PARALLEL TIME : Growing Up in Black and White

Rating:
Summary: parallel time
Review: "Parallel Time" was an interesting book. It told a story about Brent's life and his struggle to be a writer. The message I got out of this book was that you are your own person and that you have total control over your life. I was able to read and visualize how Brent grew up as a black child, and how hard it was. By reading this story I have a better picture of how difficult being black in America was.

Rating:
Summary: parallel time
Review: "Parallel Time" was an interesting book. It told a story about Brent's life and his struggle to be a writer. The message I got out of this book was that you are your own person and that you have total control over your life. I was able to read and visualize how Brent grew up as a black child, and how hard it was. By reading this story I have a better picture of how difficult being black in America was.

Rating:
Summary: Paralell Lines
Review: I think that this story has to with the troubles he had to live with. I think that the problem that he had been common for the people in the neighborhood he grew up in. It seems like a common for there to be a lot of violence in Chester and he does a good job in explaining the difficulties he had. I think that some of his explanation is exaggerated. Some of the details are very thorough. I would recommend to people who live in bad neighborhoods.

Rating:
Summary: Parallel Time
Review: Parallel Time is a intresting book about blacks and whites. This book is about a black kid growing up in a black and white community. Brent Staples is good at expressing his feelings and thoughts. An example of this is he talks about his brother and also takes the role of his father. He also has a good way of showing the reader what is exactly going on. He shows detail in every chapter. This would be a great book to read if you are intrested in racism.

Rating:
Summary: Parallel Time
Review: Parallel Time was a very interesting book. I learned a lot about what he went through growing up. He had to deal with his father being an abusive alcoholic, and the obsitcals of growing up black and white. He went into good detail when he talked about each event that happend when he was young. he also talks about his brother being a drug dealer. He gives support of why his brother was already dead to him in his mind. He list all the things that were important to him. He was responsible in taking the role of his father. I feel that this is a good book to read if you are interested in seeing what it was like to grow up black in the 1960's.

Rating:
Summary: Parallel Time
Review: Parallel Time was an interesting book that tells about the harsh life of an editorial writer for the New York Times named Brent Staples. Brent came from a family of nine, which consisted of Brent, three brothers, three sisters, his mother, and father.
There were many harshness's that Brent faced inside and outside his families home. During his early years his home life was filled with problems from an abusive father who drank. This led to his mother being beaten and the children mistreated in more ways than one. The father tried to act like a father sometimes due to his conscious but didn't seem to show any emotion towards Brent. I think this caused many social issues for him in his life. There was also the constant moving of his family due to money problems that helped to make Brent feel isolated from others. These things helped make it hard for him to find his identity. The years spent with his family weren't depicted as an enjoyable childhood.
Another phase of Brent's life in this book involved the period of life while he was in college. This was not an easy place to find your identity but at least it helped to keep him away from some of his family problems. During his time there he tried many things one of which was portraying himself as a member of the Black Panthers. He held protests in order to accomplish things and gain respect from his peers. During his years there I think he went through many phases, which helped him to become conscious to many harsh realities of society. The next part of his life was going to graduate school. Here he seemed to sort out what worked for him and seemed to really make some forward progress in finding himself.
After graduate school he went on some interviews that seemed to bring up some of the negative feelings of his childhood. During an interview he was asked what kind of background or environment he had came from. He began to tell of his educational background, which he felt was what they should be focused on. The interviewee wanted to know what his childhood was like which Brent didn't feel was relevant and became angry. He felt that this was a form of judgment that should never have had relevance regarding this position.
The death of his brother Blake I feel also played an important part in Brent's life. Initially he seemed to hide his feelings about the death as he did with many other painful parts of his life. Once he acknowledged this fact I feel it made a difference in his life.
I enjoyed reading about many of the events of Brent's life. He had an explicit and graphic way of depicting many of these events. His story shows some of the things that a low-income family may have to contend with as well as some of the difficulties of growing up as a black man.

Rating:
Summary: An amazing book
Review: This book captures more than the important chronicles of a black male growing up in the South and earning his Ph.D. It is the story of a writer realizing his craft. With every page you are invited into Brent Staples living room in his mind as he paints the portrait of growing up black in the South capturing the essence of an era. He went on to earn his Ph.D and tells of the value of growing from obstacles. He is honest without being a heavy load, in fact, he is very uplifting. This book helps to aquaint the human race, very intimately, with a black mans journey through the realization that he is a writer first and everything else next. I recommend this book as an important historical prospective but also as a treat for people suffering from a lack of quality reading material.