Book Review: Sweep of Stars by Maurice Broaddus Muungano isn’t an empire, at least not yet. It’s a strongly connected group of communities including the Dreaming City on the Moon, Bronzeville on Mars, Titan, and the far flung Oyigiyigi mining outpost. They’re tired together by a shared weusi culture dominated by peoples from the African… Continue reading Book Review: Sweep of Stars
Tag: African American history
Book Review: Lovecraft Country
Book Review: Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff Atticus Turner knows about dangerous people. They’re everywhere, though some locations have more concentration of danger than others. If you go traveling, you have to bring a special map to show the safest places to eat and sleep. Of course, between those places the dangerous people could ambush… Continue reading Book Review: Lovecraft Country
Book Review: Lincoln and Chief Justice Taney: Slavery, Secession and the President’s War Powers
Book Review: Lincoln and Chief Justice Taney: Slavery, Secession and the President’s War Powers by James E. Simon Those of us with a cursory knowledge of American history, like myself, have heard of the Dred Scott decision of 1857, in which Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney opined that the black man had no… Continue reading Book Review: Lincoln and Chief Justice Taney: Slavery, Secession and the President’s War Powers
Book Review: Black Hat Jack
Book Review: Black Hat Jack by Joe R. Lansdale Nat Love is better known to some as “Deadwood Dick” as he did some fancy shooting in Deadwood, and “Deadwood Nat” just sounds wrong. Nat was a ex-slave, a gunslinger, a soldier, a cowboy and all-round troublemaker. You may have seen those “dime novels” with his… Continue reading Book Review: Black Hat Jack
Book Review: Outlaws of the Atlantic: Sailors, Pirates and Motley Crews in the Age of Sail
Book Review: Outlaws of the Atlantic: Sailors, Pirates and Motley Crews in the Age of Sail by Marcus Rediker Disclaimer: I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway for the purposes of this review. No other compensation was offered or requested. During the Age of Sail, the deep ocean sailing ship was one of the… Continue reading Book Review: Outlaws of the Atlantic: Sailors, Pirates and Motley Crews in the Age of Sail
Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents Men of War
Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents Men of War edited by Paul Levitz In 1977, African-American male leads in mainstream comic books were still countable on one hand (and don’t even ask about African-American women!) But this also had the effect of making a comic with a black person on the front attention-getting. And I suspect… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents Men of War
Book Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Mad
Book Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Mad by E. Randall Floyd American history is full of offbeat people, some downright weird. The author was (like many a lad) fascinated by their stories when he was young. Then he got to interview Erich von Daeniken (Chariots of the Gods) and decided to make writing about… Continue reading Book Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Mad
Book Review: Empire of Sin
Book Review: Empire of Sin by Gary Krist A criminal called “the Axman” opens this story, and after a thirty-year flashback through New Orleans history, wraps it up as well. No one is sure who the Axman actually was, how many of the crimes attributed to him he actually did, or his final fate. Rather… Continue reading Book Review: Empire of Sin
Movie Review: Reet, Petite and Gone
Movie Review: Reet, Petite and Gone Years ago, Schuyler Jarvis (Louis Jordan) was a young entertainer who fell in love with a woman named Lovey Lynn (Bea Griffith.) She liked him plenty too, but her mother disapproved because Jarvis was a poor man, and forced Lovey to break off the affair. Lovey was married to… Continue reading Movie Review: Reet, Petite and Gone
Book Review: Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Final Year
Book Review: Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Final Year by Tavis Smiley with David Ritz Disclaimer: I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. My copy was an advanced reading copy, and the final product (due out September 2014)… Continue reading Book Review: Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Final Year