Great reads: Black books and authors continue to break new ground.Warmed by the millions that African Americans are spending, mainstream publishers are producing more black-interest books and expanding the range of offerings. Whatever your interests or preferred genre, there's something for most everyone. Here's a small sampling of what's currently available. The first all-inclusive book of its kind The African American Yellow Pages by Stanton F. Biddle (Henry Holt, $19.95) is an annotated directory of more than 2,000 publications, institutions and services, including a range of government agencies and arts organizations. Basic Black: Home Training for Modern Times by Karen Grigsby Bates Bates , Katherine Lee 1859-1929. American educator and writer best known for her poem "America the Beautiful," written in 1893 and revised in 1904 and 1911. and Karen Elyse Hudson (Doubleday, $24.95) imparts guidance on just about everything, from handling embarrassing situations to entertaining and gift-giving. Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali, pasha of Egypt Muhammad Ali, 1769?–1849, pasha of Egypt after 1805. He was a common soldier who rose to leadership by his military skill and political acumen. : In Perspective by Thomas Hauser (CollinsPublishers, $50 hardcover; $25 paperback) captures, through color and black-and-white photos, "The Greatest" from childhood through today. Captions feature reminiscences of admirers, friends former ring foes and Ali himself, tied together by an unassuming narrative. Through Jackie Robinson: An Intimate Portrait by Rachel Robinson with Lee Daniels (Harry N. Abrams, $29.95) celebrates the life of the legendary baseball great. It unfolds through warm prose and some 300 photographs. Chronicling Robinson's duties and dilemmas, victories and sweat, the book traverses the mountains that faced the man who broke baseball's color barrier some 50 years ago this April. The Civil Rights Movement: A Photographic History, 1954-68 by Steven Kasher ka·sher adj. & v. Variant of kosher. (Abbeville, $35) is an engrossing engrossing, in English law, practice of acquiring a monopoly of goods in order to sell them at an inflated price. The offense was ordinarily limited to monopolies of foods. Related practices were forestalling, i.e. gathering of 150 frozen moments of bravery and brutality, hope and hatred, captured by more than 50 photographers, both black and white, pro- and anti-civil rights. Kasher's steady text makes the retrospective all the more memorable. Living Apart: South Africa Under Apartheid by Ian Berry (Phaidon Press, distributed by Chronicle Books, $69.95) is a poignant look in black and white at the images of oppression, resistance and everyday life in South Africa during the late '50s into the '90s. When Work Disappears: The World of the New Urban Poor by William Julius Wilson William Julius Wilson (born December 20, 1935) is an American sociologist. He worked at the University of Chicago 1972-1996 before moving to Harvard. William Julius Wilson is Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor at Harvard University. (Knopf, $26) is a disturbing exploration and exposition of the appalling joblessness in a growing number of inner-city neighborhoods. The book is based on data from three research projects conducted in the fate '80s and early '90s. Equally disturbing and hardly preposterous is The Coming Race War in America: A Wake-Up Call by Carl T. Rowan (Little, Brown and Co., $22.95) in which the wellknown newspaper columnist projects dire outcomes for the turn-of-the-century if action isn't taken now. The Norton Anthology of African American Literature African American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. The genre traces its origins to the works of such late 18th century writers as Phillis Wheatley and Olaudah Equiano, reached early high points with slave narratives edited by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Nellie Y. McKay For the singer, see . Nellie Yvonne McKay (born 1930 died January 22, 2006) was an American academic and author who was the Evjue-Bascom Professor of American and African-American Literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she also taught in English and women's (Norton, $39.95 until 311/97; $49.95 thereafter) is a colossal, almost 2,700-page collection 10 years in the making. A diverse and rich mix of all genres, the book spans 250 years of black writings. It is destined des·tine tr.v. des·tined, des·tin·ing, des·tines 1. To determine beforehand; preordain: a foolish scheme destined to fail; a film destined to become a classic. 2. to become required reading in literature and African American studies African American studies (also known as Black studies and/or Africana studies) is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to the study of the history, culture, and politics of African Americans. courses. It also comes with a companion course guide and CD. The Wisdom of the Word: Faith compiled by Rhinold Ponder and Michele Tuck Ponder (Crown Publishers, $17) is a notable collection of sermons by nine highly regarded ministers, including Rev. Benjamin E. Mays, former president of Morehouse College, Gardner C. Taylor Dr. Gardner Calvin Taylor (born 1918) is an influential American preacher, noted for his eloquence and deep understanding of Christian faith and theology. Taylor was a close friend and mentor to Martin Luther King Jr. , considered the modern-day dean of black preachers, and A. Safiyah Fosua, pastor, educator and missionary. |
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