Letters to a Young Brother: Manifest Your Destiny.

Letters to a Young Brother: Manifest Your Destiny by Hill Harper Gotham Books, May 2006 $20, ISBN 1-592-40200-3

Harper is on the Hollywood fast track, starring in the hit CBS series CSI: NY and was recently named one of People magazine's "Sexiest Men Alive."

Harper is also a mentor on a mission to guide and encourage young black men on the road to adulthood.

Inspired by the classic Letters to a Young Poet, German poet Rainer Maria Rilke's early 20th-century correspondence with a pupil, this book collects the letters and emails that Harper and a high-school student (dubbed "Young Brotha") exchanged over a year. For black male teens today, defining manhood has become increasingly difficult. Still, Harper infuses his words with a healthy dose of optimism as well as insights on dating, choosing a career, building wealth and finding happiness.

Famed friends like Nas, Gabrielle Union and Sanaa Lathan are also recruited to answer the immediate concerns of Harper's naturally curious and confused pen pal. Not surprisingly, Harper often draws upon his own experiences to make broader points. "Your job is to be a real diamond that becomes brighter and more valuable over time" Harper counsels.

--Reviewed by Curtis Stephen Curtis Stephen is a columnist with New York Newsday.