Henry Louis Gates, Jr., is W.E.B. Du Bois Professor of Humanities, Chair of Afro-American Studies; Director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for Afro-American Research, Harvard University. Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham is Professor of History and Afro-American Studies, Harvard University; Editor, Harvard Guide to African American History.
"...there's no doubt that African American Lives has the definitive
list of black contributions in a new reference book that's
thoroughly researched and well written....the book is a treasury of
entertaining and informative glimpses into American and world
history....The research that went into each biography pays off
handsomely. Each story is told with depth and detail. No reader
should leave this book without having learned the significance of
each
profiled individual and his or her contribution to society....Such
vivid details set African American Lives apart from other reference
materials. The book is a must for anyone who loves history. Don't
be
deterred by the price. It's worth every penny, and given the book's
research and writing, shouldn't sit idly on any shelf to gather
dust."--Sun-Sentinel
"The alphabetically arranged biographical entries are well written
and focus on the subject's contributions to both the subculture and
history of black Americans as well as the person's impact on the
general history and culture of the US....Relatively inexpensive,
African American Lives offers accessible and authoritative
biographical and critical information on a well-selected
representative group of influential black Americans. It also offers
a
glimpse into what promises to be a major publishing event of
2006---the publication of a multivolume biographical encyclopedia
on African Americans. African American Lives is highly recommended
for most academic and
public libraries."--Booklist STARRED Review
"When is a reference book vastly more than just a reference book?
One plausible answer: when it's this one."--Buffalo News
"If there is no history, only biography, then this work opens
multiple fresh vistas on proper African American history.... This
work easily supplants Rayford Logan and Michael Winston's
Dictionary of American Negro Biography (1982) while also serving as
a tantalizing appetizer to the feast promised in 2006 with the
release of a 6000-entry, eight-volume African American National
Biography. Essential for any serious African American
collection."--Library
Journal STARRED REVIEW
"This substantial compilation offers thorough, accessible
biographies of 611 African-Americans over more than four
centuries....The 1,000-3,000 word entries are generally
well-written, even lyrical, and balanced...this documenting of a
major power and achievement will undoubtedly be a standard
reference work."--Publishers Weekly
"Browsing through a copy of the encyclopedia-style volume, African
American Lives, is an exercise that never fails to inform and
entertain. Turn to the "M" section, for example, and the two-page
biography of Malcolm X is followed by an entry on a lesser known
figure, Annie Turnbo Malone, a determined Illinois businesswoman
who made a multimillion-dollar fortune in the 1920s with a
hair-care products company. These two subjects are among 600
profiled
herefrom slaves to contemporary sports heroesin a volume that was
meticulously researched and compiled. Each entry contains
fascinating bits of information that add to our understanding of
the importance of race
and class in America. Edited by scholars Henry Louis Gates Jr. and
Evelyn Higginbotham and distilled from a forthcoming eight-volume
set intended primarily for libraries, this readable collection is a
mosaic that offers a unique portrait of the African-American
experience."--Bookpage
"Engagingly written, this well-designed work has a fine selection
of photographs, art reproductions, and illustrations....Highly
recommended."--Choice
"...the scholarship is current, the approach is incisively
analytical, and the writing is anything but dry...an exciting, and
affordable, new resource."--School Library Journal
"...there's no doubt that African American Lives has the definitive
list of black contributions in a new reference book that's
thoroughly researched and well written....the book is a treasury of
entertaining and informative glimpses into American and world
history....The research that went into each biography pays off
handsomely. Each story is told with depth and detail. No reader
should leave this book without having learned the significance of
each
profiled individual and his or her contribution to society....Such
vivid details set African American Lives apart from other reference
materials. The book is a must for anyone who loves history. Don't
be
deterred by the price. It's worth every penny, and given the book's
research and writing, shouldn't sit idly on any shelf to gather
dust."--Sun-Sentinel
"The alphabetically arranged biographical entries are well written
and focus on the subject's contributions to both the subculture and
history of black Americans as well as the person's impact on the
general history and culture of the US....Relatively inexpensive,
African American Lives offers accessible and authoritative
biographical and critical information on a well-selected
representative group of influential black Americans. It also offers
a
glimpse into what promises to be a major publishing event of
2006---the publication of a multivolume biographical encyclopedia
on African Americans. African American Lives is highly recommended
for most academic and
public libraries."--Booklist STARRED Review
"When is a reference book vastly more than just a reference book?
One plausible answer: when it's this one."--Buffalo News
"This substantial compilation offers thorough, accessible
biographies of 611 African-Americans over more than four
centuries....The 1,000-3,000 word entries are generally
well-written, even lyrical, and balanced...this documenting of a
major power and achievement will undoubtedly be a standard
reference work."--Publishers Weekly
"If there is no history, only biography, then this work opens
multiple fresh vistas on proper African American history.... This
work easily supplants Rayford Logan and Michael Winston's
Dictionary of American Negro Biography (1982) while also serving as
a tantalizing appetizer to the feast promised in 2006 with the
release of a 6000-entry, eight-volume African American National
Biography. Essential for any serious African American
collection."--Library
Journal STARRED REVIEW
Ask a Question About this Product More... |