Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding Autobiography Which Touches The Mind And Heart
Review: This is one classic Harlem Renaissance autobiography that is simply well constructed. Brown is a masterful genius in that he does not sugarcoat his life experiences with prolific and monstrous words, but rather gives the reader an indepth view of what life was like in the ghetto of Harlem, New York. Moreover, Brown emphasizes the essential theme of this story over and over again to the reader and even proves it by becoming a successful lawyer despite the fact he came from a torn-broken ghetto induced with violence, sex, and drugs. This novel is a must read for all ages and it gives the reader a chance to get inside the mind of a brillant person who overcame a number of economic, racial, and personal obstacles to become a leading attorney in New York. In short one can soon surmise that this autobiography is one of the rarest of its kind and holds the attention span of the reader with much thrill, suspense, and excitement. It is truly a timeless classic with many great assets.
Rating:
Summary: Taught me about Life on the streets
Review: This was without doubt the most important book I read as a teenager. I moved to NYC from California when I was twelve and was pretty naive in the workings of the city. Reading this book when I was 13 helped me immensely. It was a street-wise primer for survival at the time (we're talking 1964). But I would hold that the subject matter is just as relevant today. If you don't know about a "Jones" or what makes a three-card-monty mark want to come back for more, then I suggest you are just as vulnerable as I was. It's also one of the all-time cautionary tales (without being preachy) about drug addiction. I did a lot of drugs in the late 60's, early 70's, but never touched heroin, primarily from reading this book. The writing, while maybe not on the level of Richard Wright, surpasses Malcom X's and Eldridge Cleaver's memoirs, and that's saying something, as those were both powerful works as well.
Rating:
Summary: A inspirational story about life in the ghetto
Review: Throughout Brown's narrative you will experience the hardships of the ghetto life though a child's eyes. It is an inspirational story about a young man who ovecame a life of poverty and crime, and who later became a successful lawyer. Although this book was written from a black man's experiences' in the 1950's much of what he experienced still exist today. It will make you think about life, and the social and cultural situations that surround us today. This book will make have a meaningful impact on everyone who reads it.
Rating: 
Summary: Those who don't remember the past.....
Review: When this book came out in 1965, the NAACP's magazine "The Crisis" and other middle-class blacks criticized this book because it's raw and unsentimental portrait of ghetto life was seen as threatening to the entry of Black Americans into mainstream positions in America at the time. Too bad so many people tuned out it's message. Many of the things Claude Brown spoke of in this book about the Harlem of the mid-20th century came to pass in far more communities than Harlem (massive drug addiction, lunatic Black nationalist cults, massive disrespect of women, mindless violece, etc). Had more people listened to Claude Brown (RIP) at the time, perhaps Black America may have united to rid our communities of these evils instead of irrelevant "issues" like the Confederate Flag so that these things would not have become the plauge that they are today. As George Santayana said, "Those who don't remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
Rating:
Summary: Those who don't remember the past.....
Review: When this book came out in 1965, the NAACP's magazine "The Crisis" and other middle-class blacks criticized this book because it's raw and unsentimental portrait of ghetto life was seen as threatening to the entry of Black Americans into mainstream positions in America at the time. Too bad so many people tuned out it's message. Many of the things Claude Brown spoke of in this book about the Harlem of the mid-20th century came to pass in far more communities than Harlem (massive drug addiction, lunatic Black nationalist cults, massive disrespect of women, mindless violece, etc). Had more people listened to Claude Brown (RIP) at the time, perhaps Black America may have united to rid our communities of these evils instead of irrelevant "issues" like the Confederate Flag so that these things would not have become the plauge that they are today. As George Santayana said, "Those who don't remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
Rating:
Summary: Inspirational autobiography.
Review: Who would've thought this medium-skinned candystore-robbing Harlem boy would've became an Ivy-league law student? Claude Brown tells his life story with honesty and open truth reminiscent of Miles Davis's autobiography. He discusses his encounters with girls, especially Sugar, who is ugly and has messed up teeth but still a certain charm about her, and his experiences at various reform schools. I found the relationship he had with his father to be especially interesting because of the constant rivalry they had. Claude also had lots of problems with drugs, especially heroin, cocaine and reefer. One admirable quality of Claude is that he holds none of this back and readily admits what he went through, no matter how ashamed he may have been. The gangs he rolled with are also interesting because of the way he often lead them, with an iron fist but still with a certain amount of care and mutual respect for every member. Also, Claude's life was positively influenced by jazz saxophone legends Sonny Rollins and Charlie Parker (the Charlie Parker With Strings album is even mentioned. He gets high while listening to "Summertime"). Eventually, Claude gave up the street life and started playing piano for large amounts of time. He straightened his life out, and got out of the ghetto. Of course, being a lawyer isn't much of an improvement. It just is a safer way to make money. I read this book in 10th grade and was very motivated by it. Claude died recently, in February of 2002, which was a tragic loss. He truly was a great writer and is very missed.
|
