Black Books

"I'm going to do whatever I can to see justice is done in the courtroom. If the town burns down because of it, so be it." Those words were spoken by Roy Black, the author, who shares with readers his passion for defending the criminally accused. In this book, he tells the story of four trials. In one, he represented Luis Alvarez, a young cop who shot a black man which caused a large riot in Miami. Another case involved a bartender who faced death for murdering his girlfriend. In that case, Black dissects the botched police investigation and shows how to take apart a prosecution's case built on circumstantial evidence.

Throughout the book, there are many insightful practice tips for defense attorneys. For example, Black instructs for cross-examination that "although jurors needed to understand that the detectives had failed to do many things, I didn't wnat to transmit the impression that 'my client's guilty, but the cops blew the investigation and so they didn't prove it."

All four cases in the book read like great mysteries. Whether you are a defense attorney or not, you are sure to thoroughly enjoy this book.

Roy Black once said, "The kind of cases I handle are the ones people can't afford to lose." On the eve of yet another notorious public figure facing penitentiary chances, Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis made the call, "Get me Roy Black." And why not? Mr. Black has attained legendary status as one of the top legal minds in the country. From his days battling in the PD's office in Miami to his rise as Miami's `super lawyer' , Black's deft handling of the media makes for a formidable one-two punch when you combine his PR skills with his presence in the courtroom. Francis knows he's in for the fight of his life. The government has tattooed crosshairs on his back for the last ten years, and he knows he's facing the end of his rope. Who wouldn't hire Black?

This book encapsulates all that is Roy Black. Delivering gut-wrenching stories of trench warfare, he said, "My cases are World War III to me. I don't take prisoners when I go to trial." Attorneys make their living through words. And this book is a testament to that. Written for the everyday man, the style of writing is brief, easy to read, and compelling. It's as if Black is masterfully telling his stories to a jury. And once again, he wins them over. Highly recommended.

Do you sometimes wonder why anyone could possibly want to defend the scum, the losers, the obviusly-guilty-because-the newspapers-said-so? Well, if you think that way you will find a very good answer in this book. Roy Black describes four different cases which seemed impossible to defend, yet he did and did it well. He lets you in on what it's like to be on the defense side of the aisle. His writing style is smooth and flowing and each of the cases was so interesting I found it hard to put the book down. For me this was one of those books you can't help but read fast because it's fascinating, yet want to read slow so it lasts longer. For any True Crime genre fan, this is a MUST read.

I really enjoyed "Black's Law." He tells four different seemingly story-like narratives about four different cases. He discusses in detail every aspect of trying a case from research to voire dire. If you are interested in either legal strategy or just in a good story, you should read this book.

A great book. Written by a expert in communication. Each case brought you into the defense, you believe in the actions brought forward to give not only a legal defense by our constitution but to see a inocent person never is incarcerated,if that ever comes to pass. I would hope Mr. Black will write more, he is able to take a very complicated subject and break it down to a laymans understanding.

It's been some time since I read a book this well written. I was hooked into the story from from the very first page. The comlexity of the characters make for a great story of deceit and lies.

The ending left me with several questions, so I re-read the first two chapters for answers. This is when I realized the genius of the way the story was told. I loved it!

If you liked Cane River (Lolita Tademy) and In Search of Satisfaction (J. California Cooper), you'll find that the characters in Bliss might have sprung from the same line in this saga of African-American women doing their best to survive and ensure success for future generations. It's a shorter read, but I appreciate the fact that Gabrielle made every word count - excluding all of the extra plot-dragging stuff that I usually just skim through anyway (excessive description, irrelevant sub-plots, etc). As a writer, I studied this work and was intrigued with how she crafted each chapter to lead into the next almost seamlessly. You won't be disappointed!
Encore, Ms. Pina!

I was so engrossed in the this tale of love, lies and revenge that I read it cover to cover in one night.

The author expertly balances drama and tragedy with healthy doses of wit and humor.

The characters are very clearly defined and their actions always serve to move the story forward. This is one of the best first novels I have read.

Although the story is, for the most part, tied up in the end, a few very minor questions remain unanswered.

Pick up this little gem today. You will not be disappointed.

As a writer it is a pleasure to have someone read your stories and receive some type of emotions from them. This book is a story that was enjoyable, right to the point of the telling and a writer who is now on my favarite author's list. Great story about believeable characters. Word of mouth whether it's about a book, movie or music,is how you know it's a good book etc.
Yo don't sleep on this book or this author she was readable.

Bliss is a beguiling story of love, protection, hatred, sacrifice and some of the selfish agendas of three generations of women. The story is primarily centered on two of the women but the cycle of pain is explained and understood through the first generation.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel because it is so well written and the characters are so well developed. The author craftily keeps you guessing and anxious to know what's going to happen next. I also enjoyed the fact that the author didn't keep you guessing that you lost interest nor leaving loose ends untied too long. The story line is refreshing as a different dynamic in relationships is explored.

My only criticism is that the ending is abrupt and disturbed the wonderful pacing of the story established early on.

This is a book I have had in my possession way too long unread. Time should be taken out in your busy life to read this book as I have finally done with no regrets!! You will experience so many emotions when reading this book as I have.

`N-Word' educated me so very much, looking through his eyes gave me a much deeper understanding of so many situations that I would not have given a second thought to. As a Caucasian woman, it really stirred a lot of emotions within me reading Black History that I was unaware of.

'Bridge of Life' - he did a splendid job of breathing life into Miss Ruby with his words, brought her into my home with her stern but loving nature and enlightened me with her wisdom and values.

`Five Days' put a smile on my face knowing it is so true in so many lives - how utterly ridiculous some people can be finding it so much easier in life to distrust something good in their lives and taking the other side as their fate because for them it is more realistic.

A huge eye opener for me! There were several insights that I could relate to personally but could not put my thumb on it like he did with his words. A lot of time and thought went into his work. I really enjoyed this book, highly recommend it and now am going to pass this book onto my mother who when visiting me could not put it down! I applaud you Mr. Wooden, you are a very talented author!! I look forward to reading your next novel. You definitely have made Mr. Ousley very proud!!

John Wooden's novel 'A Collection of Thoughts' is a must read for any one who has ever wondered about the experience of growing up Black in the USA. Yet the novel is equally attractive to anyone who has ever pondered about their past, their purpose and the learnings along the way.

John takes the reader on an adventurous and thought-provoking journey of events and information that have helped shaped his life. Starting with "Self' and his musings on his humble beginnings and his heart-wrenching and inspirational tale of the deep admiration he developed for his father '...as a man who had lived through being Colored or a Negro during some of the most tumultuous and challenging times in history.' The passionate 'Collections' captivates the reader quickly.

Readers are challenged by a stirring discussion in the 'N-Word' and it's impact within the African-American community, full with references from the civil rights movement to the Million Man match, to life on a Black College Campus. From the intense commentaries 'Collections' also serves up the romantic twists with the "Ode to the Black Woman." A classic perennial piece and a wonderful celebration of black womanhood sincerely expressed by a brother. "Five Days" evokes questions about trust in relationships that appear 'to good to be true.' While "Bridge of Life" is a romantic tale that echoes the power and salvation of love across the boundaries of time.

As with life, 'A Collection of My Thoughts' has something that each of us can relate to...So what are you waiting for...go buy the book...Enjoy

I had to read this book that was making my wife cry one minute and laugh the next. I absolutely loved this book. The author's collection of thoughts fills you with emotions and makes you think throughout every story. His thoughts is everybody's thoughts but he so eloquently transformed them to paper and he delivers a knockout punch. Mr. Wooden, your dad, Mr. Ousley, who he does a great job of telling his story, would be very proud of you for a great book. Like other reviewers, I hope Mr. Wooden continues writing. This book should be read by all men and teenagers. We need more books like this.

This book is by far one of the best books I've read that has something for everyone. It is a fiction, non-fiction, biography, history, self-help and spiritual book. What a novel idea! I can recommend this book to a variety of friends and colleagues and not limit it to one group. As a Human Resource professional and Diversity Practitioner, I highly recommend this book. There are few books that can immediately bring understanding of race relations based on the generational differences. Reading about Mr. Ousley, the author's father, gives a lesson in one chapter that many organizations spend days attempting to teach. This is a must read for everyone who genuinely consider themselves a Diversity Practitioner or involved in any area of organizational equal opportunity. I have been pleasantly surprised by reading this book because there were many unexpected parts to the book which proved personally helpful to me. If you are looking for a great book that fits into the category of fiction, non-fiction, history, self-help or more, you will not be disappointed. Mr. Wooden has put it all together with a flow where one category compliments the other. As a reader of solely business and self-help books, this book has been added to my collection of "must read".

"A Collection of Thoughts" truly is an excellent example of traversed thoughts. In John Wooden's short stories, I was complled by every word. His discriptions of the characters were written so well that you could easily identify and relate to within your family life. Every chapter allowed me the ability to see that I could learn about myself, from myself, and grow with myself. I most appreciated the chapter speaking on the "N" word. Thank you John Wooden for writing those thoughs in such an elegant forum. They are so on the point.
I would be remised if I did not say how proud I am that a Black Man has shown such a public honor for the Black Woman in a warm beautiful heartfelt poem, Ode to the Black Woman. This poem will touch every Black Woman's heart.

I'm still reading this book and it has brought many good things to light for me. I'm sending my copy to a friend so she can read it and understand more things about herself.

This book was so inspiring and at time overwhelming... It will make you cry with the poetic reverence, and laugh with its abunding charm.... It give great insight on comming out, and It helps you to decide when is right for you to enter into your own journey on the road to being free.. to being OUT

This book unites the coming out experiences of black women from different socioeconomic and geographic backgrounds.
This collection of 49 short stories/poems/essays and interviews offers an insight into the complexities and issues surrounding women of colour as they search for and claim their identities. The selections which are fictional and non-fictional, are personal, daring, honest, funny, moving and thought provoking.
In short, this is a powerful book which easily transcends the Women's Studies/African American Studies and the Gay and Lesbian arenas, making it the quintessential "must read" for all.

READING THIS BOOK WAS AN INSIDE PEEP AT WHAT GOES ON INSIDE THE HEART AND SOUL OF EVERY WOMAN WHO EVER THOUGHT ABOUT LOVING ANOTHER WOMAN....IT CONFIRMED THAT THE WARMTH, INTIMACY, CLOSENESS, SISTERGIRL CONNECTION THAT I FEEL WHEN IM WITH MY SPECIAL FRIEND IS NOT SICK, OR IMMORAL BUT SPECIAL AND WORTH HOLDING ON TO DESPITE WHAT PEOPLE WHO CANT RELATE MIGHT THINK. THANK YOU TO ALL THE WRITERS AND ESPECIALLY LISA C. MOORE. LOOKING FORWARD TO DOES YOUR POPS KNOW ? (SMILE)

"Does Your Mama Know?" was worth the time and effort that I spent visiting four different bookstores and walking a total of four miles or so. "Does Your Mama Know?" is like "The Color Purple," "The Women of Brewster Place" and "Zami" but better. Similar to these books, Moore's book validated my experiences as a lesbian of color. Her well-chosen stories highlight almost every conceivable coming out experience. Although the book is VERY hard to find -- there are only 8,000 copies floating around the world -- I would recommend this to any black lesbian, regardless of nationality.

I just like Brink's stories! It is mostly difficult to have a break once you have started to read his book.

Ben Du Toit teaches history and geography in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is the period of the height of the youth riots in the township of Soweto. At Ben's school, Gordon Ngubene, a native, is a cleaner and he occasionally does little chores for Ben. When Ben sees that Jonathan, Gordon's son, is showing signs of intelligence and diligence, he decides to partly finance his education. One day however, Jonathan takes part in a demonstration which ends up in a violent riot and is arrested by the police. A few weeks later, after a harrowing quest through countless offices, Ben and Gordon are informed that Jonathan died "of natural causes" while in detention.
Due to the mystery surrounding his son's death, Gordon gives up his job in order to devote himself entirely to the enquiries which have become an obsession with him. Both the Special Branch and the Security Police are annoyed about Gordon's insistence and soon enough Gordon is arrested. After numerous attempts to try to trace Gordon and speak to him, Ben and Gordon's wife Emily are told by the spokesman of the Security Police that Gordon apparently committed suicide by hanging himself with strips torn from his blanket.
But Ben Du Toit senses that the official explanations for both Jonathan's and Gordon's deaths are just a pretext for poorly disguised murders and so he decides to take matters in his own hands and starts investigating.
Mr Brink's novel is a harrowing account of a solitary man's fight against all the atrocities of the Apartheid. During this dark period in the history of South Africa, a white man had to be a real hero to fight for the right of the Afrikaners. The author beautifully captures the fact that Ben has to fight not only the resentment of the people of the other race, but also that of the people belonging to his own race - his family for a start. The descriptions of the townships of Johannesburg, particularly that of Soweto, are breathtaking in their accuracy and poignancy.

Brinks sketches the life of a idealistic man - Ben du Toit that lives his life in Apartheid South Africa on the brink of normalcy until the mysterious death of a black American friend and his son points to government involvement. As du Toit becomes obsessed with discovering the truth he becomes the symbol of Afrikaner conscience struggling to cope with the conflict and alienation that this crusade against Apartheid causes. With Apartheid being woven into the Afrikaner concept of nationhood and religion Ben finds himself not only in conflict with his family or the government but with his own history and ultimately with his own identity and even his soul. du Toit becomes a classical Afrikaner in his stubborn steadfast refusal to sway from his course , irrespective of the consequences, that he believes to be the only just and morally acceptable one.

He painfully exposes the moral vacuum of Apartheid and how it alienates not just du Toit from himself and his family but ultimately the Afrikaner from their fellow South Africans, as well as their own ideas of justice and morality.

The original Afrikaans language edition packs a powerful punch and is beautiful to read. English translation loses a bit of impact and fails to capture the finesse of the master writer in his mother tongue but is never the less worth burning the midnight oil for. It should however be noted that the story is dated and not a balanced portrayal of South Africa, Afrikaners or Apartheid.

Good fiction but not a historical treatise of Apartheid as some reviewers seem to think.

During the 1970's in South Africa, several protests were happening against the apartheid acts and the education of African natives to speak Afrikaans, instead of their chosen language. In Andre Brink's brilliant novel, A Dry White Season, he presents the brutality of the African struggle for freedom from the white leaders by telling the story of one man's effort to clear his black friend's name. When Gordon Ngubene, a janitor at the local school in Johannesburg, finds his son dead without a clue of what happened, he asks his colleague Ben Dutoit for financial help and support. After certain inquiries were developed on Gordon's behalf for his son, Jonathan, he is arrested by the police and is marked by his own "suicide". However once Ben begins to unfold the evidence that leads to what truly happened, he is caught in a jungle of lies, danger, and an atrocious form of racism.

Ben Dutoit was a simple man content with his mediocre life based on his wife, two daughters, and his teaching. Although the Special Branch had become more involved in the town where he lived, he purely continued throughout his basic routine day in and day out. Once Gordon is told by the Security Police that his son has died of "natural causes" while in a severe detention for publicly protesting, it seems that he will stop at nothing to figure out what had occurred the night of Jonathan's death. "If it was me, all right. But he is my child and I must know. God is my witness today: I cannot stop before I know what happened to him and where they buried him. His body belongs to me. It is my son's body."(Pg.49 A Dry White Season). Throughout this time period, whites naturally assumed themselves superior to that of the African race, and ruthless acts were brought upon the blacks daily. Brink vividly described the numerous cruelties aimed at the "inferior race" due to such instinctive racism. The author conjures the understanding of the reader to see how simple it would be for Ben to turn a blind eye on Gordon's tragedy. Yet after Gordon is accused of strangling himself by tying bits of torn blanket together, Ben is convinced that it was torture that killed the prisoner, and Ben just cannot let the case go with injustice. One can sense just how stubborn Ben truly is regarding the truth of his friend's alleged murder, mainly because of the emotions depicted by Brink that the reader can pick up on. Assembling as much evidence against the Special Branch's summary of Gordon's arrest, with the help of taxi driver and informational guide Stanley, Ben attempts to prove that the police are sadistic liars that have crossed the line of racism and have entered a territory of the highest form of hatred. Publicity of his "Negro loving" efforts have provoked such racists to seek ways to harm Ben and his family, such as sending bombs in the mail and shooting through his windows at night. I simply cannot comprehend the motive of someone to physically or mentally abuse another for their own views. However nothing could frighten him from completing what he had started in the first place, not even the terrifying Captain Stolz who had threatened him many times during the case. The thorough detail Brink constructed to picture the startling police officer was amazing, admitting a very clear idea of just how alarming this character must have been. Aware of his immense caution in his own case, he presented one of his old college friends with pieces of information in order to write a biography of Ben Dutoit. Two weeks later, Ben was killed in a hit and run car accident, but fortunately for him, his story would not be left untold. I personally found myself having to read certain paragraphs repeatedly in order to really grasp what was happening in all of the excitement, which I appreciated from the author. The plot was persistently heart pumping, giving off the effect that South Africa's horrifying and unfair history was not given the deliberate attention it deserved.

Before this misfortune had happened, Ben had been conceived as having a rather introverted personality, spending most of his time alone playing chess in his den. However the demand for real facts about what had definitely taken place seemed to have changed his behavior. Suddenly Ben was actually offering his true opinions back to those that he would not dare before, such as Captain Stolz, no matter how harsh or unsettling. After this unexpected alteration, Ben began to become more aware of his surroundings, more observant of his daily routines that he had developed into over the years. The author made sure to explain Ben's strange emotions in noticing things in his life that seemed unfit to him. "All at once this is what seemed foreign to him: not what he had seen in the course of the long bewildering afternoon, but this. His garden, with the sprinkler on the lawn. His house, with white walls, and orange tiled roof, and windows and rounded stoop. His wife appearing in the front door. As if he'd never seen it before in his life."(Pg.99 A Dry White Season). If you take a considerable amount of time to glance at your own life, as I have done from the direction of this book, you perceive things that might belong to you, though they might seem impossible to be yours. The process is difficult to explain, until you try to complete it yourself. Brink wrote the character as if his own qualities were shifting along to the varied events of Gordon's death case. The author seemed to have used Ben's life as symbolism of how one moment could alter anyone's life as they know it. A calamity such as this could happen to anyone, even I, and this thought makes me wonder. How would the way I act now be changed?

The Soweto protests of the 1970's in South Africa led to many empty lots filled with tear-gas, public shootings, and violent massacres of black citizens. In the novel A Dry White Season, Andre Brink tells the tale of one honorable man that knew too much information for his own good at a time era like his generation, which guided him into a vast land of moral corruption. Ben Dutoit's story has captivated my imagination, gripped my heart, crossed my frustrations, and stirred my tears. This book has taught me, as well as numerous other readers as well, to follow your instincts and never let justice go unserved. "Perhaps all one can really hope for, all I am entitled to, is no more than this: to write it down. To report what I know. So that it will not be possible for any man ever to say again: I knew nothing about it. (Pg.316 A Dry White Season).

i read this while i was a high school student and i can honestly say it has been one of the few books that have made an impact on the way i view society. read it! you'll love it!

This is the best book about General relativity ( GR ) that I have ever read. Instead of trying to explain GR with words the author is using mathematics to to illustrate some of the consequences of GR. This means that some mathematical knowledge is required ( but not knowledge about tensors and dfferential forms ) and that the reader need to spend some time with paper and pencil to truly understand the text. The examples is concentrated on what is happening around black holes but the advance of Mercury's perihelion and the slowing of light around the Sun is also described. A very good book!

Einstein's general theory of relativity is perhaps one of the most mathematically intense areas of research any physicist or astronomer could undertake. However this book takes the subject and turns it into a joyous romp through curved spacetime.

By avoiding the field equations and focusing on their solutions the authors impart to the eager student an overview of general relativity and set the stage for a more rigorous approach to be undertaken later. This book is the perfect introduction to the subject.

The book is well suited for advanced undergraduates who have had several hours of physics and mathematics. It is likewise suited to serve as a introductory text for graduate students that are studying astrophysics and astronomy. In the latter case the text serves well as an overview of what general relativity is, many of its findings, its predictions, and its relevance to observational astronomy.

If you have a basic understanding of calculus and have studied the special theory of relativity in some detail then this book is well suited to your needs.

This book was delivered in immaculate condition and is exactly how I was hoping it would be. Thank you for your product and i hope to do business with you again!

Sincerely,

Travis

A book I really wouldn't have thought could have been written. There are a lot of books on general relativity at the superficial level, call these books 'mathless.' There are monumental tomes aimed at the graduate student level, call these books 'tensor calculus.' Here is a book exquisitely positioned between these others. The student will need to have had differential calculus, and perhaps a bit of basic physics, and with these he will get a pretty good, introductory understanding of General Relativity.

The real key to this book is that it explains a lot, but then it open up a bunch of other questions, questions that we really haven't answered yet -- things like dark matter, dark energy, accelerating expansion of the universe, and more.

The book ends with: 'How can physics live up to its true greatness except by a new revolution in outlook which dwarfs all past revolutions? And when it comes, will we not say to each other, Oh, how beautiful and simple it all is! How could we ever have missed it so long.'

That's just the awe, the vision, that we want new and budding physicists to have.

This book sidesteps the hard work needed to motivate and develop the Einstein field equations, and goes directly to one of the most important solutions of the equations, the Schwarzschild solution, which gives rise to the concept of a black hole. By exploring what observers in different parts of space-time would experience along their different trajectories (whether falling into a black hole or watching from a safe spot far away), Taylor and Wheeler manage to convey an intuitive understanding for such typical GR "paradoxes" such as the fact that the same "event" (the crossing over of an object through the event horizon) can be seen to take 15 minutes, or forever, depending on who's watching it.

Because of what it omits, this book is not a complete presentation of GR. It does present the most fun part of GR, however, in a way that is mathematically accessible.

Along the way, a few side questions are adddressed, like "How painful would it be to be squished/torn apart as I fall into a black hole?" A lot of time is also spent explaining how the weird trajectories of light within the event horizon will transmogrify what is seen by the observer.

This is a great book and a lot of fun. I am also left with a greater motivation to go back to a more complete presentation, to be convinced that "this is where you have to end up". Although much longer, this book is a worthy successor to the original output of this dynamic duo, "Spacetime Physics".

After reading several excellent reviews of this book, I purchased it for
my nepbew's birthday. I have not read the book myself since I lived through that period.

It was a year of Fire and also the year of Grace for Jackie Robinson!! It is an amazing book to read about a great person who changed history and loves baseball!! It is more than just baseball and it has so many things to show that shaped Jackie's life so much. It is also spiritual and emotional book that leaves you to become a stronger person to make a great difference in the world.

I really liked this book and normally I dont like reading. Ijust wanted to keep reading to see what was going to happen next. I think Jackie Robinson is a vary good romodel because no matter what, you should never give up. Because Jackie never gave up he ended up being one of the best baseball players to ever play the game. But most of all he broke the color code for all professional sports.

This biography does an outstanding job of giving an overview of Robinson's life and times, from his early, awnry but talented years in Pasadena, through UCLA, then the military, and then the Brooklyn Dodgers and beyond. It paints a picture of a strong willed gentleman with enormous pride, dedicated to his family, and dedicated to the idea of racial integration and equality. The influences of his mother on his early, somewhat (understandably) confrontational character, that allowed him to ultimately be the individual who paired with Branch Rickey to integrate "America's Pastime" are clearly laid out.

Some reviewers have faulted the author for not being more interpretive of Robinson's politics - specifically, that he was a Nixon supporter in 1960 and a Rockefeller supporter in 1968 (while also being a strong supporter of Civil Rights, active in almost every civil rights organization) and Humphrey supporter as well. I think the book lays out all the facts for the reader to see for themselves. Robinson's coming of age - in an era when a Dixiecrat from a Jim Crow state (LBJ) led the passage of the Civil Rights Act - was a time of a shifting political landscape that didn't settle out until near his death (he also broke badly with Nixon later in Nixon's career). The Republican party's mantra of self-reliance, and Robinson's determination to succeed in business in the same way he did in sports, made his attraction to the party not a big leap; the alienation of this country's African American establishment from big business was not a pre-ordained fact in the time Robinson lived.

Finally, Robinson's own family struggles were also a reflection of the confusing and troubling times in which he lived.

Robinson died too young for us all. This is a great book and I would highly recommend it..

i'm not particularly interested in baseball, but i am particularly interested in American history from the human perspective. i could have read a much more dry account of the turmoils that dominated American race relations throughout the middle of the 20th century, but instead i've read this fascinating account of those terrible, backward days from the perspective of a true pioneer, Mr. Jackie Robinson.

of course he is looked back on now as a symbol, a mythological figure. i always knew peripherally of Jackie as the same thing most people do: the first black man to play major league baseball, a step forward & up in the painful struggle of the times. but this book presents him as a human being, a fallible man who lived most of his life not on the baseball field, but in a relentless pursuit of his ideals and desire for a better life for himself and everyone around him.

the reviewer before me questions the biographer's lack of judgement of Robinson. i am curious as to why he feels Rampersad should insert his own analysis; the biography presents analyses of Robinson by many of Robinson's contemporaries, and then presents the recorded facts available to clarify incidents & statements. yes, this is an intensely personal biography, perhaps too personal in places. it is very much centered on Jackie's private correspondences. it is absolutely told from Robinson's persepctive, as best can be reconstructed from his widow Rachel & the papers he left behind, but it feels very honest, not at all like an airbrushed bit of hero-polishing. it is in places very blunt about Jackie's shortcomings as observed by his peers & contemporaries.

before i stretch this out any longer, i'll just say that this is the most engrossing biography i can ever recall having read. it's an account of a fascinating life in an amazingly recent time, in an America that seems so long ago but is still discouragingly recent. readers will learn not just about Jackie Robinson, but about two American eras as well.

This book is great to use in a writing lesson. Donald Crews does an excellent job in using details to describe the "shortcut". This book goes well with his other one about Big Mamas.

One of the things I love about Shortcut is that it gives young children a chance to be scared/tense (like adults enjoying John Grisham or a suspenseful movie) in a way that isn't like to keep them awake later! I used to teach four-year-olds, and, if read with expression, this book keeps them on the edge of their seats!

Donald Crews' relating of an actual childhood experience is powerful -- they decided to take the shortcut home -- over the train tracks. What happens when they realize a train is coming?

I love Donald Crews' books and this one is top notch! My four year old son loves trains. He has listened to this one so many times he has memorized the text. Great pictures and easy text plus the train sounds printed in text throughout the book make this one perfect for children. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars!

I enjoy reading this book because it was interesting how the kids wanted to take the shortcut home, even toght ther knew it was not safe. The story reminded me of how sometimes when im doing homework i wanted to get it done even toght i knoe sometimes its not ryte. I learn from this book that trying your best on everything u do is the right way to do something.

I enjoy reading this book because it was interesting how the kids wanted to take the shortcut home, even toght ther knew it was not safe. The story reminded me of how sometimes when im doing homework i wanted to get it done even toght i knoe sometimes its not ryte. I learn from this book that trying your best on everything u do is the right way to do something.

Brooke Stephens is a valued member in the African American community, her contributions are culturally constructive, professionally progressive, and economically empowering.

We support her because her goal is to empower us.

BTW, those who gave Brooke's book a rating of 4 or more, we clicked `yes' for the question "Was this review helpful to you?" Even in this little way we empower one another.

While some of the information in this book is outdated, it gives the new investor some good knowledge to build on.

I have read this book and found it be be very insightful and informative. I would highly recommend this resource to those taking a looking at their financdial status and making corrective changes. This is a timely work. This resource is packed with information from cover to cover. I appreciate all that the author intended to do and accomplish with this work. Take the time to sit down and read this book for encouragment to do better financial management and control of your personal financial destiny.

This book should be read by every african-american. While I was reading I thought she was talking about me. We seem to spend more money on unnecessary things and worry and complain about how we are going to pay those high interest credit cards. I now look at life and living a whole lot different. I have passed the book on to other family members in hopes that it changes their lives like it has changed mine.

I read this book about three years ago when I was deeply in debt always borrowing from one credit card to pay another credit card. After reading this book I stopped making Tommy Hilfiger, Perry Ellis and Ralph Lauren so rich and started paying myself and it has paid off in ways I could not imagine. I don't have ten credit cards anymore and I don't bounce checks anymore either, but instead I am reading Black Enterprise and the Wall Street Journal looking for the best investment opportunities.

This is an excellent book to read to young children. The author gives the reader indepth information about her family but also some historical information about her hometown, Harlem. The illustrations sweep the reader along on Tar Beach and keeps you turning the brightly colored pages. You are able to hear Ms.Ringgold's voice when you read this book and get a taste of life in her family.

I don't know why this book was called Tar Beach, but it's interesting. It's about a little girl who is picked up by the stars and has the ability to own everything she flies over. Pretty cool huh? Whether she can actually do this or she just dreams of doing this, who knows.

A neat feature of this book is it was actually written and illustrated first on a quilt before being converted to paper. Maybe next somebody will try writing a book on a sculpture.

An excellent book for its literay value and artistic illustrations. A great memory for anyone who has lived in New york City and remembers going to their own rooftop gatherings in the summers.

My class loved this book. It was part of an African American History unit.

First off, this book would pair brilliantly with Deborah Hopkinson's, "Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt". Utilizing a style not unlike the classic slave quilts featured in "Sweet Clara", "Tar Beach" tells a contemporary story while tying its narrative to the history of African American storytelling. Before I say anything else, though, I should warn you about something. When I first read this book I had borrowed it from my local lending library. The copy I got out was a hardcover from 1991. Now, do you remember getting books when you were a kid and they, not to put too fine a point on it, stank? Certain picture books have some kind of binding glue or something that, over time, makes them stink to high heaven. This book was especially smelly and even as it sits next to me here on my desk I'm reluctant to open it up for reference because of its offensive odor. It's quite possible, even probable, that the editions of this book being sold now (being paperback and all) are smell free and no longer printed so as to attack one's olfactory senses. Just don't buy a used hardcover copy from 1991. That's all I'm saying.

In this tale a small African-American girl dreams of flight. In her flight she is powerful and free. The George Washington bridge, a magnificent structure that her father helped to build, is a diamond necklace around her neck. Flying high, the girl gives her father the union building he's working on, "Then it won't matter that he's not in their old union, or whether he's colored or a half-breed Indian, like they say". With her father so gainfully employed her mother "won't cry all winter" when her dad goes out looking for work. She'll be able to sleep late and (this is the most heartbreaking part for me), "we can have ice cream every night for dessert". The girl daydreams these flights while the family goes up to what they like to call Tar Beach. On the roof of their building they have peanuts and chicken and watermelon as well. She sums up by explaining, "it's very easy, anyone can fly. All you need is somewhere to go that you can't get to any other way. The next thing you know, you're flying among the stars".

On the last two pages of the book a long history of author/illustrator Faith Ringgold explains her life, the history of her work, the history of African Americans in the 1930s, and the basis of this tale. A quilter by trade, the left page displays the amazing quilt that inspired "Tar Beach" the book. In this quilt, the girl and her brother sit not too far from their parents and neighbors. Above, the girl soars over the George Washington Bridge and the words of the book are written into the fabric of the quilt. Parents reading this book to their kids would do well to read the summary at the end of the tale to themselves before reading the picture book to their children. That way they'll be better equipped to answer any potential questions the children might bring up regarding labor union practices regarding African Americans or the history of flight in the stories of slaves. This book covers a lot of ground. The basis of the tale itself is rooted in Ringgold's own experiences of growing up in Harlem as a child. She even gives a little background on the characters discussed within the tale and their lives.

The book is drawn using acrylics on canvas paper with the occasional quilted piece appearing on the sides. As for the plot, kids reading the book may be a little confused as to whether or not the heroine of the tale actually is flying or if it's just in her head. After all, there's a pretty clear picture of her little brother lying below looking up as his sister soars. If kids are able to get past that little detail, however, they'll probably love the tale. I mean, who hasn't wanted to fly freely over friends and family? Who hasn't wanted to give their parents everything they'd need to be happy? Or, for that matter, own an ice cream factory?

The book is well rooted in history, imagination, and colorful storytelling. With a pedigree such as this, it's hard not to admire it thoroughly. And if you'd like yet another book to pair it with during your storytime, consider "The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge" by H.H. Smith, which is ALSO about the building of the George Washington bridge. Altogether this is an important book with a well told message.