Thinking Harlem.

Harlem--from its rural beginnings to its illustrious, modern-day status--has always held a mysterious allure for the prideful shopkeepers, the humble residents and the gawking passers-by. A somewhat magical energy flows through the streets of Harlem and reverberates through the bloodstream.

Spirit of Harlem, by collaborators Craig Marberry and Michael Cunningham, who also produced Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats, introduces readers to a number of its beloved residents. Literary agent Marie Brown, The Reverend Calvin O. Butts III, Olympic fencer Akhnaten Spencer-EL, and Isabel Powell, first wife of the late Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, are among the many voices that speak proudly of Harlem.

Spirit of Harlem simply does "the right thing" by allowing the contributors to relate personal thoughts about the history, their own interpretations about the current conditions, and the overall climate of the community they call home. Wilhelmina Roberts Wynn, an 87-year old tour guide at the Schomburg Center, a landmark library in Harlem, says, "Often, teachers announce, 'Okay, kids we have ten or twenty minutes before we have to go,' and I just want to shoot them. Children should spend the whole day here. There's so much to learn."

Cunningham's portraits--regardless of their rehearsed appearance--reflect an intimacy and warmth that convey a heartfelt feeling about Harlem that is undeniably worthy of the praise.

SPIRIT OF HARLEM: PORTRAIT OF AMERICA'S Most Exciting Neighborhood by Craig Marberry and Michael Cunningham Doubleday, December 2003 $27.50, ISBN 0-385-50406-3