this book not only puts the music into perspective but also the struggle that still goes on too this day.very upfront&honest about problems that still linger.it traces the journey&challenges it's reader too better understand the reason for the whys??one of the best Books that I have ever read from start too finish.

not just about music - jones weaves the detailed and complicated history of african americans throughout this thoughtful, opinionated and very honest book. blues is stripped of over-simplified origins and rooted deeply in the heart of a people and culture with many layers and voices. fascinating and real - a must read.

Amiri Baraka (aka Leroy Jones) wrote a book about the move from Africa to slavery and from slavery to citizenship, and from "African to Negro" in his words. As music was the most profound artistic expression of this move, Baraka analyses each stage of social change through the music it produced.
As Baraka concentrate on the process, he does not put any emphasis on names and details of the musicians. The book is not in any way a list of "who's who in Blues or Jazz".
The book is critical of American mainstream culture, describing it as shallow and un-creative. Baraka observes that Blacks who have tried to belong to the mainstream (white) society have not been able to produce any music of value. He believes that their rejection of their Blues (slavery) roots made them too as shallow and un-creative as the society they wanted to join.
Baraka is most knowledgable of Bebop and its developments up to free Jazz, as they are the closest to his generation. He is admittedly less connected to country blues, which for him expresses the first stage in the post slavery black society.
The book is magnificent in its originality and boldness. I think it is essential reading for anyone interested in African American music and/or culture.

Woodard writes about the relationship of black power, black cultural arts, and the black nationalist movement with LeRoi Jones, later Amiri Baraka, one of its main supporters. ... He concludes that Black America requires an ideological and political arsenal of both nationalism and Marxism. But at no time can the emphasis be purely Marxist or nationalist without doing damage to the black community. In other words, sectarianism is the enemy of black liberation and the fight for equality. This is a must read for all interested in politics and race in the U.S. Recommended for undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty. -- P. Barton-Kriese, Indiana University East, Choice July/August 1999

Professor Peniel Joseph writes that, "Historian Komozi Woodard's `A Nation Within A Nation' ... stands out as the most important book to be written about the Black Power Movement. `A Nation Within A Nation' is really several books rolled into one. First, it is a well-researched and painstakingly detailed case study of the dramatic consequences of Black Power politics on [the] racial and political dynamics of Newark, New Jersey during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Second, it is a political biography that underscores the significance of Amiri Baraka to the Black Power Movement's rise and eventual decline in American politics. Third, the book explores the transformation of black cultural nationalism during the Black Power era and Baraka's pivotal role in contemporizing black nationalism as an expressive political and cultural vehicle. Finally, it's a study of the divese and complex matrix that produced black political thought and practice during the period; a historical interrogation of the national and international implications of radical anti-colonial discourses that undergirded Black Power politics."

According to Publishers Weekly, "Woodard examines the role of poet Amiri Baraka's `cultural politics' on Black Power and black nationalism in the 1960s. After a brief overview of the evolution of black nationalism since slavery, he focuses on activities in Northeastern urban centers (Baraka's milieus were Newark, NJ, and, to a lesser extent, New York City). Taking issue with scholars who see cultural nationalism as self-destructive, Woodard finds it "fundamental to the endurance of the Black Revolt from the 1960s into the 1970s." California Senator Tom Hayden, says: "The fascinating story of a struggle that nearly succeeded in creating self-determination in the urban ghetto" And, in Professor Robin D.G. Kelley's assessment, the book "will be one of the most important studies of black urban politics and culture in the postwar period." As far as Professor Michael B. Katz is concerned, it "breaks new ground and revises standard interpretations of the era. I am particularly impressed with the way he has connected political mobilization to movements in the arts, literature, and intellectual life, on the one hand, and to the restructuring of American life, on the other. It's a hardheaded, unflinching analysis, and he tells it well and with great feeling." Finally, Professor John Dittmer found it "Balanced and moving." "It should be required reading ... for all citizens who care about the problems of race and class in urban America. ... quite simply, one of the most important books we have on the black urban experience in the twentieth century ... by one of the leading scholars of the African American experience in this country." The book concludes that there have been five distinct phases in the history of black nationality formation in the U.S. The first phase was the ethnogenesis of African Americans during slavery; that established the social and cultural foundations of Black America. The second was the black nationalism that flowered before the Civil War among free Blacks in the urban North. A third phase resulted from the failure of the Civil War and Reconstruction to guarantee full citizenship for African Americans; under racial oppression and Jim Crow segregation, a subject nation developed in the Black Belt areas of the South. The most vivid example of that phase of nationality formation was the great Kansas Exodus. The fourth phase of black nationality formation resulted from the Great Migration of perhaps 1.5 million African Americans and from the development of large, compact, black concentrations in the ghettos of America; the flowering of that nationalism is seen in the Garvey Movement of the 1920s. And finally, a fifth stage of nationality formation ensued from the migration of 4 million Black Americans form the South between 1940 and 1970 and the development of dozens of "second ghettos," that generated hundreds of urban uprisings during the 1960s; that sense of modern nationality was heralded by the Black Power movement and the politics of Black cultural nationalism.

Baraka's "Best Of..." collection is quite simply a must-read for any person with an interest in 20th century poetry. The words almost leap out against you when you open the book, and the language is mind-bending. Try to read these poems aloud to yourself, and you might just get the word-kick of a lifetime. Oop Bop Sh'Bam...

This book is not for those sensitive to raw material. But if you're a fan of Mr. Baraka, this book is a 40-year collection, and a definite must for your bookshelf. In the words of Mr. Baraka, "Can you stand such beauty? So violent and transforming." This line from his poem "Return of the Native" encompasses all that is Transbluency. This book is for the true fan of protest poetry. Mr. Baraka uses blues and jazz rhythms as well as the natural essence of words to express himself in amazing ways. I enjoy this book not only because I am a fan, but because it is rare to find a poet who has mastered the art of poetic language and imagery.

Watts provides a nuanced yet highly charged analysis of a confounding figure in American letters and politics. If you've ever wondered, "What happened to LeRoi Jones/Amiri Baraka?" Watts will give you plenty of answers. As confident discussing Greenwich Village bohemians as he is violent black nationalists (and everything in between), Watts's book is required reading for anyone who wants to understand the vicissitudes of being a black intellectual.

I cannot speak for this entire book, but it seems to be the only way to obtain The System of Dante's Hell these days, and this is a truly great book and a must read.

The System of Dante's Hell is a short novel in which a black soldier travels through the American south. Like Dante in hell, Jones/Baraka's tour shows you this hell from the outside, but not really from the outside. Anyway, the book is brilliant.

Home is essential reading for any serious student of the 1960s, particularly the Black Revolt. Standing next to such classics as The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Soul on Ice, it is one of the best accounts of the Black search for identity and liberation. Here we see Baraka's political evolution. The essays are arranged chronologically, tracing his development from "Cuba Libre," an evocative account of his first experience with the Cuban Revolution, to his definition of the legacy of the fallen leader, Malcolm X. No study of the Black Revolt of the 1960s is complete without a reading of "Home," written by one of the founders of the Black Arts Movement.

...about one of the many who did. Baraka's accounts of one of the Black community's leading compradors (sell out) explains scientifically the development of the Black National movement from its origins .. to its peak in the late 60's-early 70's .. to its leadership's betrayal following the path that lead "up the donkey's tail" (-AB). A must read for anyone crying about the apathy of today's youth and for anyone seriously looking to change things as part of the continuing struggle for self-determination of the Black Nation and Revolutionary Democracy for all people

Hettie Jones' work is an important contribution to the Beat era. The Beats were avant-garde in many ways, but they remained entrenched in sexism. Sexual liberation is here frought with masculine privilege, as is drug-taking and the creation of art--men get to create, while the mothers cook, clean, and change diapers.

However, I found the book a bit dull and unreflective. Jones seems not to have been very excited by the Beat scene or the people whom she knew. Nor does she emote a real feminist consciousness. Instead, she seems to sense that something was wrong, and hope that things will change.

Great books - stayed up until 3 am to finish. paid the price this morning but it was worth it.

This is the kind of book that makes the reader despair of writing! Not only does she have more interesting experiences to write about than most people (she shows beyond any reasonable doubt that the price she paid earned them), but she does it so well! With dignity, she recalls how she coped with women throwing themselves at her unresisting husband as he became better known, and being left for being white (though not divorced by her in-laws)e. She is clear but unbitter about the costs of nurturing a man's career and subordinating her own work to that and the unreasonable expectations to be mother, muse, sextoy, and an independent voice all at the same time.

For those wanting to understand the influence of this great American author, I strongly recommend this edition of Raisin and Sign. The commentaries and introductions are priceless. Not to mention that the plays themselves are fascinating. Speaking as a white, Irish female, one would wonder why I'd have such a high opinion, well, doing Ms. Hansberry as a research subject for my entire junior year, I didn't have much interest at first. But reading these plays made me realize that Hansberry holds a great power for writing about universal concepts and ideas, whether the reader is black or not. Especially The Sign In Sidney Brustein's Window.

A raisin in the sun is a greaat book, that is about a man named Walter that wanted the best for his family and son. his father have always tought him how to stay strong in a very wild life, but Wlater was weak, he never learned that he must do stuff the hard way if he wanted to succed in life. he has always wanted to get money the easy way, but he never makes it to the end because its not easy to make money. even thought Walter wanted to be really rich and be like white men at the time, he stile didnt try hard to be rich like what his dad told him before he passed out.
Also in the play Beneatha was Walter's sister that also had dreams of being a doctor. she wanted all people to like her and love her but she didn't learn how to do that and which way to get them to like her. Ruth was a woman who had seen many battles in life. She expected to live the good life with Walter and when that did not happen, she stood by his side anyway. They had one son that they could hardly take care of and when she found herself pregnant she became desperate looking for a solution. How were they going to take care of a child, they could hardly feed and clothe the one they had.
The mother of this family was Ruth, she was a great mama that have always cared about her family and she always try to pull them together to form a great strong family.
This story showed how much problems African American families had at that time and how much they strugled.

A raisin in the sun is a greaat book, that is about a man named Walter that wanted the best for his family and son. his father have always tought him how to stay strong in a very wild life, but Wlater was weak, he never learned that he must do stuff the hard way if he wanted to succed in life. he has always wanted to get money the easy way, but he never makes it to the end because its not easy to make money. even thought Walter wanted to be really rich and be like white men at the time, he stile didnt try hard to be rich like what his dad told him before he passed out.
Also in the play Beneatha was Walter's sister that also had dreams of being a doctor. she wanted all people to like her and love her but she didn't learn how to do that and which way to get them to like her. Ruth was a woman who had seen many battles in life. She expected to live the good life with Walter and when that did not happen, she stood by his side anyway. They had one son that they could hardly take care of and when she found herself pregnant she became desperate looking for a solution. How were they going to take care of a child, they could hardly feed and clothe the one they had.
The mother of this family was Ruth, she was a great mama that have always cared about her family and she always try to pull them together to form a great strong family.
This story showed how much problems African American families had at that time and how much they strugled.

The works in this book are so bad, so graceless, so blocky and so stilted that they appear to have been cobbled together by a blind carpenter. Make that a blind apprentice carpenter, for Mr. Baraka has never progressed beyond the hate Whitey, hate Jews, hate Christians, hate America screeds of his youth. That this man is taken seriously by the literary establishment is a tribute to nothing less than political correctness run amok.

Buy this book. It's that simple. This book provides the reader with a developmental history of one of the greatest LIVING revolutionary minds this country has ever produced. He hits you in the heart without bashing you over the head. You may not agree with everything he says, or how he may have lived portions of his life, but you will be affected (in some capacity) by his wit, intelligence and the fierceness of his conventions. A must for anyone who thinks that they are " a radical" or "an activist."

This book is rated UR and may not be suitable for un-realistic audiences.

Simply put, his work is life changing.

Amiri Baraka is part of a rare breed of humanity that challenges us to continuously change, evolve, and morph into all that we are destined to be.

Read his work and you will not leave the same way you entered.