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As we celebrate Black History Month, it's a good time to check out current books by or about African-Americans. Here are 10 to check out, but don't limit yourself. Use these suggestions as a stepping-off point to explore more titles.
“Best African American Essays” (One World/Ballantine, $25), series editor Gerald Early. These essays offer an illuminating, not always pleasant view of life from the country's black citizens, what they think about, what they want to change, what they hate. The essays vary from thoughts on President Barack Obama to a defense of George W. Bush to the practice of racial profiling. Also in the series is “Best African American Fiction,” which also provides an overview of what black writers are doing.
“I'm Still Standing: From Captive U.S. Soldier to Free Citizen — My Journey Home” (Touchstone, $23.99) by Shoshana Johnson. Early in the Iraq war, an Army convoy was ambushed. Eleven soldiers were killed. Among the five taken captive was the wounded Johnson, the country's first black female prisoner of war. She tells her story and isn't afraid to give her opinions on the war.
“Capitol Men: The Epic Story of Reconstruction Through the Lives of the First Black Congressmen” (Mariner/Houghton Mifflin, $15.95 paperback) by Philip Dray. The award-winning historian writes about seven men I'm guessing many Americans know nothing about. Theirs was not an easy road in the years following the Civil War; their stories make fascinating reading.
“Street Shadows: A Memoir of Race, Rebellion and Redemption” (Random House, $25) by Jerald Walker is unflinching as he tells of his journey from Chicago street gang member and drug addict to student at the Iowa Writers' Workshop to college professor and writer. It's a story of lost friends, lucky opportunities and changing attitudes — told in a compelling and honest voice.
“The Assassination of Fred Hampton” (Lawrence Hill Books, $26.95) by Jeffrey Haas. This book leaves no doubt about its point of view — that in 1969 Chicago police murdered the Black Panther leader as he lay sleeping. The book won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I had met Hampton and, in spite of some of his rhetoric, admired him, and nothing in this book changed my mind. It's a tragic tale about a life wasted.
“Martin Luther King” (University of Michigan Press, $60 hardcover, $22.95 paperback) by Godfrey Hodgson. A British historian looks at the life and times of the civil rights hero. There are already many fine biographies of King, but since Hodgson had interviewed King several times, his takes a fresh and personal approach.
“Black Angels” (G.P. Putnam's Sons, $16.99) by Linda Beatrice Brown. For children 12 and older. Three children — two black and one white — are thrown together during the Civil War. The story tells of how they learned to survive, the divergent paths they took after the war and their eventual reunion.
“America's Black Founders: Revolutionary Heroes and Early Leaders” (Chicago Review Press, $16.95) by Nancy I. Sanders. For children 9 and older. Set up almost like a workbook, this history book introduces another group of African-Americans most young people probably don't know. Included with the biographical and historical information are reprinted documents (some difficult to read), illustrations and reader activities.
“Marching for Freedom” (Viking, $19.99) by Elizabeth Partridge. For children 10 and older. Readers are taken to the tense days of the march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, when men, women and children braved hostile Alabama residents and unsympathetic police to ask for the right to vote. The book is illustrated with photos of the event. The marchers' suffering wasn't in vain. President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act soon after.
“The Hallelujah Flight” (G.P. Putnam's Sons, $16.99) by Phil Bildner. For elementary school children (ages 5 to 8). This is the story of black aviator James Banning, told through the eyes of his co-pilot and mechanic, Thomas Allen. In 1932, they flew from Los Angeles to New York, where they received a hero's welcome. John Holyfield's illustrations bring the story to life.
Contact the writer:
444-1067, carol.bicak@owh.com
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