Although the writing uses that much hated word " ebonics ", the book brings forth quite a number of good points. The most desperate and disillusioned of our youth need to read this book. Parents or counselors should push this book. I can't emphasize this point enough. Congratulations on a much needed book at such a bleek time in the lives of black youth. Black Youth.... now is the time to get rid of the stifling influences circulating in your brains and FOCUS ON BUILDING PRODUCTIVE LIVES FOR YOURSELF AND YOUR FUTURE GENERATIONS. I don't want to see you making fools of yourselves on shows such as JERRY SPRINGER AND RICKI LAKE. It hurts many of us older adults. USE YOUR BRAINS and execute the necessary steps to improve your lot. Thanks again Ms. Ali for such a viable resource

This is a wondeful book if your parents have a terrible time illustrating or teaching about the african-american struggle through a daly life. Any race outside of African-American should be cautioned that some parts make be offense to them. Thanx, for giving me that extra knowledge!

I have to say, I don't think this book is for the "genteel' reader. This is no rock-a-bye-baby book. In fact, non-African people may feel uneasy reading this book. Shahrazad takes off her shoes and tells the flat-footed truth about every aspect of life in America for people of African descent. And less one should feel that the author makes generalizations, suffice it to say, "If the shoe fits, wear it." This book should be in every African American home, because there is surely something here for everyone, even those Africans in denial. The journey begins from birth to well into adulthood. Did you talk to your children about work ethics, employment vs business ownership choices, credit, not to mention the usual, sex, drugs, getting high, partying, history- yours/ours, renting vs owning a home, traveling options, racism? And that -trust me, is just a few things on the list. She has left few if any stones unturned. I hope to see this book a NUMBER 1 BESTSELLER. I'm mailing out free copies to everyone I know, especially to my young adult relatives, AND their PARENTS.

This book makes an excellent case of proving that the hog is simply not fit for human consumption. It also shows the folly of mankind in that this filthy swine has been made into products that permeate every aspect of our culture. It has become almost impossible for the sensible person to avoid pork and pork products.

I have done some independent research and found that most of her facts are true. Even though some scientists argue that most hogs are not infested with the trichinae worm, do you really want to take that chance? Besides, there are many other hazards associated with the raising, slaughter and eating of this scavenger.

What I really like is the incredibly humorous manner in which Ms. Ali makes her case. A hearty laugh is good medicine and this book is chock full of laughs. It's likely that the only people who don't find this book funny are those die-hard pork eaters.

Shahrazad, Ali "tells it like it is," in a very informative and humorous way. She leaves it up to the reader to make the choices but she gives the reader the "whole nine yards," on the consquences if the right choices aren't made! A must read for those trying to lead a well-being lifestyle.

To hear Sharazad Ali tell it, the black woman is a fat, funky, foul-mouthed, evil b-word who needs periodic physical abuse by black men to keep her in line. She actually advocates, in print, black men slapping black women in the mouth whenever they talk back.

She also writes at great length about how black women neglect themselves and their appearance, and how much their hair and bodies stink.

Does Ms. Ali really believe this nonsense, or is she just writing this garbage to sell her book?

This book has got to be the most inane, irresponsible, and reprehensible piece of trash I have ever had the misfortune to come across.

If this is the opinion Ms. Ali really has of black women, and sadly enough, she herself is a black woman, then all I can say to Ms. Ali is, check yourself.

When I read Ms. Ali's book I was stunned. It made me angry, it made me nervous and darn it, it made me think. I will not say that I agreed with everything Ms. Ali said. In fact I reject two of her major points entirely but I do thing this book should be read and discussed as part of the ongoing dialouge that must take place between black men and women.

Kimberley Lindsay Wilson, author of 11 Things Mama Should Have Told You About Men.

I must preface my review by saying that it is in my estimation that only 80% of this book may be accurate (dead on.) I'm sure the Sistas' may not want to hear that, but no one wants to hear the truth about themselves. Especially when "said" truth is negative. I would like to applaud Ms. Ali for having enough courage and love for her race to lay it all out there, knowing the ridicule she would receive for providing such thought provoking insight into the minds of our women. She may be right when she says "Black Women's lack of respect for their men have helped in the undoing of the Black Nation." However, I think a lot of Black men out there leave a lot to be desired and need to step up and be MEN and handle their responsibilities. In other words...stop blaming the white men, slavery and racism for everything under the sun. I hope that the majority of women that read this book, read it with an open mind and introspection in order to determine how some of the characteristics of certain women Ms. Ali describes may be some of the same negative character traits within themselves. An individual cannot rectify a problem if they can't 1st identify the problem, secondly the causes of the problem, and lastly ALL of the symptoms of the problem. In conclusion, I don't buy into the idea of slapping some women in the mouth that may in fact warrant it. Another suggestion would be to leave her alone and find a woman you don't have to become physical with. Additionally, I have heard women say that men can't handle a strong Black Woman. I think it is just the opposite; Black Women can't handle a Strong Black Man who will not tolerate the level of disrespect that a lot (Not All) of Black Women exhibit towards their mates.

Sincerely,

A Strong Black Man

The guide to understanding the black man, by Shahrazad Ali, is not really a guide. It is a distorted commentary of the behavior of black men and a narrow-minded/moralist view of the black community as a whole. And a comtempt for white people.

One of the few areas she was accurate in was her comments on the ignorant and self-destructive behavior of most black men trying to prove their manhood through senseless violence, but I question the way this information is presented in this book, because most of it is false, lacking in facts or commonsense.

Ms. Ali, quickly, distance herself from the title and goal of this book in Understanding the black man. At random I picked out five of the many false and poorly researched claims made in this book.

False Claim: Sister Ali accused Essence, a magazine for black women, of defaming the black family by promoting lesbianism. Claiming three to four issues a year is devoted to this.

Truth: Essence does feature stories on noted black women and men. Tips on beauty, fashion and life style for african american women. There is no evidence from the issues I have read that they have a of gay or lesbian agenda.

2. Claiming God is against interracial Relationships.

Truth: Unless God has talked to her and told her this himself I doubt it is true.

I would want proof and pictures.

There is nothing in the bible or any religious document that says anything about interracial relationships. Her view are identical to white racist view on the same relationships. Some years back a Klan organization made the same claim with no proof to back it up.

3. Saying that the civil rights movement was a failure.

Truth: If that was true my race of people would still be riding in the back of the bus with no right to vote. This is another false and strange view by Ms. Ali.

3. Falsely accusing two other black magazines, Ebony and Jet, of promoting Interracial relationships.

Truth: It is obvious that she has not read any of these magazines she is making the claims against. Like Essence both Ebony and jet concentrate on Feautures and Issues, and has never promoted an agenda toward interracial relationships.

4. Giving failure mark to every civil rights leader except Booker T. Washington and Elijah muhammad.

Truth: Civil Rights Leaders got more accomplished than they were given credit for by Ms. Ali.

On the other hand the Nation of Islam was responsible for the betrayal and murder of Malcolm x after he left the nation. Men from the nation were convicted of this crime.

Ms. Ali denies the real reasons of what was done to Malcolm, and does her best to Vilify him along with other black mainstream leaders, which included Dr. King. She also refuses to deal with the fact that one of her leaders, Elijah Muhammad, was sexually involved with women who worked for him. When they got pregnant they were kicked out of the nation.

Muhammad broke his own rules, he developed, on sexual involvement and respect for Muslim women. He also refused to take care of children he helped create, which was reported in jet magazine to be 13. These women were forced to file paternity suits against him.

There is nothing in this book that can help blackwomen understand us better. It is impossible for any one person to understand the mindset of every black man in this country. I also think that she has not interview any blackmen, for their views, in writing this book. Sensible or helpful information will not be found here.

In her second offering of the type Ms Ali attempts to dissect the ego of the Black male. In a manner similar to The Blackman's Guide she chooses to focus her analysis on the least civilized specimen in society. However, unlike the previous book she chooses to evoke feelings of sympathy, rather than contempt, toward the subject of this work. Like most of her writings her ideas are beneficial, but you have to be careful to take the best part and build from there.

The Blackwoman's Guide IS useful, in that it describes the world that my children will inherit. For future generations who will raise and educate Black men she points out those character flaws common to many in our society, thereby providing a guideline of those traits that we may want to stress or reinforce more often with our male children.

Ms. Ali ends this work with an analysis of male leaders from history. While her ideas may seem biased she opened the door toward honest criticism of Black leadership in America. While I don't agree with all of her conclusions, I do see her point in evaluating various characteristics and techniques of leadership, and intend to pass this on to my children.

This book continues Sharazad Ali's sad tradition of whacked out, mean spirited pseudoscience and pseudohistory that appeals only to extremely bitter and half educated African-American social rejects looking for an outlet for their misdirected anger.

Essentially, the book is a series of quizzes that imply that any Black American who has any positive encounter with Whites are still slaves. One particularly outrageous Q&A states that any Black person who laughes at a White man's joke is still a slave (so does this mean that I belong in the cotton patch for laughing at Jakcie Gleason and the Honeymooners)?

A good subtitle of this book (as well as Sharazad's other epics of nonsense) should be "The Miseducation of a Negro" (with apologies to Carter G. Woodson).

Shahrazad Ali, controversial author of such books as "The Blackman's Guide to Understanding the Blackwoman" and "How Not to Eat Pork (Or Life without the Pig)," offers us this "survival guide" for Black people living in the USA. Using her Nation of Islam-influenced beliefs, the author quizzes the reader about how one lives in the USA. The book is presented in the form of a multipule-choice test, and one's score, from answering the various questions about history, lifestyle, and culture, determines whether the reader is living as a "slave." Unfortunately, this book is laughable at best.

Ms. Ali provides no evidence whatsoever to back up her claims. She presents her material as "fact," without a single bit of research, and yet she drops the names of such classical Afrocentric thinkers as Molefi Kete Asante and Cheikh Anta Diop. Do not confuse Ali's anger with scholarship. The Nation of Islam and other Black nationalist organizations must not be mistaken for Afrocentricity, a legitimate philisophical discipline.

Furthermore, while Ms. Ali attempts to be "universal" with her beliefs, it is evident that this form of writing is a most American phenomenon, in both flavor and presentation. If you are interested in classical Afrocentric philosophy and scholarship, there are many books available, including those of the authors mentioned above, that will satisfy your curiostity.

I sent in a review two weeks ago, where is it?