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Rating: 
Summary: A fine biography of a fascinating woman
Review: Before I read this book, I knew Madam C.J. Walker must have been one tough cookie! And she certainly was. But her story is more than just "daughter of slaves makes good."
Madam Walker was orphaned at 7, and went to live with her sister and brother-in-law in what was apparently an abusive household. She married at 14 to escape the situation and, at 20, was left a widow, with a child to support. Leaving Mississippi for St. Louis, she began an extraordinary journey, one that would lead her not merely to wealth and fame, but to a position of influence and importance in the affairs of her race and her nation. She overcame obstacles of race, gender and class to found a business that would help give independence and financial stability to thousands of women. From the very beginning of her success, she used her money to help others, not merely through employment, but by setting an example of charitable giving that lasted throughout her life.
As a woman rising from poverty, attempting to establish herself as a leader, she often met with resistance even in her own community (it took quite some time, for instance, for Booker T. Washington to acknowledge her as a leading businesswoman). But she persisted, and, even more to her credit, was able to walk a fine line between the supporters of Washington and those of W.E.B. DuBois, who took Washington to task as not aggressive enough in fighting for civil rights.
I was fascinated by the section discussing Madam Walker's involvement in the efforts of the African-American community to have the issue of race placed on the table at the Versailles Peace Conference after World War I. This was a part of our history that I had not been aware of before reading this book. It does not surprise me that the government was spying on prominent African - Americans and community organizations (plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose!). And anyone, black or white, whom the government perceived as not being completely behind the official point of view was denied a passport to travel to the conference. The issue never came to the table.
Unfortunately, as with a lot of strong, determined women, Madam Walker was not as successful in her choice of men (a difficulty her daughter also had!). But she did not hesitate to do what needed to be done in her personal life. Her daughter, Lelia (later A'Lelia), whom she raised with the usual mother-daughter conflicts, grew up to become an important part of the family business, though not an artist in any field herself, a key supporter of artists of the Harlem Renaissance.
The author, A'Lelia Bundles, is her subject's great-great-great-granddaughter, and is a journalist. Her experience in that field surely was a major factor in the quality of this book. The woman knows research and documentation! She has provided endnotes, as well as a lengthy bibliography. Madam Walker is fortunate in her biographer and Ms. Bundles is fortunate in her ancestors!
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Summary: An American Icon!
Review: Born Sarah Breedlove in Delta, Louisiana 1867, later dropping Sarah and changing her name to Madame CJ Walker, as we know her today. In 1875 Madame Walker was parentless because disease was rampant in the Mississippi Valleys and it is still unknown what her parents died of, yet their death made Madame Walker determined to succeed.It was wonderful to finally be able to dispel the untruths that have been around for eons about Madame C. J. Walker. Though Madame Walker didn't invent the straightening comb; she was a pioneer in the hair care and cosmetics business, at a time when black women were earning $8.00-$20.00 per month, Madame Walker's business was averaging $300.00 a month. To show how successful the Walker Company was in 1919, that year the companie's gross was $486.762 or the equivalent of $4.8 million today. In the 1900s Madame Walker opened her first Lelia College, to train what was called "Hair Culturists." She also built a factory in Indiana housing her hair care products called Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company. It was extremely exhilarating to read this book about such a smart, courageous and daring woman. As well as learning about those who came into contact with her. Just to name a few: Langston Hughes, Paul Robeson, and many many more. Today the Madame Walker Theatre Center in Indianapolis, which was home to the Madam Walker Manufacturing Company, is a National Landmark. One of my favorite quotes from this wonderful biography of Madame C.J. Walker is: "I had everything I wanted in Life. I just didn't have it long enough" quote from A'Lelia Walker. My sentiments exactly, it just wasn't long enough! Reviewed by Missy
Rating: 
Summary: Motivational and inspirational
Review: Dear A'Lelia Bundles, Greetings! I have just completed your book titled "On her own ground" about your great-great-grandmother, Madame C.J. Walker. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and was so taken with her drive and sense of giving back. I was not aware of all that she had done regarding how to make a business successful. The book has given me additional insight and has motivated me to do likewise. This book is required reading for my children to show them the strength of human drive and determination. I am just blown away at how much she accomplished at a time when things looked impossible and improbable. Thanks for such an inspiring book! Sincerely, Sharon Crumley
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Summary: Grateful Acknowledgement To The Author
Review: Dear Ms. Bundles I have just finished your book On Her Own Ground. I thank you for presenting an inspiring and personal history of your family and Madam Walker. The love and reverence you have for the subject comes shining through each page. I have always been an avid reader of biography and history but until your book I could find no consolidated resource for your Great Grandmother. The historical context you wove into the biography makes the story even more poignant than an ordinary "rags to riches" story and I hope the book becomes required reading in all American history studies. You have a wonderful prose style and an easy way of approaching emotional material in a way that keeps the historical equilibrium without leeching the story of its humanity and drama. I know I and other readers will look forward to your next book what ever the subject. Yours sincerely, Michael T. Whitelock
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Summary: Good Reading
Review: I first learned about Madam C. J. Walker when I read The Black Rose by Tananarive Due in 2001. It was an exciting, well-written novel. I only became more entranced by this forgotten figure of history when the Due paid a visit to St. Louis that same year. In reviews I wrote in March and April of that year, I declared Madam to be my own heroine. Although a year has passed, I've have read more about this fascinating woman. And the best evidence is the biography of her life, On Her Own Ground: The Life And Times of Madam C. J. Walker, written by her great-great-granddaughter, A'Lelia Bundles. For those of you who don't know much about this remarkable late 19th-/early 20th century, here's a brief history lesson: Walker was born Sarah Breedlove in 1867 in Delta, Louisiana, and moved to St. Louis, Missouri, during her early adulthood. While laboring as a washerwoman there during the 1890s, she began to go bald. To control her hair loss, she developed a scalp treatment that made hair grow, which she claimed came to her in dream. During the early 1900s she became a sales agent for Annie Malone's hair care treatment, but felt hers was the better product. She marketed her product on the side, while working for Malone. In 1905, she married C. J. Walker, changed her name to "Madam C. J. Walker" and moved to Denver as an agent for St. Louis hair-care queen Annie Malone. In 1906, she formed her own company, the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company, which would come to dominate the hair business until the mid 1980s and ultimately give her the financial means to empower her gender and her race. When she died at her elaborate New York mansion, Villa Lewaro, in 1919, she was the wealthiest African-American woman in the nation. Many believed her estate to be worth more than $1 million dollars, but in actuality, the estate was estimated at $600,000 (about $6 million in 2002 figures).
Bundles sets the record straight on Madam's life. Due, who was commissioned by the estate of the late Alex Haley, admits her book is more fiction than fact, but Bundles gives the factual part. From her rise as a child of freed slaves to the queen of hair culturalists, Walker was determined to make a better life for blacks in the United States. She supported anti-lynching laws, tussled with Booker T. Washington over women's issues, and took on the elite of her race in a variety of issues. She gave money to many causes, but only to those that served to better either other women or other blacks. She held parties, attended rallies and marches, and traveled the United States as much as possible, empowering women of the new century. Bundles doesn't give many anecdotes about her famed ancestor's life. In fact, there isn't a whole lot of really personal information. The book is mostly about the times of Walker. If you've ever thought that blacks before Rosa Parks weren't concerned about segregation and other issues, you've got an eye-opener of a read awaiting you. On Her Own Ground: The Life And Times of Madam C. J. Walker is the riveting story of a woman destined to become a powerful figure and make a mark, her mark, on the landscape of the United States race issue. Madam Walker is still one of my heroines, and I hope she will become one of yours too.
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Summary: My Speech On Mrs. Walker
Review: Mrs. Bundles,
I just wanted to let you know, I got an 'A' for my presentation on your great- great grandmother. My teacher told me that my speech was on a 2nd year speech class level and that I was like a piece of brass, I just needed some fine polishing. I may have a future in motivational speaking and I just had to thank you. The information in your book was not only factual and informative, but interesting to me as well as my mother and sisters. Our family history could be parallel to yours, except we have yet to find the key to financial success, but we will.
I have fully enjoyed your book and reading what you yourself have been able to accomplish has been an added inspiration to me.
Thank you for your time in guiding me to my 'A'
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Summary: A compelling portrait of an American pioneer
Review: On Her Own Ground details the life story of Madame C.J. Walker, best known for developing a line of hair care products. To know her only for this accomplishment would be short sighted, indeed. Born to slaves, Sarah Breedlove (her given name) was orphaned by age 7, married by age 14 and widowed with a small daughter by age 20. She was one of many women who took in washing to earn a living and to support her daughter. She began to experiment with hair salves when she noticed her hair was breaking and falling out. Tapping into a common problem for black women of the time, she began to produce and sell her discovery. This is also the story of a woman who was in the forefront of black educational and political movements of the early 1900's. She was friends (and sometimes adversaries) with many of the well known names of the time,including Booker T. Washington,Mary McLeod Bethune,and W.E.B DuBois. and a force behind providing educational and employment opportunities for African American women. Her daughter , who also helped run the family business was at the forefront of the Harlem Reniassance. Working against the prejudice of not only her race, but her sex, she built a family industry that exisits today ( although no longer in family hands).She built a home among the most wealthy of the time and enjoyed an income comprabable to any white, male executive of the time. A'Lelia Bundles has skillfully woven a complex portrait of a woman who shaped marketing techniques still used universally today. Using a wealth of family material (Bundles is the great-great granddaughter of Madam Walker)as well as other well documented sources, the author opens the door to a vibrant time in Black history, provides a historical context to help explain and compliment this amazing woman and tells a story so compelling that this is a hard book to put down.
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Summary: On Her Own Ground - Review by Devonne Mckenzie
Review: This a wonderfully written biography on Madam C.J. Walker's life. I felt uplifted and inspired by her success as a business woman, as a human rights activist and as a philanthropist. A'Lelia Bundles, Madam Walker's great-great granddaughter, did an excellent job of transporting readers to 1867-1919 to experience the politicial, social and economical issues during Madam Walker's life time.
A'Lelia Bundles was very clear and truthful regarding the fact that Madam Walker did not invent the hot comb. Madam Walker's business provided hair and skin care products to women of color not only in the U.S., also to women in the Caribbean and in Cuba. It is my strong opinion that Madam Walker was one of the first people to develop the concept of self-empowerment and financial independence for women of color because she provided the opportunity to become a Walker sales agent to thousands of women across the U.S. Madam C.J. Walker's work as a human rights activist and her contributions as a philanthropist, impacted a countless number of institutions, organizations and individuals. On Her Own Ground is powerful, moving, enlighting and it is filled with courage!
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful story, beautifully written
Review: This book helps you to appreciate our past generations and how their struggles were not that different from our own. Madam CJ Walker is more than a shinning example of what anyone with determination can accomplish. A'Lelia Bundles is truly blessed that her great-grandmother and grandmother left so much documentation her to quench her love of family history. The experiences and stories of those that knew them take you back in time. This book helped me to look at my grandmother's antiques differently. I used to view them as beautiful things I have grown up with and am comforted by, but now I realize that they hold the key to what I may have been searching for all of my life. Just as she was drawn to the her grandmother's dressing table so was I. We are blessed as black women to have such a rich heritage to share. A'Lelia carries with her the dignity and pride of her family that I wish all of our young people could express. I think reading this book will help everyone to look to their past in a quest for the future.
Rating: 
Summary: What Book Did Everyone Else Read????
Review: This was the slowest book I have read in recent memory. I was so excited when my library called to say the book was available for me to pick up. Was I ever sorry! I had read 2 books previously about Madam, and was excited to find that her own family member had written what should be the "authoritative" biography of her. Since I frequent the library every week with my son, I looked for it there. My review in a nutshell is that the author spent WAY too much time explaining the intricacies of the clubs and "movements" of the period and not enough time on Ms. Walker's actual life. There are glimpses into her relationships, but I felt Ms. Bundles kept holding back details - maybe because they could be embarassing to the family . . .? At any rate, I was not able to finish. Just got too bored. It read like a college research paper or something. But I guess everyone must make their own decision.
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