North America Books

A relatively unknown set of books here in the states, but unfortunately so. The Famous Five series tells of the adventures of Georgina (George), her dog, Timothy, and her cousins Julian, Dick, and Anne.

Five Go Off In A Caravan is one of the three that ties for my favorite Five book. I love them all, of course, but this one is just chock full of humor, good food, fun, and excitement! It's summer hols again, and the Five are traveling in a pair of caravans. They make camp in an area that is also occupied by a circus! They make friends with a circus boy named Nobby and his mischievous chimp, Pongo, who becomes a source of much hilarity. But something sinister is going on in the camp and the children are sure that it concerns Nobby's "Uncle" Dan and his unpleasant friend, Lou the acrobat. What are they hiding and can the children bring them to justice in time?

I could only remember the word "caravan" from one of my favorite childhood book titles and after doing a search for this word was delighted to re-discover the titles of this and other "Famous Five" books. My grandmother must have picked these up for me when she was visiting the U.K. and I have such fond memories of reading these books that I plan on purchasing and re-reading them as an adult. Highly recommended!

One of the best in the series, and one of my personal favorites. This time, our five friends: Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy of course, set out on a holiday in caravans each drawn by a sturdy little horse. The trip starts off peacefully enough, but of course an adventure soon appears...this time from the circus camp located near where the five are staying. Why are Lou the acrobat and Dan the clown so eager to be rid of the five? Be prepared for the usual hair raising adventure filled with nasty tempered criminals, secret passageways and a lot of scrumptious sounding food. Pass the tomatos please! This book stands out thanks to the strange circus folk the five befriend along the way including a couple of circus dogs, a hilarious chimpanzee, and even an elephant who loves to play cricket!

Lynn Andrews tells a great story with a liberal sprinkling of Native American wisdom to give it heft and meaning. PLEASE don't make the mistake, as I did, of reading this before reading the first book in the series, Medicine Woman. The latter really sets the stage for all that follows, and the chronology is important in the first two efforts, in my opinion.

Whether or not you read these books as fiction or non-fiction, is not paramount to their strengths. Lynn Andrews is similar to the wonderful Carlos Casteneda, but more accessible, I would venture to say. These works succeed on several levels, and have rightly remained very popular.
Read and enjoy!

In Flight of the Seventh Moon, Lynn Andrews compellingly chronicles her continuing apprenticeship to the Native American shaman Agnes Whistling Elk and her spiritual quest for the ancient wisdom of woman. This companion volume to the highly praised Medicine Woman details the circumstances that urged Lynn Andrews once again to leave her home in southern California and return to Manitoba, where she had first been introduced to Native American lore and the tribal shaman ways.

In the aftermath of all that befell her, culminating in her dramatic recovery of the sacred marriage basket from the powerful sorcerer Red Dog, Lynn discovers that she needs further protection from the treacherous Red Dog. She recognizes also that her safety depends upon the strength and insights that can only come with deeper commitment to the medicine path. Thus, in Flight of the Seventh Moon, we journey with her back to Agnes Whistling Elk and Ruby Plenty Chiefs, under whose guidance she begins her initiation into the teaching of the shields -the ancient path of protection and power handed down from generation to generation of Native American women.

Through a series of visions and ceremonies, Agnes and Ruby led their apprentice to profound new understanding of her womanliness and selfhood. As part of the learning process, Lynn is introduced to Grandmother Walking Stick, "a crystal medicine woman...a warrioress and teacher." Who is the mentor of Agnes Whistling Elk. Central to Lynn's rites of passage is her construction of her own medicine shields. "Learning to make a shield is the process of fitting together the shattered pieces of oneself into a whole. This puzzle becomes a working mandala, a shield that we carry in our everyday life." As she builds her defense against Red Dog's powers, Lynn earns a place in the inner circle of the Sisterhood of the Shields, a secret society of shaman women who follow the most ancient traditions of woman.

In Flight of the Seventh Moon, Lynn Andres perceptively and grippingly describes the competing forces of white and black magic in which she becomes entwined; her growing awareness of her own innate power as a woman, which draws upon the substance of earth and sky; and how she translates her newfound understanding into the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual aspects of everyday life. Flight of the Seventh Moon reveals dazzling interior landscapes of mind and heart exploring long-hidden areas of Native American culture and mysticism and sharing with us a process of learning a path of knowledge that leads us toward "balance, wisdom, and a more complete view of truth" too long denied by patriarchal society.

While reading this book in a dark, wooden, cave-like basement apartment, I was mesmerized by this woman's journey into a personal spiritual realm. Discoveries, dangers, and strong ties to surprising teachers wove a fascinating tale. More than just a book - it contains a treasure-map to claim one's own strengths. As soon as I finished, I wanted to begin my "education," and did.

If you like history, Native Americans and feel that part of you would like to live in the past, and especially Florida, this is a wonderful read. You can feel the excitement of carving wood with ancient tools made by the author and sense what it is like to make arrowheads from the earth. Another hands on book of high regard is Walking the Trail by Cherokee author Jerry Ellis. He was the first person in modern history to walk the 900 mile route of the Cherokee Trail of Tears. Inspiring, compelling and hard driven, this spiritual book was nominated for a Pulitzer and National Book Award.

Mr. Brown goes a long way to test his theories. Recreating the articles of every day life was at times arduous and demanding, but his work was not in vain.
What I liked most was the practicality of the author. Instead of writing from the lofty towers of "academia" and pure theoretical knowledge, he and his small band of peers proves the discoveries and findings at archeological digs are based on real events, not some kooky theory. The people described did exist, and after reading this book they will become more real to you.
The knowledge gained from reading this book is immense and is time well spent.

This is the best book I've read on Florida's Paleo-Indians so far, not only for identifying pottery, tools (both shell & stone) and other artifacts, but the author's details on reconstructing the methods of creating and using the same, are wonderful. The photos and drawings of hundreds of different potsherds are alone worth the price of the book. At last I can not only identify the many pieces I have picked up over the last several years, but gain a greater understanding of the people who created them.

What can i say. I have numerous books on the subject and this one, like all the others books written by Turner, are top ranking. With detaild information on how the plants were used by indiginous people.

This richly illustrated book details over 150 plant species used by First Peoples/Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest Interior.

Revised and redesigned for easier use, this handbook includes detailed botanical descriptions and notes on habitat and distribution.

Groups covered are the Stl'atl'imx (Lillooet), Secwepemc (Sushwap), Nlaka'pamux (Thompson), Okanagan, Ktunaxa (Kootenay), Tsimshian and Athapaskan groups in the north, and others in northwestern U.S.A.

Nancy Turner explains how aboriginal peoples harvested, prepared and preserved the roots, leaves, fruits and other parts of wild plants. She also describes some non-native food plants used by interior peoples and several species they considered poisonous or inedible. Color pictures enhance descriptions and make identification easier.

This book is really impressive. It has a lot more information than a standard "pocket guide" book. There are numerous food sources in this book that i have never seen in other similiar books. an example: this book explains in detail how native americans harvested the inner bark (cambium) of the western hemlock to make a flour like substance. I have never read this in any other plant books. The book also includes information on how to prepare the food in traditional ways, as well as stories related to particular plants. All in all, this is probably the best book I know of concerning edible wild plants in the pacific northwest.

The book was sensitive and beautifully written.

There are many things still forbidden to the deaf in the year 2,000 (disgraceful)! Here are a few more sundry attempts to prevent the deaf from exploring their right to fully communicate or make their language fully credible, valuable and valid. I call it DDD or Dumbing the Deaf Down. 1. The linguists, educators and interpreters all say sign language is a visual language, therefore it cannot have a written form. Even the deaf have bought this myth hook, line and sinker. To prove my point, English is a vocal language. Does that mean English should not have books filled with words? No one should be able to write letters, type, keep documents etc.? How loonie that would be. 2. The experts all say, "Home signs are invalid", there's "no use for them", they are "wrong" and they "arn't accepted" (by the Ph.D. community I guess), etc. Who's language is it anyway? Why shouldn't all signs be documented? Why should some signs die when the old deaf ones pass on? Why shouldn't there be a 2 way sign language dictionary that anyone at any age could access? Have no fear! A team of concerned parents are doing just that. As of this writing there are 9,000 signs in written form, and 3,000 left to finish. 1,800 signs are now in alphanumerical order with 10,200 left to be placed in a 2 way dictionary. If anyone has a problem with this and wishes to debate the issue, I'll be more than happey to oblige. wercozy@wvi.com

Juxtaposed against 'democracy' the oralism movement was fundamentally authoritarian to the core.

Like the schools which missionaries set up to 'tame' the Indian tribes which they encountered, these institutions wanted to make the 'deaf and dumb' as they were once called, assimilate by any means necessary.

Signing was considered backwards and primitive, speaking was thought to be the only 'civilized' marker of civilization.

However, Douglas C. Baynton clarifies that at these institutions, the students practiced their own models of resistance. He also stresses that being deaf is not a limitation, but a distinctive culture, like Spanish or Polish is commonly thought of. Therefore it is impossible to obtain a complete translation between English and ASL in all cases.

Academic works can be pretentious, but this was a definite page turner. I felt a little let down that his chronicled history did not examine the 20th century. It would be interesting to see what forms this campaign is taking in an era when people with disabilities are supposed to be included in greater public participation. I doubt that it completely disappeared. Plus the transformation of Gallaudet University from a site of oralism to the DPN now protests and open embrace of ASL could have provided interesting research certainly within this book's reach.

It remains an important work in the too under-known field of disability studies.

Quite honestly, I expected to be bored out of my wits by this book. The subject matter was interesting, but it started out as Baynton's doctoral dissertation, for goodness' sake! It was going to be a dryly written academic bog.

Wrong. Baynton's style is witty and positively lyrical, a pleasure to read. Indeed, I was surprised at the short time it took me to finish.

This is not to say that the book suffered from a lack of hard content- far from it. If "When the Mind Hears" intrigued you, "Forbidden Signs" will leave you riveted. Baynton reaches startling conclusions which are so logical that, in hindsight, they seem self-evident. Of particular interest was his chapter on gender in the oralist movement- you definitely won't see that one coming!

I hate to seem excessively gushy, but Baynton has produced a marvel. I only hope there's an equally good sequel in the works. :c)

I have read a number of histories of frontier posts over the years and this one exceeds them all. Mr. Buecker provides an immense amount of detail on how Fort Robinson came into being and all that transpired there from 1874-1899. On that count, its past is far more interesting than that of some of the post-Sioux War posts such as Fort Meade or Fort Custer. Camp Robinson (as it was still known in 1877) was the scene for the dramatic and tragic death of Crazy Horse in September of that year. In January, 1879 Fort Robinson played host to another dramatic event as the Cheyenne imprisoned there after taking leave of their Oklahoma reservation attempted to break out and continue their journey to their traditional Montana homeland. The author provides a very good, concise telling of that event.

Beyond that, Mr. Buecker constantly reminds us that for most of the time, normal garrison duty occupied the various companies stationed there over the years. He does a very good job in describing what constituted the way of life for the officers and enlisted men stationed there. In the 1880s, the garrison included the famed Buffalo Soldiers of the Ninth U.S. Cavalry. He also explores the complex relationship that existed between the soldiers and the Lakota of the nearby Red Cloud agency during the early years of Robinson's existance. The relationships were varied and alive (for example, Chief Spotted Tail dined with offices in their quarters), not the one-dimensional, frontier soldiers hating/abusing the Indians as modern myth so often erroneously portrays late 19th century Frontier Military-Indian interaction.

If you are interested in the Sioux Wars, the frontier military, Crazy Horse, the Northern Cheyenne or the Buffalo Soldiers, you should not be disappointed in this book. It should be added that Mr. Buecker was well-prepared to tell the story of Fort Robinson since he serves as the curator of the Fort Robinson Museum in northwest Nebraska. I must also add that both the Museum and the present-day fort (now a state park) are well worth a visit.

Fort Robinson And The American West 1874-1899 by Thomas R. Buecker (Curator of the Fort Robinson Museum in Crawford, Nebraska) is a close and authoritative look at Fort Robinson, a place that witnessed many stark and brutal clashes between whites and American Indians, including the Cheyenne Outbreak, the death of Crazy Horse, the Ghost Dance, and the tragedy of Wounded Knee. Historic references, government records, reports, correspondence and other primary sources form the core of this thoughtful, sober, scholarly analysis, which is a welcome contribution to American History shelves, Native American Studies collections, those reading lists dealing with the history of the American Western Frontier.

Fort Robinson, located in northwestern Nebraska, played an important role in the affairs between the military and the Indians on the Plains. Thomas Buecker's history of the fort is both informative and a delight to read.

Fort Robinson was established in 1874 after troubles occurred at the nearby Red Cloud agency. Intended at first to be only a temporary cantonment, it wasn't long before the strategic importance of the fort was realized. Unable to stem the tide of gold prospectors into the Black Hills, soldiers from the fort played an important part in the Great Sioux War that followed. The successful expedition against Dull Knife was launched from there. In 1877, the fort witnessed one of its greatest tragedies when it became the place where Crazy Horse was stabbed and killed, although two years later this notoriety was almost matched when 64 Northern Cheyenne were killed when trying to escape. In the 1880s, the fort became the base of operations for the Ninth Cavalry, the "Buffalo Soldiers." The Ghost Dance uprising at nearby Pine Ridge in 1890 was the last great event involving troops at Fort Robinson. The fort became a sleepy reminder of times gone by by the end of the century when Buecker's account ends, though the fort was brought back to life during both World Wars as a supply and training center, and as a POW camp. Today it's a handsome park with an excellent small museum.

Buecker, who was (is still?) the curator of the Fort Robinson Museum, has written a wonderful book on the fort. Historically detailed, Buecker is also careful to relate what life was like for the soldiers who lived there. It gives an excellent view of not only a specific place, but of a time too. Also useful for historians is Appendix A in which Buecker lists all the military units that ever served at the fort. It's a great book on the American West. Highly recommended.

For anyone interested in Native American pottery, this volume is a must-have.

We are lucky enough to have met Florence Chavarria Browning of the Santa Clara pueblo, and to have purchased one of her spectacular black pots.

These particular pots are not glazed, but fired specially to create the pure, colt black of black onyx, darker than coal, and softly glowing. Very few artists have skill enough to burn these amazing pots, and this book, introduces readers to the best of them.

almost every piece of pottery I have is represented in the book!

This is a wonderful detailed book of the the finest potters to be found in the southwest. This new expanded edition provides great family trees of the finest of Pueblo potters. If you're planning a visit to the Southwest and hope to meet some of these potters, it is the perfect companion book to The Native American Indian Artist Directory that will actually provide phone numbers and mailing addresses for many of the potters found in this outstanding edition.

The Library of America has done it again - directing me toward this priceless book by Francis Parkman, whom I had heard of but never read. It is perhaps the best accounting I have read thus far about the era and aura surrounding historical depictions of the Oregon Trail. It began in diary form, fleshed out later into a splendid historical novel. He is a marvelous writer, a factual storyteller; equal to if not surpassing Mark Twain's captivating talent, in my own opinion; but more importantly, he was a remarkable man of solid character and it is readily apparent, thus adding credibility to his every word. His wit and prose are truly out of the ordinary and he uses both to great effect to capture the imagination of the reader which he accomplishes virtually from the first sentence. A remarkable work and one that will last through ages more, unchallenged as not only the last of it's kind, but as the best benchmark for any historical endeavor that may yet be written about the Oregon Trail.

He was a young adventurer, who set out on the Oregon Trail mostly because he could. His was a journey destined to explore the Indian Nations if he could - in all their original state of gore and glory. This became an obsession; something he required of himself while he was on the prairie - and he shrugged off life-threatening illness, hardship and peril to write it down as he saw it roll before his eyes. They accepted him into their lives and their village, not without some trepidation, but with hospitality as they knew it nonetheless. As he moves within their culture through this short time, he notices everything down to the slightest detail, providing excellent insight into the daily rituals of plains Indian life. His descriptive passages of the moving of the villages, complete with dogs, children, warriors and old mothers, fathers and, of course, the Chief are remarkable in that it required not only tactful diplomacy, but astonishing bravery as well. He remarked, but did not dwell on it, nonetheless, the reader senses the acute danger present with every step along a path such as this.

There was also much humor through everyday occurrences that he never failed to note. One passage comes to mind from pages 206/207 and it's regarding, of all things, a dog being admonished for bad behavior by one of the native women: "....scolding an old yellow dog, who lay on the ground with his nose resting between his paws, and his eyes turned sleepily upward to her face, as if he were pretending to give full respectful attention, but resolved to fall asleep as soon as it was all over.."

His eyes beheld Fort Laramie in it's hey day, the mountain men of self-exile and boundless energy when in pursuit of the beaver, the lazy and the disagreeable, the "complexions" that had little to do with who you were in such a primitive yet natural scenario. But it is not primarily the culture differences or the human aspect - wild and therefore superstitious vs. civilized and educated - of his accounting but of his open mindedness, his willing to look beyond surfaces of people unlike himself and search for the soul within; the search for fact and truth what ever it was, where ever it was, and whomever it belonged to. He held a genuine interest in his undertaking and his virtual pen was faithful in that regard. His eye for beauty and appreciation of the boundless and magnificent wilderness excursion fills the reader with longing to have experienced such as this themselves, even though most of us know it takes a separate breed of individual to breach the hardship inherent in such a journey. And, as one who has grown up in the West, it is easy to spot a counterfeit.

Truly a masterpiece of Western Americana, taking it's rightful place alongside Mari Sandoz/s "Old Jules".

I highly recommend this two-volume historical book to anyone who is interested in factual narrative adventure, Indian Nations as they were or first-person American History, especially during the Westward movement.

David McCullough and Theodore Roosevelt both say that they consider Francis Parkman to be their favorite historian and the author who had the greatest impact on their own writing. If you read the Oregon Trail you will understand why.

Parkman made his journey in 1846. It was before the Civil War, and 15 or more years before the West portrayed in most westerns. The outposts of the American Fur Company were 700 miles west of the farthest reaches of the U.S. Cavalry, and Parkman was truly on the cutting edge of frontier. This is a very different view of the West than we get from the movies.

What is most interesting here is the portrayal of the American Indian. Traders, merchants, immigrants, trappers, and frontiersmen live side by side with the Sioux Indians. The Sioux are are war with the Crows, and the six nations are gathering to finally wipe the Crows from the face of the earth.

The West resembles a multi-racial society, where the settlers and traders try to get along with everyone, but where the Indians seem to have a little more trouble than the settlers living in peace. The Sioux look upon the trading posts as a source of protection and manufactured goods. They leave the bodies of their dead chiefs on scaffolds nearby Fort Laramie for protection, to keep the Crow from desecrating the bodies of the dead.

There is a great deal of mixture between whites and Indians. Traders and merchants have squaws as mistresses or even wives, and the families, the in-laws, live inside the fort with them. During one pare of the journey, Parkman leaves the Oregon trail to go with a friend and find his dying wife, a Sioux squaw who is with the tribe.

This book is a classic. It is the type that should be read by every educated American. On top of that, it's well written, and as timeless as any modern American history.

This volume is a reader's delight, for it presents not one but two of Francis Parkman's classic works: The Oregon Trail and The Conspiracy of Pontiac. Rightly hailed as America's greatest historian, in The Oregon Trail Francis Parkman relates a journey to the 1840's American West - undertaken for the express purpose of living among "real" American Indian tribes of the Great Plains before their way of life passed forever. By this experience Parkman hoped to better understand and relate what eastern tribes had so tragically fought for and lost in the preceding century's struggle for the continent. The Oregon Trail is a great book in its own right, and has been reviewed by this reader previously (see more in "About Me/Other Reviews"), but the primary focus of this review is Parkman's study of a crucial chapter in the development of North America as we know it today: the disastrous consequences France's defeat in Canada would bring to the remaining eastern tribes. For this event would inexorably lead to the explosion of the English colonies across lands heretofore held by them under French "dominion".

While the Iroquois Nations had long maintained an uneasy alliance with the English as they pushed their way into the western reaches of New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia, those further west knew what the defeat of the French would bring: utter destruction. The Ottawa, Ojibwa, Pottawattami, Delaware, Shawnee, Illinois, Sauk and Foxes had long fought the intrusion of the arrogant and land-grabbing English from Quebec to the Mississippi. Pontiac himself had fought beside the Marquis de Montcalm as he tried in vain to save New France from ruin during the French & Indian War. But at last, in the mid-1700s France finally capitulated to her English rivals, her hold on the North American continent broken forever. The only task left to the conquerors was to make their way across the Great Lakes, into the valleys of the Ohio, and down the Mississippi into the Illinois country to make their claim upon the former French forts and trading houses. For a brief time a singular leader and a dozen nations blocked their way: Pontiac and his assembled allies.

Parkman sets the stage by briefly relating the history of France and England in America from the early 1600s-1760s, then meticulously details the source of the tribes' many grievances - grievances which would directly lead to Pontiac's bold attempt to decisively halt the English advance.

Though doomed to ultimate defeat against the onslaught of English guns and armies, traders and pioneers, for a short time Pontiac's initiative was remarkably successful. He brought war to nearly all of western America at the same time - from the siege at Detroit to the forests outside the gates of Niagara, from upper Michigan and Wisconsin to the Ohio valley, into western Pennsylvania, Virginia and New York, down the many rivers and tributaries leading into the Mississipi. A dozen forts fell before him and hundreds of miles of frontier settlements emptied in terror.

Parkman's work is perhaps the best chronicle of many of these tribes' last desperate fight for their lives and land. Those interested in the history of the struggles destined to come shortly to the tribes west of the Mississippi will derive much insight from Parkman's treatment of Pontiac's war. For his "conspiracy" was the original "last great battle" for the "American West" - 100 years before the battle for the further western Plains would come to an ignominious close. To understand Pontiac's war, the motives of both his people and the English and French, as well as the burgeoning force who would soon thereafter cast off their identity as "colonists" is to understand much of what would follow as American history.

Syracuse New York

My brother happens to be gay and I got him this book for christmas. He LOOOOOOOVES it. He says it's one of the best books he's read in years.

Just my two cents.

Forty-seven black gay male writers speak boldly about who they are and the world they live in in this outstanding collection of poetry, prose, essays, and fiction. Edited, compiled, and thoughtfully prefaced by best-selling novelist E. Lynn Harris, Freedom In This Village is both vital and entertaining as it dazzles with a myriad of rich literary styles and re-challenges with thought-provoking, soul-stirring discourse.

How wonderful it is to revisit Exxex Hemphill, regarded the premiere black gay poet in America at the time of his death from AIDS related complications in 1995. His bitter/beautiful five-part poem about love and lust in the ghetto, "Tomb of Sorrow" (1989), represents him here: "Gunshots ring out above our heads,/ a few of us are seeking romance,/ others a piece of ass,/ some--a stroke of dick./ The rest of us are killing./ The rest of us get killed."

From James Baldwin's excerpted swan song "Just Above My Head" (1979) to Randy Boyd's infuriating interracial fiction excerpt "Walt Loves The Bearcat" (2004), we are treated to, shocked by, and enthralled with the literary profound and profane.

Marlon Riggs' 1991 essay "Black Macho Revisited: Reflections of a SNAP! Queen" is a powerfully on-target indictment of black America's distorted view of Black Macho and it's relegation of black male homosexuals to Negro faggotry and minstrelsy, while editor Harris closes this volume with trademark pop lit (What I Did for Love") that dangles enough to hold promise of a new series wide open.

Marvin K. White's "FOR COLORED BOYS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED S-CURLS WHEN THE HOT COMB WAS ENUF" (1990) still retains its sass and sting. Don Belton's 1994 interview "Where We Live: A Conversation with Essex Hemphill and Isaac Julien," conducted on the heels of Marlon Riggs' AIDS related death, is a conversation around Riggs' film "Black Is...Black Ain't" which exploresd the nexes of black identity and masculinity and features appearances by Hemphill, bell hooks, Michelle Wallace, Cornel West, and Angela Davis.

Novelist/journalist James Earl Hardy, founder of the Afrocentric gay hip-hop romance genre, is representred by an excerpt from his classic "B-Boy Blues" follow-up, the satisfying but lesser "2nd Time Around" (1996), Vega by his gentle 1989 poem "Brothers Loving Brothers," while Carl Alan Johnson's 1993 "Post-Nulcear Slut" still reads as fab-nasty as ever.

This collection is too rich to ignore, too diverse to fully assess in this small space. Suffice it to say that this is a keeper to be visited often.

Finally, I must echo the sentiments of a previous reviewer. Reading these wonderful pieces, knowing that so many of the authors have been taken away from us by AIDS--Hemphill, Riggs, Joseph Beam, Steven Corbin, Melvin Dixon, Gary Fisher, David Frechette, Craig G. Harris, and Assoto Saint--is a sad reminder that we have been given limited access to these brilliant minds. So let us cherish this book for its rarity as much as for its insights, illuminations, and artistry.

E. Lynn Harris should be commended for this tremendous undertaking and achievement.

I just started reading it (smile) but am compelled to write the following...If you are a lover of Black Gay Male Literature then this is the book to purchase.

Freedom In This Village: Twenty-Five Years of Black Gay Men's Writing edited and and with an introudction by E. Lynn Harris.

I happened (smile) to be coming from The Abbey during my time home in Los Angeles last week when I passed A Different Light Bookstore. I went in and displayed prominently was this book and of course, I had to have it, and so I bought it, and anticipated reading it once I completed "The Last Dream Before Dawn."

I started reading this book last night on the 2 train (New York City) and while I was reading "About The Contributors" a combination of anger and sadness came over me and one that at this time I cannot capture but it was more to the fact that we need books that celebrate us...Black Gay Men

I was saddened by the number of men who died of AIDS related illnesses and was like what are we doing, what am I doing, to honor these men who made it possible for me to be one that to some degree has a bit more "freedom in the village" than they did.

As I was looking through the "Table of Contents" I saw some familiar names and new names that I look forward to reading.

We need or rather I feel we need books like this on the regular as there are so many voices as one is not merely enough and also cannot tell all our stories.

I implore you, each of you, to rise and have your voices heard and if you are a lover of Black Gay Male Literature then by all means purchase this book if not for you then for someone else.

With that said, I have some reading to do (smile)...

This book should be mandatory reading for any course about the civil rights or black arts movement of the 60s. Freedomways magazine, edited by Esther Cooper Jackson, chronicled the entire civil rights and black arts movement with insightful analysis, critique and articles. Includes work by W.E.B. DuBois, James Baldwin, Alice Walker, Angela Davis, and other legendary Black poets and writers who first started out by publishing in the magazine. Also, it provides interesting research on the struggle for social, civil, and political rights here in this country and abroad. A must read as many of the articles within the "Reader" have never been published elsewhere.

this is a Great book that covers so much Historical important information.a wide view of knowledge of the struggle all here.a must have.books like this cover so much.

From 1961 to 1986, Freedomways published the words and thoughts of the leaders of the freedom movement; yet few modern Americans have heard of the publication. Esther Cooper Jackson and Constance Pohl's Freedomways Reader gathers key writings from the pages of the various Freedomways booklets, charting the struggles for racial equality and providing an oral history of black freedom struggles, from reports of the Freedom Riders to short stories.