African Books

Brian Copeland's new memoir shows us the world through the eyes of an 8-yr old black boy and the challenges of growing up black in an all-white neighborhood and school. He never really got to relax and enjoy his childhood because life was pretty much a war zone for him. His absentee father would show up and verbally abuse him, as did potentially anyone he came in contact with. So he had no role model; he had to grow up too soon and become the man of the house. The protector of his mother and younger sisters. No one was in his corner. Teachers feared uprisings or job loss for taking up for him. As he got older he learned how to mask his fears and to use humor to cover up the painful past. The book also delves into mental illness. When suffering from tearful outbursts for no apparent reason, his psychiatrist likened his condition to PTST - Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. Dealing with that after all these years has made him a stronger person, and one who can reach out to help others. The book is a huge eye-opener. It is a heartwrenching read. But his humorous writing provides the foil needed to keep the reader from throwing down the book and drowning in despair and shame for what injustices blacks went through in order to get out of the ghetto and to have a productive, satisfying, prosperous life. While race is a big part of the book, Copeland insists his story is more about being an outsider and what skills outsiders can use to "cope" in a "land" of insiders. I highly recommend this book! I couldn't put it down! I am a richer person for having read it.

Brian Copeland shares his life story with us in Not a Genuine Black Man. It is insightful, touching and important. Although the subject matter of racial prejudice is serious, he tells the story with much humor to help us, and him, be able to get through it.

If you've ever seen Brian do stand up comedy, listened to him discussing topical news issues on his highly rated talk radio show or met him in person he comes across as being "not like other blacks".

Every white person knows someone like Brian. The co-worker at the office who doesn't have the "accent". Who talks about and does "normal" things. The one who is "just like us". The one who "doesn't play the race card". You've heard at least one person say "why can't they all be like him?"

There are white people who believe racism and discrimination are a thing of the past, saying that no one alive today was ever a slave and everyone now has the right to vote. They feel that African Americans just have a chip on their shoulder based only on injustices that happened a long time ago to someone else. For "proof", they point to African Americans like Tiger Woods, Barack Obama, Colin Powell, Dick Parsons, Stanley O'Neal, John W. Thompson and Oprah Winfrey. Surely they are "just like us", the theory goes, because they choose not to feel victimized by the ancient injustices others suffered.

Copeland lets us see behind the curtain. We learn of the pain that prejudice causes first hand through the eyes of Brian as a child and the toll that experience takes on him as an adult. We learn that with everything he has accomplished, there are white people to this day who say "Yeah, but he's still just a n____". We learn the pain doesn't stop with the discrimination -- when he refuses to make an issue of it and not let it get him down, there are those in the African American community that accuse him of not being a "genuine black man".

Brian let's us know that he is successful and "like us" not because he never experienced the pain of prejudice, but rather he is successful and "like us" despite it.

"Not a Genuine Black Man" is a must read with lessons for everyone. African American readers will surely relate to his experiences and the pain he feels. White readers may begin to understand it.

An ideal assigned reading for ANY and ALL high school/college level students. So poignant, humorous, self-reflective and blatantly truthful --Mr. Copeland's personal retrospective, analyzing just exactly what he knows (his life), comes entertainingly packaged in a wrenching yet totally engaging exhalation.

I'd say that this book IS GUARANTEED (yes, this is a superlative) to activate "the thinking mechanism" and elevate your class to that of an educational milestone. If there is one common element which student readers most respect, it's an author's iron-clad commitment to
"keeping it real". Well, Mr. Copeland's clever and stylish prose delivers a tasty dose of head-on reality which will move readers to a new and better place.

Reviewer's "poetic license" observation:

Inexplicably often, peoples' names accurately and ironically depict a significant measure of their calling. Mr. COPELAND, I'm personally thankful for you and your families' inspirational determination; I'm humbled by my ability to include you in this often recognized, yet little understood club.

NOT A GENUINE BLACK MAN: OR, HOW I CLAIMED MY PIECE OF GROUND IN THE LILY-WHITE SUBURBS

I enjoyed the book, but not for $14. I thought the author could have had more depth instead of simply recalling the past. I did enjoy learning about the Bay Area and the history of San Leandro, though. He is a funny man, but the book could have had a little more "meat".

Brian Copeland's "Not a Genuine Black Man" is a provocative and moving autobiography that begins the Copeland family's 1972 move into "lily white" San Leandro, California. Brian was then eight years old. And San Leandro (99.9% white) was using any method it could to maintain an all-white status.

Copeland, a San Francisco Bay Area TV/Radio celebrity, comedian, and author, is an excellent story teller and tells his story alternating between his arrival in San Leandro and an awakening at age 35 which led to an attempted suicide. "Not a Genuine Black Man" is more than the story of Copeland's struggles with overt bigotry and eventual depression, it is also the story of his mother's and grandmother's resilience that brought San Leandro into the post-civil rights era as a diverse, inclusive community.

The book's title "Not a Genuine Black Man" comes from a letter Copeland received from talk-radio listener which said, "As an African-American, I am disgusted every time I hear your voice because you are not a genuine black man. The letter becomes a catalyst for Copeland to explore his past and find out who he is. "Not a genuine black man...What does that mean?"

Upon reflection, Copeland sees that his mother really wanted white childre and did not want to associate with the black community. "I'm not one of these blacks." As a result, a young black child was faced with the challenge of growing up in one of the most racist suburbs in America with a mother who was trying to escape her black roots. Unknowingly, he had to develop a mask to protect himself from these truths...a mask that would lead to depression.

"Behind most of our masks is a truth that is hidden for a specific reason. Often we don't know what that truth is. I wasn't ready to deal with my truths, but ready or not, they started to bubble to the surface. Once that began to happen, try as I might, I couldn't get the toothpaste to go back into the tube. I knew I had to face the truth about my mother."

Today, San Leandro has changed and Copeland now feels proud of being part of the change. Members of all races worship side by side in the pews of churches of all denominations. His grandmother and, posthumously, his mother were presented with a commendation from the City of San Leandro for "their bravery" to make San Leandro a better place for all.

And as the City has changed, Copeland has also changed. He knows now what it really means to be a genuine black man - he is a "unique man" who has the resilience of his forefathers and the fortitude of his mother and grandmother. His experience is unique and it is a "true" black experience because this is his experience.

A human life is the most complex narrative of all: it has many layers of events which embrace outside behavior and actions, the inner stream of the mind, the underworld of the unconscious, the soul, fantasy, dream and imagination. There is no account of life which can ever mirror or tell all of this. Copeland has offered us a sample of this complexity and reminds us that black people are not a monolith with one lifestyle, one viewpoint, and one agenda. They are a varied lot like any ethnic group, each with their own complex narrative to tell. Narratives that we all must hear.

I'm sorry to say that this novel was just o.k. I love reading the rich history of the 1800's but the storyline was painfully slow. To me Olivia and Neil just didn't have that fire, true their lovemaking was hot but I don't know, I feel that something just wasn't there between those two. Now when they appear in Teresa's story "Wild Sweet Love", they're adorable. Teresa and Two Shafts are wild and crazy. By the way, does Two Shafts have a story of his own?

If only I could conjure men up like the ones in this book! Oh well, I will continue to fantasize.

As I have said before, I have not read romance novels since I was 16. I became bored with them. They were to unrealistic and did not speak to me as a black woman. And I am not the type to feel my mind with trash books. I have always been of the mind that only empty headed people read romance novels, not serious readers.

However, I love Ms. Beverly. The romance and erotica is just a small part of the story. It is not the story. She engages me intellectually too. So for folks who need some mental stimulation, with just a tad of erotica, she is the perfect author. It is not vulgar and in your face crap you would read in street or urban literature. She is superior to those folks. They are not in the same league.

A passage that caught my attention:

"Since the war, many of the full-bloods have conveniently forgotten the sacrifices my people made to the Nation. Contributions of men like John Horse and Gopher John are being conveniently forgotten, as are all the African-descended Seminoles who negotiated on behalf of the full bloods with the Spanish and Americans because we spoke all three languages. They definitely don't want to discuss all the battles we fought together so that everyone could be free. The full-bloods have bought into the Redemptionist ideal that we of African Seminole descent have no rights."

As always Beverly Jenkins delivered another knock out book. I have been a fan of hers for years. I eagerly await each new novel. The romance, the drama and history lessons she provides in each book is enlightening. I would love to meet a man like Neil and Two Shafts myself. Olivia played her role as intelligent black woman, but also showed her sensual side as well. God help us all if we had to marry men our fathers chose based on a business deal.

Believe me when I say I wanted desperately to like this book. I have been searching for years to find an African-American historical romance novel.
My critique with this story is not the "idea", the idea in itself is brilliant: a beautiful headstrong woman out West alone who meets a very virile & handsome outlaw who is just as attracted to her as she is to him. It wasn't until I had gotten half way through the book did I realize that although there was chemistry between our heroine and this outlaw nothing was happening. It was as if they were both AFRAID of one another. I know it was suppose to be because she was "innocent" and he was "wanted in her town". However I couldn't help but ponder why Mrs Jenkins the author didn't have the characters flirt more with one another. This BUBBLEGUM romance won't make you blush in the least. I bought the book 3 months ago and couldn't finish it.

Mrs. Jenkins has done it again! She CAN'T write a bad novel. As ALWAYS I couldn't put this book down! The storyline flowed effortlessly across the pages and the characters were well developed and UNFORGETTABLE as usual. I was TOTALLY caught up in the suspense of Neil and Olivia's romance. Not knowing what would happen with this couple, if they would even get together, let alone have any type of a future, kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole novel. I mean what kind of relationship could they possibly have, she was the mayor of Henry Adams and he was a WANTED outlaw?!! I love the way Mrs. Jenkins always makes her female characters not only beautiful, but intelligent, independent and full of passion. And the men, be they rich, poor, educated or not, outlaws or law abiding citizens, they're always the PERFECT gentlemen, and ALWAYS treat their women like QUEENS, and definitely know how to SATISFY their every desire. I enjoyed the family bond and loyalty of the July's, the way they take care of their own and the sometimes HILAROUS way they dispense their own brand of "justice". We also have the opportunity to get reaquainted with Chase and Cara Jefferson from "Night Song", Dix Wildhorse from "Topaz", Jackson Blake from "Topaz and Always and Forever", Griffin Blake, and the Preacher from "Taming of Jessi Rose" it was like one BIG family reunion, and I enjoyed every thrilling moment of it. I also hope if any of the above mentioned characters haven't had their own story written by Mrs. Jenkins, that one is in the works. A definite MUST READ!

I purchased this paperback version at Fisk University in August 1978 and it has been with with me since then. I love the recipes in this book and the stories behind them. I have my original paperback copy @$2.75 a copy. I cooked several recipes from this book, although I knew how to cook from my mother. I am sharing this book with my young co-workers in my office as the bible for Southern cooking and sharing a family story. I love the recipe for the potatoe salad and am preparing it for my company's picnic this week.

Thanks for sharing,
Loren

This is as interesting as a "reading" book as it is as a cookbook. The recipes are very creative, too. A lot of "homestyle" cookbooks just seem to be "1,001 things to do with canned soup" but this one isn't like that at all--the recipes are genuinely interesting and are varied, from ice cream to homemade wine to Sunday dinner.

I purchased this book in hardbound when it came out years ago. I used it until the pages fell out. Now, I'm older and can't consume so much butter and sugar other artery clogging ingredients, but for special occasions I pull this baby out and go to town. Mmmm-mmm-good!

This is definitely a keeper. I really wanted a good recipe for macaroni and cheese and my family loved the one that is in this book and requested that I make it again. It has that old fashioned consistency and taste just like my grandmother use to make when she was living. I can't wait to try the others. You can't go wrong with this book. If you don't know how to cook, people will think you can.

My mother gave this cookbook to me when I was in college. She wanted me to learn how to cook. I was a bookworm who was more interested in history than cooking so I always resisted.

She gave me the first edition of this cookbook a small paperback with the yellow cover and the same picture of the Darden sisters. Once I began reading this book I fell in love with the idea of learning to cook.

The recipies all worked great for me but what I really loved was how they tied each person to a group of recipies and how their family history was inter-connected to cooking.

It is a great cookbook yes but an even greater celebration of family.

So far, my favorite Coleman novel. Hailey was a female character I will not soon forget. I've read that "Before I Let Go" is in production to be filmed. Well, this one will definitely make a good flick. - Juan Mendez Scott, author of "Trusting October."

I have read all of Darren Colemans novels. All were great. This one did not disappoint. A page turner; I finished this book in 3 days. I was a little hesitant when I saw the cover of the book. I thought it would be a predictable read. But boy was I fooled. The story was really deep, kept me guessing. I could not wait to find out what was going to happen as I anxiously turned each page. The characters of Khalil and Honey were well developed. You start to feel for them as they struggled to find themselves and each other. Darren, if you are reading this, how about a sequel?

This is the best book Darren Coleman has ever written. I absolutely loved it. Keep up the good work Darren.

A TASTE OF HONEY WAS A VERY GOOD BOOK IT DEALS WITH LIFE PROBLEMS AND WHAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN PEOPLE ARE ABUSED A CHILD AND HOW IT CAN AFFECT THEM IN THEIR ADULT LIFE. THIS WAS VERY GOOD IT A MUST GET.

When I purchased this book I didn't think that it would be something that would keep my attention. That all changed before I finished the first page. The twist and turns that Darren Coleman threw in each chapter kept me turn the page to see what would happen next. I never expected Honey turn out the way she did. But with the start in life she had, I'm glad that it didn't ruin her.

I have just been introduced to Beverly Jenkins books. I wasn't much of a romance novel reader, but I bought Jewel and was so impressed by her writing style I ordered every book I could. I've just finished reading Vivid and I must say she has recruited a fan for life. I love the way she ties African American history into her stories, I'm in awe of the history I'm learning. This book was well over 300 pages and I was so disappointed when it ended. Beverly Jenkins writes the ultimate "take me away" books with the added history lessons.

This is the type of book you can read and re-read again and still get excited about reading it. As an African-American female med student, this book really intrigued me. To read how women of the 1800's, and not just African-American women, faced many obstacles just so they can live their dreams. It gave me motivation and pride to know females such as Elizabeth Blackwell and Rebecca Lee paved the way. I love, love, love the characters in this book. Vivid is sassy, independent, and intelligent. I liked the fact she knew everything about the human body like how to amputate a leg or give stitches but was clueless about the passion a man can give a women. Nate Grayson is that man to show her the way. Nate was so funny in a subtle way. He's strong, powerful and very passionate. I like the small town feel and how everyone looks out for each other. The unexpected twist and turns in this book will come as a surprise. You will feel the passion in this book so go get it!

Beverly Jenkins is awesome. Not only are her love scenes hot but you are given a wealth of historical knowledge regarding the reconstruction and subsequent jim crow period in our history. She is able to make you proud of our contributions and especially proud of our black men and the way they treat their families and women. She is great and the stories have plots that hold your interest and keep you wanting more.

I loved this book just like the other Beverly Jenkins books that I've read. Nate with his smokey gray eyes and Viveca with all of her stories just captures you and holds you. I've read and re-read this book and past it one to my friends. Beverly has done it again. Nate is such a realistic man, I've even used his line "I love you like the trees love spring rain" on my husband. Let's just say he smiled for weeks! I loved all the characters in the book and how well developed they were. This goes down as another favorite.

An example of fierceness and determinaton despite obstacles and objections during the era of fighting for womens' rights and equal opportunites. Dr. Lancaster was a ball of fire and a force to be reckoned with. She was dedicated to her profession as well as the members of the community, regardless of what the menfolk thought. If you're looking for a great read that exemplifies fearlessness and how we ought to be as individuals in the face of adversity...you won't be disappointed. Not to mention falling in love with a fine, strong man who accepts you for who you are and not what society says who you should be. Oh, and I must mention Magic..what a delight. Beverly Jenkins never fails on delivering great work.

Though Disney hasn't released the DVD yet, it has been released through affiliates who have links to disney.com. Search "Song of the South" on your web browser and you should come up with it. I think Disney is afraid to release it under their name, but are doing so undercover. I got one. The live scenes are a bit fuzzy, but not bad. The cartoon characters are clear and apparently were digitized. I doubt it will be on amazon for awhile as the sellers are few and want to maintain a higher price.

I am so glad I found this. Does anyone else think it's ironic that they changed the tar baby to a tar bunny?

What a treasure! Please release this wonderful film on DVD. It makes many important social comments & is very entertaining. This is one of Walt Disney's hidden treasures.

Please release Song of the South for all of us who remember seeing this movie as a child. I would love to share this movie with my child. It will always be one of my favorite movies. My mother, my sisters and myself going to see this movie is one childhood memory that I will always cherish. Please consider making this excellent movie available to us. Thank you!!

Song of the South is one of the most influential movies that I saw as a child. It shows us how to be happy in a lot of different situations. To have a positive attitude. The minority group should be very proud of this movie because the stories Uncle Remus told were positive reflections of life.
This day and age we need more old stories of being happy in tough times. Please release this movie. It is a part of history that should not be hidden.

Blue Monday is an interesting but not a compelling read. We never get inside Fat's head to understand the man, so we get an expanded discography. The dates, times and places seem to be well researched which begins to wear after a while. The matter of fact style just does not bring Fat's personal life into focus, although there are many descriptions of incedents about him. He remains a mystery in reference to his personal motivation, dual life style, and reclusive habits.
Russ H.

I guess if Antoine "Fats" Domino could keep the President and First Lady waiting, then he could keep us waiting for his first biography - this is a Natural Born book about a musical genius, intriquing personality, and unassuming cultural revolutionary.
The author tells his story and includes many entertaining anecdotes about life at home and on the road with several sets of support players - the greatest names of course being Dave Bartholomew, Herb Hardesty, and Lee Allen. We get a strong picture of the smiling, "safe" rock and roller, as the often defiant man's-man. And a complex artist/showman: he could sing The Rooster Song while flashing rings to make Freddie Blassie envious.
A great bunch of previously unpublished black and white photographs from Look magazine, among other handsome prints of lesser known shots really bolster the text.
A serious ommission for the audiophiles: not even a selected discography and no sessionography. [Though there are "Notes" in the back of the book on the mysterious Broadmoor recordings, including personnale and dates!]. Of course the '50s period sessions can be found as a booklet in the Bear Family 8-CD set, and in a European book, "Jazz Records"; also in a fairly recent issue of Goldmine magazine. But Fats Domino ABC-Paramount, Mercury, Broadmoor and Reprise FD session data has never, to my knowledge, appeared in print, and what a fabulous component that would have made.
Speaking of the ABC-Paramount tracks, the author did not mention in the text a very important 4-CD set, "The Paramount Years", which included the *incredibly* rare fourth l.p. for that label, plus the 1980 "If I Get Rich" from another record company!
The idea that "The Fat Man" is the first R & R record also doesn't agree with me. Yes, the elements are there, the upbeat shuffle and bright lead vocal, but that powerful sound (and many others by Fats in that '49 to '54 period) were not *primarily* for the youth. The first discs to be produced for teenage tastes came much later. I wouldn't even include "Tutti Frutti" in that category, as it too, lyrically and instrumentally echoed an earlier, "swingin'" sound. [It was "Ready Teddy" folks which screamed out...Rock and Roll!!!].
Still, this book should be "required reading" for those dedicated followers of those Rock and Roll Hall of Famers.

Boy ol Boy, Rick Coleman has written a great book on the TRUE story of Rock & Roll! I know as I was there and if you want to know what it was really like to be on the scene when true rock & roll was called race music on a juke box, Boogie Woogie and the down home blues was taking over the country then get this book and turn others on to it also. No one person was more responsible for the birth of R&R and R&B than the Fat Man! This was long before Elvis, Haley and the hand full of others came on the bandwagon. [...]

Rick Coleman's new book "Blue Monday" is the first full biography of Fats Domino. Many interesting things are therein.
- Fats was the first black rock & roll star. His records made the pop charts before r&r's dawn in 1955.
- Kids did not buy albums in the 50s, but Fats' albums sold, meaning he had an adult following like Louis Armstrong's.
- Fats concerts were often scenes of teenage riots. He may be known for `Blueberry Hill,' but his fierce rolling piano ignited his audience.
- "Blueberry Hill" was the product of a botched session. Engineer Bunny Robyn edited together the best parts of several incomplete takes and simply repeated the chorus.
- The string-laden "Walkin' To New Orleans" was a big breakthrough which traditionalists lamented. But it hit R&B (#2) even higher than pop (#6).
- Roy Brown once ditched a plan to have Fats open for him on tour. Fats never forgot it, and refused to have Brown open shows for him when the tables were turned.

Of the Big Five (EP, FD, CB, JLL, LR), Fats is the least lionized because he was not a "rebel." Historians normally embrace only people with bold lifestyles.

From his first record in 1949 until his harrowing escape from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Antoine "Fats" Domino has defined New Orleans and its culture. This book puts Fats, his city, and his music into perspective in amazing detail. In the process, Rick Coleman convincingly demonstrates that Fats and his collaborators--especially songwriter/arranger Dave Bartholomew and producer Cosimo Matassa--have as solid a claim as Elvis, Carl, and Jerry Lee with Sam Phillips in Memphis or Wolf, Muddy, and Chuck with the Chess brothers in Chicago as the prime architects of rock 'n' roll. The product of more than 20 years of exhaustive research, this is, surprisingly, the first biography of one of the greatest early rock stars. Coleman had his work cut out for him; Fats is notoriously reclusive. Nevertheless, you come away from this book admiring Fats's talent and drive, and Coleman's exhaustive research and evocative writing. All the other great Louisiana rockers are here--the bayou wild men, backwoods musical savants, and forgotten honkers, shouters, string-benders, and drum-thumpers who helped create the Crescent City sound. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to understand the real, complete history of rock 'n' roll instead of the revisionist pap that passes for such. -Mark Hoffman, co-author of "Moanin' at Midnight: The Life and Times of Howlin' Wolf"

The book is worth purchasing for the biographical background. His youth and adulthood were extremely tough and lonely. Hughes seems to have lost his religion early in life.

Excellent book and historical treasure that I intend to pass down to my grandchildren in the future.

I prefer his earlier stuff but there are poems in this book that make the entire thing worth it. Nude Young Dancer, Minstrel Song and countless others made me want to weep and smile. What can I say, I felt this guys pain...

If you haven't heard of Langston Hughes, I suggest that you purchase this, THE COLLECTED POEMS OF LANGSTON HUGHES, as an introduction to his style. Hughes was part of the definitive Harlem Renaissance Movement of the 1920s through the late 1940s, that was a very important period of time for African-Americans in the United States. For the first time, their voices were really being heard [and recognized] in the genres of music, writing, and sculpture, in this country.

This book is an amazing collection of five decades of his most powerful, intelligent and sensitive works. The poems start in 1921 through 1967. There are also several poems, written for children, that I didn't even realize Langston had penned! So beautiful and unexpected. What's more, one of his most well-known poems is featured, here, "What Happens to a Dream Deferred." Langston Hughes' views of race, society and social issues are truly timeless and compelling. For me, reading his works is like listening to a quiet, constant patter of rain on the rooftop, gradually growing with intensity, until the raindrops start flowing like teardrops from the great sky. That is how Hughes uses language. Essentially, he derives his beautiful rhythmic poetic language from an infinite river of words, he then pours them over on another and tells stories. This is truly the book to add to your poetry collection.

More than the exiled Eliott, greater than Walt Whitman, consistently clearer than Ginsberg, more powerful than Pound, freer than Frost, more American than Wallace Stevens, moreso even than the mighty Merton, here at long last is our greatest American poet receiving over-due respect.

A thick tome I purchased for my English learners which will instead fill my bed and my head for many cold and lonesome months ahead. Like the collected Poe, the collected Giovanni, an essential element to any American literature shelf, here for the first time meticulously researched and reported, with promise for more should any further works emerge. This is our American voice, clear and strong. This is the consummate volume of this great American poet, the one who wrote:

"( . . .) I've known rivers, ancient dusky rivers.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers."


May we once more grow deep with him, and by him. Read him, once more, here, complete and correct. Read him, and recall our America. Read him.

I started to write first rate mixed-race memoir, but hell, this is just plain first rate writing no matter how you slice it. As one of 12 kids in desperately poor conditions, McBride survived and triumphed, as apparently did all 11 of his siblings. And they owe much of this to their mother, who did her best for them. This is a "double memoir," being the story of both the author and his mother, a Jewish immigrant who survived an abusive and nearly loveless childhood, but finally found love - twice - and somehow successfully raised all those kids, the products of two good matches with men who took their parenting responsibilities seriously. I wonder if Barack Obama has read this book. There are undoubtedly personal and racial identity problems here to which he could relate. If I could call him up, I'd certainly recommend it to him. I'm also recommending it to another author I know, Stella Suberman, who wrote the warm memoir of growing up Jewish in the south, THE JEW STORE. But hey, I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know a little more about the nature of being a human being. - Tim Bazzett, author of Reed City Boy

Lets imagine that a Jewish author writes a book that features all the well known evil racist stereotypes of Afro-Americans. Everyone would be up in arms (justifiably) and condemn the book. Here we have a book penned by an Afro-American that contains many anti-Semitic stereotypes supposedly related to the author by his mother who pathologically rejected her Jewish roots, and everyone praises the book. I am both puzzled and offended. In addition if his mother had used the same child rearing practices 20 years later her children would have been sent to foster homes.

I think this story trancends race. It's really just a story of a mother who made choices and gave her all in an extremely trying environement. I was moved. I read this after reading Miracle at St. Anna which was great!

I enjoyed the insight into the authors life and experiences. I was a little confused as he went back and forth between characters at first, but figured it out quick enough. I thought it was a good read overall and was fascinated by the devotion of his mother to her children and Christianity. The successful lives of all of the children is a testament to the strength of his mother.

Excellent book which talks about transracial issues....excellent also for people considering adoption of trans racial children....very informative.....

I bought this book in the 60's in the Time/Life edtion, but didn't get around to reading it until 1995, when I was in Jalalabad, Afghanistan for a few weeks. Of course, that was the perfect setting, but from any viewpoint in the world "Eastern Approaches" is quite close to the perfect travel book. I left my copy in the library of the American Club in Peshawar, trying to save luggage room for Afghan textiles, and I was very sorry to learn when I got home that it was out of print. Now it's back, and I look forward to reading it again while sitting in my armchair. "Eastern Approaches" is a great read, and never more relevant than today.

This is an exciting autobiography, which I have read and reread over the years. Of particular interest is the author's introduction into the SAS.

This book will become a permanent fixture in your library.

Pre WWII, Maclean finagled trips through parts of the USSR where no westerner had previously been, even crossing into Afghanistan from the north at one point. He spent much of WWI aiding Marshal Tito's effort to drive the Germans out of the Balkans. Fascinating stuff, this, eloquently written and he's a damn good storyteller.

This book is of great historical value. The narration is witty and elegant. I would recomant it to everybody interested in European history.

This is a truly unique book and comparable only with Churchill's 'My Early Life' as an adventure history. Some people write adventure books, some people have adventures but Fitzroy McLean, like Churchill, or TE Lawrence, is able to do both. A rare treat and very easy to read.