evening With Caribbean Women Writers)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... At Home in the World An Evening With Caribbean Women Writers Tuesday, June 5; 7-9 P.M. NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS 1250 NEW YORK AVENUE, N.W., WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3970 202-783-5000, 1-800-222-7270 In celebration of...

The Caribbean International Literary Festival.(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... The Caribbean International Literary Festival Saturday, June 16; 4:00 P.M. Brooklyn Public Library; Brooklyn Heights Branch 280 Cadman Plaza West, 718-364-1424 The Brooklyn Public Library and the Trinidad & Tobago Working Women's...

Revising the Caribbean canon: Caribbean women writers take their stories beyond Anglocentric traditions.
May 1, 2007... CRITICS HAVE STEADILY PAID more attention to Caribbean women writers and their works in the past two decades, starting with the First Caribbean Women Writers Conference, which was held at Wellesley College in Massachusetts in 1988. The first of...

Adventures and lessons await: a selection of children's and teen books that revisit old tales, introduce new characters, impart values and show some new moves.(children's bookshelf)(Children's review)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Pretty Salma: A Little Red Riding Hood Story From Africa By Niki Daly Clarion Books, April 2007 $16, ISBN 0-618-72345-5 Ages 5-8 Daly weaves an entertaining twist in his retelling of the popular Little Red Riding Hood tale, set in West...

Marvelous World: The Marvelous Effect.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Marvelous World: The Marvelous Effect By Troy CLE Simon & Schuster Books or Young Readers, May 2007 $14.99, ISBN 1-416-93958-X Ages 10 and up If it's a sci-fi adventure you're looking for, this is the book to read. Marvelous World features...

Harlem Summer.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Harlem Summer By Walter Dean Myers Scholastic Press, March 2007 $16.99, ISBN 0-439-36843-X Ages 12 and up In the latest book from this award-winning author, Myers tells the story of a teenager's coming of age in Harlem in 1925....

Everybody Hates Chris: Everybody Hates School Dances.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Everybody Hates Chris: Everybody Hates School Dances By Brian James Simon Spotlight, June 2007 $5.99, ISBN 1-416-93562-2, ages 7-10 Television's lovable, precocious and little-bit-nerdy character Chris is now the lead in a series of chapter...

Indigo Summer.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Indigo Summer By Monica McKayhan Kimani TRU/Kimani Press, February 2007 $9.99, ISBN 0-373-83075-0 Ages 14 and up The extravagant heroines of the popular "mean girls" genre are outclassed by Indigo Summer, a young lady who deserves to have...

Nothing But Drama.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Nothing But Drama By ReShonda Tare Billingsley Pocket Books, November 2006 $9.95, ISBN 1-416-52560-8 Ages 14 and up Teen life is mad complicated for this novel's four young heroines. One girls gets arrested for harboring a fugitive...

Janet McDonald 1953-2007: make some noise for the Project Girl.(tribute)(Obituary)
May 1, 2007... JANET MCDONALD, PROJECT GIRL, international lawyer and writer passed away on April 11, 2007, from colon cancer. She was a force in person and on the page; few lived as fiercely as she did. Janet grew up one of seven children in public...

The Gospel Remix: Reaching the Hip-Hop Generation.(Book review)
May 1, 2007... The Gospel Remix: Reaching the Hip-Hop Generation By Ralph C. Watkins With Jason A. Barr Jr., Jamal-Harrison Bryant, William H. Curtis, Otis Moss III Judson Press, January 2007 $14, ISBN 0-817-01507-7 Hip-hop. What started as rollicking...

Answered Prayer Guaranteed! The Power of Praying with Faith.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Answered Prayer Guaranteed! The Power of Praying With Faith By Dr. Frederick K.C. Price Charisma House October 2006, $19.99 ISBN 1-599-79012-2 Answered Prayer Guaranteed! begins with a profound question: How do you pray? "Next to the...

The Gospel According To Rev. Walt "Baby" Love: Inspirations and Meditations From the Gospel Radio Legend.(NOTEWORTHY TITLES)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... The Gospel According to Rev. Walt "Baby" Love: Inspirations and Meditations From the Gospel Radio Legend Touchstone Faith/Simon & Schuster February 2007, $22.95, ISBN 0-743-29165-4 Walter Shaw took his first radio job in Houston after...

The Original African Heritage Study Bible (King James Version).(NOTEWORTHY TITLES)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... The Original African Heritage Study Bible (King James Version) By Cain Hope Felder, General Editor African American Study Bible Judson Press, January 2007 $39, ISBN 0-817-01511-4 The Original African Heritage Study Bible, King James...

Silent Gesture: The Autobiography of Tommie Smith.(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Silent Gesture: The Autobiography of Tommie Smith By Tommie Smith With David Steele Temple University Press February 2007 $27.50, ISBN 1-592-13639-1 The year was 1968: Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert E Kennedy were assassinated. The war...

A Well-Paid Slave: Curt Flood's Fight for Free Agency in Professional Sports.(Book review)
May 1, 2007... A Well-Paid Slave: Curt Flood's Fight for Free Agency in Professional Sports By Brad Snyder Viking, October 2006 $25.95, ISBN 0-670-03794-X No matter how history night judge former major league baseball star Curt Flood, most serious...

Baseball: from the Negro leagues to MLB.(Major League Baseball)(The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip through Buck O'Neil's America)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America By Joe Posnanski William Morrow, March 2007 $24,95, ISBN 0-060-85403-0 John "Buck" O'Neil was not only a fine ballplayer, he was an ambassador and historian of Negro baseball. He...

Voices Rising: Celebrating 20 Years of Black Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Writing.(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Voices Rising: Celebrating 20 Years of Black Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Writing Edited by G. Winston James and Other Countries RedBone Press, January 2007 $25, ISBN 0-978-62513-7 This new anthology of emerging and...

Carry the Word: A Bibliography of Black LGBTQ Books.(Other Noteworthy Titles)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Carry the Word: A Bibliography of Black LGBTQ Books Edited by Steven G. Fullwood and Lisa C. Moore RedBone Press, June 2007 $10, ISBN 0-978-62514-5 Carry the Word: A Bibliography of Black LGBTQ Books is a seminal reference work, featuring...

A Melvin Dixon Critical Reader.(Other Noteworthy Titles)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... A Melvin Dixon Critical Reader Edited by Justin A. Joyce and Dwight A. McBride University Press of Mississippi, August 2006 $38, ISBN 1-578-06866-5 An important collection of critical essays by the activist, poet, novelist and literary...

Looker.(Other Noteworthy Titles)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Looker By Stanley Bennett Clay Atria Books, June 2007 $13, ISBN 0-743-29102-6 In Clay's sexually charged story, Omar, a journalist, and Brando, a lawyer, have been best friends since childhood; and when Brando takes on the case of a female...

Broken Utterances: A Selected Anthology of 19th Century Black Women's Social Thought.(NONFICTION)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Broken Utterances; A Selected Anthology of 19th Century Black Women's Social Thought Edited and illustrated By Michelle Diane Wright Three Sisters Press, March 2007 $24.95, ISBN 0-976-93651-0 Beginning with abolitionist Maria W. Stewart and...

Color Me Butterfly: A Memoir.(NONFICTION)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Color Me Butterfly: A Memoir By L.Y. Marlow eL Publishing, February 2007 $14.95, ISBN 0-978-73205-7 In this poignant memoir, Marlow shares the story of four generations of women in her family who suffered years of abuse and violence. Their...

The Get a Life Campaign: A Pocket Guide for the Busy Woman Who Wants It All.(NONFICTION)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... The Get a Life Campaign: A Pocket Guide for the Busy Woman Who Wants It All By Tyeese Gaines Reed Infinity Publishing, May 2007 $10.95, ISBN 0-741-43925-5 The author gets right to the point from the beginning: "Everyone knows what the rut...

No Momma's Boy: How I Let Go of My Past and Embraced the Future.(NONFICTION)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... No Momma's Boy: How I Let Go of My Past and Embraced the Future By Dominic Carter iUniverse, May 2007 $23.95, ISBN 0-595-42839-8 In an article in New York magazine, Dominic Carter says that "It was almost like I got hit with a double-barrel...

Chronicles of a Hot Stopper: The Rise of Devon Steele.(FICTION)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Chronicles of a Hot Stopper: The Rise of Devon Steele By Ras Jabari Around the Way Books, April 2007 $15.99, ISBN 0-975-53423-6 Devon Steele fled Jamaica after a killing in Kingston and reunites in the States with his childhood friend...

Yardies: The Making of a Jamaican Posse.(FICTION)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Yardies: The Making of a Jamaican Posse By Prince Kofi GhettoLife Publishing Company, Inc. April 2007, $13.95, ISBN 0-979-40830-X Twenty-one-year-old Richie is one of those gangster youths in Jamaica who happens to be "a proud,...

She's Gone.(Book review)
May 1, 2007... * She's Gone By Kwame Dawes Akashic Books March 2007 $15.95 ISBN 1-933-35418-7 Over the years, there have been many incidences of cross-cultural romances, but something very special happens when Kofi, a Jamaican reggae musician, and...

Man Gone Down.(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Man Gone Down By Michael Thomas Black Cat (Grove/Atlantic), January 2007 $14, ISBN 0-802-17092-3 "It's a strange thing to go through life as a social experiment--bused, tested, and bused elsewhere, groomed for leadership." These are the...

Weapons of Mass Seduction: A Novel to Unleash the Sensual You.(Book review)
May 1, 2007... * Weapons of Mass Seduction: A Novel to Unleash the Sensual You By Lori Bryant-Woolridge Harlem Moon/Broadway Books, May 2007 $12.95, ISBN 0-767-92665-2 Bryant-Woolridge's latest book gets off to an uncomfortable start, as Pia Jamison, a...

Acacia: Book One, the War with the Mein.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... * Acacia: Book One, the War With the Mein By David Anthony Durham Doubleday June 2007, $26.95 ISBN 0-385-50606-6 Acacia is the first in Durham's War With the Mein trilogy, detailing the struggles of the house of Arkan against a deadly,...

The Sacred Place.(Book review)
May 1, 2007... The Sacred Place By Daniel Black St. Martin's Press, February 2007 $23.95, ISBN-0-312-35971-3 In this fictional retelling of the infamous 1955 Emmett Till case in Money, Mississippi, author Daniel Black, an associate professor at Clark...

Sleeping With Strangers.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Sleeping With Strangers By Eric Jerome Dickey Dutton, April 2007 $24,95, ISBN 0-525-94999-2 Since releasing his first novel more than 10 years ago, best-selling author Eric Jerome Dickey has crafted an incredibly popular blueprint for...

Ralph Ellison: A Biography.(Book review)
May 1, 2007... * Ralph Ellison: A Biography By Arnold Rampersad Knopf, May 2007 $35, ISBN 0-375-40827-4 Ralph Ellison: A Biography by Arnold Rampersad is the story of the rise of an African American writer (Ellison, who died in 1994, preferred to be...

Sterling Brown's A Negro Looks at the South.(Book review)
May 1, 2007... * Sterling Brown's A Negro Looks at the South Edited by John Edgar Tidwell and Mark A. Sanders Oxford University Press April 2007, $35 ISBN 0-195-31399-2 One of the icons in black letters, Sterling A. Brown was a poet, teacher, critic,...

The Golden Road: Notes on My Gentrification.(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... The Golden Road: Notes on My Gentrification By Caille Millner The Penguin Press February 2007, $22.95 ISBN 1-594-201099 As we stand at the cusp of Latinos taking the seat as the head minorities in charge, perhaps it is fitting that the...

To the Break of Dawn: A Freestyle on the Hip-Hop Aesthetic.(Book review)
May 1, 2007... * To the Break of Dawn: A Freestyle on the Hip-Hop Aesthetic By William Jelani Cobb New York University Press, February 2007 $22.95, ISBN 0-814-71670-9 To the Break of Dawn marks a crucial turning point in hip-hop writing. Gone are the...

Josephine Baker in Art and Life: The Icon and the Image.(Noteworthy Title)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Josephine Baker in Art and Life: The Icon and the Image By Bennetta Jules-Rosette University of Illinois Press, April 2007 $60, ISBN 0-252-03157-1 Josephine Baker would have celebrated her 100th birthday last year. In Jules-Rosette's...

Black Issues Book Review best-sellers list.(hardcover and paperback fiction and non-fiction books)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Hardcover Fiction 1. Love and Lies/ Kimberla Lawson Roby (William Morrow, $23.95, ISBN 0-060-89249-8) How Charlotte Black manages to save her soul and her marriage to the Rev. Curtis Black, a popular minister and author with a...

Aug. 24-25, 2007 Intercontinental Hotel, Chicago.(National Book Club Conference)
May 1, 2007... Black Issues Book Review presents the National Book Club Conference--Chicago to be held on Friday and Saturday, August 24 and 25, 2007, at the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Chicago. The unique event is modeled after the hugely...