I'm not a huge fan of soul food, but really like this cookbook nevertheless. The recipes were submitted by members of the council and are terrific. Importantly, the authors made efforts to cut out much of the fat from the recipes and did a great job.

I also really enjoy the stories that are interspersed throughout the book. A number of prominent African-Americans share their memories of Dorothy Height and recount times that they shared a meal with her. One word of caution - the recipe for Hoppin' John calls for 2 pounds of brown rice...I think this is a typo and perhaps should read 2 cups. I ended up with a HUGE vat of rice with a few black eye peas. Otherwise, a very fine collection!

I purchased this cookbook 3 years ago, just on a whim. To my suprise, it's been one of the best investments I've ever made. My family loves the recipes! They remind me of the meals my grandmother used to make. Wonderful collard greens, cooked with smoked turkey wings, instead of hamhocks or salt pork; tasty oven-fried chicken breasts; mouthwatering barbecue chicken; and an array of great dessert recipes. The recipes are easy, and the nutritional information lets you know you're eating healthy. This is one book in my collection that never has time to get dusty.

I've enjoyed owning The Black Family Reunion Cookbook for many years, not only for its excellent recipes but also for the many narratives.

Once again, the Council has issued a winner. The recipes I've tried out of this new book have worked as well as their original cookbook. Actually, I didn't notice that these recipes are supposed to be 'healthier' until I began to write this review!

I've particularly enjoyed the black-eyed pea soup, the mustard greens and potato soup, and the collard greens and turkey wings. The pound cake recipe is standard, but the pear upside-down cake is terrific. The banana oatmeal cookies will be a hit for you. The chicken broccoli casserole is yummy!

I could go on, but I'll just say that every recipe I've tried has worked well. This is good home-style cooking, nothing too fancy, and the recipes are well written.

However, it's the stories and parables running through the book that make it special. I've always been a fan of Ms. Bethune, and the narratives here about her are particularly enjoyable.

This book is not only excellent, but it's also an excellent buy!

Dorthy West is a wonderful writer. I have enjoyed reading "The Wedding." Her writing style is very unique and pleasing to the soul. She writes with tonz of emotion and really knows how to get her readers hooked. She puts many descriptive similies throughout her story such as, "He withdrew in this awkward manner not because it was his wont but because he found he could not tear his eyes from Gram's, gripped as he was by the implacable irony in them that seemed to strip him and pin him to the wall like a bug in a case." This book protrays many interesting issues. Some are slavery, class, race, and gender distinctions within family, gender, and marriage.

I really enjoyed this book. I don't like reading long books so this 240 page book was a perfect length for me. I liked it for many reasons. It brought up many issues and situations that happened during the time when slavery was being abolished. It not only gave a strong description of the story, but of the true life blacks had to live by. It opened my eyes to new ideas about inter-race relationships and gave me a better understanding of what marriage is. At the end of the book Dorthy West states that, "Color was a false distinction; love was not." It also gave me a new meaning of what love is and that it's what is in the inside that counts.

I would recomend this book to anyone who is wanting a quick and easy read. It is a enjoyable and relaxing book. It might not all make sence in the beginning, but it all comes together in the end. I know that it has changed my prospectives on some issues and mabey it will change yours too.

The Wedding was a novel that portrayed many different aspects of race, romance and discrimination. I loved how I felt I could relate to the characters in the book. They were interesting, well developed and entertaining to read about. What I enjoyed most of all were the life-like situations that took place. I felt it correctly displayed history, although at times some of the passages proved to be a bit graphic. I would recommend this book to older and mature crowds who wanted to learn an about African- American history from an upfront and confident perspective. This book really gave me an idea about what was truly going on with African- Americans, their way of living and their attitudes towards life in America in general back in the 1950's through the 1960's. The writing style is interesting and descriptive and the book only makes you want to learn more.

The Wedding was a novel that portrayed many different aspects of race, romance and discrimination. I loved how I felt I could relate to the characters in the book. They were interesting, well developed and entertaining to read about. What I enjoyed most of all were the life-like situations that took place. I felt it correctly displayed history, although at times some of the passages proved to be a bit graphic. I would recommend this book to older and mature crowds who wanted to learn an about African- American history from an upfront and confident perspective. This book really gave me an idea about what was truly going on with African- Americans, their way of living and their attitudes towards life in America in general back in the 1950's through the 1960's. The writing style is interesting and descriptive and the book only makes you want to learn more.

178 pages of over 300 great black and white and full color photos. Includes a thought provoking introduction by Julian Bond. Covers items from advertising, banks, cookie jars and dolls, to political memorabilia, sports, tobacciana and toys. Estimated values are shown. Clearly demonstrates the role of collectibles in documenting the history of a nation and the culture of its people. A well done, fascinating book.

The Road to Now is a thorough account of the history of blacks in Montreal, from the founding of ht eterritory by France right until the beginning of the 1990's. Of course, a history that covers such a long sweep of history, with so many factors to consider (economic, sociological, political etc) some detail will be lost. The Road to Now focusses on the broad sweeps, rather than the individuals of history. It is the history of a community, rather than the people in it. What this gives the reader in scope and perspective it takes away in engagement. You will learn a lot from this book, but some of the more interesting parts of the story of the black community in Montreal had to be sacrificed for academic purity. We may hope that those stories will come in a later book.

I have mixed feelings about Ms. West's novels. On the one hand, she writes remarkable well about the human condition and even her shortest stories translate into volumes in the mind. On the other hand Ms. West's constant references to skin color and class are contrived and nauseating. It make on e think that maybe she hated her own warm brown skin. These stories are interesting. Some are underdeveloped mostly because she was so very young when she penned them. It's a worthwhile book but it didn't make me a fan.

This collection of short stories were interesting to read.Some were intriguing,others were okay, and some were suspenful.I enjoyed her writing about middle and upper middle class African Americans that are often neglected in popular literature. Some pieces were autobiographical but they span from the 1920s -1980s.Provides the reader with an intereting insight to an African AmericanNew Englander's perspectives but ultimately illustates that we are all part of the human community.This is good reading for a rainy day, a snowy day, or any day!

Would-be writers would do well to read this collection of seemingly simple stories and sketches. It takes great talent and understanding to write such effortless, fluid prose. Once you've read the short stories, the reminiscences are a fascinating reflection of how an author mines her own life experiences to create art. As well, this pioneer of black literature has painted historical mini-portraits of life for so many people -- some of whom were born to slavery and freed within the author's own lifetime. It's too easy to forget that not so very long ago, black people weren't even considered citizens, but merely property. This is a lovely book, a prime example of elegantly simple writing. Highly recommended.