Hope on a Tightrope: Words and Wisdom Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Before I state what Hope On A Tightrope: Words and Wisdom by Dr. Cornel West is, let me begin by stating what it is not. Although this book has 12 chapters, titles ranging from Courage, Philosophy, Family to Music, Freedom and Wisdom, to name a few, this is not a book in the traditional sense; certainly not like Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight Against Imperialism or Race Matters. It reads, as the subtitle alludes, as though one is reading excerpts from Dr. West's speeches. Having seen and heard Dr. West on a number of occasions, I recognize the many Westian core concepts included in this book and it may seem all too familiar to you as well.
That said, Dr. West is still an educator and a leading authority on faith, freedom and justice, particularly as it relates to the African-American community. His insights are, as usual, critical, coherent and profound. Anyone who has not had the opportunity to partake in any his words of wisdom would find this book enlightening.
A couple of final thoughts: This book was released on Nov. 1st, 2008 and in it there are references to Barack Obama as a candidate for President of the United States. I believe better timing of the book's release (delaying to a later date) and having Dr. West speaking from the view point of Barack Obama winning the general election would have been worthwhile. Secondly, the companion CD which contains an interview facilitated by Tavis Smiley along with couple of musical selections from Dr. West's ventures in spoken word, seems by itself worthy of the book's retail price. The fact that the CD is included with the book is a bonus.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Hope on a Tightrope: Words and Wisdom

The New York Times best-selling author of Race Matters and Democracy Matters offers open-hearted wisdom for our times in this courageous collection of quotations, speech excerpts, letters, philosophy, and photographs that reflect the profound humanity that fuels the passionate public intellectual. In a world that seesaws between unconditional love and acceptance and blind hatred and exclusion,Hope on a Tightropewill satisfy readers in search of deep wells of inspiration and challenge that marries the mind to the heart.
This gift book features an original CD that highlights Dr. West's outstanding spoken-word artistry. His August 2007 CD release Never Forget: A Journey of Revelations that featured collaborations with best-selling artists Prince, Jill Scott, and Andre 3000 topped the charts as Billboard's #1 Spoken Word album.

Click here for more information about Hope on a Tightrope: Words and Wisdom

Read More...

The Blade Itself (The First Law: Book One) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. I read the blurb from the back and nearly turned away after reading only half of the summary. But something made me open it up and try the first few pages--and I was hooked. It starts with an action scene--like most fantasy novels--and it is described so well. It is realistic without splattering gore in your face. I can't think of any other author who treads that line so well as Joe Abercrombie does in The Blade Itself.
I didn't find this a funny book, overall. It's not a comedy at all. But there are several moments where I did laugh out loud as I read some clever description or a reaction of one of the characters. In fact I think I found more to smile at in this book than most other novels that are specifically tagged as being funny or humourous. The humour here isn't forced. I didn't feel like the author was trying to be funny. It was more like the humour you might find in casual conversation with a friend.
This book moves along at a good pace. It is one of those books where you want to keep reading to find out what happens, but, unlike many other page-turners, things actually happen in this one! I hate books that promise action or resolution just over the next page, just another page, one more page, and before you know it you've read half the book and still nothing's happened. This is definitely not a one-trick pony of a book. Each character is well developed and the plots intertwine naturally.
What this book doesn't contain are tired old writing techniques. Well, it's not perfect, but it's as close as I've come across in 15 years. Anyway, there are no stereotypical cliched fantasy characters. The author doesn't end each chapter on a contrived cliff-hanger and then talk about another character's life for ten chapters before returning to the cliff-hanger. He doesn't especially dwell on the gruesome details of battle, but he writes it as realistically as you'd want. Perhaps not super-realistic--this is a fantasy, after all--but it's not nearly as predictable as many.
Something else I noticed about the writing style is that Joe will change his writing a little to suit each character. So each time he changes the perspective to a new character, the way he describes the scenes changes, too. It's like he's letting us look through each of their eyes, rather than just giving us a homogenous narration throughout. They're not jarring transitions by any means, though. For me they really added to the story and made it all the more absorbing.
This is by far the most absorbing novel I have read for many years. And this is the most glowing review I have given any book on Amazon!

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Blade Itself (The First Law: Book One)

Click here for more information about The Blade Itself (The First Law: Book One)

Read More...