Haley, Alex

The Autobiography of Malcolm X : As Told to Alex Haley

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One of the most powerful American stories...
Genesis
Powerhouse Reading for all the People of the World
YESSSS>>>>
THE CONTRADICTIONS OF MALCOLM X

The Autobiography of Malcolm X : As Told to Alex Haley

Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0345350685
Release Date: 1987-10-12

Amazon.com

Malcolm X's searing memoir belongs on the small shelf of great autobiographies. The reasons are many: the blistering honesty with which he recounts his transformation from a bitter, self-destructive petty criminal into an articulate political activist, the continued relevance of his militant analysis of white racism, and his emphasis on self-respect and self-help for African Americans. And there's the vividness with which he depicts black popular culture--try as he might to criticize those lindy hops at Boston's Roseland dance hall from the perspective of his Muslim faith, he can't help but make them sound pretty wonderful. These are but a few examples. The Autobiography of Malcolm X limns an archetypal journey from ignorance and despair to knowledge and spiritual awakening. When Malcolm tells coauthor Alex Haley, "People don't realize how a man's whole life can be changed by one book," he voices the central belief underpinning every attempt to set down a personal story as an example for others. Although many believe his ethic was directly opposed to Martin Luther King Jr.'s during the civil rights struggle of the '60s, the two were not so different. Malcolm may have displayed a most un-Christian distaste for loving his enemies, but he understood with King that love of God and love of self are the necessary first steps on the road to freedom. --Wendy Smith

Book Description

If there was any one man who articulated the anger, the struggle, and the beliefs of African Americans in the 1960s, that man was Malxolm X. His AUTOBIOGRAPHY is now an established classic of modern America, a book that expresses like none other the crucial truth about our times.
"Extraordinary. A brilliant, painful, important book."
TEH NEW YORKTIMES

Customer Reviews:

One of the most powerful American stories..........2007-05-03

Alex Haley, in his pre-"Roots" days, did a wonderful job getting the charismatic but skeptical Malcolm X to open up in the year before his assassination at the hands of other "Black Muslims." When this book first came out, I bought it because I was a white racist who was terrified of the Black Muslim movement, which was growing large in New Jersey. When I finished the book, I was a different person in some ways. Malcolm was a remarkable figure, and once he began to separate himself from Elijah Muhammed (Louis Farrakhan, on the other hand, stuck with the disgraced prophet) he became a statesman, not a bitter race-baiter. I think this is a book that all American adults interested in politics, religion and the improvement of society should read at least once. For Malcolm, becoming a true Muslim allowed him to stop hating America and Christians and whites. Compare that transformation to what we hear from Farrakhan and from Islamic radicals.

Genesis.......2007-05-01

It was late and i couldn't sleep. I had tried everything, from drinking red wine to counting invisible sheep. When all else failed i went downstairs to the library and selected a book at random. The logic being that i thought books were boring and hopefully would put me to rest for the night. The random book i chose happened to be 'The Autobiography Of Malcom X" as told to Alex Haley. I knew a little bit about Malcom, ie. militant black man during the civil right struggle, and i sort of expected the book to read much like a textbook. I opened to the begining,

"When my mother was pregnant with me, she told me later, a party of hooded Ku Klux Klan riders galloped up to our home in Omaha, Nebraska, one night. Surrounding the house, brandishing their shotguns and rifles..."

It caught me off my guard how frankly the story began and so i read further. And further still, then before i knew it, i couldn't put it down. I read the whole book in that one sitting. The saga that is Malcom X's story, is much more complex and interesting than i had thought originally. To say that the civil rights movement in our country during the fifties and sixties was dynamic, would be an understatement. This volume outlines the theory behind the movement thoroughly and masterfully.

I was surprised how many comparisons to my own life i was able to draw from this book. Namely, the chapters "Harlemite" and "Detroit Red", in these parts Malcom was coming of age and moved into the city to begin exploring the women, money, music and overall glamour of the nightlife. With certain cultural differences aside, these chapters, at times, seemed to mirror my experience at the same age.
However one chapter of the book has had a profound impact on my life; "saved". While in prison Malcom discovers the wonders of reading. Here he describes the impact that books and reading have had on his life,

"i could for the first time pick up a book and read and now begin to understand what the book was saying. Anyone who has read a great deal can imagine the new world that had opened. Let me tell you something: from then until i left that prison, in every free moment i had, if i was not reading in the library, i was reading on my bunk. You couldn't have gotten me out of books with a wedge."

Its true, now, that i am the same way with books, since having devoured this one that fateful night. Now sometimes i read for pleasure and other times with a higher purpose, but I'm always reading now and it leaves me to wonder whether or not a different book would have had the same effect. Did this particular book inspire me or was the love of knowledge born in me? I can't say for certain, but it is definitely in me now.

Powerhouse Reading for all the People of the World.......2007-04-22

This is the one and only political classic on one Afro-American's struggle for meaning and justice in modern American society.Eventhen the Muslim movement was growing quickly and effecting various global cultures.It's fascinating to read about his personal political conquest for freedom and social justice through embracing the muslim faith.He was a fore-runner of religious expression ,a harbinger of modern geo-politics,and a bellwether of a growing negro-arabic flock.Eventhough,I do not agree with his religious and political theories,I find his credo and his blueprints for justice quite interesting.It can became an arabic 'Mein Kampf' for non-pagan intellectuals and also for disgruntled christianised jews.Young Malcolm's fertile thoughts were fettered by an intolerant judeo-christian society,that continues to meld protestants back with the catholics.Malcolm Little's grandson has had legal troubles concerning his civic and personal conduct through his life.Yet,the elder Malcolm X foresaw a global trend that seems now realised.French christianity is still waning and Algerian-moslims are now common-place,throughout France.And the merging of tan muslims and negrose muslims is expected and predicted by many observors.Time will tell if the muslim path was a real positive step for all its followers or simply a blind submission to a monotheist non-pagan religion that leads its brethern to perdition. It's a powder-keg of social ideas ,that may backfire in the hands of a political novice.So handle with care and caution!

YESSSS>>>>.......2007-04-08

I would have to give this timeless piece a star from above. It was on point, a reflection on not just Malcolm but on life. It was much more thought provoking than I before thought. His mind is one that I must study. The book will change y our mind on things. must importantly on your interaction with life.

THE CONTRADICTIONS OF MALCOLM X.......2007-02-24

FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Let us be clear about one thing from the start, whatever contradictions Malcolm X's brand of black nationalism entailed, whatever shortcomings he had as an emerging political leader, whatever mistakes he made alone the way as he groped for a solution to the seemingly intractable fight for black freedom he stood, and continues to stand, head and shoulders above any black leader thrown up in America in the 20th century. Only Frederick Douglass in the 19th century compares with him in stature. No attempts by latter-day historians or politicians to assimilate Malcolm along with other leaders of the civil rights struggle in this country, notably Dr. Martin Luther King, as part of the same continuum of leadership are false and dishonest to all parties. Malcolm X, as a minister of the Black Muslims and after his break from that organization, stood in opposition to the official liberal non-violence strategy of that leadership. His term "Uncle Toms" fully applies to their stance. And, in turn, that liberal black misleadership and its various hangers-on in the liberal establishment hated him when he spoke the truth about their role in white-controlled bourgeois Democratic Party politics. The "chickens were coming home to roost", indeed! The Jesse Jacksons, the Al Sharptons, the Obama the "Charmas" who represent today's version of that misleadership please step back, step way back.

That said, who was Malcolm X? Or more properly what did he represent in his time. At one level, given the rudiments of his life story which are detailed in the Autobiography of Malcolm X, he represented that part of the black experience (an experience not only limited to blacks in immigrant America) which pulled itself by the bootstraps and turned away from the lumpen milieu of gangs, crimes and prisons into what I call `street' intellectuals. That experience is far removed from the experience of what today passes for the black intelligentsia, who have run away from the turmoil of the streets. In liberation struggles both `street' and academic intellectuals are necessary but the `street' intellectual is perhaps more critical as the transmission belt to the masses. That is how liberation fighters get a hearing and no other way. In any case I have always been partial to the `streets'.

But what is the message for the way forward? For Malcolm, until shortly before his death, that message was black separatism-the idea that the only way blacks could get any retribution was to go off on their own (or be left alone), in practical terms to form their own nation. To state the question that way in modern America points to the obvious limitation of such a scheme, even if blacks formed such a nation and wanted to express the right to national self-determination that goes with it.. Nevertheless whatever personal changes Malcolm made in his quest for political relevance and understanding whether he was a Black Muslim minister or after he broke for that group he still sought political direction through the fight of what is called today `people of color' against the mainly white oppressor, at first in America and latter after travels throughout the `third world'. However sincere he was in that belief, and he was sincere, that strategy of black separatism or `third world' vanguardism could never lead to the black freedom he so fervently desired. An underestimation of the power of internally unchallenged world, and in the first instance American, imperialism to corrupt liberation struggles or defeat or destroy them militarily never seemed to enter into his calculations.

Malcolm's whole life story of struggle against the bedrock of white racism in America, as the legitimate and at the time the ONLY voice speaking for the rage of the black ghettos, nevertheless never worked out fully any other strategy that could work in America, and by extension internationally. A close reading of his work demonstrates that as he got more politically aware he saw the then unfolding `third world' liberations struggles as the key to black liberation in America. That, unfortunately for him, was exactly backwards. If the `third world' struggles were ever ultimately to be successful and create more just societies then American imperialism-as the main enemy of the peoples of the world-then, as now had to be brought to bay. And that, my friends, whether you agree or not, requires class struggle here. That is where the fight for black liberation intersects the fight for socialism. And I will state until my last breathe that the key to the fight for socialism in America will be the cohesion of a central black cadre leading a multiethnic organization that will bring that home. And it will not be from the lips of the Kings of today that the struggle will be successful but by new more enlightened Malcolms, learning the lessons of history, who will get what they need-by any means necessary.

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An American Classic
A timeless classic of fiction
A fantastic audio narration
Review of Roots
well worth reading by any cultured american

Roots
Alex Haley
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Roots

ASIN: 0385037872
Release Date: 1976-08-17

Book Description

The monumental bestseller! Alex Haley recaptures his family's history in this drama of eighteenth-century slave Kunta Kinte and his descendants.

Customer Reviews:

An American Classic.......2007-06-25

The beginning and ending of "Roots" echoes the beginning and ending of the first book of the Bible. Genesis begins with the five words: "In the beginning God created." Genesis ends with the five words: "In a coffin in Egypt."

"Roots" begins with a birth in Africa. It ends with a coffin in America.

Both Genesis and "Roots" speak of slavery--the Israelites endured 400 years of enslavement in Egypt awaiting their Exodus. African Americans endured 250 years of enslavement in America awaiting their Exodus.

In between this message of birth and death, Haley weaves a powerful story narrating the path traversed by many African American families in American history. Haley tells the tale of suffering and of survival. He exposes how a race of people gallantly moved beyond the suffering to a place of hope and freedom.

This 30th anniversary edition is well-worth the read as it will hopefully entice a new generation to revisit and learn from the past.

Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D. is the author of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction, Spiritual Friends: A Methodology of Soul Care And Spiritual Direction, and Soul Physicians.

A timeless classic of fiction.......2007-06-08

This book is, quite simply, an American classic and one of the most important pieces of literature form the 20th century. It's by no means a complex read, but the story is compelling and the narrative hooks are excellent.

In fact, the book fully deserves five stars, but for two issues:

1) It's now well known and documented that the book is fiction, and worse, lifted in large part from a previous book, "The African". To wit, Haley lost a $650,000,000.00 lawsuit because of it.

2) The book is largely fiction. Inspired fiction, to be sure. If you read it first and then find that out later, its damaging, I believe, so if you go into with the perspective of it being a fictional novel its a much better experience.

I was please to see, however, that the Forward touches on these enough that its no longer like they're hiding it.

I didn't find the book divisive... to be sure, the toubob (whites) are by and large evil incarnate. Being Canadian (ie: from the -good- end of the underground railway) I was able to read it without guilt, which probably removed a lot of the defensiveness that prods others to harsh reactions to the book.

I have the new 30th Anniversary Edition, and it has one huge problem: typos! There are more mis-spellings than this non-spell-checked review, and there's extra punctuation, missing punctuation, periods in the middle of sentences, random comma splices... its really distracting. I have no idea if this was for some reason retained from the original or if it was introduced in this new printing, but it's really bad. If you've sold a billion copies of a book, you can afford to have a college student go through the draft with a highlighter. Inexecusable.

All that said, if you can (a) find a different printing that was proofed, (b) get over the plagiarism, (c) view it as historical fiction, and (d) not take it as your only historical reference for the people of European descent in the Americas, then this is something that everyone should read.

A fantastic audio narration.......2007-05-22

I recently listened to the Roots audiobook - it is a fantastic audio narration, read by the actor Avery Brooks.

Review of Roots.......2007-05-21

There are a handful of books that I believe everyone should read. This book is one of them especially if you are an American. The best way I can describe this was how I felt after I saw the movie "Saving Private Ryan." I thought that movie was so graphic and realistic that I felt all young Americans should see it in order to better comprehend the extreme sacrifices that people have made for our country. I felt the same when I finished this book. I think people should read it to understand what our country has been through in terms of slavery, racism, hatred, etc. It is a very important part of our history in America. ROOTS tells the incredible story of slavery in our country. More specifically it tells the story of the author, Alex Haley's family from The Gambia in Africa through the generations to the point when he wrote this book. There are a few parts that are disturbing to read, but not as many as I had anticipated. But there are parts that make you sick to your stomach to know that human beings can treat each other so horribly. On the other hand there is some humor in this book. At times I caught myself laughing out loud at some of the things the characters did and said.

I gave this book five stars because first of all, it is a great story. It is realistic, exciting and extremely interesting. There were many parts in the book in which I could not read fast enough to find out what happened. Being a long book, I thought there were a couple of sections of no more than 10-12 pages in the middle that were not as interesting as others. I thought the vast majority of it kept my interest. I would not describe any parts of this book boring. I found myself looking forward to going to bed early so I could spend an hour or two reading.

The other reason I gave this book five stars was the educational value. This book teaches a lot about slavery, the good and the bad. Haley gives a very detailed and realistic picture of what it would have been like to be a slave, emotionally, physically and even spiritually. I thought Haley did a great job of not being biased in his writing of this book considering he had every reason to be. You could not tell from his writing that he is African-American. This book is not about making out white people to be bad. There were just as many good, fair and gracious white people in this book as there were bad and hateful.

Overall, I think the majority of people will enjoy this book and learn a great deal from it especially if one enjoys history. Haley took twelve years researching and writing this book. It is a well written exciting story that will teach you much more than you think about this era of our history.

well worth reading by any cultured american.......2007-02-04

The closest thing to Homeric epos in North America. Of course written as a sop, containing deliberate misrepresentations and exaggerations, nonetheless a great piece of historical literature.

Alex Haley's Queen: The Story of an American Family

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Interesting story of a peculier situation
Excellent!
The parts written by Alex Haley are good.
A triumphant story of hope and glory.
Come Up With Serene Responses to Today's Suttle Racism

Alex Haley's Queen: The Story of an American Family
Alex Haley , and David Stevens
Manufacturer: William Morrow & Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0688063314

Customer Reviews:

Interesting story of a peculier situation.......2006-05-05

Ethnic novels really are not my thing. But this one had me interested after seeing pictures in a book on the civil war titled 'Slave Children of New Orleans' featuring mostly mixed race children of near caucasion appearence I became curious about them. Having read a great deal of the civil war there really isn't that much. So when I found this book I quickly took to reading it.

The main character is what is called 'A child of the plantation', the offspring of a slave owner and a slave woman the product not of love but of exploitation who are so casually discarded as to be a disgrace. In the beginning, she is very naive and optimistic. Regrettably, life doesn't treat her that well.

An interesting story. Admittedly I would have done things different but since this one is based on fact I can't rightly complain. I liked reading about the main character and how she was treated by all parties. Certainly I do not like that she was mistreated by many. Her ability to move among white circles was interesting only when her heritage is revealed do things get bad which disgusts me.

Overall, I take people at face value and wish everyone else would do the same. People should be judged by their behavior rather than by pseudo scientific nonsence.

Excellent!.......2005-01-26

This is one of the best books I've read in my life. Alex Haley was such a skilled writer. "Queen" deals with many harsh facts of the antebellum South without becoming vulgar. It is also an inspiring tale of an American family.

One of my complaint with "Queen" is the blatant misuse and fabrication of facts by David Stephens, who finished Alex Haley's posthumus masterpiece. The writing of Mr. Stephens also doesn't measure up to that of Haley. While it is a great book as it stands, I wish I could see what this book would be if Haley had been alive to complete it.

The parts written by Alex Haley are good........2004-03-11

This book is a travesty. The guy who wrote it isn't even American. He plays fast and loose with historical facts. The potato famine is in the wrong century. Napoleon invades Ireland before he even rose to power. There are at least two chapters that are totallly irrelevant. Why does he feel the need to give us a history lesson on Andrew Jackson and the Indian removal? Does he think the Indian removal and slavery are the same issue?
On the other hand, the parts written by Alex Haley are exceptional. It is very easy to pick out which parts Alex Haley wrote. They are well-written and historically based. It is just such a shame that Mr. Stevens was allowed to add to Alex's work. Mr. Stevens cannot not write anything but cheap, historical romance. He should be writing for Harlequin, instead of, ruining the work of a great American writer.

A triumphant story of hope and glory........2001-12-12

Alex Haley & Dave Stevens' QUEEN is a rare gem---the story of an american family that touches many lives. Queen is the main focus of the book but her story spans past & future generations from Ireland to America. Some of the characters are tragic but all have hope for a better tomorrow. The heartbreak of Easter's love for her "master", Queen being taught to read by her grandpa and the Haley family's quest to get a better education for their youngest son are just some of the heartbreaking stories in this novel. I enjoyed the book very much and I now hope to finally read ROOTS.

Come Up With Serene Responses to Today's Suttle Racism.......2001-03-15

I just finished reading this book, this morning. And, I read "Roots," 2 weeks ago. In both of these books, I was able to vicariously be there, and emotionally travel with each person in these stories.

And it gave me a sense of peace that I had not had before about being African-American. It helped me to come up with the most empowering responses to not only suttle racism from Euro-Americans, but also suttle responses to African-Americans who seem to be bound by expecting to just get by (who also believe that empowered African-Americans somehow owe them endless worthiness).

To me, even though this book is titled "Queen," it has many stories: politics; narcissism; racism; boys growing into manhood; belonging; the price of not having someone to verbalize your pains to; and, how whites turned their outrage over their motherland into what drove them to do the same to blacks, in this country.

During the entire time that I was reading these 2 books, as I conducted my day to day responsibilities, I felt like I had a secret weapon against being held back. And I saw things that I might not have seen before in what I could do to turn suttle racism into my opportunity to expect mutual respect between myself and my interlocutor.

I recommend this book, and "Roots" to any who is looking for a means to grow beyond your wildest expectations. You will cry with these stories, laugh, and feel every possible emotion, knowing that you are breathing new life into your life.

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The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Alex Haley
Manufacturer: Grove Press, Inc., NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Product Description

The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X with the assistance of Alex Haley. Introduction by M. S. Handler. Epilogue by Alex Haley. 32 illustrations.

Do People Grow on Family Trees?: Genealogy for Kids and Other Beginners, The Official Ellis Island Handbook

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Excellent Genealogy Starting Point for Kids and Others

Do People Grow on Family Trees?: Genealogy for Kids and Other Beginners, The Official Ellis Island Handbook
Ira Wolfman
Manufacturer: Workman Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

An exciting genealogical primer, do people grow on family trees? combines activities, history, photographs, illustrations, and reminiscences. Suitable for ages 8-12. 121,000 copies in print.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Genealogy Starting Point for Kids and Others.......1997-10-27

This book brings the study of genealogy alive by intertwining the author's own family search with the common experience of many of us to find our own roots and beginnings. It sensitively handles cultural differences and origins and attempts to highlight specific events that affected particular immigrant groups.

The frequent use of biographical resources (photographs, documents, sidenotes) allows the reader to relate the discussion of genealogy to actual people and events in history. Since this is also called the "Official Ellis Island Handbook" this book additionally gives a very personal and thorough look at what it meant to be an immigrant and the experience that awaited many of our ancestors when they arrived in America.

I highly recommend this book not only for children but for anyone that desires a concise definition of the field of genealogy and family history. Its highly visual format and organization also make it a great classroom tool.

ROOTS; The Saga Of An American Family
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A Reader's Review of ROOTS: The Saga of an American Family

ROOTS; The Saga Of An American Family
Alex Haley
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000B65KBM

Product Description

thick hard cover, Dust cover has title and authors name, Story About Slavery.

Customer Reviews:

A Reader's Review of ROOTS: The Saga of an American Family.......2005-10-04

Having read word by word, Roots, by Alex Haley, I am moved to tears at the history of a very real American family that had roots in a little African village, Juffure. The author is to be commended for his persistance at investigating, then exploring, and finally writing the history that had been passed down verbally through the family, as it had been since history began. I am amazed that the family had been able to preserve so much of that history by telling each successive generation, child by child, the story as they had been told.

The story is very personalized, though historical, and I feel a very accurate view of what the slaves, individuals and families, lived through. A unique picture is given of the history of the United States of America through the telling of the story of her black, and of her white Southern families.

Kunta Kinte is born into a family in a village in Africa. He grows up in the traditions of his village, being warned of the danger of disappearing if the slave traders should ever catch him alone. Kunta's one weakness is his daydreaming. His mind wandering as he goes out to cut wood to make a drum, one day Kunta is captured, chained, and thrown aboard a slave ship headed to America.

The story continues through each generation, from Kunta to his beloved daughter Kizzy, with whom he shares the language of his beloved homeland - then to her son George, fathered by her white master. Then the story continues as George tells the stories to his children, and they to theirs, through seven generations.

I feel every American would be enriched to read and know the history of this early American black family. Documented evidence is given by the author of the authenticity of the story. I would hope the history would continue to be told in their family, and that others of us would be more interested in exploring and sharing our families' inheritance in just the same way.

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you will finish it in one day!
A Little Treasure
A powerhouse of a book
A little book with a big impact!

A Different Kind of Christmas
Alex Haley
Manufacturer: Gramercy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Alex Haley's Queen
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ASIN: 0517162695
Release Date: 2000-09-05

Book Description

This is a very special novel that sparkles with the same memorable writing that made ROOTS an American classic.

This is the story of Fletcher Randall, a nineteen-year-old from North Carolina whose politically powerful father is a plantation owner, and, of course, a slave owner. The time is 1855, and all Fletcher Randall knows and believes about slavery he's learned from his father.

But Fletcher goes to school up North, and one or two of his Princeton classmates talk about how wrong slavery is until Fletcher begins to think for himself
--and he becomes a traitor to his background, to his family, by conspiring to aid in a mass escape of slaves on the Underground Railroad. His partner in this plan is a black slave by the name of Harpin' John, a man who plays the harmonica so sweetly it could make a grown man cry. Christmas Eve is the secret date set for the escape.

How these two men of such incredibly opposing backgrounds join together to achieve the goal of freedom makes
A Different Kind of Christmas soar with unforgettable inspiration. This is a timeless tale of spiritual regeneration, moral courage, and powerful humanness, meaningful and memorable to readers of all faiths and all ages.

Customer Reviews:

you will finish it in one day!.......2004-05-14

i normally have about three books i'm reading at any given time...but this one,very good,i just couldnt put it down. I t is 8 chapters loaded with exciting tidbits about the Underground Railroad,life in the South, and life at college.All that lead expertly to an exciting conclusion,but more importantly, leaves the reader soul searching in a very positive way. Sort of like an uplifting Sunday morning sermon.

A Little Treasure.......2001-08-17

"A Different Kind of Christmas" is the tale of a white southern born and bred college student (Fletcher) during the mid 1800's. Fletcher is the only son of a wealthy slave owning senator who believes a northern education is excellent preparation for his son's eventual ownership of the plantation. After being befriended by Quaker classmates, Fletcher's education is broadened to include the abolitionist doctrines upheld by the Quakers. As Fletcher integrates this new knowledge into his worldview, he is moved to join the Underground Rail Road system and is assigned the task of freeing slaves from his hometown in North Carolina.

Fletcher is joined by a slave from his hometown, Harpin' John, who is also a part of the UGRR. Together they plan the escape of twelve slaves. The story takes a turn when the escape plans are discovered. Suddenly, Fletcher and Harpin' John are fleeing from sure execution at the hands of the slave patrol.

This little tale is filled with information on the abolitionist movement while at the same time delivers a fable like story that appeals to children and adults. This is an excellent read for children. As an ongoing bedtime story or independent read the novel portrays an integral part of American history in an easily readable format. This will make a nice addition to children's libraries.

A powerhouse of a book.......2001-08-07

I never read Haley until now and I am sorry it has taken so long.The story starts off like an after school special but, suddenly picks up speed and turns into an amazing novel.Haley has a way of just giving enough to spark your imagination. I thought about this book for a long time. I guess what I got out of it was how each of us can over come our percieved ideas and become better people.

A little book with a big impact!.......2000-09-18

When Fletcher Randall returned home to Ashe County, North Carolina from the College of New Jersey (Princeton) and suggested that the family have a "truly different Christmas celebration," his parents, wealthy plantation owners and slaveholders, had no idea how different it would be.

They know of his "stormy relationship with the Yankee students" and his "incompatibility with his Southern classmates." However, Fletcher had not told them that he had become "friends" with "Friends" - better known as "Quakers whom his father deplored for their strong anti- slavery views." That friendship was the beginning of a transformation in the thinking of the heir to the plantation and his father's political position. He learned that the best and most important education does not come from books, lectures, library, nor the family. Instead, it comes from the ability to think for oneself and the courage to follow one's conscience - even if it means risking everything.

Alex Haley skillfully tells a story of a young man and his struggle between doing what his parents, background, and culture instilled in him and what he came to realize was right. It is also the story of the Underground Railroad - its history, how it operated, the dangers faced by escaping slaves and "conductors" alike, and how a simple woodland noise or an innocent question from a stranger could mean the difference between life and death.

This is a simple story, and the reader knows from the beginning the choices Fletcher will make. However, wanting to know how and when they will be made and who will be involved makes you read on and on.

Customer Reviews:

a multi-cultural children's book.......1999-10-24

I added this book to my project for multi-cultural children's book in the class for children's literature. The text shows how chinese people get ready for New Year and it, inviting poeple home with a lot of food, putting read papaer in the house, or putting on a new clothe. It is so fun to see what they do looking at the colorful pictures. It does not contain historical background in detail;however, it is a good children's book to introduce children to other culture and evoke their interest.

Viva Mexico!: The Story of Benito Juarez and Cinco De Mayo (Stories of America)

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Remember, remember, the Cinco de Mayo

Viva Mexico!: The Story of Benito Juarez and Cinco De Mayo (Stories of America)
Argentina Palacios , and Alex Haley
Manufacturer: Steck-Vaughn
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0811480542

Customer Reviews:

Remember, remember, the Cinco de Mayo.......2005-03-22

I grew up reading Argentina Palacios' books and I can't believe I'm the first person to review this one, probably her masterpiece (although she is young still, and I wouldn't put it past her to write another good one). Palacios is the Panamanian-born New York based author of several children's books and she has always done a fine job re-telling the legends and folk tales of the indigenous people of Peru, Latin America, Central America, even the Spanish speaking people of the West Indies; and she has often provided for the children of those lands up todate and accurate translations of the beloved US children's writers (like Beverly Cleary).

VIVA MEXICO is a little diofferent for her, but it just goes to show you, a talented writer doesn't have to depend on re-telling the same old folk tales. This book is a remarkable book of history--with no talking animals here--and it just "happens" to be written for kids, with cute illustrations in bright, primary colors, and it tells the story of Benito Juarez, a boy from the Zapotec Indian tribe who grew up the lowest of the low and yet somehow found it within himself to climb and scratch his way to the Presidential Palace of Mexico City and sit on its throne there.

Life wasn't all peaches and cream for Juarez, for he had to fight one of the bloodiest battles ever fought on this continent, the so-called Battle of Puebla. It so happens that this battle took place on May 5--in Spanish we say, "Cinco de Mayo" and school children and patriotic adults celebrate it everywhere we honor the spirit of a free Mexico.

It's funny hearing the explanation of phrases you've heard your whole life long and never understood the meaning of, and that's why we are so grateful to author Palacios.

By the way, this book, like the AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MALCOLM X, was edited by the great Alex (ROOTS) Haley. Maybe one of these days Sra. Palacios will drop her cloak of silence and pen an autobiography of her own, revealing among other things what it was like to work with Alex Haley while creating her own masterpiece. Here's hoping!

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