Partly set in the jim crow south, the novel succeeds in showing the prevalence of racism all across the country--whether implemented through institutionalized mechanisms or otherwise. This fictional narrative of harlan Elliot's life is firmly grounded amidst real people and places--prime historical fiction, and the best book I have read this year.
Historical novels review, the great depression, editors' Choice"McFadden packs a powerful punch with tight prose and short chapters that bear witness to key events in early twentieth-century history: both World Wars, and the Great Migration. Her spare prose is rich in details that convey deep emotions and draw the reader in.
Playing with themes of divine justice and the suffering of the righteous, McFadden presents a remarkably crisp portrait of one average man's extraordinary bravery in the face of pure evil. Booklist, compelling narrative that makes historical fiction an accessible, McFadden has constructed a vivid, Starred review"Through this character portrait of Harlan, literary window into the African-American past and some of the contemporary dilemmas of the present.
Publishers weekly"mcfadden's impressive achievement offers us a window into the often very difficult lives of African Americans from the Jim Crow era up to the present--and, unexpectedly, in wartime Germany.
Escape on the Pearl: Passage to Freedom from Washington, D.C.
Mary kay ricks's unforgettable chronicle brings to life the Underground Railroad's largest escape attempt, the seemingly immutable politics of slavery, and the individuals who struggled to end it. Escape on the pearl reveals the incredible odyssey of those who were onboard, including the remarkable lives of fugitives Mary and Emily Edmonson, the two sisters at the heart of this true story of courage and determination.
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Praise Song for the Butterflies
The gazette"a fictional West African country is the setting for Bernice L. Unspeakable acts befall Abeo for the fifteen years she is held in the shrine. The book centers on abeo kata, the privileged daughter of a government employee and a stay-at-home mother in West Africa whose happy life changes dramatically after she's placed in a shrine as an offering.
Spanning decades and two continents, Praise Song for the Butterflies will break your heart and then heal it. When she is finally rescued, endure the revelation of family secrets, broken and battered, she must struggle to overcome her past, and learn to trust and love again. In the tradition of chris cleave's little Bee, this novel is a contemporary story that offers an eye-opening account of the practice of ritual servitude in West Africa.
Mcfadden's forthcoming praise Song for the Butterflies, about a nine-year-old West African girl sacrificed into religious servitude. Vanity fair"the novel has a timeless quality; McFadden is a master of taking you to another time and place. Mcfadden's novel sheds light on the long practice of trokosi, ritual servitude to priests.
Ida: A Sword Among Lions: Ida B. Wells and the Campaign Against Lynching
At the center of the national drama is Ida B. With meticulous research and vivid rendering of her subject, black and white, Giddings also provides compelling portraits of twentieth-century progressive luminaries, with whom Wells worked during some of the most tumultuous periods in American history. Wells firmly in the context of her times as well as ours, in the process, Giddings at long last gives this visionary reformer her due and, sheds light on an aspect of our history that isoften left in the shadows.
Giddings, author of the groundbreaking book When and Where I Enter, which traced the activisthistory of black women in America, the irrepressible personality of Ida B. For wells the key to the rise in violence was embedded in attitudes not only about black men but about women and sexuality as well. Exiled from the south by 1892, wells subsequently took her campaign across the country and throughout the British Isles before she married and settled in Chicago, where she continued her activism as a journalist, suffragist, and independent candidate in the rough-and-tumble world of the Windy City’s politics.
In this eagerly awaited biography by Paula J.
This Bitter Earth Sugar Book 2
With her worn leopard-print suitcase and her head held high, cruel-hearted townsfolk, she walks past the prying eyes of its small-minded, praying for the strength to keep going. In this bitter earth, arkansas, sugar Lacey is on her way out of Bigelow, where she’d come to break with the past.
Queen of Bebop: The Musical Lives of Sarah Vaughan
Drawing from a wealth of sources as well as on exclusive interviews with Vaughan’s friends and former colleagues, her creative process, and, ultimately, Queen of Bebop unravels the many myths and misunderstandings that have surrounded Vaughan while offering insights into this notoriously private woman, her genius.
She reveals how, in the late 1940s and early 1950s, vaughan helped desegregate American airwaves, opening doors for future African-American artists seeking mainstream success, while also setting the stage for the civil rights activism of the 1960s and 1970s. She follows vaughan from her hometown of newark, new jersey, to the Waldorf Astoria and on to the world stage, and her first performances at the Apollo, breathing life into a thrilling time in American music nearly lost to us today.
Equal parts biography, criticism, and good old-fashioned American success story, Queen of Bebop is the definitive biography of a hugely influential artist. Hayes deftly traces the influence that Vaughan’s singing had on the perception and appreciation of vocalists—not to mention women—in jazz. This absorbing and sensitive treatment of a singular personality updates and corrects the historical record on Vaughan and elevates her status as a jazz great.
Mules and Men Harper Perennial Modern Classics
Set intimately within the social context of black life, " songs, Vodou customs, the stories, "big old lies, and superstitions recorded in these pages capture the imagination and bring back to life the humor and wisdom that is the unique heritage of African Americans.
Sugar: A Novel
Sugar brings a southern african-american town vividly to life, with its flowering magnolia trees, lingering scents of jasmine and honeysuckle, and white picket fences that keep strangers out--but ignorance and superstition in. Strong and folksy storytelling. Think zora Neale Hurston. Sugar speaks of what is real.
The dallas morning newsfrom an exciting new voice in African-American contemporary fiction comes a novel Ebony praised for its "unforgettable images, unique characters, and moving story that keeps the pages turning until the end. The chicago Defender calls Sugar "a literary explosion. Mcfadden reveals amazing talent.
A Taste of Reality
And to make matters worse, her best friend at work is keeping dangerous secrets. But anise is no quitter. Kimberla lawson roby returns with another moving and triumphant novel about a woman who, against all odds, battles the most blatant kind of workplace discrimination while dealing with a crumbling marriage and a trusted friend’s betrayal.
On the surface, a solid marriage, Anise seems to have it all: a successful career, and good friends. As brave as she is determined, she reaches deep inside her soul to find the strength and courage to overcome heartbreak and stay her course. After being married for four seemingly blissful years, she discovers that her husband is having an affair.
. However, the problem at work is only the beginning of Anise's troubles.
Fighting for America: Black Soldiers-the Unsung Heroes of World War II
Here are letters, collected by historian Christopher Moore, and rare documents, photographs, oral histories, the son of two black WWII veterans. Jackie robinson, kay, a wac when she met his father, the future baseball legend who faced court-martial for refusing to sit in the back of a military bus; an until now forgotten African-American philosopher who helped save many lives at a Japanese POW camp; even the author’s own parents: his mother, Bill, who was part of the celebrated Red Ball Express.
. The african-american contribution to winning World War II has never been celebrated as profoundly as in Fighting for America. In this inspirational and uniquely personal tribute, the essential part played by black servicemen and -women in that cataclysmic conflict is brought home. Featuring a unique perspective on black soldiers, like the author, Fighting for America will move any reader: all who, owe their lives to those who served.
Weaving his family history with that of his people and nation, Moore has created an unforgettable tapestry of sacrifice, fortitude, and courage. Yet fighting for america is more than a testimonial; it is also a troubling story of profound contradictions, of a country still in the throes of segregation, of a domestic battleground where arrests and riots occurred simultaneously with foreign service–and of how the war helped spotlight this disparity and galvanize the need for civil rights.
A Hope in the Unseen: An American Odyssey from the Inner City to the Ivy League
. At ballou, Cedric had almost no friends. He ate lunch in a classroom most days, plowing through the extra work he asked for, knowing that he was really competing with kids from other, harder schools. Cedric jennings’s driving ambition—which was fully supported by his forceful mother—was to attend a top college.
In september 1995, after years of near superhuman dedication, he realized that ambition when he began as a freshman at Brown University. But he didn't leave his struggles behind. He found himself unprepared for college: he struggled to master classwork and fit in with the white upper-class students. Having traveled too far to turn back, Cedric was left to rely on his intelligence and his determination to maintain hope in the unseen—a future of acceptance and reward.
In this updated edition, a hope in the unseen chronicles cedric’s odyssey during his last two years of high school, follows him through his difficult first year at Brown, and tells the story of his subsequent successes in college and the world of work. Eye-opening, and often deeply moving, sometimes humorous, A Hope in the Unseen weaves a crucial new thread into the rich and ongoing narrative of the American experience.