Book Description
Abby Knight is the proud owner of her hometown flower shop, but a new low-cost competitor is killing her profits-and a black SUV just rammed her vintage Corvette in a hit-and-run. She's determined to track down the driver, but when the trail turns deadly, the next flower arrangement might be for her own funeral.
Customer Reviews:
Has Potential.......2007-07-20
At first I didn't think I would get past the first chapter of this book - but, having purchased it, I pushed myself to read it. As I moved through the book, my interest increased and I have now decided that I will read the next to see if indeed it is a worthwhile series. The main character isn't the brightest, and that is my biggest issue. I love to read about smart, together women. Abby fauns all over the hot guy, takes quite a while to put two and two together, and takes risks that suspend belief. Her good qualities though, include her caring heart and her willingness to help people. If in the next book, she is written a little smarter - and less droolly over the hot guy, and maybe a bit more info about flowers and flower shops -I will continue to read these.
Book 2 of the Flower Shop Mysteries.......2007-05-10
In Book 2, Abby deals with some cut-rate competition. When her beloved vintage yellow 'Vette gets smashed in a hit-and-run, Abby is determined to find out who is responsible (a girl can't live without her car, right?) Unfortunately, she steps on some toes .. and her next questions may be her last ...
MUMS THE WORD.......2007-05-10
HAVE JUST READ 4 OF COLLINS BOOKS AND ENJOY ALL.......SEXY WITHOUT SEX...VERY NICE....LOVE THAT HUNK MARCO.....WITTY AND KEEPS YOU WANTING TO KEEP READING
Quick Read.......2007-04-21
The Flower Shop Mysteries are a quick sugar-coated read that leaves you laughing out loud. Though some points of the plot were trite and useless, they are a fun read when you just want to kill some time or take a break in the middle of another book. I really enjoyed reading them, even if Abby's interference in the case did not make sense.
Light, Breezy Read.......2007-04-10
Kate Collins's new mystery sleuth Abby Knight has found her way onto my shelves. My wife and I love watching BBC movies (FOYLE'S WAR, MURDER IN SUBURBIA, and the new MYSTERY WOMAN series) together and trying to figure out whodunit. The Abby Knight series gives us a whole new bunch of books to read and talk about.
The characters are thin, but they're supposed to be. These are people that you know enough about to guess the rest and they become real in that respect. There's not a lot of history here, but there's plenty of relationships that make a nice family to come home to from book to book.
One thing that Collins does really well is keep the story moving. Something is always happening. It strained credulity a little with the way Abby kept getting her Vette bashed, but I think it was a tip of the hat to Janet Evanovitch's Stephanie Plum character who is notorious for the way she treats cars.
The mystery is almost a no-brainer as well, but you can feel smart for putting all the pieces together. That's the true joy of a mystery: getting to solve it just a chapter or two ahead of the author.
Since this is Collins's first book and she's making some awfully good moves for a beginner, my wife and I are going to keep an eye on her and see where she goes with her series. This book is perfect for a day at the beach or a lazy stay-at-home Sunday afternoon when it's raining. Also, the titles are really catchy!
Average customer rating:
- Great book...
- A Wonderful Book for Children and Adults Alike
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The Last Slice of Rainbow and Other Stories
Joan Aiken
Manufacturer: Trophy Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Aiken, Joan | ( A ) | Authors & Illustrators, A-Z | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Aiken, Joan | ( A ) | Authors, A-Z | Teens | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0064403343 |
Customer Reviews:
Great book..........2007-03-28
I too read this book in middle school and have been completely in love with the stories and characters ever since. (I feel a little silly that I only just now thought to look on Amazon for a copy for my little sister)I fully recommend this title for anyone who has a youngster that loves fantastical stories.
A Wonderful Book for Children and Adults Alike.......2000-09-24
I first read this book when I was in the Fourth Grade. I fell in love with its fantastic tales of bizzarre circumstances and extraordinary characters. It has, since then, been one of my favorite books. This book will revive the imaginations of anyone who chooses to read it.
Average customer rating:
- A Lovely Read
- Left me with a good incomplete feeling
- An experience of the reality of early earthloving peoples.
- interessting....in a strange way
- Heartrending delight
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The Last Rainbow
Parke Godwin
Manufacturer: Avon Books (Mm)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Godwin, Parke | ( G ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:
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Beloved Exile
-
Firelord
-
Lord of Sunset
-
Robin and the King
ASIN: 0380780003 |
Customer Reviews:
A Lovely Read.......2004-02-05
This book is a lovely intermingling of two worlds. On the one side is Patrick, a fiery young priest enamoured with the idea of leading Ireland to the faith. On the other side is the Prydn: a nomadic people blessed with a great love of life and Earth, but slowly marginalised into the feared and hated faerie folk. Patrick is drawn into a small tribe of Prydn, most of whom shine with their own fierce diamond-bright personalities: thoughtful, determined Dorelai, gentle Drust, bold Cru, and a host of others. The interplay and exchange of knowledge between the two worlds--the world of Christianity and the world of magic--is so gradual and sensual that it almost feels like lovemaking. Soon enough, though, we come to realise that both Patrick and the prydn queen Dorelai share a commons sin--pride--that draws them irresistably into the climax of the tale.
Stylistic shifts abound, allowing the readers to look through the minds and eyes of all the myriad cultures displayed. The use of language is rich and deft, frequently dissolving into comedy, and just with as much mastery turning into a passionate love story and a richly wrought history. There's something for everybody at the end of this Rainbow.
Left me with a good incomplete feeling.......1999-01-01
I have owned this book for nie on six, seven years, but was never able to get past the first chapter until this week. The book left me feeling incomplete in a good way, by not tying lifes up in tidy little endings, but allowing the end to continue beyond the last page. I love the twist on the Fairie legend Godwin gives to us - not a magical race of legendary immortal sidhe, but an endangered people trying to live their nomadic lives on the plains of Britain being inexorably pushed out by the late-coming Britains and Romans.
What I especially liked was the simple God-loving faith the people had from time immortal, time before St. Patrick came to share Christianity. I think it demonstrates the similarities between all God loving people everywhere, regardless of their nomitive religions. Religion is not a nomitive profession of faith, but the living, breathing, eating, sleeping, mating, dying activities of life. Faith is. That is all. Godwin expresses this beautifully beyond church dogma and religious intolerance as Patrick changes to see Godliness in all people, not only those who believe the same as him.
An experience of the reality of early earthloving peoples........1998-09-12
I love this book, plain and simple. It contrasts clearly the hazards of *thinking* one's spirituality versus feeling it in one's soul. Don't be put off by the fact that its about St. Patrick - this book more clearly shows the heart and lives of early earth-loving pagan peoples than any book I have ever read. A must for any goddess-worshipper.
interessting....in a strange way.......1998-08-22
this was one of the few books that took me by surprise.... looking forward to a good oldstyle medival noval.. what I got was something completly different... more like a mysthic explanation of the spreading of christianity across the isles...and that is where my only point of chriticismn takes root... does the author really think that all 'heathens' accepted faith so willingly...? or is that not a kind of makebelive from the church?!!! Nevertheless the style of this novel is amazingly refreshing and fun to read....
Heartrending delight.......1996-05-28
I had to read "Firelord" and "Beloved Exile" before I couldget through the first couple of chapters of this one. But what a surprise! The culture of 5th Century Britain was an eye-opener, and this author spun many of our tales into the history of the Prydyn. The character of Saint Patrick is put through the fire, and comes out the other side the humble, loving man described in the history books. This book will break your heart, and put it back together again for you.
Average customer rating:
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Do Rainbows Last Forever? (Children of Courage)
Cynthia Dilaura, M.D. Devore
Manufacturer: Abdo Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: School & Library Binding
Short Story Collections | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1562392484 |
Product Description
On 10 July 1985, French secret agents bombed the Greenpeace campaign flagship Rainbow Warrior in Auckland Harbour, New Zealand. Portuguese-born photographer Fernando Pereira died in the sabotage outrage that shook the world. The bombed ship was scuttled off a New Zealand bay in 1987 to form a living reef and Rainbow Warrior II was commissioned. In 1996, France ended nuclear tests in Polynesia after further Greenpeace and Pacific protests. This redesigned and revised new "memorial edition" of the original 1986 book contains new material and additional pictures about American and French nuclear testing in the Pacific.
Average customer rating:
- still wishing for a sequel...
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Fading rainbow: A reporter's last story
Robert E Liss
Manufacturer: Methuen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
Social Services & Welfare | Poverty | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Journalists | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Internal Medicine | Medicine | Subjects | Books | Cardiology | Critical Care | Endocrinology & Metabolism | Gastroenterology | General | Hematology | Hepatology | Infectious Disease | Nephrology | Neurology | Oncology | Pulmonary | Rheumatology | Urology
ASIN: 0416006310 |
Customer Reviews:
still wishing for a sequel..........1999-06-19
i think everyone should read this moving and honest book. as a young fan put it..."we all have to experience death at least once in our lives."
Book Description
What if there were a solution to war and genocide? What if a secret society sent back to 1906 two lovers, Joy Phim, a gorgeous warrior, and John Banks, a pacifist professor of history, and gave them the incredible wealth and weapons necessary to create a peaceful alternative universe--one that never experienced the horrors of world war, the Holocaust, and the other atrocities of the twentieth century? And what if, at great personal cost, they succeed too well and create a peaceful world of complacent democracies?
In Book 2, the clock is turned back to their arrival in 1906. They receive a message from the future of the universe they will create-Islamic fundamentalists have attacked the unarmed democracies with nuclear weapons and enslaved them. It is now up to these lovers to prevent this horrible future.
But the fundamentalists know about the message, but not who received it. They send a female assassin back to 1906 to find and kill the time travelers and thus save their future victory. The assassin soon discovers who the time travelers are, which leads to the most dangerous combat, and for Joy and the assassin, the shocking discovery of their identities.
Book Description
Here's a hip, authoritative guide to shots, shooters, and slammers, destined to become the twenty-something barfly's bible. Totally indulgent, unabashedly devoted to silly, free-spirited fun, it's packaged in a chunky format. And it's sure to eliminate the competition because of the astonishing volume and variety of recipes: more than 1,400 recipes include such college standards as the Body Shot, Jello Shot, Tequila Slammer, and Lemon Drop, plus hundreds of wild and crazy variations. Recipes are accompanied by photographs of highly collectible shot glasses, emblazoned with all manner of images and mottoes.
Customer Reviews:
A "Must Have" for anyone who hosts parties often.......2007-01-12
Bought it for a friend who could really use it while on the road to share with others and expand his alcohol erudition. Not sure how far he is yet in the alphabetically-listed line up.
Easy to use - all the shot names are in alphabetical order and directions are simple. You don't have to be a certified mixologist to understand how to make them.
Get CrUnKeD Up!.......2004-10-25
Wanna get crunked up??? This book will leave you wanting to try so many different shots you'll wish you had the alcohol tollerance of a sailor!
Like Whoa.......2004-10-23
Like Whoa you need this book. If you are a bad ass you need this bad ass book. Stack um and keep the shots coming
Big Bad-ass Book Of Shots (Cyclopedias).......2004-10-23
This book is off the "heezy fo' sheezy"...lol...go get it pronto!!! Great book!!!
I 'HEART' The Big Bad-ass Book Of Shots.......2004-10-22
Outstanding! A must have for any home with a bottle of Vodka always chilling in the freezer.
Customer Reviews:
Found this book showy and impractical.......2004-11-06
This book seemed to be more about the author and his acquaintances rather than about the dog itself. I was hoping there would be a lot more meat: sources other than the author's opining and the penchant towards show dogs. I was looking for a functional manual on living with, training and caring for a Boston. What I got instead was a testament to the breed and pictorials of various show dogs and what seemed to be the author's friend's dogs. This book was a fair treatment of the breed but not at all what I would recommend for a practical "owner's guide."
A wonderful reference..........2002-03-16
As a cat owner who is looking into getting one of these wonderful dogs, I have found the information in this book to be excellent - much above the rest (I think I own every book about Bostons). Not only does the book discuss how to pick out an appropriate Boston, it also discusses the good and bad characteristics of the Boston Terrier. I found the section on raising a puppy to be a wonderful resource, considering raising kittens is a much, much different experience. I would suggest this book to anyone who is considering adding a Boston Terrier to their family.
A New Owner's Guide to Boston Terriers.......2001-05-20
A very good book. It contained a lot of useful information, that I was unaware of. The time spent reading this book was well worth it, especially when you consider the time I saved by following the advise and tips it contains. I recommend it highly.
Delightful!.......2001-01-08
Bostons are alert, intelligent little dogs. This book gives an excellent overview of the history, care and training of Boston bulls. These hardy little dogs are known for their high level of energy.
The authors, to their credit include a section on the special care of pregnant Boston bulls. More often than not, Bostons have to have their puppies delivered by C-section because the puppies' heads are too large for the dog to have a natural delivery. Special attention has been given to this aspect of Boston bull care.
This book is worth having for people who own or love a Boston bull.
Customer Reviews:
Beautiful I.D. and Value Guide to Ceramic Coin Banks.......2000-06-01
This 200 page softbound book contains over 1,000 full color, large, sharp photos of every type of ceramic coin bank. Each entry includes the description, size, dates and value (1997). Although essentially an I.D. and value guide, there is a considerable amount of information of value and interest to the collector. Included are: Ceramic Manufacturing Processes, Dating, Condition, Rarity Ratings, Geographical Ceramic Manufacturing Centers, and Photo Notes. Chapters range from Human heads, Humans, Cats, Dogs and Elephants, to Squirrel, Fish, Monkeys, Lions, Vegetables, Pots, Books, Vehicles and Ships and Purses. A complete glossary and bibliography are provided. Very useful for collectors of this popular topic.
Variety of Smaller Banks.......2000-04-19
This is a great book for the established or beginning coin bank collector! It really has a great variety for any type of specialized ceramic bank afficianado. As a long time collector & seller I recommend this book to any one!
Customer Reviews:
Delightful Book for Pottery and Related Banks........1999-12-14
This 224 page book contains over 800 full color, sharp, large photos of pottery, porcelain and composition banks from 60 manufacturers. The banks are grouped by maker, ranging from Adria Art, American Bisque and Applause, to McCoy Pottery, Regal China and Royal Copley, to United Feature Syndicate, Walt Disney and Warner Brothers. Prices are updated to 1998. It is completely indexed to facilitate locating items. A useful guide for collectors of these items.
Book Description
This sewing manual guides beginners through basic techniques and helps build the confidence needed to overcome common mistakes. From choosing fabrics and measuring fit to buying a sewing machine and redesigning a pattern, beginning sewers will find everything they need to create expert garments. Tips include efficient methods of cutting fabric that allow for quick seam assembly and creating a complete home sewing nook. Also included is information on caring for clothing to keep garments looking new.
Customer Reviews:
Plain Englis.......2006-08-20
I've been sewing for years and learned several new ideas to save time and frustration. Reading is pleasant and suggestions are easy to understand. I liked this book
Painless Sewing - a treat for home sewers.......2006-08-14
If you learned to sew traditionally, this book is for you! It's full of tips and shortcuts and covers a variety of topics including: How to sew fast, textile information and care, basic tools, pattern fitting and alterations, stitching, darts, enclosed seams, setting in sleeves, buttonholes, zippers, cuffs and plackets, and much more. I read this book after having not sewn for a number of years. I couldn't wait to get back to it after reading this book. Not only is this book entertaining, it is a quick read loaded with information!
Mother Pletsch's Painless Sewing.......2006-05-29
Awesome book. Lots of very helpful shortcuts for an experienced sewer.
Average customer rating:
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Mother Pletsch's Painless Sewing with Pretty Pati's Perfect Pattern Primer
Manufacturer: Palmer/Pletsch Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Crafts & Hobbies
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
| Applique
| Baskets
| Beadwork
| Book Making & Binding
| Candlemaking
| Crafts for Children
| Crocheting
| Cross-Stitch
| Decorating
| Dollhouses
| Dough
| Dried Flowers
| Dye
| Embroidery
| Fashion
| Flower Arranging
| Framing
| Fun with Paper & Wood, Stones & Knives
| General
| Glass & Glassware
| Jewelry
| Knitting
| Lace & Tatting
| Lapidary
| Leathercrafts
| Metal Work
| Miniatures
| Mobiles
| Model Trains
| Models
| Needlecrafts
| Needlepoint
| Needlework
| Origami
| Painting
| Papercrafts
| Patchwork
| Potpourri
| Pottery & Ceramics
| Printmaking
| Puppets & Puppetry
| Quilts & Quilting
| Radio Operation
| Reference
| Ribbons
| Rubber Stamping
| Rugs
| Scrapbooking
| Seasonal
| Sewing
| Soap Making
| Spinning
| Stenciling
| Stuffed Animals
| Textile Arts
| Toymaking
| Weaving
| Wood Toys
| Woodworking
| Wreathmaking
ASIN: 0935278001 |
Customer Reviews:
Tips for sewing fast!.......2004-09-06
Tips for sewing fast, discussions on the latest sewing tools and shaping fabrics, and extensive coverage of the sewer's most confusing issue -- fit.
Mother Pletsch's Painless Sewing Pati Palmer, Susan Pletsch is a lighthearted book for both beginners and those who want a sewing brush up... the most uncomplicated sewing book of the century! Learn to sew FAST, with professional-looking results. And with Pretty Pati's Perfect Patter Primer, you'll find your clothes fit better than ever before, thanks to co author Pati Palmer, who also designs for The McCall Pattern Company as The Fit Expert.
Book Description
An old bottle or a piece of china off a sunken ship can bring in a as much as $1000, and a sunken canon can be worth $10,000. For those of you who wish to hunt for a specific wreck or treasure, or just like to read about these adventures and treasures uncovered, these stories are equally fascinating and stimulating.
Customer Reviews:
Great local New England lore on shipwrecks.......1999-06-18
This is an excellent short book on shipwrecks off hte New England coast. Enchanting lore, interesting history and stories of modern day treasure hunters and pirates. Author has series of 20 plus books on New England history covering range of subjects. Great to read while on summer vacation or travelling through old New England.
Average customer rating:
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Cyberarts: Exploring Art & Technology
Manufacturer: Backbeat Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Schools, Periods & Styles
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
| Abstract Expressionism
| Ancient & Classical
| Art Deco
| Art Nouveau
| Baroque
| Byzantine
| Constructivism
| Contemporary Art
| Cubism
| Dadaism
| Expressionism
| Fauvism
| Folk Art
| Futurism
| German Expressionism
| Gothic
| Impressionism
| Mannerism
| Medieval
| Modern
| Neoclassical
| Pop
| Post-Impressionism
| Pre-Raphaelite
| Prehistoric & Primitive
| Realism
| Renaissance
| Rococo
| Romanesque
| Romantic
| Surrealism
Pop Culture
| Graphic Design
| Design & Decorative Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Web Graphics
| Web Design
| Web Development
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
| Books
Culture
| Business & Culture
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Graphic Design
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General & Reference
| Technology
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
History of Technology
| Technology
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0879302534 |
Average customer rating:
- My God, pick up this book now!
- This book has it all.
- I love Hettie!
- couldn't put it down
- Poignant, but ultimately mundane
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How I Became Hettie Jones
Hettie Jones
Manufacturer: Grove Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Authors
| Arts & Literature
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Women
| Specific Groups
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| United States
| Historical
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
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Literary Theory
| History & Criticism
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
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Women
| History & Criticism
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
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Women Writers
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| World Literature
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General
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General
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| Literary
General
| Women's Studies
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
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Similar Items:
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Minor Characters: A Beat Memoir
-
Memoirs of a Beatnik
-
Recollections of My Life as a Woman: The New York Years
-
Go: A Novel
-
Women of the Beat Generation: The Writers, Artists and Muses at the Heart of a Revolution
ASIN: 0802134963 |
Amazon.com
Jones' atmospheric prose brings the Beat era to life with more gusto than any previous memoir, thanks to homely details like eating potato pancakes at the Second Avenue Deli and wearing Ukrainian scarves and black tights. She looks back on her marriage to LeRoi Jones with tenderness, even as she delineates the cultural forces that eventually ripped them apart. Famous friends like Allen Ginsberg make appearances, but Jones' focus is on family (her two daughters are lovingly described) and individual growth. Evocative and touching.
Book Description
Greenwich Village in the 1950s was a haven to which young poets, painters, and jazz musicians flocked. Among them was Hettie Cohen, who'd been born into a middle-class Jewish family in Queens and who'd chosen to cross racial barriers to marry the controversial black poet LeRoi Jones. Theirs was a bohemian life in the awakening East Village of underground publishing and jazz lofts, through which drifted such icons of the generation as Allen Ginsberg, Thelonious Monk, Jack Kerouac, Frank O'Hara, Billie Holiday, James Baldwin, and Franz Kline.
Customer Reviews:
My God, pick up this book now!.......2006-09-17
I am an avid reader, and I read an assortment of books, but I have never come across a book like this! Miraculously, I picked it up at a used bookshop and bought it after quickly scanning the description on the back flap. It seemed interesting, but was thrown in a corner with a bunch of other books that I promised myself I would read when I caught up on mounds of other books which seemed more important. Fast forward a few years and imagine someone literally nose in book, reading while walking, not able to put it down! This is a woman's fascinating account of life in the '50s and '60s, but that's not all. Hettie's writing style is so unique, beautiful and inspired it's a shame she hasn't written a dozen books with the same freeflowing gorgeous poetry of this one. This book actually made me laugh out loud, sob, smile, feel anger, and shame. It also made me frustrated by the injustices of the world. How can one attend school everyday from the age of five and not learn a tenth of what is taught in this slim book? Buy this for your sons and daughters, your parents, friends, teachers. It's true that this should be required reading. I would love to have a conversation with this wise woman, but in the meantime, this book is as close to that as one can hope for.
This book has it all........2004-08-25
This book has it all. It's half novel, half history lesson, half
feminist screed, and half bittersweet love story. And somehow it all
works.
In my first novel I wrote, "Behind every great man is a good woman he
steals all of his ideas from". But in this case the man had his own
great ideas, and the woman proved later with this book that she is the
equal to the great man.
love, Michael W. Dean
I love Hettie!.......2004-02-29
I had the honor of taking both a poetry and personal essay class taught by Hettie Jones, and all I have to say, is she is just about the coolest lady I know, and since I met her before reading this memoir, it was absolutely amazing to think of all she has been through, she is wonderful and this book reflects just that.
couldn't put it down.......2003-04-10
Great books - stayed up until 3 am to finish. paid the price this morning but it was worth it.
Poignant, but ultimately mundane.......2002-10-17
Hettie Jones' work is an important contribution to the Beat era. The Beats were avant-garde in many ways, but they remained entrenched in sexism. Sexual liberation is here frought with masculine privilege, as is drug-taking and the creation of art--men get to create, while the mothers cook, clean, and change diapers.
However, I found the book a bit dull and unreflective. Jones seems not to have been very excited by the Beat scene or the people whom she knew. Nor does she emote a real feminist consciousness. Instead, she seems to sense that something was wrong, and hope that things will change.
Amazon.com
Sarah Lawrence College professor Komozi Woodard convincingly argues that Amiri Baraka was not only the most original black poet, author, dramatist, and cultural critic to emerge from the 1960s but also that era's most important nexus between the politics and artistic movements. "The serious study of Black Power," he writes, "must begin with an examination of its most important experiments ... specifically, the leadership of Amiri Baraka and the dynamics of black cultural nationalism." Woodard details Baraka's visit to revolutionary Cuba and the influence of Patrice Lumumba on his thinking; the black-arts movement Baraka helped found and the black/Puerto Rican coalitions he forged; his ambitious but flawed housing ventures in Newark, New Jersey; and his heroic efforts to hold together the 1972 National Black Political Convention in Gary, Indiana. Woodard weaves a complex picture detailing the ascendance of a modern cultural icon and the political landscape he helped create. --Eugene Holley Jr.
Book Description
Poet and playwright Amiri Baraka is best known as one of the African American writers who helped ignite the Black Arts Movement. This book examines Baraka's cultural approach to Black Power politics and explores his role in the phenomenal spread of black nationalism in the urban centers of late-twentieth-century America, including his part in the election of black public officials, his leadership in the Modern Black Convention Movement, and his work in housing and community development.
Komozi Woodard traces Baraka's transformation from poet to political activist, as the rise of the Black Arts Movement pulled him from political obscurity in the Beat circles of Greenwich Village, swept him into the center of the Black Power Movement, and ultimately propelled him into the ranks of black national political leadership. Moving outward from Baraka's personal story, Woodard illuminates the dynamics and remarkable rise of black cultural nationalism with an eye toward the movement's broader context, including the impact of black migrations on urban ethos, the importance of increasing population concentrations of African Americans in the cities, and the effect of the 1965 Voting Rights Act on the nature of black political mobilization.
Customer Reviews:
This is a must read for all interested in politics and race.......1999-08-27
Woodard writes about the relationship of black power, black cultural arts, and the black nationalist movement with LeRoi Jones, later Amiri Baraka, one of its main supporters. ... He concludes that Black America requires an ideological and political arsenal of both nationalism and Marxism. But at no time can the emphasis be purely Marxist or nationalist without doing damage to the black community. In other words, sectarianism is the enemy of black liberation and the fight for equality. This is a must read for all interested in politics and race in the U.S. Recommended for undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty. -- P. Barton-Kriese, Indiana University East, Choice July/August 1999
The most important book on Black Power Movement.......1999-05-23
Professor Peniel Joseph writes that, "Historian Komozi Woodard's `A Nation Within A Nation' ... stands out as the most important book to be written about the Black Power Movement. `A Nation Within A Nation' is really several books rolled into one. First, it is a well-researched and painstakingly detailed case study of the dramatic consequences of Black Power politics on [the] racial and political dynamics of Newark, New Jersey during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Second, it is a political biography that underscores the significance of Amiri Baraka to the Black Power Movement's rise and eventual decline in American politics. Third, the book explores the transformation of black cultural nationalism during the Black Power era and Baraka's pivotal role in contemporizing black nationalism as an expressive political and cultural vehicle. Finally, it's a study of the divese and complex matrix that produced black political thought and practice during the period; a historical interrogation of the national and international implications of radical anti-colonial discourses that undergirded Black Power politics."
One of the most comprehensive studies of black nationalism........1999-03-08
According to Publishers Weekly, "Woodard examines the role of poet Amiri Baraka's `cultural politics' on Black Power and black nationalism in the 1960s. After a brief overview of the evolution of black nationalism since slavery, he focuses on activities in Northeastern urban centers (Baraka's milieus were Newark, NJ, and, to a lesser extent, New York City). Taking issue with scholars who see cultural nationalism as self-destructive, Woodard finds it "fundamental to the endurance of the Black Revolt from the 1960s into the 1970s." California Senator Tom Hayden, says: "The fascinating story of a struggle that nearly succeeded in creating self-determination in the urban ghetto" And, in Professor Robin D.G. Kelley's assessment, the book "will be one of the most important studies of black urban politics and culture in the postwar period." As far as Professor Michael B. Katz is concerned, it "breaks new ground and revises standard interpretations of the era. I am particularly impressed with the way he has connected political mobilization to movements in the arts, literature, and intellectual life, on the one hand, and to the restructuring of American life, on the other. It's a hardheaded, unflinching analysis, and he tells it well and with great feeling." Finally, Professor John Dittmer found it "Balanced and moving." "It should be required reading ... for all citizens who care about the problems of race and class in urban America. ... quite simply, one of the most important books we have on the black urban experience in the twentieth century ... by one of the leading scholars of the African American experience in this country." The book concludes that there have been five distinct phases in the history of black nationality formation in the U.S. The first phase was the ethnogenesis of African Americans during slavery; that established the social and cultural foundations of Black America. The second was the black nationalism that flowered before the Civil War among free Blacks in the urban North. A third phase resulted from the failure of the Civil War and Reconstruction to guarantee full citizenship for African Americans; under racial oppression and Jim Crow segregation, a subject nation developed in the Black Belt areas of the South. The most vivid example of that phase of nationality formation was the great Kansas Exodus. The fourth phase of black nationality formation resulted from the Great Migration of perhaps 1.5 million African Americans and from the development of large, compact, black concentrations in the ghettos of America; the flowering of that nationalism is seen in the Garvey Movement of the 1920s. And finally, a fifth stage of nationality formation ensued from the migration of 4 million Black Americans form the South between 1940 and 1970 and the development of dozens of "second ghettos," that generated hundreds of urban uprisings during the 1960s; that sense of modern nationality was heralded by the Black Power movement and the politics of Black cultural nationalism.
Amazon.com
First published in 1984, this is a revised edition of The Autobiography of Leroi Jones, which includes the original text (restored by the author) as well as a new introduction. Born Leroi Jones in 1934--he became Amiri Baraka in the mid-1960s---he is one of the seminal figures of contemporary black writing, a poet, playwright, novelist, critic, and political activist. Even more than those labels indicate, however, Baraka has been at the heart of literary and ideological ferment since the 1950s. Early in his career, he was strongly influenced by the Beats. During the cultural upheaval of the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s, he moved uptown to Harlem, changed his name, and embraced a religion that was a hybrid of Islam and traditional African principles. And then, in the 1970s, Baraka turned his back on Black Nationalism and embraced Marxist Leninism. The autobiography, written in Baraka's inimitable style, one that we might call word-jazz, ends there.
Customer Reviews:
The Dutchman.......2006-02-23
I've read the script and seen the video. Fascinating, well-written examination of behavior, race, and social standards. Should be more well recognized as a great black writer.
frankness, humor, self-examination ...........1999-08-13
Autobiographies, even by poets, rarely reach the depths of honest self-examination one finds in their poems. One has only to think of Kenneth Rexroth's tall stories or William Carlos Williams' evasions.
But Mr. Baraka's is different. His has been a journey from a middle class background in Newark (keeping in mind that it was not a white middle class), through Howard University's elitist social structure, the racism of the Air Force; his beginnings as a poet & his drift into Charles Olson's powerful gravity. Many of America's best white poets were among his friends & he did much to promote their careers along with his own. Then his turn toward leadership of the great Black Awakening of the Sixties, his move "uptown," his embrace of socialism & subsequent return to Newark where he continues to influence young writers & activists of all colors & ethnic backgrounds.
There are also his controversial plays, his feuds, marriages & arrests. Also his witnessing of the Newark Rebellion (the full deadly story never accurately reported in the press), his deep understanding of American culture & respect for authentic expression.
That's a lot to cover, but Baraka does so with frankness, humor, self-examination & an occasional willingness to admit error without loading up on pointless regrets.
A fine account of a fallible man who, even in his most angry moments, gives the world beautiful things. & that anger is usually over our failure to see the beauty of justice.
Bob Rixon, WFMU-FM
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