This exciting collection introduces the first-ever annual anthology of writing by African Americans. Here are remarkable essays on a variety of sub...
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reviews
Apr 14, 2009
Suzette
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What is so intriguing about this book is the perspective and focus of the writings collectively. At first glance many (including myself) assume the book is written by African Americans regarding African American.....which is a huge (yet typical) assumption. Too often we all assume black people will write about issues specific to black people. And although this may be true in many circumstances, it is not applicable to all. This book tackles various issues (economics, family, friends, music e
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Feb 23, 2009
Pamster
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Okay, anyone I've been around for the past week knows I loved the DeBarge piece reprinted from Vibe. Love that the very next essay is Malcolm Gladwell on I.Q. and race - also a great piece. There's so much interesting, lovely, and varied work here, some by stars like Jamaica Kincaid, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Walter Mosley, some by writers who are new to me. I like the section just called "Gay." What does it mean that white people have co-opted the term down-low? Totally fascinati
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Jun 22, 2011
Khristopher
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As the title suggests, this book is a collection of essays written by some of the country's current/best black writers (all nonfiction), including Harvard's Jamaica Kincaid, the St. Petersberg Times' Bill Maxwell and then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama. Most of the essays, at best, were decent and surface interesting. However, there were a handful of essays that had an interesting topic AND were well written. My absolute favorite was Bill Maxwell's piece on leaving the Times to teach journalism for t
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Nov 15, 2008
Amy
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As should be obvious from the title, this book is a collection of essays written by African-Americans on a variety of subjects; sometimes having to do with the specific black experience and other times just having to do with general subjects. The sections are divided into: Friends & Family, Entertainment, Science Technology & Education, Gay, International, and Activism/Politics.
While not every essay was a winner, overall I enjoyed the collection. It was also interesting to see my " More...
While not every essay was a winner, overall I enjoyed the collection. It was also interesting to see my " More...
Dec 16, 2009
Joshunda
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This a great collection from a surprisingly diverse group of writers. I loved Martha Southgate's essay on black writers, in addition to a reprinted 2006 piece from then-Sen. Barack Obama about the connection between religion and politics. There was a fascinating piece by an author about black Israelites and Zionism and a great piece about black models that addressed the "rivalry" between Tyra Banks and Naomi Sims. Worth a read.
Jul 28, 2011
Very good...a great selection of essays on a variety of subjects. Few dull moments.
Feb 01, 2012
Elise
rated it:
This book suffered from false advertising. A number of the pieces were not essays. They were articles, and some of them were academic and pretty boring. Also, it seems like most were not actually written nor first published in 2009.
A few pieces, though, were so strong and interesting they counteracted the negative.
A few pieces, though, were so strong and interesting they counteracted the negative.
Aug 29, 2010
Frank
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A very enjoyable collection of essays. I'm looking forward to reading these volumes each year now.
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