London Crossings: A Biography of Black Britain. (nonfiction reviews).London Crossings: A Biography of Black Britain by Mike Phillips Continuum, July 2001, $29.95 ISBN 0-826-45292-2 Mike Phillips Mike Phillips may refer to
tr.v. en·ti·tled, en·ti·tling, en·ti·tles 1. To give a name or title to. 2. To furnish with a right or claim to something: Windrush. Windrush presented multiple biographies of black Britain. London Crossings, on the other hand, presents a singular biography of black Britain, as told and seen through the eyes of Mike Phillips alone. He makes no claim of authority or representation. Nor does he make a claim for any notion of racial authenticity. Instead, Phillips presents a reflective and engaging summary of Britain, as he has encountered it from the earliest days of his childhood, when he arrived in January of 1956. London Crossings is a curious, hybrid affair. Much of it is autobiographical au·to·bi·og·ra·phy n. pl. au·to·bi·og·ra·phies The biography of a person written by that person. au . Some of it exists in the well-established mold of travel writing, and a good bit of this book can also be classified as straightforward journalistic jour·nal·is·tic adj. Of, relating to, or characteristic of journalism or journalists. jour  nal·is meanderings. Taken together, these disparate ingredients
make up a compelling whole.
Readers learn many things about Phillips's life. Family intrigues, his experience of fatherhood--as a son and as a father. We read his reminiscences of travel to many different parts of the globe. Commentary on the state of race relations race relations Noun, pl the relations between members of two or more races within a single community race relations npl → relaciones fpl raciales and racial politics--in the United Kingdom and elsewhere--are never far from Phillips's biographic bi·o·graph·i·cal also bi·o·graph·ic adj. 1. Containing, consisting of, or relating to the facts or events in a person's life. 2. Of or relating to biography as a literary form. narrative. Readers of this book within the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. will find many fascinating insights in London Crossings. For example, Phillips's theories on some of the significant characteristics of African-American writing, and the ways in which such writing compares to similar British genres. This is a highly unusual book that includes anecdotes, and the author's impressions of a motley assortment of people and places encountered on a thousand journeys. --Eddie Chambers is a curator and writer of art criticism based in Bristol, England. |
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