Product Description

Seventeenth-century sketches of Africa as it appeared to marauding European traders. Nineteenth-century slave auction notices. Twentieth-century sheet music for work songs and freedom chants. Photographs of war heroes, regal in uniform. Antebellum reward posters for capturing runaway slaves. An 1856 article titled “A Visit to the Slave Mother Who Killed Her Child.”

In 1974, Middleton A. Harris and Toni Morrison led a team of gifted, passionate collectors in compiling these images and nearly 500 others into one sensational narrative of the black experience in America: The Black Book.

Now in a deluxe 35th anniversary hardcover edition, The Black Book remains a breathtaking testament to the legendary wisdom, strength, and perseverance of black men and women intent on freedom. Prominent collectors Morris Levitt, Roger Furman, and Ernest Smith, as well as Middleton Harris and Toni Morrison (then a Random House editor, now a two-time Pulitzer Prize—winning Nobel laureate) spent months studying, laughing at, and crying over these materials–from transcripts of fugitive slaves’ trials and proclamations by Frederick Douglass and other celebrated abolitionists to chilling images of cross burnings and lynchings, patents registered by black inventors throughout the early twentieth century to vibrant posters from “Black Hollywood” films from the 1930s and 1940s.

A labor of love and a vital link to the richness and diversity of African American history and culture, The Black Book honors the past, reminding us where our nation has been, and gives flight to our hopes for what is yet to come. Beautifully and faithfully presented, and featuring a new Foreword and original poem by Toni Morrison, The Black Book remains a timeless landmark work.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27002 in Books
• Published on: 2009-11-10
• Released on: 2009-11-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781400068487
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Customer Reviews

EMPOWERING !
This book is first and foremost about survival, and it may make some angry about the ugly things that have happened to black people in this nation. But our country is so rich with historic figures who made America what it is today--who sweated, bled, and even died for the cause of freedom and equal rights. There is nothing glossy, rosy or revisionist about this book. It gives us the truth. As I've traveled the world and seen many beautiful cultures, it never seizes to amaze me when I return to America, how unique and inspiring the U.S. story is. "The Black Book" captures the history of black America in a profound way. It will make all Americans - black, white, brown, red, and yellow - proud to be a part of that enduring history. With wonderful images and words that help paint the picture, the book will leave you feeling inspired and alive--sad and mad--prideful and indebted. We owe everyone in this book a salute and the promise to make our lives worth their unfathomable sacrifices. It is a collector's item for all. It illuminates those who laid the groundwork for all that is possible for blacks today. Those who paved the way are given their due, and have a much needed spotlight shined on them. And now, in 2009, America has its first black president. He certainly has made those who came before him proud. They made his presidency possible. And he never forgot them, always paying homage throughout his political rise and during the campaign. The other book I read this year that captured the powerful brilliance and tenacity of our first black president was 71 Days: The Media Assault On Obama by Michael Jason Overstreet. Both books are quite emotional.

Scrapbook of Black History
I was really glad to see the The Black Book re-issued. This book has intriguing little-known Black history facts. Dr. Cosby summed it up best in his introduction when he said ..."supposed a three-hundred-year-old Black man...had decided to keep a scrapbook...".

Stunning.
This book is a prize piece on my mantle. I spent hours combing the artifacts, imagining the thoughts, and analyzing the genius of Black Americans in this MUST HAVE book for any family.

To see the patents of inventions, images of theatre, newspaper headlines, and grooming products of my heritage in such a tangible and uncompromising form is truly a blessing.

Interestingly, I love the 'encyclopedia' layout of how the information is presented. With the world being so opinionated, its nice to be able to just absorb this paperback museum and ponder your own thoughts on their history.