Book Review - An Execution in the Family, by Robert Meeropol
Robert Meeropol’s An Execution in the Family renders a fiery challenge to the family values of the right. It is a timely exposé of the violence that flows from the destruction of civil rights and liberties experienced by victims of the “McCarthy-era abuses of power.”
Book Review - Miracle at St. Anna, by James McBride
Close your eyes and imagine a scene from World War II. What do you see? US troops storming the beaches of Normandy? A Russian soldier placing the red flag of victory atop the German Reichstag in Berlin? The mushroom clouds over Hiroshima and Nagasaki? The grim gray dawns of the years long siege of Stalingrad? Search the awful war-torn terrain. Among the scorched steel and rubble, the twisted trees and cratered earth, between the near ruined armies arrayed against each other in that titanic struggle, do you discern any faces of color?
Book Review - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter is an annoying, conceited little brat. Anything that was likable about the character through the first four books of the Harry Potter series has been overshadowed now by his generally distasteful personality.
Book Review - Rogue Nation, by Clyde Prestowitz
Clyde Prestowitz’s Rogue Nation is an important book, not necessarily because of what it says but because of what it represents. Prestowitz is a former Reagan Administration official, who was catapulted to prominence during the 1980s because of his scorching critique of Japan, and what he then saw as its unfair trading practices.
Book Review - Nationalism, Marxism, and African American Literature Between the Wars
During the period between the first and second World Wars, two different intellectual doctrines vied for control of shaping the future of Black Americans: nationalism and Marxism. In his book Nationalism, Marxism, and African American Literature Between the Wars, Anthony Dawahare illustrates the influence of this struggle and provides an excellent and thorough examination of the two most influential ideologies of the Harlem Renaissance, historicizing the movements in their proper context.
Book Review – Love, by Toni Morrison
A young woman looking for work as a live-in personal secretary in the Cosey household rekindles memories long since tucked away in the mind of the quiet neighborhood. Within the Cosey household, the arrival of this young woman, Junior Viviane, sparks suspicion and fear.
Let the Dreamer Awake: Talking with Robin D. G. Kelley
Author/activist Robin D. G. Kelley teaches at Columbia University in New York City. He is the author of Hammer and Hoe and Freedom Dreams. He is currently working on a book on musician Thelonius Monk.
Book Review – Fat Cats and Running Dogs: The Enron Stage of Capitalism
As a few corporate criminals are paraded before the press to show government concern for the kinds of deception practiced by some Enron officials, Vijay Prashad’s book, Fat Cats and Running Dogs, delves more deeply to reveal the true extent of their crimes.
Taking a Stand with Walter Mosley
Editor’s note: Most well-known for his mystery fiction, Walter Mosley is also the author of numerous social commentary books, including most recently What Next. He has also published science fiction such as Futureland and Bluelight. This interview was conducted by Libero Della Piana.
Portrait of an Artist in Exile: An Interview with Farnoosh Moshiri
Editor’s note: Iranian writer Farnoosh Moshiri is the author of two novels, At the Wall of the Almighty (Interlink Publishers) and The Bathhouse (Black Heron Press/Beacon Press). Her recently published collection of short stories is called The Crazy Dervish and the Pomegranate Tree and was put out by Black Heron Press in October. After the revolution that overthrew the Shah in 1979, Moshiri, who had just received her Masters degree in drama from the University of Iowa, returned to Iran. She taught at the College of Dramatic Arts and worked as a dramaturge for the Theatre Division of the Ministry of Culture and Art. She also was politically active and a member of The Council of Writers and Artists of Iran and Women’s Organization. When the fundamentalists seized power by 1981, she was labeled “an enemy of God” and was forced to flee with her two year-old son. “This marked the end of my career as an Iranian playwright,” she says. She teaches college English in Houston, Texas.
