African-American Books

Victoria Christopher Murray has done it again. Too Little Too Late was a page turner. The sequel of the storyline of Jasmine Larson Bush was not disappointing. If you love/hate/felt sorry for Jasmine in the previous novels; this will continue in Too Little Too Late. Victoria is an excellent writer. I give this novel *****!!!

Victoria Christopher Murray returns to a familiar character named Jasmine Larson AKA "Trouble". Anyone familiar with her work will feel right at home with this book. A newbie reader of Christopher Murray will enjoy this but will be best off if they start at the beginning of the Curtis Black series of books. Overall, all of her books are excellent reads. I guarantee - once you read one of her books you can't help but want more.

Just like her other novels, this book is far from disappointment. Yes, Jasmine Cox Larson Bush is back and is a changed woman. I want so bad to talk about this book in this review, but I know I'll spoil it for others. So I'll keep my mouth shut, BUT if you don't own this book yet, please purchase it NOW!! Also purchase her previous novels. They are well worth the buys. I am now impatiently waiting for another novel from Victoria.

There is an abundance of conflict and action in Too Little, Too Late, and as is typical of Ms. Murray's writing style, nothing is predictable and every chapter is eventful and tense. There are never any sagging middles or boring chapters in one of her novels. I love how the author twists things around and weaves powerful lessons into all of her stories. Lessons about love and faithfulness, trust and forgiveness.

Too Little, Too Late has an ending that will leave you breathless, yet there is also a bittersweet feeling you get by the time you reach the last page. Yes, life is messy, and temptation is everywhere. The issue of addiction is handled extremely well and is accurately portrayed.

In the midst of their struggles these believeable character discover that God is always in their midst no matter how awfully they behave. They realize that His love is unconditional and if they reach out to Him, He will meet them where they are. That is so true-to-life. What a great read. A bit on the sizzly side with some major eyebrow-raising scenes, but I like that kind of romance, and in this regard Ms. Murray never dissapoints.

This was a great read! I did not feel sorry for Jasmine in this one because she should have known better. I can't wait for the next one. Please go buy this book.

I can't say more than I love Jessica! I was first introduced to her back in 1998 at my step mother's college graduation. I was only 16 and fell in love with her style, her words inspired me in so many ways and she has been my idol ever since. I recently met her at a barbecue and I was for the first time in my life star struck. My admiration for Jessica is limitless and I am patiently waiting for her to write another book. Good Job Jess...

Jessica Care Moore is the best, I am a huge fan. Not only are both of her books awesome, but she is unbelievably down to earth person. I met her a few years back when she made one of her very few visits to SF. Both of her books are great buys, I have tremendous respect for her DIY spirit. The closed-minded mainstream was not publishing her so she started her own publishing company. Go Jessica!!:)

Thanks to everyone who supported this book and other work from jessica Care moore. The new book is coming soon, The Alphabet Verses The Ghetto!
The Words Don't Fit In My Mouth saved my life. If you enjoyed this read, I would suggest reading Fast Cities and Objects That Burn By Sharrif Simmons. Peace.

Moore blows up the spot with her poetry! She speaks her mind and speaks it well. Her nonchalant attitude towards political correctness makes her thoughts more outrageous and vivid. The next Sanchez is on her way, so move!!!

Pure Passion and Perfection. Jessica has her own
Poetic Perfection. As a fellow writer from the
midwest, I applaud Jessica's passion, perseverance,
reverence for her art and love for her people. She's
a ball of fire, and God made her that way! Her words
jump out at you, they fill your ears, they dance around
you, dare you to question them. Sounds like truth, her
truth and the truth of so many of us: Black folks, women
folks, women artists, passionate people, visionaries and love makers. From one poetess from the midwest to another, Jessica, may your life be long, fruitful and ever
exploding from your creative vision! One love

I first check this book out at the public library a few years ago. I constantly re-checked it out, paid late fees because every principle in the book was helping me in some area of my life.
This past Christmas, I decided to purchase the book so I could have itavailable for my spirit 24-7!

Hello Sister Friends,
If I was Oprah, I would say "everybody gets a copy of this book!" This book is written especially for black women about how to empower ourselves, care for ourselves, and replenish our spirits. I find myself frequently pausing to think about what she is saying and its relevance in my life. I highly recommend it and I am telling all of my friends to read it.

This book will save your life!!!!!!! By it, read it, and share it. You will see your life changing right before your eyes. You will learn the value of self and the true value of your life. Do NOT hesitate to pick this book up now. Ms. Gandy's books should be on everyone's shelf. You owe it to yourself. You will refer back to it time & time again throughout your life. Believe me, you will NOT be disappointed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!What are you waiting for? You deserve to be blessed :-) :-) :-)

This motivational book is packed with many principles that will help you on the road to experience more joy. More joy results in more fun, more life, more time, more money, more peace, and so much more...

As you read the principles, your spirit, mind and body will be stimulated and motivated to reach out and take hold of your own joy. Though many of the principles are things we know, the author takes readers beyond our knowledge. She motivates us to study, understand, absorb and LIVE the principles that are applicable to our lives, individually. That's where the joy comes in - when you begin living what you know is best for you.

"Make space so that joy has a place" became my 2001 screensaver and daily reminder to purge and cleanse myself AND my house. You will surely get joy out of reading this wonderful book. It is also a resourceful handbook that you'll want to refer to, often.

This book is written to the black woman, but it trancends all racial boundries.

Read the first couple of pages of the excerpt and find out how the author's mentor gets her to be very specific in the diretion she takes in this book. On page three of the paperback, you really find out whether or not you need to read this book. I will site the authors words here that I find to be the key theme of this book:

Is your spirit killed?
"On the outside, we may look like we're doing fine, while on the inside, we are hemorrhaging spiritually. For many of us, the erosion has left holes in our souls and a trail of other effects: loss of motivation, procrastination, loss of energy, loss of passion and enthusiasm; feeling unfocused, unfulfilled, disorganized, always on the go, off center; being unsettled, anxious, nervous, indecisive, irritable, fidgety, or feeling as if your life has become one rushed hectic, stressful routine."
I am sure you will not be disappointed with this author's work. She speaks loud and clear! Just read it.

are on the path that they are on. For thoses of us looking to try and change the values that some of our children have grown to embrace, this is a MUST read.

I found this book to be informative about some issues that influence young black males in the USA. I did something I usually do not do - I chapter hopped, reading those chapters I thought would be more interesting and going back to the others to gleam information from them.

I was very interested about what Reese says about anti-intellectualism. I also found other subjects Reese covers to be interesting, all of which he outlines in the Introduction.

I hope what Reese covers will make people stop to think about today's issues regarding race, and how to better ourselves and our communities through rejecting negative stereotypes rather than embracing them.

I am not a sociologist, nor am I black, but I found the information Reese presents to be quite interesting; I think everyone can learn something from his book.

In American Paradox: Young Black Men, Dr. Renford Reese discusses how film, media, pop culture, and others often lend themselves to the the development and reinforcement of false representations, negative social stereotypes, and racism. Nonetheless, Reese affirms that the US is still one of the greatest countries in the world where lives, regardless of race or color, can prosper.
Reese's discussion is strongly directed at inspiring Black Americans but is important for anyone. Himself a mentor, Reese pleads that negative social stigmas be rebelled against by way of education, the strengthening of community, mentoring, and other positive forms of leadership in order to bring about positive social action and policy. His ideas about empowering community resonate with John McKnight's, "Careless Society: Community and Its Counterfeits" in that both authors intend to help move inidvidual and community to higher grounds of shared accountability and social responsibility.

This is a scholarly albeit shocking analysis of the dilemmas that young African American males face. It was eye-opening, even for this mother of two African Americans men!

I am a former student at Cal Poly, and have had the opportunity to take not just one, but two of Dr. Reese's classes, and I can attest that this man is nothing short of incredible. He is intelligent, articulate, and charismatic, and he truly cared about every single one of his students. I can say with absolute certainty that he has been the most influential person in my life besides my parents. His book is equally amazing, and is a must read for everyone, regardless of race, color, or background. I am not a young black man, but I can still appreciate the concepts of his teachings. If you were not lucky enough to have had Dr. Reese speak to you in person, his words still carry strongly in this book. I am a better person today, and I can honestly credit that, at least in part, to what I have been taught by this man. For that, Dr. Reese, I thank you.

With the backdrop of the emerging black middle-class in segregated Washington, D.C., during World War II, author Brad Snyder tells the compelling story of two baseball clubs and the push to integrate one professional league.

There is Homestead Grays founder Cum Posey, who is looking to relocate his franchise from Pittsburgh before the start of the 1940 season. And there is Clark Griffith, owner of the pathetic Washington Senators, who can briefly shuffle aside his racism for a business deal that will bring a new revenue stream to his bank account when the team is playing away from Griffith Stadium.

This initial tenuous partnership delivered a surprise to Griffith; the Grays exemplary play on the field found them outdrawing the cellar-dwelling Senators and galvanizing a new generation of baseball fans. That success - even with onerous stadium leases common when NLB teams played in facilities used by Major League Baseball clubs - helped propel the integration of MLB in 1947.

The era is also seen through legendary sportswriters Sam Lacy & Wendell Smith, Buck Leonard - the greatest pro first baseman - and in the offices of MLB, especially the Senators.

Griffith - who certainly could have worked out some type of agreement with the Grays for players to bolster the Senators before the Dodgers signed Robinson - was only a pioneer in segregation, integrating his team seven years after Robinson's debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers and ultimately fleeing Washington, D.C., relocating his team to the whiter Minneapolis-St. Paul market.

With the success of Robinson came the slow disintegration of NLB - the league that was truly integrated on the field, in the stands and in the front offices - as MLB teams raided the club rosters for established stars and began scouting & signing younger players to contracts.

Snyder has brought this forgotten period beyond the shadows of the simplistic retelling of the past that plagues all levels American history.

Let me be clear, this is a great book, rather than just a very good one. In nine chapters, plus an introduction and conclusion, Washington, D.C., based attorney turned writer has told the powerful and sometimes provocative story of how the Homestead Grays moved to Washington, D.C., and set the stage for the breaking down of the color line in Major League Baseball (MLB). In this important book Brad Snyder moves beyond the singular actions of Branch Rickey's Brooklyn Dodgers and Jackie Robinson, which most people are familiar with, to explore the broader implications of race relations in baseball during the 1940s.

In telling this story, "Beyond the Shadow of the Senators" is filled with heroes and villains. The most significant hero is unquestionably Sam Lacy, a black writer with the "Washington Tribune," a weekly oriented toward D.C.'s large African American community, who consistently called for the desegregation of MLB. Also heroic are the great stars of the Negro Leagues, especially Buck Leonard, Satchel Paige, and Josh Gibson, all of whom came to Washington to play before large crowds in the nation's capital. They demonstrated through their exploits the quality of talent in the Negro leagues, especially when juxtaposed against the hapless play of the Washington Senators of the American League. The villains include Clark Griffith, the financially strapped owner of the Senators whose willingness to rent Griffith Stadium to the Grays proved lucrative, and Grays owner Cumberland Posey who shifted his team from the Pittsburgh area to Washington to cater to the large middle-class African American community in Washington. Both Griffith and Posey had every reason to keep the segregated system intact because of the money they made. Moreover, Griffith was a blatant racist who integrated reluctantly and eventually moved the Senators from Washington to Minneapolis-St. Paul because, as he said in 1978, "you've got good, hardworking white people here" (p. 289).

Ranging broadly from social history to baseball and back, Snyder captures the essence of the history of the Senators, the Grays, and wartime Washington's racial situation. It is a story of love and hate at the same time, as well as the quest for dignity of the minority population in a divided city. "Beyond the Shadow of the Senators" is a powerful book. Enjoy.

Brad is an excellent researcher and writer. This book is not only enjoyable but educational. I met Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe and Lester Lockett, two former Negro League players, a few years ago and their stories started my interest. Brad fed that interest beautifully. I look forward to Brad's next book on Curt Flood and the reserve clause. His attention to detail is consistent with his legal background.

Tim Moreland, PhD
Salisbury, NC

"Beyond the Shadow of the Senators'' is a must read for any serious student of baseball history. The author put a massive amount of research into this engaging account, of which I knew nothing even though I grew up in Washington not long after these events took place. This is an outstanding work in every regard. I have never met the author and I am not an African-American (not that anybody should care); I am just a fan of baseball and its history. If you are, too: Read this book.

This is a great, and true-to-life (i.e., "complex") story about the institution of 'Negro' League baseball and the various parties who profited and railed against it.

Key people that are introduced and brought to life are:
Buck Leonard, Satchel Paige, and Josh Gibson -- three of the greatest ballplayers who ever lived;
Clark Griffith -- the pioneering, penurious and controlling owner of the Washington Senators;
Sam Lacy -- the ahead-of-his-time, DC-native who tirelessly advocated for the integration of Major League Baseball; as well as
Cum(berland) Posey -- the shrewd owner of the Homestead Grays -- the dominant team of the loosely confederated Negro Leagues during the late 30's and 40's.

Tangential to this story are:
the decimation of the post 1933 Senators, mostly due to finances and an inadequate ballpark;
the relative prosperity of Washington DC during the years of the depression and WWII and the partial equality of African-American government workers that led to a vibrant culture and ability to spend on entertainment;
the move by Posey and his "partner" (many of the Negro League baseball teams were financed by numbers entreprenuers) to Washington from their Pittsburgh home and the welcome of their rental payments and gate pctgs. by Clark Griffith;
Judge Landis' death, the increasing awareness of America's incongruity in its fight for freedom and democracy in Europe while maintaining a virtual apartheid culture at home; and
the greed/opportunity of baseball owners to find the best talent at the lowest price which ultimately led to Rickey's "great experiment");

This book also fleshes out the background and conflict around Jackie Robinson, who was rightly judged to be a great man and the right vehicle for Rickey's efforst, and the shared opinions that he was a good, but not all-time great Negro baseball player. [Check out how well a 42-yr old Satchel Paige pitched for the World Championship Indians in 1948.]

The shifts in attitude between "separate but equal" and complete integration by the various parties reveal primarily self-interest. Judged by the standards of our time, I share many others' great respect for Sam Lacy and his tireless, moral advocacy and feel sorry for the Negro League baseball owners who were mostly left with nothing as they rarely had enforceable contracts that protected their relationship with their players.

Clark Griffith was an "innovator" in attracting inexpensive talent from Cuba. Many of these players represented themselves well on the ballfield but would only be acceptable if they were of "Spanish" descent.

Utterly inconceivable now, but the norm for over 60 years (since Cap Anson helped institute the "gentleman's agreement" against employment of African Americans in the early 1880's) was to allow a Major or Minor League ballclup to employ pretty much anyone (Swedes, Germans, Irish, Italians, Jews, etc.) anyone, except African-Americans.

It has often been discussed that without Jackie Robinson (& the parts played by Branch Rickey, Roy Campanella, Pee Wee Reese, Ben Chapman, etc.) the 1954 "Brown vs. Board of Education" decision would not have happened as quickly.

This book provides a wonderful companion story to the integration of major league baseball which, in my opinion, is one of the most significant stories of 20th Century United States.

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 really interesting look at the evolution of black culture through the lense of music. Some of the author's opinions about later music (50's-60's) may seem out of touch to today's readers, but overall it is well worth reading.

The origin of Africans in America and the music they produced over the last three hundred years was very interesting to read. Mr. Jones provides a chronological and historically based history of the evolution of Black music in America.

He also points out that when black music is accepted by the mainstream it becomes a diluted and pitiful shell of its former greater self. I agree. If anyone notices whenever a beloved artist goes mainstream, generally his or her music is so shallow, you wonder what happened to the real person. I guess it is all about the dollars. They want to get paid. They know that most folks in the mainstream society cannot take or intellectually and spiritually relate to the rawness of our people's music. It is too powerful and personal. The black experience is unique, which affects our worldview and attitudes.

However, the black folk, the masses, always create new music or keep the real music alive. We continuously create, and the mainstream is darn well lucky. If not for black folks, I don't know what in de world they would do with dye selves. Lady this would be such a dull place.

This is one of the most important books on America and American history, culture and citizenship. It would benefit the world if it were incorporated into public education. Someone said that nations are judged by their art and this book examines that subject superlatively. This study of the blues examines the evolving cosmology of the Africans and their journey and creation: the blues, one of the singular most powerful beauties of America. He shows how from the blues came all and embraced all other peoples and cultures. Baraka's ability to live the thoughts of the originators enables us to understand the profoundity of their sorrow and sublimity of their joy.

The other day a friend rashly claimed that art and music were equally hard to describe in words. I asked him to tell me about a certain painting of Picasso's. He did, but claimed it wasn't accurate. "OK," I said, "you're right, but now tell me about Mozart's Jupiter Symphony." He opened his mouth, closed it, looked at me, and said, "Yeah, I see what you mean." Writing a book about the blues would be equally hard, it seems to me. So, LeRoi Jones did what he could, back in 1963, to tie the indescribable to the more concrete. He wrote a social history of African-Americans in the USA through the prism of music or---maybe on the principle of red and yellow tile floors (are they red with yellow designs or yellow with red designs ?)---he wrote a book on African-American music through the prism of social history. It is one of the most important books on American music (and American society) that you can find. It has stood the test of time. He begins from the Africans who came to North America as slaves bearing very different cultures, confronted by an absolutely different view of the world emanating from their new masters. Here he tries to show how African music became transformed into African-AMERICAN music and then American. He continues then up through the generations of slavery, to Emancipation, migration to the cities, World War I, the Depression, World War II and the bebop age of the Fifties. The book is pre-Civil Rights movement, pre-Martin Luther King. Jones may have looked down on the NAACP and its allies as "white liberal supported organizations", I'm not sure, but they don't appear. The times are symbolized by the use of "Negro" throughout. I agree, the tome is dated, but don't reject it, don't pooh-pooh the man. This is a very intelligent, very worthwhile book. Anyone, particularly from outside the USA, who wants to know the history of African-American music within its social environment ought still to read BLUES PEOPLE. He writes, "If Negro music can be seen to be the result of certain attitudes, certain specific ways of thinking about the world (and only ultimately about the ways in which music can be made), then the basic hypothesis of this book is understood." [p.153] Jones goes to great lengths to get to the bottom of those attitudes and thoughts.

My main criticism, apart from the fact that history dictates that we must be left a half century behind contemporary realities, is that though Jones obviously knew and loved the blues and jazz and all the various styles ( if not swing), his approach is coldly academic, highly dispassionate. He may criticize people who tried to make money, he may downplay all those who "abandoned" their roots, but my disappointment is that there is nothing of himself in the work barring a few mentions of his family. He does not share his enthusiasm. Music is beauty after all. I am sure he wanted the book to be taken as a serious essay, which it is. But in keeping himself removed from the discussion, being so analytic and professional in the style of the day, he has robbed us "readers of the future" of many insights.

African-American experience in the USA expressed itself most particularly in the blues, only later did that musical mode become part of the general American culture, often watered down, sometimes imitated by those who didn't wish to fit in or who wished to cash in. When conditions have changed, when the black middle class has entered mainstream America, and the urban underclass is wrapped up in hip-hop, gangsta rap culture, which is relentlessly commercialized by the powerful media, talking about the blues may seem a matter for historians or ethnomusicologists. Still, BLUES PEOPLE resonates strongly if we try to understand where we have been. As for where we are going---that old line sums it up---we're goin where the Southern cross the yella dog.

I actually purchased the first paperback edition this book a long time ago, and I learned that it had been out of print for quite some time. It was a time when I was a casual listener of blues and jazz, and didn't think about the roots of the music I was listening to. The book was interesting enough, but it didn't have information about more contemporary stuff, as it was printed in 1963.

Recently, I found this book in the upper shelves of my library, having completely forgotten about it in spite of my infatuation with the blues for the better part of the last two decades. It was a most welcome surprise for me, as it contained a compact but comprehensive introduction to the time period from the first Africans came to America to the 1920s when their music was first recorded, and laid the groundwork to how this music evolved in a sociological context. The rural lifestyle, the reflections of the exodus from the south on the music and subsequent refined, urban sound are discussed in this framework.

Although it would not really appeal to the casual reader and listener, "Blues People" is invaluable for the serious blues and jazz fan for setting the music into the general context of social life and external effects that made this music what it is today.

This book was very insightful and I felt it put into words what I feel as an African American woman in today's society. I felt the characters are real and exist. Each story is unique. The one that stand out all by itself and is really great is Prince William blows Good.

I really enjoyed reading the stories from "Church Boys and Other Sinners."

Growing up in South America and having little exposure to US religions, I never realized how Christians in America behaved and thought. After I came to this country, I started getting involved with local church activities. That is how I realized how different they think and behave in America. Back home I get the feeling that people are involved with God, but they do whatever they want to do with their lives in their non-church time. There aren't so many "rules" to follow as there are here. You kind of accept that you are a Christian. You don't have to prove it as much.

Some of the stories, especially the first three and the Elwyn stories, showed me how the American kind of religion, or maybe religion in general, drives people to do things that they believe are wrong in God's eyes, and so often, despite their resolve, they end up yielding to temptation.

In the first story, Monique is this "statuesque" woman who has serious self esteem issues. In a way, she wears this mask and behaves like everything is fine, but inside she feels weak and wants to be loved. The first love of her life ruined love and trust for her when he played with her feelings. From that point on, she just couldn't value herself as she would have if nothing like this had happened. I feel like religion in her life was just a big disappointment. After having an affair with the pastor of her church, she saw him as a manipulator of minds; everybody's minds, including hers. She was not able to separate a relationship with God and religion itself. Moreover, the biggest disappointment was being dumped for the pastor's wife and being asked to pay for her own abortion of the child she carried for the philandering minister.

Allen redeems Monique by having her change over time, though. She realized that life was not a game and started giving herself more value as she rejects the pretty boy Johnny and never again answers his calls. I would really like to read a continuation of that story, which begins the collection. Hopefully, Monique will find someone trustworthy that would love and respect her and more importantly, teach her how to love and respect herself.

In "Get Some," this eighth grader, Junior, had even worse self esteem issues than Monique in my opinion. Junior could never get over the fact that his father left the family and perhaps even blames himself. Junior constantly rants that no one understood him, and even though he secretly wanted to be "perfect" like his father's other son, he would get into all kinds of trouble. In my opinion, the father figure was missing in the protagonist's life, and he did all he could to get people's attention. I feel like Junior was hostile and angry, but on the inside he was a sweet child just wanting to be loved and understood.

In "Thirty Fingers," the war within the main character between the realism of life and his idealism to keep himself "holy" is very well presented by the dialogs among characters as well as with himself. There is always a struggle to keep on being "the perfect brethren of God." Elwyn finds himself in love and gets very disappointed when he finds out that the love of his life is actually in love with someone else and even worse, committed a "horrible" sin. Angry, Elwyn, like every other human being, just yields to the desires of the flesh. I am actually very glad this story continues, but even if it didn't, I would have been glad with the end of it. Peachie did not deserve to stay with Elwyn, and in a way, he needed what he got. He is too selfish and too blind. He is too much of a "churchboy," which is the point of the whole book I think because these Elwyn stories continue throughout. In fact, after you finish reading the stories, even though only the Elwyn ones are connected, you feel as though you have read a novel. Great job, Preston L. Allen. I am surprised I haven't heard of you before. I am going to read more of your books.

I had the pleasure of meeting Prof. Allen at a seminar at a local library. My wife is an English student of his. I read the book and found it very entertaining. His writing skill is great. His life story from car salesman to auther is inspireing. His capacity to change into all these different types characters (and include your life occurances) in both Bounce and Church Boys and Other Sinners is spectacular. It is amazing how he can change from this intellectual man, into a poor woman. Amazingly, his stories were short, but to the point. His characters seem to deveolpe quite rapidly and mature fully as the story tanspires. I found it more enjoyable to hear his lecture and stories than to read them myself. As a speaker he is capable of capturing the audiences attention as well keeping them entertained, much as in his short stories. I wish he would consider writing novels or epic stories, preferably non-fiction (science fiction, fantasy just to name two). I really think his character development in these areas will defiantly get him a new audience as well as some writing award.

Preston L. Allen is a powerful new voice in African-American fiction. He evokes wonder, amusement, and profundity with every word. These (mostly) coming of age stories are at the same time absorbing and insightful, revealing the author's budding genius for the poignant epiphany and the wry-witted subtext. This is a marvelous book. This is African American literature--American Literature--at its finest and most unapologetic.

In many ways, this collection is a culmination of the pet issues that have heretofore been explored in Allen's diverse and expanding body of work: faith, affection, crime, fatherhood, duty, and especially forbidden and/or unrequited love, which I find particularly well done. For example, in both "Hoochie Mama" (his cynical literary masterpiece cum mystery/thriller) and "Bounce" (cynical literary masterpiece cum erotic urban romance), Allen's vision of romantic love is marked by overt sexual magnificence in the bedroom and a suppression of genuine emotion (or concealing of true desire) in the heart. In other words, there is a clear divide between the physical and the emotional as sexual dynamism replaces affections.

Thus, M Gantry, Allen's hoochie mama cop, can "physically" grope and be groped by her boyfriend Dake (the villain), but her heart yearns for the lesbian girlfriend of her childood. In "Bounce," Roderick Redd makes passionate love to Cindique, but his heart yearns for his ex-wife/cousin. The problem, as always, is that the object of true affection is forbidden, or restricted by a taboo (homosexuality, incest) that the protagonist adheres to.

In "Churchboys and Other Sinners," this idea is played out in a number of the stories: "C+ Baptist Virgin" has the black protagonist fall in love with a white woman; "Prince William Blows Good," an archetypal, Oedipal masterpiece, has the protagonist "desire" his vanished daughter; "His Baby Momma" has a bride-to-be responding sexually to her ex-boyfriend on her wedding day; In "Is Randy Roberts There?", Monique ever longs for Randy Roberts, her first love, no matter who she happens to be with at the time.

Nowhere in the book is the idea more advanced than in the four stories involving the teen evangelical Elwyn Parker in his pursuit of the much older and very beautiful Sister Morrisohn. First, Elwyn pursues Sister Morrisohn, but loves and longs for his childhood crush, Peachie Gregory-McGowan. Then the idea undergoes a brilliant pyscho/social extrapolation, as the protagonist's affection for Peachie wanes; namely, in the later stories we have Elwyn "loving" Sister Morrisohn, but "yearning" for the love he once had for God and the church.

True, it can be argued that perhaps Elwyn's longing is merely a sort of nostalgia, but the motif persists throughout the latter stories to the point where the grown-up Elwyn, long after the affair has so dramatically ended (I shan't reveal how), saying things like "God is Love" and visiting the religious haunts of his childhood.

Finally, Allen does something with this book that few titles by African-American writers have been able to accomplish successfully: he creates stories that are interesting and engaging as stories, not just as examples of the "ethnic" or "minority" flavor of the moment. I have seen him compared to langston Hughes because of his church-based themes, but that is only a superficial connection. I have seen him compared to John Hawkes, and that is perhaps more accurate, for both are master wordsmiths, storytellers, cynics, eroticians. The truth is that Preston L. Allen, with this work, has created genuine "literature" of the sort that Hemingway, Faulkner, Bronte, Shakespeare, and Tolstoi have created: Literature for the world. These stories are not strictly for African Americans, though the protagonists in each are black; these stories are for anyone who wants to read a good story.

Gertrude D., University of Florida

The Elwyn stories in this collection need to become a novel. I would pay to read that because they are funny, sweet segments, and the author comes pretty close to making some profound and unique statements about love and faith. Is Elwyn evil for loving Sister Morrisohn? Is their love a sin? They are so holy, and genuinely righteous, in every other way. The other story that touched me was "Get Some." Especially the idea of each of us being a diifferent colored crayon in the crayon box. "Is Randy Roberts There" is a trip! Men are little piglets! That one had me trippin. All the stories in the book are so good that I had to read the one I liked least, "JACK MOVE," twice so that I could really get it. I had come to trust the writer, and I knew he must be saying something in that one that I just didn't get. The second time through it, I focused on his style and the voice that was telling the story, and I came up with something interesting. This character, Chapman, the gay man, turned out to be a churchboy just like Elwyn in the Sister Morrisohn stories, but his question of faith is way more critical: does God consider his homosexuality evil? Notice that after his mugging, he flees back home to that place that he most associated, not with his father (who is just a symbol), but with his childhood and God. Childhood being the time we are most innocent and faith believing. Notice that the room is black and white: everything is either good or evil; he has come home to be judged by the God of his Old Testament. I started liking the story more and looking for symbols after that. I'm just guessing now, but his name is Chap-man (chapter-man--chapters in the bible man). His transvestite girflriend's name is cricket (locust--one of the plagues). Hannibal the bouncer (Hannibal tried to sack Rome, right, the seat of Christianity?). Another good story in the book is "Prince William," even though you will probably figure out its ending before you get there, it is excellent, merging jazz, blues, infidelity, and ambition into a Greek tragedy.

Nelly Fisher

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.

This is a very well-written, fast-paced, factually-based book. Chapter twenty-four, starting on page 155, about four-year-old Tidbit being used as gator bait by Clay Derby and his friends was especially enlightening (or sickening).

Title: Copper Sun
Author: Sharon Draper
Publisher and Date: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2006
Flesh Kincaid Reading Level: 6.6
Pages: 302
Genre: Historical Fiction

Copper Sun is the story of a 15-year old girl named Amari who lives in an African village named Ziavi. She enjoys spending time with her eight-year-old brother Kwasi and her boyfriend Besa. She is very happy with her life until her village is invaded by pale-skinned men accompanied by warriors from another African tribe, the Ashanti. Her village is burned down and many of the villagers are slaughtered, including her whole family. All the while, Amari is astonished that people from her own land could be helping the pale strangers destroy her village. She sees the shame in her boyfriend's eyes as he is shackled and taken aboard a slave ship. She experiences a feeling of intense loss as she realizes her family has been taken from her and now she is being sold into slavery. She deals with abuse and cruelty in numerous ways, and at times feels as if all hope is lost. However, Amari is a fighter and she endures all of the cruelties of slavery without giving up.

The story follows Amari as she is captured, taken on a ship across the Middle Passage, and brought to America as a slave. When she arrives in South Carolina she is auctioned off and sold to a plantation owner as a birthday present for his son. While at the auction, the plantation owner also buys a young, white indentured servant named Polly. Polly imagines her life as a servant in the main house of the master and is disappointed to find out she will be working with Amari in the fields and living in the slave quarters. Polly initially is prejudiced toward Africans, but over time she and Amari become friends. They also build close relationships with the plantation cook, Teenie, and her son Tidbit. Teenie helps Amari through the difficult times on the plantation, including being abused by Clay, the plantation owner's son.

Clay's stepmother is the only white person on the plantation who shows any sympathy for the slaves. Soon Amari finds out that she has a relationship with one of the slaves. This begins a plot twist with so many surprises that I do not want to spoil it for you! Soon Amari, Polly and Tidbit get a chance to escape from the plantation. The last third of the book follows them on their journey to find Fort Mose, where there is a community for runaway slaves.

Chapter's alternate between Amari's perspective and Polly's perspective which gives the book an interesting twist. Although the book may seem long for some young adult readers it has so many plot twists and surprises that it will keep you reading. Draper's story provides a detailed and realistic description of life during slavery with fictional characters that draw you in and a fast-pace that makes the story readable for any young adult, whether studying slavery or not.

Hello Everyone...I am an 8th grade English teacher and I just finished reading Sharon Draper's "Copper Sun." I almost don't have words to describe how amazing it was. If you are a teacher, you will accrue many cool points from your students if you read this book with them. It is action packed, and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Please read this whether you have children/students or not! It has completely enriched my life, and made me even more proud of the African American race's diligence, determination, and strength.

This is a story about a slave girl named Amari who was torn from her family and her homeland and forced to become a slave in america. there she meets a girl named polly who is an indentured servant, they eventually break free and make a run for the spanish colony hoping for freedom but constantly being hunted.
I have to admit I was bored during the 1st chapter, but as I kept reading I got more and more intruiged untill I just couldn't put the book down. Copper sun is an amazing book, and very insightful into the horrors of slavery and the ignorance, arrogance, and cruelety of white slave owners. I highly recommend this book

There has never been a better book about slavery than Copper Sun, though you go through some disgusting times with Amari you find the most painful thing is that actual people were treated like that! Draper is so wonderful in her writing, telling us exactly what it was like for Amari and I really felt like I was standing right next to her through the whole experience. Speaking of whole experience that's exactly what it is...the book starts in her home in Africa and we travel with here through the capturing of her and family members, the trip over seas, the slave action and her new home and ***spoilers (sort of)*** her final desicion! Great book HIGHLY recommend it to anyone.