Rating: 
Summary: Convincing story of an American life
Review: "Manchild in the Promised Land" is a rare achievement: an autobiography written in clear, lucid prose without an ounce of self-pity, self-justification, or moralizing. While Claude Brown's life was difficult, dangerous, and violent, and he shows all of that in unflinching detail, he also recalls much of his childhood with pleasure and a good measure of pride that he survived. Most of all, for me, Brown's memoir is filled with regret for the many from his Harlem neighborhood who died, victims of crime, poverty, alcoholism and drug addiction. Indeed, one could say that one of the major characters of his story is heroin, which Brown describes as the scourge of his generation. The power of heroin to destroy is most poignantly described in Brown's recounting of his relationship with his younger brother. Claude took his responsibilities as an older brother seriously, but his younger brother fell victim to addiction, and Brown was forced to admit that he had lost him. As the book develops, an interesting change occurs in Brown's narrative voice. In the early stages, he describes with a defiant pride his wild exploits as a child and adolescent, which landed him in juvenile homes, and nearly got him killed. As he describes himself getting older and he eventually leaves Harlem, Brown's voice takes on a mixture of affection and regret as he talks about going back to the neighborhood and seeing old friends, many of whom had fallen on hard times. In the end, Brown's story is one of achievement. While he escapes the poverty of his youth, he refuses to forget his roots. In this sense, "Manchild"'s spiritual descendant is Sandra Cisneros' great novella, "The House on Mango Street," whose main character realizes that one must "go away to come back." Brown forges an inspirational story that overcomes despair in its power to shape memory and find meaning in a difficult life.
Rating:
Summary: Convincing story of an American life
Review: "Manchild in the Promised Land" is a rare achievement: an autobiography written in clear, lucid prose without an ounce of self-pity, self-justification, or moralizing. While Claude Brown's life was difficult, dangerous, and violent, and he shows all of that in unflinching detail, he also recalls much of his childhood with pleasure and a good measure of pride that he survived. Most of all, for me, Brown's memoir is filled with regret for the many from his Harlem neighborhood who died, victims of crime, poverty, alcoholism and drug addiction. Indeed, one could say that one of the major characters of his story is heroin, which Brown describes as the scourge of his generation. The power of heroin to destroy is most poignantly described in Brown's recounting of his relationship with his younger brother. Claude took his responsibilities as an older brother seriously, but his younger brother fell victim to addiction, and Brown was forced to admit that he had lost him. As the book develops, an interesting change occurs in Brown's narrative voice. In the early stages, he describes with a defiant pride his wild exploits as a child and adolescent, which landed him in juvenile homes, and nearly got him killed. As he describes himself getting older and he eventually leaves Harlem, Brown's voice takes on a mixture of affection and regret as he talks about going back to the neighborhood and seeing old friends, many of whom had fallen on hard times. In the end, Brown's story is one of achievement. While he escapes the poverty of his youth, he refuses to forget his roots. In this sense, "Manchild"'s spiritual descendant is Sandra Cisneros' great novella, "The House on Mango Street," whose main character realizes that one must "go away to come back." Brown forges an inspirational story that overcomes despair in its power to shape memory and find meaning in a difficult life.
Rating:
Summary: coming of age
Review: As a 14 year old girl in Baltimore Md I was given this book to read by my uncle in 1972, I have been reading it every 5 years or so now at 46 it remains one of my favorite books, i am purchasing it today for my 14 year old nephew, i hope he learns as much from it as i did.
Rating: 
Summary: Promised Land or Exile?
Review: At the beginning of Manchild, Claude Brown describes how Harlem came to be populated by people of color. He continues by describing how he struggled with and adapted to this enviornment and eventually escaped it. This reads like a story of alienation and exile and the author's struggle to find the place where he fit and was comfortable. I enjoyed reading this book, but was left wondering if Claude Brown ever found his niche. Where did he land? Did he ever find a place that felt like home? He talks at the very end about how much he loved the street life of Harlem, but that he hadn't lived there for several years at the time of writing. I'd like an update of where the Manchild is now, what he's doing and how Harlem looks to him 50 years later---a sequel perhaps?
Rating:
Summary: from goose-pumps to sad tears ...
Review: Brown's account of growing up in Harlem in the 40's is by far the most compelling and insightful book I read in all the years America became my second home , I only can wish for this book to be a mandatory read for many generations to come
Rating:
Summary: Possibly the most compelling book I ever read.
Review: Claude Brown gives a wonderful account of the struggles of growing up in a city such as New York. This book is recommended to anyone who isn't afraid to see that their pristine vision of their surroundings is not what they think, or that someone can struggle through their childhood and still come out on top. One of my favorite books.
Rating:
Summary: An All Time Favorite
Review: Claude Brown's gritty autobiography is one that you can read again and again. I read in fifth grade and two times since. A dynamic history lesson and insight to the souls of many middle-aged African-American men.
Rating:
Summary: moving portrait of the harlem experience in the 50s
Review: Claude Brown's odessey from mean (though comfortable) streets is honestly written, full of insight and wisdom that this reader appreciates. The tale tends to ramble a bit in the middle. After he moves downtown, the passages become too redundant and meandering ... he talks about the junkies ad infinitum. Otherwise, a very cool book.
Rating:
Summary: How would you have turned out?
Review: Claude tells us without self pity, regret, or justification about his dangerous, difficult, violent childhood (if you can call it that) growing up in Harlem during the 1940s and 50s. In this narrative autobiography Claude or Sonny as he is known around Harlem and it's juvenile centers begins going down the wrong path at the age of seven (7). At this tender young age he began shooting hooky from school in order to hang out with the older kids who were going around fighting, stealing, and everything else. There were absolutely no good influences in the neighborhood during this time. Everyone was either selling drugs, using drugs, or thinking up schemes to cheat people out of their hard earned money. There is one paragraph that sums up the childhood that a child experienced during that time and it reads "There ain't no kids in Harlem. I ain't never seen any. I've seen some real small people actin' like kids. They were too small to be grown, and they might've looked like kids, but they don't have any kids in Harlem, because nobody has time for a childhood." " Kids are happy, kids laugh, kids are secure. They ain't scared-a nothin'. I don't never remember bein' happy and not scared." You will have to read MANCHILD IN THE PROMISED LAND to find out about about Sonny's childhood with his family and friends and his coming of age during a time where it's believed that kids didn't exist in Harlem. You should read this book because it will open your eyes to experiences that you may or may not know exist. While reading this book I was shown a glimpse of a life that I'm not sure I would be able to endure and I learned some things from Sonny. I'm sure if you read MANCHILD IN THE PROMISED LAND you will also learn something.
Rating:
Summary: well worth your time.
Review: eyeopening when first published & still current
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