Red River

by Lalita Tademy

Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (January 3, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0446578983

Hailed as "powerful," "accomplished," and "spellbinding," Lalita Tademy's first novel Cane River was a New York Times bestseller and the 2001 Oprah Book Club Summer Selection. Now with her evocative, luminous style and painstaking research, she takes her family's story even further, back to a little-chronicled, deliberately-forgotten time...and the struggle of three extraordinary generations of African-American men to forge brutal injustice and shattered promise into a limitless future for their children... RED RIVER

For the newly-freed black residents of Colfax, Louisiana, the beginning of Reconstruction promised them the right to vote, own property-and at last control their own lives.

Casanegra: A Tennyson Hardwick Novel

by Blair Underwood, Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due

Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Atria (June 19, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0743287312

AALBC.com Book Review

Casanegra follows the adventures of Tennyson Hardwick, a gorgeous, sexy actor and former gigolo, living on the fringes of the good life in Hollywood. This story, which chronicles the redemption of a prodigal son, combines the glamour of Hollywood with the seedy hopelessness of the inner city.

In this hot and steamy mystery, Tennyson struggles to hang on to his acting career and redeem his sex-for-pay history, which estranged him from his family -- especially his father, a decorated LAPD captain who raised Tennyson to call him "sir." Now, in the wake of his father's sudden stroke, Tennyson has to save himself from taking the fall for the first murder of a female rapper. In the process he discovers his hidden talents -- the hard way.

The Pirate's Daughter - Winner Fiction

by Margaret Cezair-Thompson

Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: Unbridled Books; 1 edition (October 31, 2007)
ISBN-10: 1932961402

In 1946, a storm-wrecked boat carrying Hollywood's most famous swashbuckler shored up on the coast of Jamaica, and the glamorous world of 1940's Hollywood converged with that of a small West Indian society. After a long and storied career on the silver screen, Errol Flynn spent much of the last years of his life on a small island off of Jamaica, throwing parties and sleeping with increasingly younger teenaged girls. Based on those years, The Pirate's Daughter is the story of Ida, a local girl who has an affair with Flynn that produces a daughter, May, who meets her father but once.

Spanning two generations of women whose destinies become inextricably linked with the matinee idol�s, this lively novel tells the provocative history of a vanished era, of uncommon kinships, compelling attachments, betrayal and atonement in a paradisal, tropical setting. As adept with Jamaican vernacular as she is at revealing the internal machinations of a fading and bloated matinee idol, Margaret Cezair-Thompson weaves a saga of a mother and daughter finding their way in a nation struggling to rise to the challenge of independence.

New England White

by Stephen L. Carter

Hardcover: 576 pages
Publisher: Knopf (June 26, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0375413626

AALBC.com Book Review

When The Emperor of Ocean Park was published, Time Out declared: �Carter does for members of the contemporary black upper class what Henry James did for Washington Square society, taking us into their drawing rooms and laying their motives bare.� Now, with the same powers of observation, and the same richness of plot and character, Stephen L. Carter returns to the New England university town of Elm Harbor, where a murder begins to crack the veneer that has hidden the racial complications of the town's past, the secrets of a prominent family, and the most hidden bastions of African-American political influence.

Knots

by Nuruddin Farah

Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover (February 1, 2007)
ISBN-10: 1594489246

A new novel from one of the world's great writers-an extraordinary work set in Mogadiscio, Somalia-that both breaks new ground and brings him back to his literary roots.

A strong, self-reliant woman who was born in Somalia but brought up in North America, Cambara returns to Mogadiscio to escape a failed marriage and an overweening mother. Her journey back to her native home is a desperate attempt to find herself on her own terms-however ironically, in a country where women are expected to wear veils. And she has given herself a mission to reclaim her family's home from the warlord who has taken it as his own.

Cambara finds emotional refuge and practical support with a group of Somali women activists working to broker peace in a country that has been savagely riven by its drug-addled, power-hungry men. Farah's novels have been famous for their unique African feminism since his debut, From a Crooked Rib (just reissued by Penguin); Knots represents his most powerful return to that legacy.

Knots also presents a penetrating portrayal of Somalia's capital city-a city that's changed from the city Westerners saw on CNN and in 'Black Hawk Down,' transformed into a state of violent anarchy and psychological disrepair that has never been more important to understand. An especially intimate portrait of Mogadiscio, it's informed by Farah's own recent efforts to reclaim his family's property there, as well as his experiences trying to negotiate peace among the city's warlords.

Now more than ever, Farah's deeply wise and worldly inside look at the Muslim world is valuable and necessary.

Brother, I�m Dying  - Winner Memoir

by Edwidge Danticat

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Knopf (September 4, 2007)
ISBN-10: 1400041155

From the best-selling author of The Dew Breaker, a major work of nonfiction: a powerfully moving family story that centers around the men closest to her heart�her father, Mira, and his older brother, Joseph.

From the age of four, Edwidge Danticat came to think of her uncle Joseph, a charismatic pastor, as her �second father,� when she was placed in his care after her parents left Haiti for a better life in America. Listening to his sermons, sharing coconut-flavored ices on their walks through town, roaming through the house that held together many members of a colorful extended family, Edwidge grew profoundly attached to Joseph. He was the man who �knew all the verses for love.�

And so she experiences a jumble of emotions when, at twelve, she joins her parents in New York City. She is at last reunited with her two youngest brothers, and with her mother and father, whom she has struggled to remember. But she must also leave behind Joseph and the only home she's ever known.

by Victoria Rowell

Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: William Morrow (April 10, 2007)
ISBN-10: 006124659X

The story of a remarkable woman's rise out of the foster-care system to attain the American dream�and of the unlikely series of women who lifted her up in marvelous and distinctive ways

Born as a ward of the state of Maine�the child of an unmarried Yankee blueblood mother and an unknown black father�Victoria Rowell beat the odds. Unlike so many other children who fall through the cracks of our overburdened foster-care system, her experience was nothing short of miraculous, thanks to several extraordinary women who stepped forward to love, nurture, guide, teach, and challenge her to become the accomplished actress, philanthropist, and mother that she is today.

Alek

by Alek Wek

Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Amistad (August 28, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0061243310

Since the day she was scouted by a modeling agent while shopping at a London street fair when she was just nineteen, Alek Wek's life has been nothing short of a fantasy. When she's not the featured model in print campaigns for hip companies, or gracing the cover of Elle, she is working the runways of Paris, New York, and Milan to model for the world's leading designers, including Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel. But nothing in her early years prepared her for the life of a model.

Born in Wau, in the southern Sudan, Alek knew only a few years of peace with her family before they were caught up in a ruthless civil war that pitted outlaw militias, the Muslim-dominated government, and southern rebels against each other in a brutal conflict that killed nearly two million people. Here is her daring story of fleeing the war on foot and her escape to London, where her rise from young model to supermodel was all the more notable because of Alek's non-European looks.

A probe into the Sudanese conflict and an inside look into the life of a most unique supermodel, Alek is a book that will inspire as well as inform.

by Bliss Broyard

Hardcover: 528 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (September 27, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0316163503

Two months before he died of cancer, renowned literary critic Anatole Broyard called his grown son and daughter to his side, intending to reveal a secret he'd kept all their lives and most of his own: he was black. Born in the French Quarter in 1920, Anatole began to conceal his racial identity after the family moved from New Orleans to the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn and his parents resorted to "passing" in order to get work. From his bohemian days in the caf's of Greenwich Village in the 1940s to his ascension in the ranks of the literary elite, he continued to maintain the fa�ade.

by Ishmael Beah

Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (February 13, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0374105235

In A LONG WAY GONE: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Beah, now twenty-six years old, tells a powerfully gripping story: At the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he�d been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. At sixteen, he was removed from fighting by UNICEF, and through the help of the staff at his rehabilitation center, he learned how to forgive himself, to regain his humanity, and, finally, to heal.

This is an extraordinary and mesmerizing account, told with real literary force and heartbreaking honesty.

by TD Jakes

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Atria; 1st Atria Books Hardcover Ed edition (May 8, 2007)
ISBN-10: 1416544313

"If you don't like the way your life is going, redesign it. Redeem the years you lost. Restore your vision, revive your passion for living, and reclaim what was dormant inside of you. I cannot give you the dream but I can give you the tools to reach the dreams you have inside. I have seen what successful people do over and over again. I want to show you how to Reposition Yourself so you can do it, too. I have learned that minor adjustments make a big difference."
�T.D. Jakes

From the Heart: Seven Rules to Live By

by Robin Roberts

Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: Hyperion (April 10, 2007)
ISBN-10: 1401303331

The first-ever book from popular and respected Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts, filled with her own hard-won insights into what makes success. While most people will say that the key to success is a willingness to break the rules, to think outside the box, to ignore boundaries, Robin Roberts -- whose own spectacular success as a college basketball star, ESPN commentator, and co-anchor on Good Morning America is undisputed -- is here to tell readers differently. In her considerable experience, there are seven rules whose importance cannot be ignored, and which must never be broken if true, meaningful success is the goal. In the tradition of bestsellers like Maria Shriver's And One More Thing Before You Go, Anna Quindlen's A Short Guide to a Happy Life, and Marlo Thomas' The Right Words at the Right Time, From the Heart is the perfect gift for new grads, and an inspiring read for anyone searching for the path to success.

by Tony Dungy

Hardcover: 301 pages
Publisher: Tyndale (July 10, 2007)
ISBN-10: 1414318014

Tony Dungy's words and example have intrigued millions of people, particularly following his victory in Super Bowl XLI, the first for an African American coach. How is it possible for a coach--especially a football coach--to win the respect of his players and lead them to the Super Bowl without the screaming histrionics, the profanities, the demand that the sport come before anything else? How is it possible for anyone to be successful without compromising faith and family? In this inspiring and reflective memoir, Coach Dungy tells the story of a life lived for God and family--and challenges us all to redefine our ideas of what it means to succeed. Includes a foreword by Denzel Washington and a 16-page color photo insert.

by Russell Simmons

Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Gotham (April 24, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1592402933

Since rising out of the New York City streets over 25 years ago, Russell Simmons has helped create such ground breaking ventures as Def Jam Records, Phat Farm and Def Comedy Jam, in the process becoming known the world over as �The CEO of Hip Hop.� Russell might have helped introduce hip-hop to the world, but he credits his success to his belief in a strong set of principles-or laws--which he shares for the first time in this book. In 12 straight forward steps, Russell reveals a path towards success that can be followed not only by those looking to duplicate his professional success, but anyone struggling to realize their dreams.

How Strong Women Pray

by Bonnie St. John

Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: FaithWords; 1 edition (November 2, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0446579262

Bonnie's amazing life story is interwoven with intimate reflections on prayer by inspiring women, given in interviews expressly for this book. Barbara Bush, Maya Angelou, Kathie Lee Gifford, Amy Grant, Kathy Ireland, Edie Falco, and Susan Taylor are among the 25 powerful women who share how they communicate with God and reveal to readers how they can do the same.

The prayer lives of these strong women are supplemented by compelling stories about how they have, through prayer, faced extraordinary challenges. Each answers these questions:

	When has prayer made a big difference in your life?
	How do you pray?
	What practical tips can you offer to make prayer more effective?
	How have your prayers changed over time?

Bonnie St. John lyrically reveals her own life experiences� how prayer helped her overcome the amputation of her leg as a child, her triumph as an international ski champion, and childhood sexual abuse.

by Sampson Davis, George Jenkins and Rameck Hunt

Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover (October 4, 2007)
ISBN-10: 1594489572

The Three Doctors-Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt-discovered early in their friendship that they shared one disturbing trait: As children, they had to navigate life in inner-city Newark without a father's support and guidance. While each young man dealt with the turmoil caused by an absent father, with no male role model to turn to for advice, each veered dangerously close to a life of delinquency, drugs, and crime. But despite great odds, the three overcame the statistics. In high school, they formed the Pact, a promise to one another that they would become doctors, and it kept them dedicated to one another and to their dream, and helped to put them on the road to successful careers as physicians.

Friends: A Love Story

by Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance

Hardcover: 404 pages
Publisher: Harlequin (February 14, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0373830580

Courtney B. Vance met Angela Bassett� They ran for years as friends in the same small circles. They had some hits, but mostly misses with other partners, and they shared one spectacularly dreadful first date together. And then, Courtney and Angela connected.

Experience the up-close-and-personal, real-life love story of this inspirational African-American celebrity couple. Learn how they navigate the fickle tides of fame, while keeping their relationship fresh and true. See how they've carved a meaningful life together in spite of humble beginnings, family tragedy and the ups and downs of stardom with love, faith and determination.

by Eddie and Gerald Levert

Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Harlem Moon (June 5, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0767927443

The final collaboration from Eddie and Gerald Levert: an intimate glimpse into their lives, their passions, and their musical legacy. But most important, I Got Your Back gets inside the special and rare father-son bond that these two R&B legends shared. Eddie and Gerald put their hearts and souls on the line and talk about their failures, concerns, fears, and triumphs as father and son. With a powerful message of reconciliation for broken families, Eddie and Gerald explore the themes of fatherhood, male bonding and male-female relationships. The book includes moving tributes from Eddie, Patti LaBelle, Steve Harvey and others, as well as treasured family photographs.

Foreigners

by Caryl Phillips

Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Knopf (October 23, 2007)
ISBN-10: 1400043972

From "one of the literary giants of our times" (The New York Times)�a brilliant hybrid of reportage, fiction, and historical fact that tells the stories of three black men whose tragic lives speak resoundingly to the place and role of the foreigner in English society.

Francis Barber, "given" to the great l8th century writer Samuel Johnson, afforded an unusual depth of freedom, which, after Johnson's death, would help hasten his wretched demise....Randolph Turpin, Britain's first black world champion boxer, who made history in 1951 by defeating Sugar Ray Robinson, and who ended his life in debt and despair...David Oluwale, a Nigerian stowaway who arrived in Leeds in 1949, the events of whose life called into question the reality of English justice, and whose death at the hands of police in 1969 served as a wake up call for the entire nation.

Each of these men's stories is told in a different, perfectly realized voice. Each illuminates the complexity and drama that lie behind the simple notions of haplessness that have been used to explain the tragedy of their lives. And each explores, in entirely new ways, the themes�at once timeless and urgent�that have been at the heart of all of Caryl Phillips' work: belonging, identity, and race.

by Michael Fletcher and Kevin Merida

Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: Doubleday (April 24, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385510802

SUPREME DISCOMFORT originated from a much-commented-upon profile of Clarence Thomas that appeared in an August 2002 issue of The Washington Post Magazine. In it, Kevin Merida and Michael Fletcher, both Post staffers, both black, crafted a haunting portrait of an isolated and bitter man, savagely reviled by much of the black community, not entirely comfortable in white society, internally wounded by his passage from a broken family and rural poverty in Georgia to elite educational institutions to the pinnacle of judicial power. He has clearly never recovered from the searing experience of his Senate confirmation hearings and the "he said/she said" drama of the accusations of sexual harassment by Anita Hill.

SUPREME DISCOMFORT tracks the personal odyssey of perhaps the least understood man in Washington, from his poor childhood in Pin Point and Savannah, Georgia, to his educational experiences in a Catholic seminary and Holy Cross, to his law school years at Yale during the black power era, to his rise within the Republican political establishment. It offers a window into a man who straddles two different worlds and is uneasy in both�and whose divided personality and conservative political philosophy will deeply influence American life for years to come.

by Bill Cosby

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson; 1 edition (October 9, 2007)
ISBN-10: 1595550925

Bill Cosby and Alvin F. Poussaint have a powerful message for families and communities as they lay out their visions for strengthening America, or for that matter the world. They address the crises of people who are stuck because of feelings of low self-esteem, abandonment, anger, fearfulness, sadness, and feelings of being used, undefended and unprotected. These feelings often impede their ability to move forward. The authors aim to help empower people make the daunting transition from victims to victors. Come On, People! is always engaging, and loaded with heart-piercing stories of the problems facing many communities.

by Tavis Smiley (Intro)

Paperback: 216 pages
Publisher: Smiley Books (January 18, 2007)
ISBN-10: 1401918522

The Covenant in Action was developed to continue the inspirational spirit of the Covenant With Black America and to empower people to take effective action to achieve THE Covenant goals.  The information, tools, and ideas presented in The Covenant in Action will enable and inspire people to become agents of change in their respective communities and to become partners in a larger Covenant movement.

The Covenant in Action is organized into three parts: (1) stories about the projects and actions that everyday people have undertaken over the past year that were inspired by the Covenant With Black America; (2) motivational essays from young Black activists who are on the ground impacting their environments; and (3) a toolkit outlining steps you can take to organize, connect, and act.  The toolkit contains not only traditional action strategies, but includes innovative approaches to organizing and community building that will result in stronger, more bonded communities that are reflective of their history and past experiences.  The Covenant With Black America was only the first step.  The Covenant in Action toolkit will prime and prepare individuals and communities to actually move the Covenant book into action.

by Randall Robinson

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Basic Civitas (June 25, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0465070507

In An Unbroken Agony, bestselling author and social justice advocate Randall Robinson explores the heroic and tragic history of Haiti. He traces the history of a people forced across the Atlantic in chains; recounting their spectacularly successful slave revolt against France and the two hundred years of reprisals that would follow. The fate of Aristide's presidency is tied to this people's century-long quest for self-determination and his removal from power exposes the apartheid-like forces that frustrate these aspirations even today. Robinson majestically chronicles the convulsive history of this island nation�from Columbus's arrival to the fearlessness of the slave revolutionaries who defeated the armies of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1804, wresting from France the most valuable colony of any European power anywhere in the world; from the ideals of the young republic, to the foreign backed dictators who corrupted those ideals, culminating in the American led operation removing from power Haiti's first democratically elected president and his entire government in 2004. Robinson captures the pride and courage of the Haitian people in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. With his passionate prose, Robinson brings alive the powerful memory of the Haitian revolution in the souls of ordinary citizens and shows the boundless desire of all Haitians to chart their own destiny�free of foreign interference.

Know What I Mean?

by Michael Eric Dyson

Hardcover: 170 pages
Publisher: Perseus Books Group (July 2, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0465017169

Whether along race, class or generational lines, hip-hop music has been a source of controversy since the beats got too big and the voices too loud for the block parties that spawned them. America has condemned and commended this music and the culture that inspires it. Dubbed �the Hip-Hop Intellectual� by critics and fans for his pioneering explorations of rap music in the academy and beyond, Michael Eric Dyson is uniquely situated to probe the most compelling and controversial dimensions of hip-hop culture. Know What I Mean? addresses salient issues within hip hop: the creative expression of degraded youth that has garnered them global exposure; the vexed gender relations that have made rap music a lightning rod for pundits; the commercial explosion that has made an art form a victim of its success; the political elements that have been submerged in the most popular form of hip hop; and the intellectual engagement with some of hip hop's most influential figures. In spite of changing trends, both in the music industry and among the intelligentsia, Dyson has always supported and interpreted this art that bloomed unwatered, and in many cases, unwanted from our inner cities. For those who wondered what all the fuss is about in hip hop, Dyson's bracing and brilliant book breaks it all down.

by Marcus Mabry

Hardcover: 360 pages
Publisher: Modern Times (May 1, 2007)
ISBN-10: 1594863628

In this study of Condoleezza Rice, journalist Marcus Mabry provides a full account of her life and career, beginning with her early years, growing up in the South where her middle class parents emphasized achievement, and Condoleezza pursued ice skating and piano. Mabry traces her education and subsequent career in academia, as well as her service in government, first in the administration of President George H. W. Bush, and then, most prominently, that of George W. Bush. Her tenure as National Security Advisor and then Secretary of State takes up about half the book, and Mabry provides perceptive accounts of her decision-making process and leadership. Mabry strives to capture the essence of Rice's personality, and the qualities that made her persevere, even when her friends did not agree. Her relationship with George W. Bush is analyzed, as well as her handling of a difficult relationship with the media after the invasion of Iraq. In all, Mabry provides a generally positive portrait, with telling insight into what makes Condoleezza run. Photographs.

by Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe

Hardcover
Publisher: Univ of South Carolina Pr (September 1982)
ISBN-10: 087249425X

When Moutoussamy-Ashe first came to Daufuskie in 1977, about eighty permanent African American residents lived on the island in fewer than fifty homes. Many of the people still spoke their native Gullah dialect. They had only one store, a two-room school, a nursery, and one active church. This represented all that remained of a once-thriving black society which developed after the original plantation owners left and the land was bought by freed slaves. After the boll weevil caused cotton crop failures and pollution ruined oyster beds, more and more residents sold their land to commercial developers. It became clear that Daufuskie would soon be transformed into a coastal resort like neighboring Hilton Head, changing forever the unique island culture that survived largely unchanged for the preceding half-century. Moustoussamy-Ashe's photographs show family gatherings, crabbing and fishing, children at play, spiritual life, and the toils of everyday existence. With the utmost respect for her notoriously shy subjects, she captured a powerful vision of their rough-hewn but rewarding life independent from many modern conveniences.

Moutoussamy-Ashe's photographs document what daily life was like for the last inhabitants to occupy the land prior to the onset of tourist developments.

by Carol Ross

Hardcover: 144 pages
Publisher: Stewart, Tabori & Chang (March 1, 2007)
ISBN-10: 1584795980
Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 9.7 x 0.9 inches

In 51 visually stunning, emotionally compelling portraits, acclaimed photographer Carol Ross presents a hopeful, heartwarming, and caring view of black fatherhood in the United States. In an era that pays little positive attention to black fathers, Ross's inspirational perspective on the relationships between black men and their children is vitally important�and long overdue.

Ross's richly textured duotone photographs reveal a group of devoted fathers whose common bond is their profound love for their children. For her subjects, Ross has selected men from all walks of life�college professors, filmmakers, technicians, construction workers, and corporate executives�along with well-known music executives, directors, entertainers, and actors, such as Antonio L. A. Reid, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Funk Master Flex, Doug E. Doug, and Melvin Van Peebles. Film star Samuel L. Jackson, photographed with his daughter, provides the book's foreword, and each portrait is accompanied by a poignant personal recollection by the father depicted.

by Janie Hendrix

Hardcover: 64 pages
Publisher: Atria; Har/Com edition (October 9, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0743297695
Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 10.8 x 1.3 inches

Jimi Hendrix: An Illustrated Experience illuminates the life of the musical icon who pioneered a new generation in rock and roll with his explosive electric style. With exclusive access to the private family archives, co-authors Janie Hendrix and John McDermott tell the vibrant and unique story of Jimi's life, from his formative years in hardscrabble Seattle through his short-lived days in the eye of a fanatic and dedicated public, to the aftermath of his sudden death and the wake of his legacy.

An indispensable addition to any music lover's library, the book is a truly interactive experience, featuring reproductions of drawings from Jimi's childhood, his rare handwritten song lyrics, and never-before-seen archival photographs. In addition to 30 interactive features, the book includes a 70-minute audio CD with interviews and commercially unreleased recordings of live convert music and a Record Plant jam session. While listening to Jimi work out musical riffs, while holding pieces of the ephemera that chronicle his life, you will experience Jimi Hendrix the way you were meant to: in full color.

edited by Deborah Willis

Hardcover: 176 pages
Publisher: USMTH; 1 edition (July 24, 2007)
ISBN-10: 1588342425
Product Dimensions: 12.3 x 9.2 x 1.1 inches

Throughout American history, most black Americans embraced Garnet's plea. The photographs reveal and illuminate the variety of creative and courageous ways that African Americans resisted, redefined and accommodated in an America that needed but rarely accepted its black citizens. Some black Americans thought the lack of racial justice needed to be challenged by any means necessary, including violence. Other black Americans felt that the best form of resistance was to confront discrimination whenever possible. Many believed that resistance could be the highest form of patriotism. In their beauty and power, the featured portraits resist the stereotypic depictions that fueled racism in America.The exhibition was organized in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery, and the International Center of Photography. The photographs offer all Americans an opportunity to embrace the rich heritage we share. (description Smithsonian exhibition)

by Michael Cunningham and Connie Briscoe

Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (April 11, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0316113042
Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 8 x 1 inches

ISBN: 9780316113045 Photographer Michael Cunningham (co-author of Crowns) and author Connie Briscoe, a New York Times best-selling novelist, profile 50 women over the age of 50 who have been remarkably successful--whether in reaching the top of the corporate ladder or raising a son to be proud of a single mother�and reveal the ways that they have prevailed despite daunting obstacles. JEWELS will include well-known and little-known women alike--from teachers and executives to artists, authors, and entertainers. Among the celebrities profiled in the book are Ruby Dee, Eleanor Holmes Norton, S. Epatha Merkerson, and Marion Wright Edelman.

Henry's Freedom Box

by Ellen Levine illustrated by Kadir Nelson

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press (January 1, 2007)
ISBN-10: 043977733X
Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 9.1 x 0.5 inches

Henry Brown doesn't know how old he is. Nobody keeps records of slaves' birthdays. All the time he dreams about freedom, but that dream seems farther away than ever when he is torn from his family and put to work in a warehouse. Henry grows up and marries, but he is again devastated when his family is sold at the slave market. Then one day, as he lifts a crate at the warehouse, he knows exactly what he must do: He will mail himself to the North. After an arduous journey in the crate, Henry finally has a birthday � his first day of freedom

A stirring, dramatic story of a slave who mails himself to freedom by a Jane Addams Peace Award-winning author and a Coretta Scott King Award-winning artist.

Henry's Freedom Box is a Caldecott Honor Book for 2008.

Sugar Cane: A Caribbean Rapunzel

by Patricia Storace and Raul Colon

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 48 pages
Publisher: Jump At The Sun (June 19, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0786807911
Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.7 x 0.4 inches

Stolen away from her parents on her first birthday by island sorceress, Madame Fate, beautiful Sugar Cane grows up in a tower overlooking the sea. With only a pet green monkey named Callaloo for company, Sugar Cane is lonely -- her sole consolation is her love of music. Often she stands at her window and sings, imagining that the echo of her voice is someone answering her. Then one night, someone does hear her song. Could this young man with a gift for music break the spell of Madame Fate and help Sugar Cane set herself free?

Patricia Storace's lyrical and seamless retelling of the Rapunzel tale in a Caribbean setting is perfectly matched with Ra�l Col�n's lush, vibrant illustrations. An unforgettable feast for the senses.

Marvelous World (Book One

by Troy Cle

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (May 22, 2007)
ISBN-10: 141693958X
Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.6 x 1.6 inches

Louis Proof is an ordinary kid.

He loves listening to hip-hop, racing radio-controlled cars, and hanging out with his best friend, Brandon. Then a mysterious letter invites him to visit the local junkyard. There he finds a secret, underground amusement park like no other in existence. This is the best day of Louis's life. The park even has the most amazing race course for radio-controlled cars. Louis starts racing right away. It's a close contest; he's about to activate his nitro boost to take the lead, when...

This is the worst day of Louis's life. Without warning or reason, thirteen-year-old Louis Proof falls into a coma due to a virus of a mysterious, celestial origin. When he awakens three months later, the world that he once knew and loved is totally out of control. He will learn that his illness is connected to everything that is wrong, and that it's not only his responsibility but his destiny to set things right.

This story is a megadramatic, remarkably true, super action fantasy. Get ready!

The Shadow Speaker

by Nnedi Okorafor-mbachu

Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Jump At The Sun; 1 edition (October 2, 2007)
ISBN-10: 1423100336
Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.4 inches

When fifteen-year old Ejii witnesses her father's beheading, her world shatters. In an era of mind-blowing technology and tantalizing magic, she embarks on a mystical journey to track down her father's killer. With a newfound friend by her side, Ejii comes face-to-face with an earth turned inside out -- and with her own magical powers.
 
But she soon discovers that her travels across the sands of the Sahara have a greater purpose. Her people need to be protected from a force seeking to annihilate them. And Ejii may be just the hero to do it.

This futuristic, fantastical adventure heralds a bright new talent on the YA fantasy scene.

Salli Gal and the Wall-a-Kee Man

by Sheila P. Moses

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 160 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press (September 1, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0439908906
Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5 x 0.8 inches

Sallie Gal admires cousin Wild Cat's hair ribbons that fly in the wind when she jumps double Dutch. More than anything, Sallie Gal wants a set of her very own. But country folks can't get to town so easily. And even though Mama and Sallie Gal work hard in the cotton fields, money is hard to come by. Especially for things they don't need. But one day, the Wall-a-kee Man comes through. He has a whole general store -- right in the back of his station wagon!

by Tracy K. Smith

Paperback: 80 pages
Publisher: Graywolf Press (May 29, 2007)
ISBN-10: 1555974759

Duende, that dark and elusive force described by Federico Garc�a Lorca, is the creative and ecstatic power an artist seeks to channel from within. It can lead the artist toward revelation, but it must also, Lorca says, accept and even serenade the possibility of death.

Tracy K. Smith's bold second poetry collection explores history and the intersections of folk traditions, political resistance, and personal survival. One poem tells of a Ho-Chuk Indian boy separated from his tribe by the government; another, written as a play, gives voice to Ugandan women kidnapped by rebel commanders and forced to become their wives; and others, with lyrical grace, describe the dissolution of a marriage, often against the backdrops of war and political violence. Duende gives passionate testament to suppressed cultures, and allows them to sing.

by Nikki Giovanni

Hardcover: 144 pages
Publisher: William Morrow; 1 edition (January 23, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0061231312

A collection of eighty all new poems, ACOLYTES is distinctly Nikki Giovanni, but different. Not softened, but more inspired by love, celebration, memories and even nostalgia. She aims her intimate and sparing words at family and friends, the deaths of heroes and friends, favorite meals and candy, nature, libraries, and theatre. But in between, the deep and edgy conscience that has defined her for decades shines through when she writes about Rosa Parks, hurricane Katrina, and Emmett Till's disappearance, leaving no doubt that Nikki has not traded one approach for another, but simply made room for both.
 

by Gregory Pardlo

Paperback: 87 pages
Publisher: American Poetry Review; 1 edition (September 2007)
ISBN-10: 0977639533

"Gregory Pardlo . . . wants to explore the druidic function of art, the works of jazz musicians, painters, poets, and others who live imaginatively, expand reality, and make imagination free."
�Brenda Hillman, from the introduction

Totem, winner of the APR/Honickman First Book Prize, is the debut of a poet who has been listening for decades. In his youth, Gregory Pardlo heard stories of factory hours and picket lines from his father; in the bars, clubs, and on the radio he listens to jazz and blues, the rhythms, beats, and aspirations of which all of which seep into his poems.

A former Cave Canem fellow, Pardlo creates work that is deeply autobiographical, drifting between childhood and adult life. He speaks a language simultaneously urban and highbrow, seamlessly switching from art analysis to sneakers hung over the telephone lines. Deeply rooted in a blue-collar world, he produces snapshots of a life that is so specific it becomes universal.

Eric Jerome Dickey

Eric Jerome Dickey, originally from Memphis, Tennessee, is the national best-selling author of Chasing Destiny, Genevieve, Drive Me Crazy, Naughty or Nice, The Other Woman, Thieves' Paradise, Between Lovers, Liar's Game, Cheaters, Milk in My Coffee, Friends and Lovers, and Sister Sister, as well as a contributor to Got to Be Real and NAL's Mothers & Sons. He worked as a computer programmer, a middle school teacher, actor, and stand up comic before becoming a full-time novelist.

Author Photograph: Troy Johnson

Lori Bryant-Woolridge

Lori Bryant-Woolridge is the author of the best-selling novel, Read Between the Lies,  published by Doubleday (1999) and in paperback by Warner Books (2000). The book was nominated for a Golden Pen Award in 2000. She is a contributing author to several top anthologies including: Best Black Women's Erotica (Cleis Press, 2001), the award-winning Gumbo: A Celebration of African-American Writing, edited by best-selling authors, E. Lynn Harris and Marita Golden (Harlem Moon, 2002), and Brown Sugar 3: Opposites Attract (Washington Square, 2004).

Author Photograph: Marshall Norstein

Trisha R. Thomas

Author of the highly acclaimed novel, Nappily Ever After (Random House) a finalist for the 32nd NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work. Her novels have been well regarded in Essence, Oprah Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, and the Washington Post.

Trisha R. Thomas was recently featured on CNN, Paula Zahn and Showbiz Tonight. Her debut novel, Nappily Ever After is optioned by Halle Berry and Universal Pictures for adaptation to film.

This summer the much anticipated Nappily Married will be released by St. Martins Press to kick off the official Nappily series. Savvy character Venus Johnston will continue her trek to hair-freedom with wit, humor, and nonstop truth telling.

Author Photograph: Kristen Mary Potts

L.A. Banks

L.A. Banks, the author of The Vampire Huntress Legends series, has written over 30 novels and contributed to 10 novellas, thus far, in multiple genres under various pseudonyms. She mysteriously shape-shifts between the genres of romance, women's fiction, crime/suspense thrillers, and of course, dark vampire huntress lore. A graduate of The University of Pennsylvania Wharton undergraduate program with a Master's in Fine Arts from Temple University, one never knows how or when this enigma will appear� her forms are many, her secrets of crossing genres vast, and she does this with her teenaged daughter and a dog from some remote, undisclosed lair in Philadelphia.

Author Photograph: Keith Major

Tananarive Due

Tananarive Due has written seven books ranging from supernatural thrillers to science fiction to a civil rights memoir, making the American Book Award-winning author among the nation's most versatile voices.

Due has a B.S. in journalism from Northwestern University and an M.A. in English literature from the University of Leeds, England, where she specialized in Nigerian literature as a Rotary Foundation Scholar.  She is a former feature writer and columnist for The Miami Herald. Due lives in Southern California with her husband, novelist and screenwriter Steven Barnes.

Author Photograph: Troy Johnson