Races Books

I enjoyed When The Roses Bloom. It's an easy read and one that's sure to lift your spirits and lets you believe in the innate goodness of people. I'm looking forward to the sequel.

This book is just wonderful. Once I started reading I couldn't put it down. The book just ended way to soon.

I,Barb, read the book cover to cover in one day. Only had to stop occasionaly when tears blurred my vision. The story was both sweet and sad but easy to read and had a happy ending. Looking forward to Alfred's next book.

I liked the book very much and am looking forward to the next one. Good job!

You should make this into a movie! What a great story that keeps you captivated and you really feel like you have a personal relationship with the characters.

Good lesson for children with vibrant, moving illustrations. It's nice to show that boys can have girl-friends at a young age.

This book was read to elementary students grades k-6, every one of the students loved this book and requested it be read again the very next week. We discussed the pictures (first gray and then color when playing and at the end), the connections with siblings and finally friendships. I highly recommend this book.

19 Girls and Me is a story of a kindergartener named John Hercules Po who finds himself in a class of nineteen girls. He is the only boy. His brother worries that he will become "sissified" from playing with all of those girls. In the end, everybody realizes that playing together can be a lot of fun.

19 Girls and Me is a delightful story that shows kids that it is okay for girls and boys to play together. Girls won't become tomboys just because they are playing with boys, and boys won't become sissies just because they are playing with girls. Everyone can get along and have a good time.

My five-year-old daughter likes this story. She also enjoys looking at all of the details in Steven Salerno's playful illustrations.

19 Girls and Me is a story for both girls and boys. Kids will enjoy reading about the wonderful adventures John Hercules Po and his new friends have at recess each day. In addition to a great story, there are glimpses into places around the world that may teach kids a thing or two. This is a book that kids will enjoy again and again.

I love this book for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that my daughter, in first grade, totally digs the story of John Hercules Po and his adventures with his 19 friends in Mrs. Ray's Kindergarten--19 friends who just happen to be GIRLS! The repetition is fun, and the imaginative adventures that the kids think up delight both of us! I've already taken the book to school twice and read it in a few different classes, and the kids eyes are big--and their smiles are bigger--as I regale them with the developing friendship between John Hercules Po and his 19 new friends! The book imparts an excellent message without clobbering the reader over the head with it--nicely done! Salerno's illustrations add to the fun!

This book is a wonderful read and it lets the world know what those close to Kortney already know.

Received this item very quickly. Wonderful book! I met Kortney this weekend at a memorial motorcycle ride--what an amazing individual that has risen above! I look forward to reading the rest of the book!

RIP Dave!

The Kortney Clemons story is one we all need to hear: What happens to the people we send over to Iraq who come home busted up? Clemons and his co-writer, Bill Briggs, prove that there is hope, but neither of them hold back in showing how much work is involved putting a life back together. With vivid detail and edge-of-your-seat style, they tell a story that is at once unique and universal. The human capacity to suffer, endure and overcome never ceases to amaze me, and for anyone who needs a reminder, "Amped" is a great read.

Kortney's story is a compelling and fascinating read on its own. He exhibits honesty not only to his challenges but as to his successes and failures. One is left with a profound admiration for his life and lessons learned on a path that no one would voluntarily chose.

What really made the book "pop" for me was the brilliant contextual writing that Bill Briggs wraps around Kortney's story. From the political turmoil of small town Mississippi, to often sobering ironic timing of Kortney's rehab with the politics of this war, to the history of the Para Olympics, to the intricacies of mechanical knees and legs, all add immensely to the reading experience.

Good, very good! It's an amazing story and I think it's important to know it in particular now because of Paralympics in Bejing.

This is an informative & well crafted read that allows the reader to glimpse the grace, strength & determination of a family - especially & specifically the women of this faimly - that held them together on 'Hare-Track'/'The Place'/'Down Home' and consequently continues to be the foundation of what is now 5 generations removed. This book does an excellent job of allowing all who read it to experience the sense of family pride that I have known all my life. (Well done Cousin, well done.)

This is a wonderful read. Beautifully written, and a fascinating bio of an exceptional woman whose life spans a time of crucial transition in American history. Everyone should read this book.

Another Way Home takes the reader through a time that first seems long gone, but surprises with its current influence and meaning. At first blush the story tells of the societal strictures of the South against mulattos. Gradually, the reader realizes that the book is actually about the development of identity and the hurdles society puts in the path of individuals. The book becomes less about the tensions of black and white, and more about the importance of solid values, courage and self-confidence. Ultimately it is these three critical traits in Day Rone that enable her to create the life she wants with the man she loves, and to raise a gifted family of solidy rooted individuals. Day Rone shares everything with my Sicilain grandmother and my husband's Irish mother -- proving that we are more like one another beneath the skin than we are different. The book engages from the first page because it speaks to every family. Beautifully written, imaginatively presented, and too true to be fiction, it makes for an entertaining and moving reading experience. It's a book worth reading so that we do not forget the struggles of the past, and also so that we can see the strong women who shape our own lives.

Another Way Home, by Ronne Hartfield, works for me on three levels: 1) it tells the ever-interesting story of a woman (Hartfield's mother) who grew up a mulatto in the segregated South, then passed for white in Chicago; 2) it is a strong and powerful tribute by Hartfield to her mother, beautifully and lyrically told; and 3) it moves from the personal to the universal, reminding us all of the family continuum we are born into and the remarkable people our parents often are.

This book is a history lesson told through personal anecdote. As it wends its way through Day Rone's journey from South to North, the reader is given an up-close look at the celebrations, achievements and tragic loss of a remarkable American family. Celebrating Day Rone's life will lead you to want to celebrate your own family, too. I strongly recommend this book.

Why isn't this on the best seller list? Ronne Hartfield's family history is beautifully written, covering not only her family's transition from Mississippi to Chicago but black history as well. I grew up in a white neighborhood in Chicago. This book let me step into a parallel universe! Hartfield also covers women's changing roles over a century. The loving relationships among family members are a model and inspiration for all of us.

My daughters have found the software very easy to navigate. Along with being almost endlessly entertaining, it gives them a good understanding of how the mouse and keyboard interact with the computer. This story, with all the interactive pieces on each page, is by far the best computer game we have used, and we have quite a few!It has also held up over time - my almost 6 year old has been playing with it since her third birthday. I am online now looking for the other titles! The designers clearly very carefully considered the attention span and the comprehension of the target age group.

As Arthur and D.W. race around town reading words, your little reader learns too. D.W.'s ten words appear in the pictures, creating an "I Spy" atmosphere where beginning readers can locate and read a few simple words. Lots of fun, great pictures, and a cute story.

This book is awesome!! Funny too. The reason i think it is funny is because the older brother puts his younger sister to the test on reading and he thinks she cant do it because she is younger. But then she proves him wrong and reads 10 words. And the deal was if she read 10 words he would buy her an ice cream cone. And she did so he bought her one. In the end it turns out the younger one can read and seems more smarter than the older one!

In this book Arthur and his sister D.W. have a reading contest to see if she could really read. So D.W. could read after all and Arthur ended up taking back what he said about her. He said she couldn't read but he didn't know she could.

In this tale Arthur tells his sister if she can read ten words he will buy her ice cream. Ah! A challenge, what sibling could resist, certainly not D.W. They set off to town and D.W. wins the bet to the surprise of Author; and has a little fun at the end of the story with her brother.
Just a cute little tale about the fun of words and reading, and the joy of sharing with your brother or sister.
Shirley Johnson

This book is more valuable than most child care raising books out there. This book addresses everything regarding raising kids, raising husbands and raising yourself. After reading some of the short stories you will realize how lucky we all are,no matter what our circumstances.

I enjoyed reading this book during midnight wakings when my son was 6 months old. These are sweet short stories by excellent writers and real moms. I love to give this book to friends who are expecting.

Great to read a book from a mother's perspective. Written on subjects other than spit-up and carpooling.

This book has 33 stories written by 33 intelligent women who happen to be mothers. Stories cover the gamut of breaking cultural rules, losing a successful business and starting over, dealing with divorce, moving to a foreign country and leaving your children behind, facing a difficult situation when the kids love the nanny as much as the mother, and other topics that many of us would never dream of confronting. For those who have faced such situations, these stories remind us we're not alone.

I don't know how to do these stories justice with this review. I feel like a friend sitting across from the author of the story, telling her tale as if I were her best friend because of the intimate details she shares. The stories don't have a hint of whining children, male bashing, or "woe is me" moaning. After reading a story, don't be surprised if you wish you could meet the author and become her friend.

Instead, meet a Muslim woman who deals with the stigma of having a child out of wedlock in "The Scarlet Letter Z." Meet a woman whose father killed himself when she was young and she didn't find out till eight years later - then her own husband was killed leaving her a widow at 34-years-old with a child on the way in "On Giving Hope." Meet a woman who arranged to have a dinner with her husband at a five-star restaurant and everything prior to the event goes wrong as she explains, "Why I Can Never Go Back to the French Laundry."

Mothers sometimes feel disconnected like their lives are all about their children and their activities. Reconnect by reading these essays and take strength in knowing there are smart women who happen to have the title of Mom added to their list of roles and accomplishments. They talk about motherhood beyond sleepless nights, potty training, carpooling, or food battles.

Read stories about autism, spousal abuse, growing up, babysitters, dolls, parents-to-be from different races, and a single woman having two children by artificial insemination. Expect to learn life lessons from these stories as these women have grown from experiencing life. You might walk away with something you didn't have before reading the book.

I am stunned by some of the revelations as I can't imagine admitting such things to a friend much less to a faceless public, which no doubt includes family and friends. The honesty reminds us that it's OK to feel or think this way - it doesn't make us bad, just human.

The essays vary in length so a mom can squeeze a little reading between feedings, a few minutes before going to sleep, while waiting in the carpool line, or during lunch break. Any time spent with this book is gratifying and worth every minute.

I read this book just after reading Mothers Who Think, an earlier book of mothering essays put together by the same people. Both books were very well done, full of essays where mothering is thought about seriously by many different mothers with many different views. However, this book focused a bit more on mothers of older children, including a lot of teenagers and preteens. There were some wonderful essays here---for me, the standout one was by the mother of a child with autism. It was one of the most realistic yet inspiring pieces of writing I've ever read about parenting such a child. The piece about the American Girl craze was also very well done. It's interesting to read how many parents re-evaluate their parenting views and perspectives when faced with children reaching older years and getting more of their own personalities! However, I found that this was not quite as strong a book as Mothers Who Think. More of the essays were less rooted in the actual act of being a mother and were more philosophical, which is fine, but not really what I was looking for--for example, the essay on traveling to Egypt to see a certain piece of art in a museum there, as a way of dealing with pregnancy loss grief. Another essay was more of a literature survey of child care literature, again, well done but not really based in day to day mothering. One of the most jarring essays for me was the one about Marta, the nanny for the author's children. It was very honestly written, but I found myself feeling so sad for the nanny, as the mother seems resentful that her daugther loves the nanny so, and that the nanny sides with the daughter in a spat between mother and daugther. If you hire someone to take care of your children, you WANT them to love your children, don't you? Overall, this book is certainly worth a read--I hope more books like this are written---books that take mothering seriously.

Beyond Race: The Bhagavad-gita in Black and White
by TDL Turner, M.A. [L.I.S.]
My thoughts about and reactions to Beyond Race: The Bhagavad-gita in Black and White, by
Charles Michael Byrd, were well clarified by my return from AMEA's (packed!& worth it!) National
Conference on "The Multiracial Child", in Tucson (AZ) (mid-October 2002). While those who have
done some comparative reading of major religious texts might find it academically "friendlier",
anyone in the habit of critical thinking and analysis also can glean from these pages.
As a fifth-generation member of brown, tan, and pink Moxhaccine* (Mestiza-Creole)
Multiracials my responses to certain sections were both experientially and academically triggered.
So-called " 'black' and `white' cultures" (pages 22-25; 28-29) were developed entirely to
perpetuate antagonistic, viciously greedy, destructive, anti-humane agendas throughout the past 4,500
years. Since these agendas=the "definitions", I tend towards not using such terms, preferring African
(Afroid) and European (Caucasoid). While both European and African heads of state used what
became "racially-based" slavery to fund and expand their political/military agendas, Arabic Islamic
"jihads" that resulted in the fall of Adoghast (ca.1066, ending phase I of the Akana-Ashanti Empire),
and successive rises/declines of Akan-Islamic medieval to [baroque] empires that included Mali,
Songhay and Kanem-Bornu, further fueled West African involvement in kidnapping and selling of
humans (ref: Basil Davidson; Leroy Brooks; Eva L.R. Meyerowitz).
I believe many black and brown Afro-North Americans rejected the term "African" because
they have not been able to socio-psychologically reconcile some of their African ancestors' collusion in
the mass kidnapping and slavery connected with "Diaspora". The combination of improperly taught
history and unacknowledged injustices has caused the social diseases of "White" so-called

"supremacy", "Black" distrust and alienation, "professional victims" and "police-state agendas".
The quote by William Xavier Nelson (I.V. "Point-Counterpoint" debate) (p. 68) perfectly
illustrates the fact we all know there is no [actual human organism] such as a "light-skinned black
person". That racist construct was invented to provide huge pools of share-croppers, slops-collectors,
sweat-shop and sex-trade workers. Many religions including traditional Hinduism have been used to

justify race-based socioeconomic stereotyping. During the late 1960's/early 1970's, to embellish
whatever their "politics" were for that day, both " `black' revolutionaries" and " `white'
Blavatsky-ites" prattled about the "superior" Aryans (actually from India!) defeating the "inferior"
Dravidians (also real Indians!). Thanks to the late Mohandis K. Ghandi, much of the caste system
this revolved around was de- constructed (pp: 30-40; 60-70; 115-120) . Sadly, I was reminded that the

devaluation of Aboriginal American spiritual consciousness consistently has paralleled the spiritual
decline of not only the Western Hemisphere, but of the entire world.
As a *Moxhaccine (Mestiza-Creole) Multiracial, half of my history is indigenously North
American. I am pleased that Byrd stated terms such as "Mulatto/ Quadroon/ Octaroon" are
considered obsolete and "offensive", particularly since both Mestizo/a and Creole legitimately,
traditionally have represented many diverse Western Hemisphere populations of (obviously "mixed")
appearance. In future, I recommend inclusion of our term "Moxhaccine" (also "new and not widely
used") representing both hereditary and contemporary North American Aboriginal/First Nations
peoples mixed with Afro-European (often including "Semitic") (pp: 136-46; 149-50).
Review submitted by:
Ms. TDL Turner, M.A. [L.I.S.]
Founder/Coordinator
M.O.X.H.C.A. (AMEA'S Canadian-affiliate)
Edmonton, AB, Canada

Charles Michael Byrd is to be congratulated on weaving what every man and woman ought to be doing in terms of "race consciousness" with the greater morality of the Bhagavad-Gita. The Melungeons, a mixed ethnic group, have lived with, and continue to struggle with, the issues presented and discussed so thoughtfully by Mr. Byrd. All human beings - not simply those who consider themselves :mixed-race" - owe the author a debt of gratitude.

The primary message of this excellent book is that people must learn to see beyond racial distinctions. The author particularly emphasizes the distortion of truth and the injustive of identifying people with that element of their heritage perceived (by some) as "lowest", especially "black" African heritage. Both "white" supremacists and the "black" movement castigate mixed-race "black"/"white" people who claim an identity other than "black"... meaning that they are apparently supposed to ignore their other heritage.

The author's ideal is that "race" should not matter at all. He makes the excellent point that "races" are imaginary constructs based only on superficial physical similarities. Modern nation-state-based "ethnicities" are similarly illusory, being legal fictions.

As an intermediary measure before a raceless soceity can really develop, the author would simply like to see mixed-race have the freedom to acknowledge what they really are, and not be forced to identify with one or anotehr of the "races" their ancestors may have been.

Mr. Byrd uses the Bhagavad-Gita, an important Hindu scripture, to make this point, as well as to show the real solution, which is to recognize that the real identify of all humans is that of the "race" of conscious beings. According to Krishna, in the Gita, the "soul" or the living being is the consciousness. When we collectively see this as the common characteristic between us, then the superficial characteristics of our, and our ancestors', bodies will cease to have any meaning.

I found BEYOND RACE to be thoroughly enjoyable and very important book. It will benefit anyone who reads it, but perhaps will resonate most strongly with those of us whose bodies are mixed-race. As a mestizo or metis who has studied the Gita for over ten years, I was delighted to find this book which so ably brings out an application of its teachings from this new perspective and remaining completely within the message of the Gita.

For many, Vedic wisdom seems too remote or detached from our western way of thinking to have much appeal or value. Mr. Byrd provides us with a valuable tool to help in our understanding of the Bhagavad-gita, by linking crucial passages with contemporary examples. Even though the focus of 'Beyond Race' is trancendence of race conciousness, it becomes readily apparent that the same principles may be applied to a great many other social ills. In a society so driven by the accumulation of material wealth, it is not surprising that a spiritual void exists. Thankfully, we are reaching a point where the quantum physicist and the yogi can find common ground. This fact tends to validate the author's approach. 'Beyond Race' is a book for humanity, and I recommend it be read slowly and thoughtfully in order to get the deeper meaning.

Charles Michael Byrd, successful editor and publisher of the cyber-journal INTERRACIAL VOICE, has penned this short book with a purpose which, at first glance, appears to be a distilling of Indian Vedic scriptures and their applicability to providing a solution to the problems associated with a combative social system in the United States which is based on membership in "black" and "white" "racial" groups defined as such by rules which seem to guarantee their perpetuity. Eighteen chapters are offered in which a Vedic lesson is presented--each lesson is designed to be a springboard to writings of Mr. Byrd as he argues for an end to "race" consciousness, along the lines of the particular lesson. Many of such writings are taken from editorials and messages contained in INTERRACIAL VOICE over the years. The book ends with a speech given by Mr. Byrd at the 20 July 1996 MULTIRACIAL SOLIDARITY MARCH held in Washington, D.C.

Writing about "race" in the United States has long been the charge of academically-based social scientists. The first thing which should be said about this book is that it is not a social science work in the classic sense: with an emphasis on "objectivity" and a collection of "racial" data presented in an unemotional, passionless manner. Mr. Byrd minces no words in letting the reader exactly know how he feels about the present-day "racial" landscape in the United States, especially with regard to the line of demarcation between "white" and "black" North Americans. The reader, therefore, will not close this book armed with a great deal more quantitative data about North American "racial" groups. The reader will, however, be exposed to a mindset he or she may not have known existed, for Mr. Byrd is writing AS A MULTIRACIAL PERSON, not as a disinterested observer (such as the Swede, Gunnar Myrdal, who, as an outsider, described the "American Dilemma" in the 1940s).

And just WHAT is that multiracial mindset? That is for the reader to explore by reading BEYOND RACE. I can, however offer this: Mr. Byrd's view has an emphasis on joining and uniting; joining and uniting with the entire human family and it is perhaps Mr. Byrd's overwhelming personal sentiment in doing so which has led him to the Bhagavad-gita.

An accurate accounting and description of a mere two of the forces arrayed against humans creating societies of goodwill: (a) unbridled greed (often manifested in monopoly capitalism) and (b) religious and ethnic fanaticism, should have most of us fearful for the future, as we move further into the new millenium. The United States is (or should be) a force for the betterment of mankind. Mr. Byrd implies, on pages 72 and 73, that America certainly has that potential. Yet, the specters of "racialist" thinking, "race" hatred and "racial" and ethnic balkanization threaten America's ability to create more equality for its people. According to Professor John E. Farley of Southern Illinois University, racism has devastating effects on not only U.S productivity but on America's conception of itself as a unified nation. And warring "racial" factors will never unite to confront a U.S. class system which is becoming more and more oppressive and more prone to monopoly capitalism.

Yes, the U.S. has the potential to be a force for good, but the United States will never do its fair share in bringing people together if it remains in dis-union as a nation of separate "races", especially "races" meant to be exclusive of each other. That is why, although Charles Michael Byrd is writing about Indian Vedic scriptures, the reader will soon sense that he is.....a citizen of the United States of America with an American Plea for the Human Family.

Members of Duke University's Sigma Nu fraternity are thugs. At least, one could get that impression from walking by their section and hearing such musical selections as "Baby I'm a Thug" and "Nothin' but a G Thang" that are frequently boom from within. Adopting parts of the gangsta persona for well-monied groups of future investment bankers and may be relatively consequence free but may not be the case for many youths in Chicago's South Side. This is one issue that Mary Pattillo-McCoy addresses in her ethnographic study of the middle class residents of the South Side's Groveland community, Black Picket Fences: Privilege and Peril Among The Black Middle Class.

Black Picket Fences is in part a response to what Pattillo-McCoy characterizes as the research pendulum of socio-economic studies of blacks having "swung to the extreme." That is, despite the large body of research focusing on the black population, the overwhelming majority further focuses on the less affluent portions of the population, having largely other segments the black population. However, research and knowledge of the black middle class is vitally important because, as Pattillo-McCoy points out, these are the people who are supposedly living the lives that our government and society has envisioned for all blacks following the Civil Rights era of the 1960s.

In the book, the author emphasizes the prevalence and importance of spatial orientation of racial communities. Pattillo-McCoy utilizes census data to show that in Chicago and most other metropolitan areas, black communities are concentrated in "black belts" surrounded by tracts of predominantly white communities. On the periphery of these black belts are often middle-income black communities that serve as a buffer between white communities and low-income black communities.

This picture, though, is not static through time. Pattillo-McCoy reveals a game of racial cat-and-mouse in which middle class black families are chasing their white counterparts. The pattern starts when a black family moves into a predominantly white neighborhood. Whites begin leaving the area, and soon the area is predominantly middle class black. Then lower income blacks migrate into the area, creating a mixture of economic statuses within the community. Such is the case in Groveland.

One concern that arises from her heavy reliance on census data, though, is the possibility of generalization. This is especially troublesome in light of the high socio-economic diversity of many black communities that Pattillo-McCoy describes. This is not as much in relation to her Groveland study area, but the other South Side communities that the author details in chapters one and two.

The implications of living in such an economically diverse community are large, especially for adolescents. Pattillo-McCoy points out that the appeal of deviance to teenagers cuts across racial and class lines, the motivations and accessibility of deviant behavior are often very different. In Groveland, a teenager is constantly confronted with realities of gang life and drug use because gang members and drug users are a large part of the Groveland community. In fact, most teenagers have acquaintances who are in gangs or who know gang members. This means that a part of the teenager's social network probably participates in gang behavior and drug use, making him or her both easy access and social reinforcement for such activities. This is less often the case for middle class whites, who often reside in homogenous neighborhoods where gangs and drugs are less common.

McCoy also emphasizes that today's young Groveland residents are much downward social mobility than previous generations of Groveland residents and middle class whites outside of Groveland.

There are often family and community security mechanisms to help Groveland residents. It is relatively common for divorced or resource-limited mothers to move in with her own parents. The grandparents help in parenting by supervising children, changing diapers, and serving as role models for children. Also, many families in Groveland are third or fourth generation residents, so most people in the community have long-standing social connections to other residents. These connections often prevent wrong-doers from targeting others in the community, and the familiarity helps potential targets feel more comfortable around people they perceive as being criminals, because in all likelihood they know each other or other's parents or children.

McCoy shows how individual Groveland residents deftly navigate between "street" and "decent" parts of their social networks by code and persona switching. Chief among these is William "Spider" Waters, a marijuana-smoking gang member who works two jobs with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Groveland Park, respectively. At the exchange, he speaks proper English, goes by Will, and works on his days off. In Groveland, he speaks Black English, goes by Spider, and "kicks it" with his friends. Tyson Reed, former Groveland gang member, student at Grambling University, and aspiring lawyer, points out the even though he talks about school, grades, and academic things, he doesn't broach the subjects of grades or Albert Einstein with his friends from the ghetto.

This book has wide-ranging relevance. It is enriching academic reading for students in sociology, cultural anthropology, and ethnographic studies. More importantly, though, this book is very important to American citizens in general. This book is about their neighbors and illustrates injustices that take place within America's borders. If the American social ideal of racial integration is to ever become a reality, the American public needs to be more informed about why integration is taking so long, why middle class citizens are still socially constrained, and what unjust situations are being perpetuated within America's borders. Black Picket Fences gives a very personal, very compelling answers to these queries. It is certain that the situations that exist in Groveland exist elsewhere in America and quite probable that they exist outside of America, too. Therefore, this book comes highly recommended to everyone.

Through ethnographic research the author highlights the intersections between middle, working and lower class African Americans in Groveland, a primarily African Americans middle class community in Chicago. Despite arguments that the African American middle class is flourishing, Patillo McCoy documents how racial segregation and racism confines many middle class African Americans to neighborhoods that frequently have to battle issues such as crime, gangs and drug use, that white middle class neighborhoods do not. In addition she does an excellent job of tying in the consumer wants and desires of African American youth and adults with the capitalist nature of American society.

Through ethnographic research the author highlights the intersections between middle, working, and lower class African Americans in Groveland, a primarily African American middle class community in Chicago. Despite arguments that the African American middle class is flourishing, Patillo McCoy documents how racial segregation and racism confines many middle class African Americans to neighborhoods that frequently have to battle issues such as crime, gangs and drug use, that white middle class neighborhoods do not. In addition she does an excellent job of tying in the consumer wants and desires of African American youth and adults with the capitalist nature of American society.

Black Picket Fences is an insightful and informative survey of privilege and peril among middle class blacks providing an unusual, intriguing study of the pressures of black middle-class families. Sociologist Pattillo-McCoy lived in a black middle-class neighborhood in Chicago: her experiences serve as a foundation for analysis of social issues and change.

This is perhaps the most significant book on the black middle class since Wilson's Declining Significance of Race. The Author gives us a community study at par with Streetwise, Getting Paid, and Street Corner Society. Through this book, black neighborhood are transformed into multi-dimensional communities, rich with institutions and networks. Truely a balanced view, which goes beyond books like the Truely Disadvantaged (although both deal with the same community). Most importantly, the author reminds us of the link between structural factors and race. The content of the book should not be overlooked, and the conclusions regarding the need to maintain race-based affirmative action, even for middle class blacks, should influence every policymaker in the country.

I really enjoy this series and it is one of the better-written ones going today. This one takes place in the late spring of 1862 and there are outbreaks of smallpox occurring requiring some patients to be quarantined. When one of those patients dies with Narcissa at his side, he whispers something to indicate that there might be some money circulating with the smallpox virus contaminiating it. Narcissa is put in charge of containing that outbreak and, along with Judah Daniel, works to do that while also solving the mystery of how that money came into circulation. This book is a fascinating portrait of Civil War America and the mystery is intriguing as well. Highly recommended.

In 1862 the American Civil War heats up with the Northern Army nearing the Confederate capital of Richmond. However, a greater threat to the lives of military in the area and the citizens of Richmond occurs when small pox is the cause of a death. Soon other deaths and accusations of germ warfare follow.

Southern nurse Narcissa Powers, English reporter Brit Wallace, and former slave healer Judah Daniel look for the source of the deadly disease. As they separately dig deeper, each one shares the findings with the other. No segment of the city from the elite to the slums or of the two armies escape their evaluation as the trio tries to prevent an epidemic from happening.

Fans of Civil War novels will, upon reading CIVIL BLOOD, play trumpets in tribute to the author for an entertaining historical who-done-it. The story line starts off very powerfully as a vividly graphic opening hooks the audience while introducing the lead characters. The tale slows down a bit during the investigation because the key players literally exchange notes from their respective interviews even though that technique smoothly blends into the main theme. However, the story line ends with an incredible finish that will fully satisfy the audience, sending them marching to the nearest bookstore to purchase Ann McMillan�s previous historical mysteries.

Harriet Klausner

Smallpox breaks out in an American city. The country is at war, and the ethics of combat in question. Has the horrid disease been loosed intentionally? And by which side? Have children been enlisted in this war? The plot lines in "Civil Blood" could be lifted from today's headlines, but this is a mystery about Civil War Richmond (published months before 9/11/01). For all its eerie relevance to the present, this book is rooted unerringly in its era. Ann McMillan's well-drawn characters never warp out of the 1800s. They deal with the anguish of their own war and their own time. A mystery of substance. Another brilliant installment in McMillan's series.

I was eagerly awaiting this book, and I was not disappointed. I read it through twice in the period of three days. The main characters are compelling (particularly Narcissa Powers) and the mystery is well-crafted. The connections to previous books in the series really enhance the story (although I don't believe you need to read the previous books to enjoy this one). The emotions and conflicts between the characters are stronger and more deeply felt than in the previous books in the series, which endeared the book to me. If you are a Civil War buff, you may find the book particularly intriguing. The second time I read it I kept referring to my copy of Shelby Foote's Civil War: A Narrative, to follow the military story taking place just down the road from Richmond while the plot events unfolded. This too, enhanced the story.

I was dying, ha ha, to read Ms. McMillan's book and got tired of waiting for the paperback, so I ordered online, used, from Amazon.[com] I was not disappointed. Her Civil War mystery series is getting more in depth.
This time the story seemed to focus more on Narcissa and less on Judah; it seems like the last book had more of Judah and less Narcissa; which I suppose is as it should be. Poor Brit Wallace isn't mentioned in the attempts to get you to interested in these mysteries (jacket cover, publisher summaries, etc)---however, as the newspaperman from Britain in Richmond, he is just as much a "detective" as the other two.
I kept going back and forth between Brit and Cameron Archer; which would be the better suitor for Narcissa? Theres plenty of tentative romance to keep us on tenterhooks for a few more books; do we have to wait that long?
The story does have more of the hospital and nursing aspects; we learn about smallpox in the city of Richmond and the possible threat of an outbreak when a contaminated jacket is stolen.
Ms. McMillan kept me guessing but I was grateful that I could actually figure out "whodunit" before she let us in on it.
Isn't that the goal of every mystery reader? To figure it out before the author lets you in?
Anyways. Very good. She has a way of writing that makes you feel like you're really there. I don't know what it is. Thats why I was a bit out of sorts at the end---I thought it ended abruptly.
Is that another typicality of a mystery series?
Looking forward to buying a used hardback of the next book! :)

this book is ESSENTIAL to feminists everywhere. The subject matter in this book opened my eyes about where I am lacking in my woman-lovin' ways, and gave me courage to bridge the gaps.

With the precision of neurosurgeons, Midge and Kathy cut into our minds and expose to the light all of the prejudices, notions, beliefs, etc, the White and Black women have about each other, from the skin we're in, the hair we wear, to the interracial dating thing (OUCH!!!). Both authors weave factual information with personal stories and accounts from other women of both races, and the book is an all-over good read: it's a brave endeavor by 2 races of women to form new bridges of understanding over very, very troubled waters. If you have a friend of the opposite race and there are "issues" between you, perhaps this book can break down the reasons and solutions and let it be known that women need other women, period, in this "man's world." Insightful AND essential.

I always thought that as women, we stuck together against a male dominated society. However, as we approached the twenty-first century, it is sad to say that all women don't stick together. Divided Sisters proves just that. Historically, black women and white women have been divided not only by race, but by gender and class. However, black women are three steps behind by the black man, white woman, and white man.

From the perspective of a white woman engaged to a black male, (and a woman who has had a racially diverse group of friends throughout life), I found the book very informative -- in terms of understanding the lines that have been forced between white and black women. It does a great job in explaining the attitudes of black women -- attitudes that white women do not normally understand. It is a must read for the woman who wants to change the racially divided society that we live in today.

I found this book accidentally while searching the shelves at the public library. It is an extremely important book that deals with a lot of issues most people would rather not talk about. Being a black woman it was helpful to read that other black women have the same feelings as I do. I enjoyed learning about the history of women in America. It opened my eyes to many things I never considered before. I have recommended this book to my white friends in hopes that they'll understand why I get angry and frustrated in a country that worships white women. It also helped me to see what goes on in their heads too. This book should be required reading in the high schools. Midge and Kathy did a wonderful job collecting data - this book is awesome.