African Books

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.

Ms. King-Bey has written an outstanding story. The story lines were easy to read and everything flowed together well.

Bruce Maxwell was a passionate man that truly loved Neferti. He was determined to protect her and he did so without her knowledge. I enjoyed this book. It dealt with mental illness, love, fear and anger. Would love concur?

Six months ago, Nefertiti Townes was viciously assaulted in her home. If it wasn't for her neighbor, Nefertiti knew she would have lost her life that night. Prior to the attack, Nefertiti was a vibrant, well-known artist with a loving fiancé named Dennis. But, now Nefertiti has limited hand movement and an ex-fiancé who ran out on her as she was recovering in the hospital because he couldn't phantom looking at her horrific facial scars. As a result from the brutal assailant, Nefertiti suffered thirty-six knife wounds from her head to waist and she almost lost her eye sight. Emotionally and physically hurt, Nefertiti turned to the only safe haven that she had known her entire life - Bruce Maxwell.

Bruce Maxwell, a successful and prominent business man, has a dark side which he refers to as the beast. With the aid of his beloved aunt and a special doctor, Bruce is able to maintain control over his beast. However, when Bruce learns that Nefertiti's brutal attacked might not have been a random event, his internal beast forcefully emerges with a vengeance.

Beauty and the Beast is an incredibly moving book. I loved Beauty and the Beast! Just like in the famous animated tale, the hero will do everything within his power to protect the woman he loves. I was deeply drawn to both Nefertiti and Bruce from the very beginning. After suffering a great tragedy, Nefertiti knew she could trust Bruce to keep her safe as she tried to cope with her emotional trauma. While Bruce was trying to break Nefertiti out of the cocoon that she had built around herself, he found it very difficult to ignore the life-long attraction that he has always felt towards her. Their connection as a couple, both in and out of bed, was simply amazing. The passion that flared between them was zealous and presented in a tastefully sensational manner. I found Beauty and the Beast to be a well thought out story that captured my heart. Thank you, Deatri King-Bey for creating such a wonderful recommended read!

Nikita
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

This story is a must read for all. It proves that beauty is only skin deep and beauty and love does tame the most savage beast. I read this book in one afternoon because I couldn't put it down. Great love story with a lot of intrigue to boot. A must read for all!

This is the first novel I've read by Mrs. King-Bey and I must admit when I first read the books description, I thought who wants to read about a guy who suffers with a bipolar disorder and a woman that's been horribly disfigured, however, I must also admit I am definitely impressed, this novel was beautifully written. In BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, Deatri King-Bey brings to light a story about finding the true beauty within. This novel was so realistic and thought provoking. It had me crying and LOL at some of Bruce and Nefertiti's antics. The emotion and love that was portrayed throughout this novel between Bruce and Nefertiti was just overwhelming. Despite the 'flaws' Bruce and Nefertiti suffered, be it physical or emotional, they were able to see pass all that and open their hearts to one another to a deep and unconditional love. This novel raised awareness about the bipolar disorder, it had mystery, action, humor and definitely some HOT and steamy love scenes. A real page turner that I couldn't put down until I was finished. Definitely a novel for the hopeless romantic and those that believe in fairy tales. Thanks for a real eye-opener, Mrs. King-Bey!

This was a good book, I loved the plot and the way it carried along. Ms. Forster is a great writer, but sometimes her verbiage is a little dated and well....corny. Don't get me wrong I don't expect or want her to talk like the street lit books in no sense, but still she could do better with 'real' expressions and actions, the verbiage used is more for like historical romance instead of modern day romance. None the less, this was a great read, I sat in my closet(hiding from the husband and kids lol) and read it in two hours. I'd like her to work on making the verbiage a little more realistic and modern other than that, it's great!

I borrowed this book from a friend to read during my lunch break and I could not put it down. It was well written and I felt as though I knew the characters at the end. I especially liked Amy.

Amanda and Marcus were both believable characters and their journey to love was very touching. I am definitely going to get a copy to add to my collection.

Keep up the good work Ms. Forster

Ms. Forster helps readers to understand the battle of the sexes. Beyond desire helped me to challege rejection in a positive way. I would have given up if faced with the conflicts Kate and Luke faced. Challenges in love regarding something you want can bring negative feelings and a defeatist attitude. Ms. Forster helped me not to take it all so personally. I learned to deal better with all the "Jessyes" in the world. Don't let them ruffle your feathers. I read about feelings that I have and felt better knowing that I was not "weird" for feeling I have when in the battle of love. Maybe too insecure. Ms. Forster, Thank you. Your book was a lesson in psychology. It was my first read but will not be my last.

Loved this book I also wanted to slap their heads together especially Marcus. I can understand his dilemma his es wife really worked a number on him that made have too much pride that he felt bought and stupidly walked and left the best thing that ever happened to him and Amy. Of course things work out in the end but I loved the characters in this book. Luke the supporting brother, rooting for the heroine Amanda, Amy the lovely daughter and Marcus the handsome hero - it took the knocks of life to teach him real beauty in a woman. He admitted the old rich Marcus would not ahve even looked at her (he loved them, fair and willowy in this fickle days). Many of our brothers are like that sad to say....

Ms Forster has done it again. Loved this book to death. Love how Amanda brought that stick in the mud, uptight Marcus to his knees. That's right girlfriend, make him beg! Much love to a great author, please keep up the good work!

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.

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 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.

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.

Good book Ms. Billingsley. I liked the storyline and the characters made me laugh, cry and I also got alittle irritated. I've read all of Ms. Billingsley's novels so far and I'm never disappointed. It's a trip how Vanessa has more drama in her life than the people she presides over in court. Dionne you love Roland THAT much? Rosolyn you shocked me. Aunt Ida do you have to be up in everybody's business?

I absolutely love all of Ms. Billingsley novels. She always leaves you wanting more. I hate when the story ends. I'm like a fein when it comes to her work. Very powerful stories that always leads the characters back to the WORD.

Like all her other books, this one was fantastic as well. Very well written. Made you laugh, made your cry. I could really relate to the characters.

Sisters Vanessa and Dionne seem to have trouble all over them. Older sister Rosalyn may not be in much trouble now, but she's seen her share and tries to assist as they try to get their selves in order.

Vanessa is brutal in her courtroom. She has dreams and her marriage sometimes collides with her time. When her husband is no longer capable of excusing Vanessa's missing in action tactics, she's caught up with pride and having to learn to not only forgive, but adjust. Is this marriage worth it?

Dionne, the baby of the trio, is used to being smothered with attention. She's in love with a man who hasn't vocalized his emotions for her. She knows he's married, but they are divorcing and Dionne is ready to be the newest Mrs. However, when love plays a cruel joke with her heart, Dionne is hell bent of seeking revenge. Will the woman scorned have love again?

I haven't had the pleasure of reading anything by ReShonda Tate Billingsley prior. I was engaged throughout the entire book and loved the way the bossy, intrusive aunt had her say. This is a book I'd easily recommend to all.


Reviewed by: Peaches

As `Can I Get a Witness?' opens we're introduced to Vanessa, a divorce court judge hearing a case about a cheating husband. Every day it was the same case, just different participants. The only thing that was appeasing was that this was simply a stepping stone to her political career. But what happens when, suddenly, the case being heard involves Vanessa and her husband? Not so ordinary now is it?

Rosalyn, the older sister, appears to have it all right. She's married to a preacher, with one son, cooks cleans and works. Her life is flowing correctly. But what her sisters don't know is that she's dabbled with the wrong and is now an advocate for what can happen. Will her sisters heed her advice?

Dionne has the ideal relationship, or so she thinks. Well it has a few flaws, but they are manageable. When Dionne finds out that in addition to her boyfriend being married that he has a girlfriend, she is no longer able to idly sit by. Will a decision she makes in haste destroy her plans?

Aunt Ida, the matriarch of the family, has a way with words. Despite what the girls get entangled in and whether or not they want her assistance, she's there; ready, willing and able to get them in order verse by verse.

`Can I Get A Witness?' is a wonderful novel about family, marriage and forgiveness. This is just one of those feel good reads.

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 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.

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

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.

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

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.

Being from Toronto, I have always had a keen interest in Rick James' career. Toronto is where he really started on his musical journey.
I waited a long time for this book and when I got my hands on it, I couldn't put it down.
I liked the honesty, candor of Rick's writing: he put it all on the line, the good and the bad. Great insight and details, along with lots of fab pictures, complete the portrait of the man. Almost.
Some things that the book missed: Rick's embrace of Islam while in prison; it would have been interesting to know how that happened and why. As mentioned in a previous post, I wanted more on Rick's view of rappers using samples of his songs, especially MC Hammer. We don't know how Rick really felt about rappers and contemporary urban / rap music.
In addition to the discography at the end, it would have been nice to see the chart positions of his albums and singles / re-mixes. Maybe a list of awards would have been a nice addition, too.
Overall, it is an intensely personal and intimate memoir of a man who led an extraordinary life. It is bare, raw and real. Totally refreshing.
Thanks Mr. James for the music and the memories. R.I.P.

This was a great book. It's wonderful to read about the life of such a great talent. His life story tells so much about his music and influence on his lifestyle. Then it's NO HOLDS BARRED! He doesn't omit any names in the Hollywood life of sex, drugs, and rock and roll.

Rick was something else. While I enjoyed his music, his writing was concise and entertaining all the way thru and I really enjoyed the pics.
Great insight into a musical genius the likes we may never see again.
DJ
Stockbridge, GA

After doing some (in-store and online) price comparison, Amazon's prices are definitely the better bargain "hands-down".

If you like Rick James this book is highly recommended. It is a book you will not be able to put down.