History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Black Boy (The Restored Text Established by The Library of America) (Perennial Classics)

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wow
Not the best edition to have
Searching for Humanity
Read it for the second time!
Hearing Wright's Life and Our Own

Black Boy (The Restored Text Established by The Library of America) (Perennial Classics)
Richard A. Wright
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060929782

Book Description

With an introduction by Jerry W. Ward, Jr.

Black Boy is a classic of American autobiography, a subtly crafted narrative of Richard Wright's journey from innocence to experience in the Jim Crow South. An enduring story of one young man's coming off age during a particular time and place, Black Boy remains a seminal text in our history about what it means to be a man, black, and Southern in America.

"Superb...The Library of America has insured that most of Wright's major texts are now available as he wanted them to be tread...Most important of all is the opportunity we now have to hear a great American writer speak with his own voice about matters that still resonate at the center of our lives."
--Alfred Kazin, New York Time Book Review
"The publication of this new edition is not just an editorial innovation, it is a major event in American literary history."
--Andrew Delbanco, New Republic

Customer Reviews:

wow.......2007-09-29

This is my all time favourite book ever. I'm sure there are literary drawbacks to it somewhere; but overall I think its an amazingly well written book. Poignant, stark, and unfathomable. Reading it made me so hungry, you wouldn't believe.

Not the best edition to have.......2007-09-15

Much as I love and admire this book--a must-read in American literature--this is not the best edition to have. Wright originally wrote the book in two parts: "Southern Night," about his experiences in the South; and "The Horror and the Glory." His original title for the two-part book was AMERICAN HUNGER.

When it was selected as a primary selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club--a great honor at that time, which tripled the sales of the book--he was asked to remove "The Horror and the Glory" and just publish the first section, "Southern Night." That was the book he retitled BLACK BOY. It is a pure memoir of his life as an aspirational but deeply alienated black growing up in the South.

Recent editions of the book have restored "The Horror and the Glory" to the text, and you might think this is a good thing. I don't think it is, in this case. That section purports to continue his memoir with his experiences in Chicago. However, unfortunately--and ironically--the Book of the Month Club editors were right from an artistic standpoint. "The Horror and the Glory" is completely different in tone. It largely recounts Wright's involvement in the Communist Party of the 1930s, and is deeply enmeshed in party politics. It embodies Wright's own feelings of devotion to Communism and Communist ideals even as it recounts his repudiation of the party.

I have nothing against Wright having been a Communist per se; my objections are not political at all but purely artistic. This second part of the book has none of the directness and immediacy of the first part; it is far less entertaining, and much more of a chore to read. Actually, the first part of the book (about two-thirds of its length) does indeed stand alone as a cohesive, coherent narrative. This is how it was issued, and, actually, it's how it should be read. The second part merely dilutes the artistic impact of the first part, rather than adding to it.

"The Horror and the Glory" was published originally in a motley of smaller articles, in the Atlantic Monthly and elsewhere. The issues it raises--internal Communist party politics and their relationships to the John Reed Clubs and their associated writers' groups--are somewhat interesting historically, but dated and ultimately irrelevant. It feels very much like commentary on facts and events you're expected to know about, but don't.

I suggest readers either purchase an edition that is true to the first edition, and contains only what in this edition is called "Southern Night," or else consider just reading the first part and letting the second part go. I think it's a better book the way it was originally issued.

Searching for Humanity.......2007-06-26

Richard Wrights autobiographical book is all the more remarkable in so much that it exists and was written by a man born to fail by society and given every hinderence to his thirst and love for life and reading.

Wrights book never becomes mawkish or pious.It simply tells it how it was;deep south society at the turn of the century and the black peoples place in it. Wright is open about his own failings-taunting jews, his childhood alcoholism-but there was no escape for him no matter how hard he tried to get ahead. A painful scene comes when young Wright thinks he is 'getting ahead' by selling newspapers to have a wiser black head point out he is actually selling ku klux klan literature. His love for books is hampered by the law banning blacks from libraries.

He comes across liberals who try to help him, but there is only so much anyone can do in a society swamped by prejudices.

The sad end is when Wright traveled up to the north; Chicago, where 'Blacks are free' The memoir ends here, but further reading of Wrights work-and that of his admirers and contemporaries such as Ralph Ellison-makes you aware that this was just another myth.Yes,life wasn't as oppressive as the south, but the 'liberals' liked the blacks to stay in the 'black belt'(a favourite term of Wrights) and used all means at disposal should they get 'Uppity'.

Wright inspired Ellison and Baldwin amongst others, but I feel sure he must have inspired MLK as well, as all Wright ever really wanted was human dignity for all mankinds peoples.

Read it for the second time!.......2007-04-25

This book is an early years autobiography of Richard Wright, the famed and accomplished African American author. I read all of Mr. Wright's books when I was in junior high school and wanted to share them with my teenage daughter. In doing so, I picked up "Black Boy" and couldn't put it down until I read it again.

Richard Wright was raised in the South in the 1920's. He experienced the hardships, poverty, and racism of those days and relays these experiences descriptively yet simply in the book. The reader can can see and feel the events without being bored.

"Black Boy" is a quick one- or two-day read, and I recommend it highly. I also highly recommend one of Mr. Wright's fictional novels, "Native Son."

Hearing Wright's Life and Our Own.......2007-04-05

Peter Francis James's performance of Richard Wright's autobiography brings many of its aural qualities our ears, qualities we may not notice in a silent reading of the book. These CDs enable both the visually impaired and the sighted to enjoy Wright's classic and to ponder why after sixty-two years the book still provides insights about American culure.

The White Architects of Black Education: Ideology and Power in America, 1865-1954 (Teaching for Social Justice, 6)

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From a Survivor
White Architects
The White Architects of Black Education
A New Foundation for an Old School Structure
White Architects-Bad Design

The White Architects of Black Education: Ideology and Power in America, 1865-1954 (Teaching for Social Justice, 6)
William H. Watkins
Manufacturer: Teachers College Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 080774042X

Customer Reviews:

From a Survivor.......2003-04-28

William Watkins pointedly and proudly explains how people other than the African Americans have guided the principles of Black education in the United States from the Reconstruction era to post World War II. Whether these people acting philanthropically as John D. Rockefeller or as "evil geniuses" (Chapter 6), they have shaped Black education then and some would argue for all time.

In his writing, Watkins shows that there is a view of the history of American education that does not come from the larger culture. Watkins view is from the "other side of the fence" that is not written by the victors but rather a survivor. This view is equally important as it establishes the fact there are always two sides to every story. "History is made by people in struggle" (p.179).

Generalizations tend to pervade Watkins' writings as the use of the words "few" and "many" are consistent. But this is understandable considering little or no empirical research was being conducted regarding Black education during this time period.

Pointing to the past for blaming is not the purpose of Watkins in his book, but rather an enlightenment of the history presented by a survivor of slavery, segregation and racial inequalities that have existed for generations. Truly, Watkins has offered a view of history in which we can reflect upon and use to help guide a new generation of architects.

White Architects.......2003-04-28

William H. Watkins writes about the power of education and how it "can be used both to oppress and to liberate." (pg.1) Watkins shares with us how research and science in the last century validated the belief that Whites were the superior race. This belief has played a great role in the development of the school system and curriculum we have today in America. The "White Architects" have used the school system to keep races of people oppressed. He clearly defines who the architects were and the role they played in orchestrating the school system we have today.

I believe that in order to see more success among minority students in schools today we have to restructure the whole school system. Watkins book strengthens my belief. He states "public education was product of historically, politically, and socially constructed ideas." These ideas need to be updated and remade to include all races equally.

The White Architects of Black Education.......2003-04-28

Mr. Watkins walks us through an historical and turbulent era of education that continues to have ramifications in our present educational system. Watkins journey through the maze of black education exposes the political and socioeconomic influences of the dominnant and affluent white culture of the north. He reveals to the reader the influences of the corporate magnets of the north who wanted cheap labor and subserivent workers. They used their philanthropy and the educational system to imposed their own philosophy of education on the black population;while promoting subserivent lifestyles for those who participated. Mr Watkins is able to convince the reader about the political and economic hold that the corporate world imposes on the black population and the disregard these men had for how the black population wanted their education to progress.
Mr. Watkins continues to show us the need for continued political and socieconomic justice for all people and warns us of the continued influence that corporate America has on all of us.

A New Foundation for an Old School Structure.......2003-04-26

William H. Watkins is subtle in his story of the "white architects" who developed Black education beginning in 1865, just at the end of the Civil War. Watkins shocks you with his "scientific racism" platform that he explains "presented human difference as the rational for inequality" and that it "can be understood as an ideological and political issue" (pg. 39). The reader senses a calm attitude about the author as he speaks of the Philanthropists, beginning with John D. Rockefeller, Sr, who was most concerned about "shaping the new industrial social order" (pg. 133) than he was for providing a useful education. "The Rockefeller group demonstrated how gift giving could shape education and public policy" (pg. 134). In their support of Black education, by 1964,the General Education Board (GEB) spent more than $3.2 million dollars in gifts to support Black education. This captivating book begins with a forward written by Robin D.G. Kelley who reflects that she learned one lesson from Watkins, "If we are to create new models of pedagogy and intellectual work and become architects of our own education, then we cannot simply repair the structures that have been passed down to us. We need to dismantle the old architecture so that we might begin anew" (pg. xiii). Why don't the school reformers who mandate educational laws experience such an awakening?

White Architects-Bad Design.......2003-04-26

William Watkins' "The White Architects of Black Education" gives an historical and sociological perspective to the progress, or lack of progress, related to the education of African Americans in the United States. This is an excellent resource for those people who have an interest in how the educational system of the mid 19th century through the mid 1950's was crafted in a way to limit the progress of African Americans during those times.
It is interesting to read about how famous Americans such as John D. Rockefellers Senior and Junior, and Andrew Carnegie set up philanthropic foundations to improve the lives of Black Americans. Even though they had what appeared to be benevolent intentions, the reality was that they perpetuated a continued system of racial subservience.
We see not only white men of influence involved, but also conflicts between those African American leaders who differed on plans to educate children. W.E.B. Dubois criticized Booker T. Washington for, what he called, "submission and silence as to civil and political rights." Many felt that Dubois' remarks about Washington would create a diviseness among Black leaders.
Though education for African American children has improved over the past century, this book points out why progress was slow and why we haven't yet reached a truly equal educational system. This part of American history should be a part of general history texts, not separate add-ons to sociological and historical course work.

When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost : My Life as A Hip Hop Feminist

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Is she serious?
Ms. Morgan did fine job dissecting 'Chickenheads'!!!
Amen!
So That's a Chickenhead
When chickenheads come home to roost

When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost : My Life as A Hip Hop Feminist
Joan Morgan
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0684822628

Amazon.com

For a smart young black woman from the South Bronx carving a niche for herself as a writer, the f-word was feminism. Joan Morgan's book debut, When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost, is a passionate, funny--and occasionally self-indulgent--look at the contradictions inherent in being both a strong woman and an African American sister attempting to process the machismo of the hip-hop world through the perceptions of her own strongly feminine soul. "As post-Civil Rights, post-feminist, post-soul children of hip-hop," Morgan writes, "we have a dire need for the truth." Her book chronicles the quest to fulfill that need through a series of essays ranging from social issues like the blatant misogyny of rap music ("From Fly-girls to Bitches and Hos"), the mythic stereotype of the strong black woman ("Strongblackwomen"), and the epidemic of single motherhood in the black community ("Babymother") to wickedly witty takes on her own life ("Lovenotes," "Chickenhead Envy").

Morgan is gifted with that rarest of all talents: her own voice. Her language is vivid and imagistic, its rhythms dipping effortlessly between the beat of the street and the meter of pure poetry. In this look at hood versus womanhood, Morgan serves up many of the same conclusions that sociologists have offered in drier, more academic form--but brings them to life with the freshness of her literary talent. --Patrizia DiLucchio

Book Description

In this fresh, funky, and irreverent book, a new voice of the post-Civil Rights, post-feminist, post-soul generation has emerged in Joan Morgan: a groundbreaking and unflinching author who probes the complex issues facing African-American women today.

When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost is a decidedly intimate look into the life of the modern black woman: a complex world where feminists often have not-so-clandestine affairs with the most sexist of men; where women who treasure their independence often prefer men who pick up the tab; where the deluge of babymothers and babyfathers reminds black women, who long for marriage, that traditional nuclear families are a reality for less than 40 percent of the African-American population; and where black women are forced to make sense of a world where "truth is no longer black and white but subtle, intriguing shades of gray."

Morgan ushers in a voice that, like hip-hop -- the cultural movement that defines her generation -- samples and layers many voices, and injects its sensibilities into the old and flips it into something new, provocative, and powerful.

Customer Reviews:

Is she serious?.......2002-11-04

As a strong black woman and proud of it I didn't understand Ms.Morgan's definition of a strong black woman so I didn't see eye to eye with her on that point. Overall I struggled to read through this book I wasn't feeling a lot of what Ms.Morgan had to say and plus I thought the book would be written in a more story telling type of fashion. The book is written as just Ms.Morgan rambling on about her opinions and ideals. I give a sista props for her opinions and being able to share them with an audience but I didn't understand her hatin' on "chickenheads" in one breath then wanna talk about her bond with sistahood in the next. She sound hypocritical to me. Ms.Morgan went on and on putting the "chickenheads" on blast for their sopposed wrongdoing but didn't say a word about the brothers that fall for these type of women I don't get that! I personally couldn't hate on a sista for doing her thing I don't want to hate on another woman period I feel that's the reason why us women can't and won't get far because we want to tear each other down before anybody else. I'm sure Ms.Morgan is an educated,opinioned,strong,classy woman but in her book she just comes off as hateful and bitter.

Ms. Morgan did fine job dissecting 'Chickenheads'!!!.......2001-07-08

I have say that I was pleasantly surprised by Ms. Morgan's discussion of issues that have been rolling through my mind for the past couple of years. I could identify IMMENSELY with the STRONGBLACKWOMAN ideology. I guess you could say that I'm a STRONGBBLACKWOMAN type myself. I would say that I'm recovering, but it's really hard to do so when you're in college, holding an excellent GPA, and being a part of so many different ogranizations. It's just SO hard to say no!!! LOL

As far as the rest of this masterpiece of feminine literature goes, I have to say that there were certain parts that I disagreed with. I was kinda hurt when she down talked African-American peeps from middle class backgrounds...I mean, why did she work so hard to have a good income to take care of her son if middle class peeps "don't wanna be reminded of their kinky roots"? Just something to think about...maybe I took it the wrong way, but that's just the way I see things.

Secondly, I have to say that I in NO WAY envy Chickenheads...in fact, I'm glad that they're around to take all the weak men who fall for them off the market. One thing I can't stand is a man that's weak enough to fall for anything that has a big behind and a C cup!!! I want a strong, intelligent man that can appreciate a woman with class, home training, a solid head on her shoulders, and plenty of goals with the ambition to follow through on them like myself!!!

I guess this book was a wake up call for me to write my own view on things. I come from a middle class home, unlike most African-American feminists that come from very poor backgrounds. I feel my voice needs to be heard and you can believe that I WILL put the work into writing a novel that speaks from the standpoint of sistas like myself!!! Good work Ms. Morgan!!! Thanks for encouraging me to keep perfecting my craft!!!

Amen!.......2001-01-18

I could not put this book down. The book articulated thechallenges I felt in my own relationships and experiences. I certainly enjoyed the chapter "Love Notes". The author by no means male bashes but frankly puts out there the real deal.

The book just had me saying AMEN!

So That's a Chickenhead.......2000-06-13

Being caught at the tail end of the Baby Boom, I'd say that this book is really written from the viewpoint of young women a few years younger than I am. Still, it is reminiscent of Michelle Wallace's "Black Macho and The Myth of The Superwoman" which debuted some 20 odd years or so ago. Being a strong willed, independent Black woman is still as hard today as it was 20 years ago and I am glad that there are still fierce sistah's out there willing to address the issues at hand.

Great view on a never vanishing topic from a new voice and new perspective !

When chickenheads come home to roost.......2000-02-18

This is a must read for the black feminist who doens't quite get the "N.O.W." viewpoint on feminism. Joan Morgan puts into words the conflicting feeling and emotions of being black, female, and a feminist from the generation X-ers viewpoint, using language that is easily related to. She doesn't sink down into dense theory that could be exclusionary in language and nature. Theory that can leave one feeling as if they should have taken a beginners course before attempting to delve into the mind bogling, high handed concepts. She maintains her focus and is concise as well as insightful. Most feminist theory tends to be a turn off since a lot of such material is geared towards a limited, elitist audience who leaves black feminist and other of an outside group feeling even more like an outsider because they don't address the differning issues and concerns that pertain especially to woman of color. Moreover, this is a book that should not only be read by black woman but by latina's as well. As a black female of latin descent I fould myself relating to almost every word. A must have. A must read.

Scenes of Subjection: Terror, Slavery, and Self-Making in Nineteenth-Century America (Race and American Culture)

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Insightful
Excellent

Scenes of Subjection: Terror, Slavery, and Self-Making in Nineteenth-Century America (Race and American Culture)
Saidiya V. Hartman
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0195089847

Book Description

In this provocative and original exploration of racial subjugation during slavery and its aftermath, Saidiya Hartman illumines the forms of terror and resistance that shaped black identity. Scenes of Subjection examines the forms of domination that usually go undetected; in particular, the encroachments of power that take place through notions of humanity, enjoyment, protection, rights, and consent. By looking at slave narratives, plantation diaries, popular theater, slave performance, freedmen's primers, and legal cases, Hartman investigates a wide variety of "scenes" ranging from the auction block and minstrel show to the staging of the self-possessed and rights-bearing individual of freedom. While attentive to the performance of power--the terrible spectacles of slaveholders' dominion and the innocent amusements designed to abase and pacify the enslaved--and the entanglements of pleasure and terror in these displays of mastery, Hartman also examines the possibilities for resistance, redress and transformation embodied in black performance and everyday practice. This important study contends that despite the legal abolition of slavery, emergent notions of individual will and responsibility revealed the tragic continuities between slavery and freedom. Bold and persuasively argued, Scenes of Subjection will engage readers in a broad range of historical, literary, and cultural studies.

Customer Reviews:

Insightful.......2007-02-23

Saidiya Hartman, with "Scenes of Subjection" has penned a well-researched and insightful look at the interior life of enslavement, power, and personal freedom. Using copious first-hand resources, Hartman creatively considers how the every day life and rituals of enslaved African Americans demonstrates that one can enslave a body, but never a soul.

Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction, Spiritual Friends, and Soul Physicians.

Excellent.......2000-04-15

Scenes of Subjection provides a fascinating view of slavery and its effects. Hartman applies her brilliant intellect to this terribly important subject, providing the reader with insight and understanding that is sadly missing from other academic and non-academic treatment of slavery. This is a "must read."

Our Kind of People: Inside America's Black Upper Class

Average customer rating:

WOW! This book made me think.
Such a shame!!
A book I recommend to all my friends
A Need to Read
didn't make it far into the book...

Our Kind of People: Inside America's Black Upper Class
Lawrence Otis Graham
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060984384
Release Date: 1999-12-22

Book Description

Debutante cotillions. Million-dollar homes. Summers in Martha's Vineyard. Membership in the Links, Jack & Jill, Deltas, Boule, and AKAs. An obsession with the right schools, families, social clubs, and skin complexion. This is the world of the black upper class and the focus of the first book written about the black elite by a member of this hard-to-penetrate group.

Author and TV commentator Lawrence Otis Graham, one of the nation's most prominent spokesmen on race and class, spent six years interviewing the wealthiest black families in America. He includes historical photos of a people that made their first millions in the 1870s. Graham tells who's in and who's not in the group today with separate chapters on the elite in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Nashville, and New Orleans. A new Introduction explains the controversy that the book elicited from both the black and white communities.

Customer Reviews:

WOW! This book made me think........2007-09-24

This may sound strange, but this book really made me think. Instead of walking away thinking that some blacks think that they are better than others (as some critics have written), I walked away thinking about choices. What makes some people build families and get rich while some do little or nothing?

I thought about the choices my grand parents made. I contacted my grand parents on both sides of my family and ask several questions pertaining to the times.

I asked my father's father what made him go to school. He went to Temple University 50+ years ago; he attended grad school at the University of Maryland where he met my grandmother; he has been Kappa Alpha Psi for over 50 years. Where as my mother's father was a good time charley who never even bought a house for his wife and nine children. He had a good job in sanitation, but he chose to reside in the Robert Taylor homes of Chicago.

To make a long story short, the book helped me to see the power of choice. Even in the face of racism, we (not just A.G. Gaston or Reginald Lewis) are all making choices. That being said, the book is a good read. See if you can get something extra from it.

Such a shame!!.......2007-05-10

It is such a shame that in this day and age there are still some people of color that still feel the need to distance themselves. I actually brought this book about a year after it was published. After reading it the one thing that stuck out to me was the fact that no matter how much I tried as a black woman I would never belong. ( mind you these are a group of black families we are talking about). For so many years we as black people in this country have had to deal with discrimination on all sorts of levels, but to hear that it still exits and in our own communities. I for one am truly saddend. The only answer I can come up with is the need for these people to feel superior to someone.

A book I recommend to all my friends.......2007-04-27

I read this book years ago and loved it. A lot of the places, people, and concepts that Graham discusses were already familiar to me but I learned just as much. This book is insightful, inspiring, and revealing. It illustrates the socio-economic differences in what we term as the Black Race. It was refreshing to see someone capture and present the fact that all "blacks" are not lumped into one big pot. There have always been differences and will continue to be.

A Need to Read.......2006-08-25

This is a reveling look into an almost invisible aspect of black society that has been around for ages, and I for one am impressed. True, there is some unpleasantness in this book regarding the harsh reality of black on black prejudice. But this occurs at all levels of black society and society in general.

What must not be overlooked is the desire and ability achieve and to escape, if at all possible the scars and brutality of being black in a white, racist society. This is especially true when it comes to ones children, namely the children of successful black Americans who desperately want and need to shield them, not only from the ravages of racism, to which young children are especially sensitive and can be seriously marked and marred, but also from the numerous pathologies that are rampant in the black community and are destroying black children by the millions. The children of the black upper classes are not only taught that they can be somebody, but that they must be somebody and that failure is not an option. Thankfully, they can afford not to allow their children's lives to be sabotaged before they reach puberty and have, or did, construct a community in which they could develop into individuals not as adversely affected by entrenched racism and prejudice.

didn't make it far into the book..........2006-08-16

I tried to read this book. Then I flipped ahead and read spots of the book. I could not, as a young Black Anthropology student juggling several more forward thinking and socially relevant books this summer, bring myself to include this backward-thinking, embarrassing 200+ pages of pompous garbage. I have old classmates and distant family members that were actually raised in this way and on a daily basis measure themselves and those around them by this pathetic, haughty litmus test. It disgusts me that this deluded ideology still exists to this day, and we are led through the grandeur of the Black elite by Graham, who justifies much of it as he admits to eventually feeling obligated to get a nose job. This book was offensive at best and frustrating in this day and age to understand. I will grant that the book was accurate in its historical value, but after reading what led to this intra-racism, there is simply no reason to me as to why this should be glorified and perpetuated within Black American culture. Perhaps Graham would have been better off with a more well thought out, less repetitive historical text expounding on just the Introduction through Chapter 2, with research that would be actually useful and insightful from a more scholarly source as well as accounts from these early Black entrepreneurs and their families in ways that don't come off so self-aggrandizing.

Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux

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Native Respect
A Great Vision
Wisdom and Inspiration Abound!
A Religious Classic?
Black Elk Speaks

Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux
John G. Neihardt
Manufacturer: University of Nebraska Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0803283598

Book Description

The most famous Native American book ever written, Black Elk Speaks is the acclaimed story of Lakota visionary and healer Nicholas Black Elk (1863–1950) and his people during the momentous, twilight years of the nineteenth century. Black Elk grew up in a time when white settlers were invading the Lakotas’ homeland, decimating buffalo herds and threatening to extinguish their way of life. Black Elk and other Lakotas fought back, a dogged resistance that resulted in a remarkable victory at the Little Bighorn and an unspeakable tragedy at Wounded Knee.

Beautifully told through the celebrated poet and writer John G. Neihardt, Black Elk Speaks offers much more than a life story. Black Elk’s profound and arresting religious visions of the unity of humanity and the world around him have transformed his account into a venerated spiritual classic. Whether appreciated as a collaborative autobiography, a history of a Native American nation, or an enduring spiritual testament for all humankind, Black Elk Speaks is unforgettable.

This special edition features all three prefaces to Black Elk Speaks that John G. Neihardt wrote at different points in his life, a map of Black Elk’s world, a reset text with Lakota words reproduced using the latest orthographic standards, and color paintings by Lakota artist Standing Bear that have not been widely available for decades.

Customer Reviews:

Native Respect.......2007-07-29

Both Thomas E.Mails and John Niehardt have brought to life the true nature of the Native American in their masterly renditions of their interviews with these Medicine (Holy) men, both Fools Crow and Black Elk. The result is an understanding of the simple honesty, good nature and trust that initially left them so open to exploitation. More importantly, they demonstrated a sincere belief in God that the 'White Man' was singularly lacking in the early pioneers. Their beliefs ran parallel with the Primitive Church as established by Jesus during his ministry in the Middle Ages.Fools Crow

A Great Vision.......2006-05-08

_Over the years I have read this book in the wilderness and in the wasteland. Every time that I have reread it I have come away renewed.

_There are just so many levels on which this account can be appreciated. It is one of the best first-hand accounts of plains life- from camp life, to the march, the hunt, courting, healing, etc. It is also one of the best first-hand accounts of historical events- the Fetterman Fight, the Wagon box Fight, Red Cloud's Treaty, the Custer Fight, Wounded Knee... It is also a first-rate autobiography of the deepest thoughts of a man who fears that he may not have lived up to his God-given destiny. But, above all, it is a legitimate Revelation from the world beyond.

_At times Black Elk seems to despair that he didn't live up to his great vision. Personally, I do not see this. He did what he was supposed to do. First, he brought his vision to his people in the form of the magnificent Horse Dance. Then, in his twilight years, he wisely brought the same vision to the outside world in the form of this book. This was too powerful and universal a vision to be confined to one people alone. Every part of it resonates with the Perennial Philosophy, the eternal religion that underlies all true Tradition- from the World Tree at the center of the people's hoop, to the certain knowledge that the things of this world are but a shadow of the true Reality of the next.

_As far as the sacred herb of four blossoms is concerned that he saw at the end of the forth ascent- that was the rebirth of the sacred tree from sacred seed. This book is that seed.

Wisdom and Inspiration Abound!.......2006-03-16

This is an exceptionally moving book for anyone yearning to know more about Native American spirituality. Black Elk was truly a man filled with the holy spirit. It reminds me of the book, Walking the Trail, One Man's Journey Along the Cherokee Trail of Tears. Both are highly recommended.

A Religious Classic?.......2006-01-11

It says on the jacket of this book that Black Elk Speaks belongs in the company of 'religious classics'. Maybe so, but even if you regard his visions as indicative of a religious experience, the parts of the book dedicated to the description of these visions make for rather tedious reading. The real meat of the book is his decriptions of the last of the major indian battles at Rosebud, Little Big Horn (Custer's Last Stand), and Wounded Knee. Black Elk and his friends were there, and lived through those harrowing days. A must-read book for anyone who wants to know how it really was.

Black Elk Speaks.......2005-09-20

I am really enjoying reading this book. It is the second time for me but it is as good as the first time. I know it is the kind of book that I will read over and over again!

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, Written by Himself (The Bedford Series in History and Culture)

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The Rest of the Story
Not Just a African, but an American Hero!
Required Reading
My heart broke

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, Written by Himself (The Bedford Series in History and Culture)
Frederick Douglass
Manufacturer: Bedford/St. Martin's
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312257376

Customer Reviews:

The Rest of the Story.......2007-07-07

In the classic slave narrative genre, Frederick Douglass' narrative of his life brings to life, in all its horrors, American slave society, and one slave's life-long protest against it.

When we read Frederick Douglass in his own words, he is less the radical and more the reformer than we've been led to believe. He is also more the Christian statesmen and less the Christianity critic than we might imagine. Douglass' oft quoted comments about Christianity had much more to do with a righteous critique of distorted Christian living practiced by white masters than with any critique of Christianity or of Christ. In reality, Douglass, like so many enslaved African Americans before and after him, saw in Jesus a Savior they could identify with--a suffering Savior.

Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction, Soul Physicians, and Spiritual Friends.

Not Just a African, but an American Hero!.......2005-10-10

Frederick Douglass is the complete ressurection of the saying, "Knowledge is Power." With the more information he aquired as a slave the more he lusted for freedom. He also provides an excellent example of what black people in this country could do for themselves, interms of their economical status. Looking further, Douglass loved to think and imagine the endless possiblities, while he was still in bondage physically. When he began to read and understand the "Hypocrasy" that this country was based on, using christianity as it main tool, and what every human should be allowed by right, this released his psychological enslavement. If blacks throughout this country could read and understand there were blacks that went through worse situatians and overcame them, and the current situation that destroy the black communities were created for them to fail, just like slavery, many would wake up and take on the mask of Douglass. The mask that says, "regardless of class, race, or creed, this world was created for everyone to enjoy including me."

Required Reading.......2004-08-27

I read this book as part of a summer assignment entering into the 11th grade in addition to "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" by Harriet Jacobs. Both are great pieces of African-American historical literature and well worth the read. I couldn't read this book all in one sitting, due to the need to fight the urge to throw up. He detailed descriptions of physical, psycological, and emotional abuse are enough to sicken any one and make you disgusted with the human race.

My heart broke.......2004-06-11

The honesty with which this is written is amazing. I was glued to it from page one. I felt disgusted by the human race, saddened by his traumas and guilty just for being white. I think this needs to be read more. Especially in schools. Why isn't it???

The Black Manager: Making It in the Corporate World

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IT'S EVERYTHING&MORE!
This book is a must read for anyone in corporate America

The Black Manager: Making It in the Corporate World
Floyd Dickens , and Jacqueline B. Dickens
Manufacturer: Amacom Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0814477704

Customer Reviews:

IT'S EVERYTHING&MORE!.......1999-06-25

THIS IS THE COMPLETE STORY of what go's on in every Business that is MUL-

TICULURAL . So true to form.

This book is a must read for anyone in corporate America.......1999-05-13

This is an excellent book. It does an excellent job of identifying the frustrations faced by minorities in Corporate America. It provides pratical soultions to many of the problems faced, as well as the underlying cause for the problem. Every Human Resource/Organizational Development Manager should have a copy of this book. This book should also be required reading for Managers participating in their coporate mentoring programs.

Soledad Brother: The Prison Letters of George Jackson

Average customer rating:

Still Relevant to the black subculture...
Riveting, Shocking, Infuriating and Brilliant
An Essential Text
Worthwhile but don't get carried away
Great book, but......

Soledad Brother: The Prison Letters of George Jackson
George Jackson
Manufacturer: Lawrence Hill Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1556522304

Customer Reviews:

Still Relevant to the black subculture..........2007-07-20

Fear is a powerful weapon which inspires men to commit terrible acts of savagry. Fear of George L. Jackson led the U.S., Government, the state of California and several agencies of state repression to silence the voice of a great black thinker. This text attests to the fearless nature and level of thought George Jackson was cable of displaying. The courage to formulate and express such thoughts as "the time has come for all of us to stand up and stop trembling, grab the bull by the horns, and ride him till his neck snaps," required courage. In the face of oppossition, repression and incarceration Jackson dared to challenge the authority first of the inmate power structure, the department of corrections, state of California and U.S., government.

This could not be tolerated. So is there any wonder that a man of Jackson's capacity met an early death? Could there be any doubt that a man who could speak on the black subculture of America and its propensity to take "one step forward and three backward," would become a source of contention. When was the last time the black subculture produced a philosopher, warrior, general and poet "It is by words that we convey our thoughts, and bend people to our will."

It would have been more desireable "for some," had George remained stuck in the hopeless cycle of criminality that led to his trapping to begin with but the growth he demonstrated through self-inspired determination, a new kind of black hero was born. He joined the ranks of Malcolm X as a man who could indeed be redemned and accepted, if not by society at large then at least by the black subculture which he sought to influence and organize. So when the day came for George to die on his feet, his enemies undoubtably saw the terror of the dragon which inspired fear in the hearts and minds of their ancestors thousands of years ago when the warriors carrying the dragon as their symbol ruled as conquerers in ancient times.

Riveting, Shocking, Infuriating and Brilliant.......2005-09-30

All the verbs above describe the text and the man. Incarcerated, unjustly at that, at the age of 18, this beautiful Man-Child went on to become a brilliant writer, and also, tragically, a martyr of 20th century oppression. Killed in prison at the age of 29, George Jackson's living body is no longer here with us, still his spirit shines and lives on through his probing literature. Much can be said of prison literare, however to consider George Jackson's writings 'prison literature' would be to minimize its power. George Jackson's writings are revolutionary literature par excellence; his writings stand next to Fanon, Rodney and Trotsky. Let us remember George Jackson by reading him, and let us not forget what was done to him. Long Live George Jackson.

An Essential Text.......2002-09-13

A must read for people of all ages, races, nationalities, genders, classes, et. al. A masterpiece of the form. Gloriously flawed, like all of us. So much more than the sum of its parts. George and Jonathan Live.

Worthwhile but don't get carried away.......2001-09-28

This collection of letters by Jackson is well worth reading for several reasons. First, as several other reviewers point out, it provides a valuable (if by now slightly dated) insight into the American penal system. Second, it illustrates the tragedy of people with Jackson's potential being diverted (whether you believe by racism, socio-economic circumstances, poor judgment, or whatever) into the self-perpetuating criminal/penal complex. However, I think some of the raves are overrated. Jackson clearly was an intelligent man who could have accomplished much if his engergies were otherwise directed. But he lacks perspective; the tone is often stridently self-justifying, and he lacks any real moral insight into the magnitude of the violence and pain he inflicted on others.

Great book, but.............2001-08-16

This is a great collection of the prison letters of the Black Panther prison leader George Jackson. Only problem is that we don't see the letters that George jakcson is responding to, so that we may get a better context of what's going on here. It would also be interesting to see what Bill Cosby had/has to say about Jackson's criticism of him (for Cosby's role as a CIA agent in the "I Spy" show of the 60s).

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