This is an excellent collection of essays by black male writers, excluding the gay part, because as mentioned time and again in many of these essays they must come to terms with their African-American heritage before they even think of coming to terms with their sexuality. I only wish that some of the essays were longer and some not edited. Essays that stood out for me were Coloring Outside the Lines, The Letter, and Dearest Brother Set. They and many others have helped me to evaluate the inner predjudice that lies within the gay community itself, a community whose so called main goal was to establish equality. Don't get me wrong, not all of these essays were like that but of those chosen for this book, essays of that matter were the ones that stood out the most.

Excellent Black & White drawings & printed etchings of C.1900-1910 "Gibson Girls" stylized drawings, that appear to have the "look" of Charles Dana Gibson or Harrison Fischer drawings. Both men were celebrated Illustraters of the turn of the century glamourized "coca cola" women. Recommended uses would be photocopying and for use in study & projects as there are facial closeups and women in various active poses. Very good...

This book offers readers a different view of how Ngugi could be read. It differs from more common sources of criticism in that the contributors are selected out of the hundred over papers delivered in Penn State University in honour of Ngugi. All of them are Kenyan, and it is remarkable that it should be held in the US instead of their homeland, where Ngugi's views should matter most. This collection covers a broad breadth and is most helpful in addressing certain issues of related interest. Perhaps one should delve into it with an open mind, and allow a fresh reading of Ngugi and his views to broaden your politico-cultural framework.

I particularly enjoyed the historical bits that the editors
included in "No Cross, No Crown." I had heard of this
congregation before I bought the book, but knew next to nothing
about its beginnings and history. The difficulties that the
women had to face must have been tremendous - for not only were
they female, but also Black or Creole-Black women living in a
southern state in the 1800s. Women who seemed to have to tread a
fine line in working for women of color, both free and slave.

The book itself is a fascinating piece of local history, as well as a captivating true crime story. It illustrates all too well the failures of the American Justice System in this case. I found the story especially intriguing because it took place in my hometown, not far from where I live. The story is an amazingly detailed timeline tracking Hatcher through his many run-ins with Law Enforcement all over the West and Midwest. His sheer luck and the unabashed recklessness of the authorities he encountered are beyond comprehension. For anyone interested in Law Enforcement and/or its blunders this book is a must, and even if Law Enforcement does not pique your interest I think this book might.

This book addresses the importance of focusing an organization around systems or processes, and how such a change can affect how health care managers deal with ever-present financial pressures. It also contains a step-by-step method to be used by managers to start developing a core business system structure for their organization. In order to achieve a core business system organization structure, the authors believe that health care managers need to refrain from making changes based solely upon bottom line or end results. Discussed are reasons why it is dangerous to apply quick fixes to the problems involved in reducing costs, as well as the importance of making changes based on a thorough understanding of the system.

Blue collar poetry. Subtle and haunting, Charles Simic sets out, one rainy, Sunday afternoon, to take the innards out of life, and play with them as a child would play with an Erector Set. Very satisfying and original

Considering the many excellent poetry books that were published in 1997, why did Charles Wright's Black Zodiac, which is not very good, win the most prestigious poetry award, the Pulitzer Prize? It probably has something to do with POLITICS viz. Jorie Graham told Helen Vendler to select Black Zodiac and soon after Wright -- naturally, Mark Strand.

Although I don't think that Black Zodiac deserves the Pulitzer, I do think that Mr. Wright should have won the Pulitzer for China Trace, The Southern Cross and The Other Side of the River. The Other Side of the River and selections from Zone Journals were Mr. Wright's best books. After Zone Journals, Mr. Wright began to depend on skill, technique and repetition as a means of `crafting' his poems. In his earlier work, it seems as though his poems were spontaneously inspired and that they came together in entire stanzas or full sequences in which very little revision was applied, save for touch-up considerations. In the Paris Review Interview, Mr. Wright explained that he now counts every syllable and that he works on one line at a time. Unfortunately, it shows.

Here is an example of Mr. Wright's earlier work. These lines are taken from The Other Side of the River:

...

What is it about a known landscape/that tends to undo us,/That shuffles and picks us out/For terminal demarcation, the way a field of lupine/Seen in profusion deep in the timber/Suddenly seems to rise like a lavender ground fog/At noon?/What is it inside the imagination that keeps surprising us/At odd moments when something is given back/We didn't know we had had/In solitude, spontaneously, and with great joy?

`Lonesome Pine Special'

And now consider these lines from Black Zodiac: ...

For instance, in 1944...I was nine, the fourth grade.../I remember telling Brooklyn, my best friend, my **** was stiff all night./Nine years old! My ****! All night!/We talked about it for days,/Oak Ridge abstracted and elsewhere,/,D-Day and Normandy come and gone,/All eyes on the new world's sun king,/Its rising up and its going down.

`Apologia Pro Vita Sua'

Those lines are not only bad,they're embarrassing! Apparently, Mr. Wright is incapable of distinguishing good from bad poetry. If he is,then his editor at FSG should have enough sense to tell this author when sections of the poem do not work.

If you wish to read Mr. Wright's best poetry,poetry that really sets the page on fire, read his earlier work from China Trace up to Zone Journals.

This book is a beautifully eloquent, quiet meditation on so many mysteries & philosophies, influenced by both western & eastern canons.

each time i read it i find a different favorite poem, formidible ways of addressing understood mystries

I am a big fan of Ray Charles Robinson. This felt like a character assination. It is no secret that he was not exactly the best husband. I am sure Charles was a tightwad, and ran a very tight ship. But, the book goes on and on and on about this in every chapter, ad nauseum.

The good parts about the book are the the exaustive research and the insight about the single minded drive Ray had to be the best at everythig he does. I agree with the above review that there was very little insight from Ray about what makes him tick. It seems obvious that Ray did not spend much time with the author. Perhaps read this and 'Brother Ray' to get his side of the Story.

Ray Charles is a legend, a genious of music and recording and a fine artist with extraordinary talent. But this book focused more on the times and people surrounding Ray Charles, than the actual man. I got lost in all the music jargin and mumbo jumbo-I wanted to know about this musician, his life, how he felt, what he did, how people felt about his music. But since I am not in the music business, nor do I understand most of the jargin, this book was lost on me. I skipped quite a few parts in the middle chapters because they just bored me and confused me. Not to say this was a bad book, but if you're like me when it comes to the language of music business, skip this one and buy the man's albums. His voice tells it all, you can just feel the emotions in his songs.

If you only reading this book because you want to know exactly how friendly Ray Charles is, you might end up disliking him. This book is a tell it like it is. After reading it, I developed mixed emotions towards Brother Ray, that I didn't have before reading it. However, this book is truly a musician's favorite.

As a long time fan of John Lee I really looked forward to reading this book. Unfortunately the writer spent more time editoralizing about the sins of America in general and the south in particular and very little time on the actual subject of the book. The writers bias against the U.S. came across very clearly.

There are sections in the book that go on for pages without even discussing John Lee or his music. If the author had stayed off his soapbox he could have covered the same material in 100 pages instead of the 480+ pages he required. All in all I found the book very boring and a chore to read. I was glad when it was over. I love John Lee but hated the book.

With the exception of B.B. King, this was one of our last links to the true Blues greats. This book really misses out on the opportunity to expound on all the pathes crossed and the people he met along the way. This book is written very eloquently and there is no sparing of words. John Lee Hooker was a grass roots person, and this book should have been written that way. I looked forward to reading this book, but I have to admit that it was a very boring read. Hard to believe a book about John Lee Hooker being boring. I hope someone else picks up the pieces and put's another book on the streets.

Murray did a lot of research, which is commendable-he tackeled a lot-but the truth was that John was not happy with it...he said that he did not authorize it-his manager did- and that there were a bunch a lies in it-to sell the book...