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BIBR best of 2004

Black Issues Book Review, Nov-Dec, 2004

Best Black History Books

African American Lives Edited by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham (Oxford University Press, April 2004, ISBN 0195-16024-X)

The biographies of more than 6,000 noteworthy African Americans are collected in this comprehensive and ambitious project.

I'll Find a Way, or Make One: A Tribute to Historically Black Colleges and Universities by Juan Williams and Dwayne Ashley (Amistad/HarperCollins, November 2004 ISBN 0-060-09453-2)

A reference book on the 108 Historically Black Colleges and Universities, highlighting their cultural, historical and social significance.

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Meet Me at the Theresa: The Story of Harlem's Most Famous Hotel by Sondra Kathryn Wilson (Atria Books February 2004, ISBN 0-743-46688-8)

Fidel Castro, Dorothy Dandridge, Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Billie Holiday and Malcolm X were just a few of the guests who stayed at Harlem's elegant Hotel Theresa. Wilson examines the illustrious history of this New York City landmark.

Silent Covenants: Brown v. Board of Education and the Unfulfilled Hopes for Racial Reform by Derrick Bell (Oxford University Press April 2004, ISBN 0-195-17272-8)

Bell, a professor of law at New York University (he was previously a member of the Harvard Law School faculty and lawyer for the NAACP Legal Defense), points out that groundbreaking court decision left many racial barriers to confront.

Best Title

A History of the African-American People [Proposed] by Strom Thurmond: A Novel As Told to Percival Everett and James Kincaid (Akeshio Books, April 2004 IBBN 1-888-45157-2)

And the novel itself is damned funny, too. Such satire is a fitting memorial to o1' Strom.

Most "Prized" Fiction of 2004

The Known World by Edward P. Jones (Amistad/HarperCollins August 2003 ISBN 0-060-55754-0)

This well-crafted and engaging novel tells the story of Henry Townsend, a black bootmaker and former slave who becomes a slave owner during the 1800s in Virginia. Truly worthy of every accolade bestowed upon it, including the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and most recently the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award (see BETWEEN THE LINES, page 10).

Most Expensive Book

GOAT: A Tribute to Muhammad All by Howard L. Bingham (Taschen, April 2004 ISBN 3-822-83068-2)

The Collector's Edition of this book, which celebrates the life and career of the Greatest of All Time, costs a whopping $3,000. The Champ's Edition will set you back $7,500. Photographer Bingham met Ali in 1962 and traveled around the globe with him, documenting his life. GOAT contains more than 3,000 photographs, runs 792 pages and weighs 75 pounds.

Our Favorite White Author

Bill Clinton My Life, (Alfred A. Knopf, June 2004 ISBN 0-375-41457-6)

The sales of Clinton's massive memoir in black bookstores surpassed Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life's according to FLYING OFF THE SHELVES.

Most Patient Bookbuyer of the Year Mahalia Watson

No. 2,019: she was last in line at Hue-Man Bookstore in Harlem to have her copy of My Life autographed.

Genre of the Year: Urban/HipHop/Street Life Fiction Simba Sana, co-owner of Karibu Books in Prince Georges County, Maryland, told The Washington Post this past summer, "Street fit is the hottest thing right now." Mainstream publishers such as Simon & Schuster and Kensington Publishing Corp.--plus black-owned entrepreneurial houses like Strebor Books, Triple Crown Publications and Urban Books--are steadily publishing edgy young writers preoccupied with thug life. They are all making big money.

Best Inspirational Book

What Matters Most: Ten Lessons in Living Passionately From the Song of Solomon by Renita J. Weems (Warner Books. Walk Worthy Press, April 2004 ISBN 0-446-53241-X)

The Biblical scholar and prolific author challenges women to think about passion in everyday life.

The Second Time's a Charm

Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama (Three Rivers Press August 2004, ISBN 1-400-08277-3)

Long before his awe-inspiring keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, Obama had tongues wagging when he became the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, a lawyer and Illinois state senator. Now, as he is poised to become the nation's only black U.S. senator, people are eagerly reading his memoir, which was first published in 1995.

Best Children's Books

Just Like Josh Gibson by Angela Johnson and illustrated by Beth Peck (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, January 2004, ISBN 0-68982662-8) Ages 5 to 8.

A love letter to baseball and tribute to the great Negro League player.

Harlem Stomp! A Cultural History of the Harlem Renaissance by Laban Carrick Hill, Foreword by Nikki Giovanni (Little, Brown and Co., January 2004, ISBN 0-316-814113)

Brilliant photographs, paintings, show programs and other artifacts of the era attracts young readers and parents alike.

Best Young Adult Book

The Legend of Buddy Bush by Shelia P. Moses (Margaret K. McElderry Books, January 2004, ISBN 0-689-85615-6

BIBR best of 2004

Black Issues Book Review, Nov-Dec, 2004

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