cover image Lift Every Voice: Expecting the Most and Getting the Best from All of God's Children

Lift Every Voice: Expecting the Most and Getting the Best from All of God's Children

Walter Turnbull. Hyperion Books, $19.45 (234pp) ISBN 978-0-7868-6164-4

The Boys Choir of Harlem is known throughout the world, having toured in Europe and Asia as well as in the U.S. The individual almost single-handedly responsible for its success is Turnbull, who rose from poverty in backwoods Mississippi at a time when segregationists were fighting their last-ditch battles. An outstanding vocalist who earned a doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music, he began with a small church choir and built it into the larger boys' choir that went on to have its own academy, which sends 98% of its graduates to college. The obstacles the deeply religious Turnbull faced are the problems that plague all of urban society-broken families, irresponsible or addicted parents, the lure of the streets-but he has defeated almost all of them. Prize-winning Boston Globe reporter Manly joins Turnbull in telling this truly inspiring story, supplemented with contributions from his students. Author tour. (Dec.)