African-American Interest: Adult and Children's Books, 2006-2007
-- Publishers Weekly, 12/11/2006
The following is a list of African-American interest adult books, fiction and nonfiction, publishing between September 2006 and March 2007. Click here to see our children's book listings.
ADULT BOOKSACTA PUBLICATIONS
A Light Will Rise in Darkness: Growing Up Black and Catholic in New Orleans (Sept., paper $9.95) by Jo Anne Tardy recounts her experiences growing up young, black and Catholic in 1940s and 50s New Orleans.
AGATE
Not in My Family: AIDS and the African-American Community (Dec., paper $16) edited by Gil L. Robertson IV gathers essays by African-Americans, known and unknown, discussing the impact of AIDS on African-Americans.
My Mother's Rules: A Practical Guide to Becoming an Emotional Genius (Feb., paper $15) by Lynn Toler. A memoir of family, life, and justice from the new star of the syndicated television show Divorce Court. First serial to Upscale magazine.
APPLAUSE
Black Comedians on Black Comedy: How African Americans Taught Us to Laugh (Dec., $27.95) by Darryl Littleton examines 400 years of black comedy in America.
ATRIA
Love Don't Live Here No More: Doggy Tales Vol. 1 (Oct., $24) by Snoop Dogg and David E. Talbert marks the first in a series about a young man with a talent for hip-hop who must survive southern California's worst neighborhoods.
Love Is Never Painless: Three Novellas (Nov., $22.95) edited by Zane peeks into the erotic lives of contemporary African Americans.
Joy to the World: Inspirational Christmas Messages from America's Preachers (Nov., $25) edited by Olivia Cloud. More than 100 of America's favorite religious leaders articulate the true meaning of Christmas.
Little Ghetto Girl (Jan., paper $14) by Danielle Santiago. A Harlem girl gets caught up in the game of drugs and struggles to escape the gangsta life.
You and Your Money (Feb., $24) by Alvin Hall applies a psychological perspective to the circumstances leading to overspending.
When Angels Speak of Love (Feb., $16.95) by bell hooks offers a portrait of passion in fifty poems.
The Story of the Cannibel Woman (Feb., $24) by Maryse Conde. A woman seeks to uncover the mystery of her husband's murder and rebuild a new life in his absence.
BEACON PRESS
Shout, Sister, Shout: The Untold Story of Rock-and-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe (Feb., $25.95) by Gayle F. Wald celebrates the life of the flamboyant musical prodigy who was America's first rock guitar diva.
On the Courthouse Lawn: Confronting the Legacy of Lynching in the Twenty-First Century (Feb., $25.95) by Sherrilyn A. Ifill supplies concrete ways for communities with histories of racial violence to move toward reconciliation.
One O'clock Jump: The Unforgettable History of the Oklahoma City Blue Devils (Feb., paper $18) by Douglas Henry Daniels profiles the legendary jazz band that included Lester Young, Count Basie and Ralph Ellison.
BLOOMSBURY
The Great Negro Plot (Feb., $19.95) by Mat Johnson recounts the terror New York City's colonists unleashed on the city's male slaves in the summer of 1741.
CITADEL
Southern Homecoming Traditions (Oct., $24.95) by Carolyn Quick Tillery combines recipes, nostalgia, historical photos and personal memories of the Atlanta University Center in the fourth book in the African American Heritage Cookbook series.
DAFINA
God Don't Play (Sept., $24) by Mary Monroe. Lifelong friends Annette and Rhoda return from Monroe's two previous bestsellers, God Don't Like Ugly and God Still Don't Like Ugly.
Denzel's Lips (Oct, paper $14) by Anita Diggs follows four black women in search of love, sex and sanity in the wealthy suburbs.
She Ain't the One (Oct., $24) by Carl Weber and Mary B. Morrison delivers a "he said, she said" novel about the ultimate player who finally meets the wrong woman.
Drama High: The Fight (Oct., paper $9.95) by L. Divine introduces Jayd Jackson, who is learning that life in the 'hood is nothing compared to life in high school.
The First Lady (Jan., $24) by Carl Weber revisits Bishop T. K. Wilson and his wife in this story about a wife trying to find a good woman for her husband after she's gone.
A Hire Love (Feb., paper $14) by Candice Dow. A woman learns that writing her own happy ending comes with a few surprises.
FREE PRESS
Turn Away Thy Son: Little Rock, the Crisis That Shocked the Nation (Jan., $28) by Elizabeth Jacoway marks the 50th anniversary of the Little Rock Nine with an account of one of the most dramatic events in the civil rights movement.
The Real Pepsi Challenge: The Inspirational Story of Breaking the Color Barrier in American Business (Jan., $25) by Stephanie Capparell recounts how Edward Boyd and eleven other African-American marketing executives crossed the corporate color divide in the 1940s and 1950s.
GROVE ATLANTIC/BLACK CAT
Man Gone Down (Jan., paper $14) by Michael Thomas. A young black man tries to claim the piece of the American dream he thought had been promised him in his youth.
HARPERCOLLINS/AMISTAD
Hunger (Sept., $23.95) by Erica Simone Turnipseed explores the return of Innocent and Noire, whose reunion doesn't last long once Innocent reveals he has unfinished business in Africa.
The White Masai (Oct, $24.95) by Corinne Hoffman blends adventure and the pursuit of passion between star-crossed lovers from vastly different backgrounds.
Skinny Cooks Can't Be Trusted (Nov., $26.95) by Mo'Nique combines food memories with down home recipes, cooking tips and humor.
Off the Record: A Reporter Unveils the Celebrity Worlds of Hollywood, Hip-Hop and Sports (Feb., $24.95) by Allison Samuels collects back stories of the entertainers and athletes the author has covered as a Newsweek reporter. 8-city author tour.
Like Trees, Walking (Mar., $24.95) by Ravi Howard follows teenagers coping with the aftermath of a friend's hanging.
Redbone: Money, Malice and Murder in Atlanta, a True Crime Story (Mar., $24.95) by Ron Stodghill takes an inside look at a self-made millionaire who meets a brutal death at the hands of one of the many women he romanced.
HARVARD UNIV. PRESS
A Class of Their Own (Feb., $29.95) by Adam Fairclough chronicles the odyssey of black teachers in the South from Emancipation in 1865 to integration 100 years later.
Saltwater Slavery (Feb., $29.95) by Stephanie E. Smallwood looks at the process of enslavement from its African origins through the Middle Passage and into the American slave market.
JUDSON PRESS
The Original African Heritage Study Bible (Jan., $49) edited by Cain Hope Felder reveals the African/Edenic contribution to Judaism and Christianity.
The Gospel Remix: Reaching the Hip Hop Generation (Jan., $14) by Ralph C. Watkins et al focuses on enabling pastors to reach out to this new generation.
KNOPF
Half of a Yellow Sun (Sept., $24.95) by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie revisits Biafra's struggle to establish an independent republic in Nigeria during the 1960s.
Unbowed (Oct., $24.95) by Wangari Maathai. The winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize recounts her life as a political activist, feminist, and environmentalist in Kenya. 100,000 first printing.
Soldier: The Life of Colin Powell (Oct., $28.95) by Karen DeYoung. A biography based on interviews with key government players, unprecedented access to Powell's papers and the cooperation of Powell and his family. 200,000-copy first printing. BOMC main selection.
There Goes the Neighborhood: Racial, Ethnic, and Class Tensions in Four Chicago Neighborhoods and Their Meaning for America (Oct., $23.95) by William Julius Wilson and Richard P. Taub. An admired sociologist and the chairman of the Committee on Human Development at the University of Chicago look at race relations. 50,000-copy first printing.
The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation (Nov., $30) by Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff examines how news stories, editorials, and photographs in the American press–and the journalists responsible for them–changed the nation's thinking about civil rights in the South during the 1950s and 60s.
For the Confederate Dead (Jan., $24.95) by Kevin Young. A new collection of poems from the award-winning author of Jelly Roll.
LOUISIANA STATE UNIV. PRESS
No Taint of Compromise: Crusaders in Antislavery Politics (Sept., paper $22.95) by Frederick J. Blue examines the lives of eleven men and women who insisted that emancipation and racial equality could only be achieved through the political process.
Emancipating New York: The Politics of Slavery and Freedom, 1777-1827 (Nov., $50) by David N. Gellman blends cultural and political history in a study of the abolition of slavery in New York State.
If We Must Die: Shipboard Insurrections in the Era of the Atlantic Slave Trade (Nov., $45) by Eric Robert Taylor focuses on slave resistance that occurred aboard ships–at anchor, along the African coast, during the Middle Passage, and beyond.
Race and Liberty in the New Nation: Emancipation in Virginia from the Revolution to Nat Turner's Rebellion (Dec., $45) by Eva Sheppard Wolf looks at how Virginians attempted to reconcile liberal, egalitarian ideals with the practice of slavery in the early republic.
Breaking the Silence: Toward a Black Male Feminist Criticism (Feb., $35) by David Ikard challenges black feminists' skepticism that black men can offer useful, productive insights on black women and patriarchy.
MORROW
Love and Lies (Jan., $23.95) by Kimberla Lawson Roby brings back the Reverend Curtis Black, one of popular fiction's most beloved scoundrels.
The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America (Mar., $24.96) by Joe Posnanski dispenses history, wisdom and jaw-dropping stories from the last year in the life of the 94-year old legendary Negro League player.
NAL
Lady Sings the Cruels (Nov., paper $13.95) by Eric Pete explores the destruction wrought by a toxic mix of fame, love and crime.
Ladies' Night Out (Jan., $19.95). A revelation may threaten the relationships between four friends–or bring them closer to understanding their secret passions.
NAL PRAISE
Redemption (Mar., $14) by Jacquelin Thomas explores the rewards of redemption as a woman's desperate choices threaten to destroy her.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC BOOKS
Legacy: Treasures of Black History (Oct., $35) edited by Thomas C. Battle and Donna M. Wells showcases the treasures of Howard University's Moorland-Spingarn Research Center.
NELSON BOOKS
Living the Maximized Life (Oct., $19.99) by I. V. Hilliard shows how to push forward from any point in life.
NOVELLO FESTIVAL PRESS
Thriving in the Shadows: The Black Experience in Charlotte and Mecklenburg (Feb., $29.95) by Fannie Flono creates a portrait of black life and history through photos, essays and personal recollections from prominent citizens.
PARKER PUBLISHING/NOIRE ALLURE
Vegas Bites: A Werewolf Romance Anthology (Nov., paper $12.95) by L. A. Banks et al uncovers a high roller fantasy world of feuding werewolf packs, high-stakes thieves, a sexy djinn and a mystical medallion.
Beauty and the Beast (Dec., paper $9.95) by Deatri King-Bey. A beast who dwells in a Chicago mansion leaves his safe haven to safeguard the woman he has always loved.
Forever and a Day (Feb., paper $9.95) by Dyanne Davis brings together two New Orleans natives in the aftermath of Katrina to face whether true love can overcome secrets, corruption and economic class.
PARKER PUBLISHING/NOIRE FEVER
The Politics of Love (Jan., paper $9.95) by Giselle Carmichael. An outspoken African-American teacher and a charismatic white candidate heat up the campaign trail.
PARKER PUBLISHING/NOIRE PASSION
A Delight Before Christmas (Nov., paper $10.95) by Angie Daniels. A passionate kiss with the wrong Santa leads to erotic stirrings.
Divine Destiny (Dec., paper $10.95) by Gwyneth Bolton follows a warrior prince and a freedom fighter who find out that they are sacred mates.
Taming the Wolf (Jan., paper $10.95) by Maureen Smith. Samara Layton is about to find out if she can tame prominent civil rights attorney Marcus Wolf.
Cuffed by Candlelight (Feb., paper $12.95) by Beverly Jenkins et al presents three erotic tales of women bound to uphold the law and obey the rules–until desire and the rules clash.
PENGUIN PRESS
The Golden Road: Notes on My Gentrification (Feb., $22.95) by Caille Millner recounts her coming of age in a world where identity is both important and confusing.
PRINCETON ARCHITECTURAL PRESS
Mingering Mike: The Amazing Career of an Imaginary Soul Superstar (Apr., paper $19.95) by Dori Hader reveals the life and mythology of an imaginary 60s and 70s soul superstar.
PRINCETON UNIV. PRESS
What a Mighty Power We Can Be: African American Fraternal Groups and the Struggle for Racial Equality (Oct., $27.95) by Theda Skocpol et al provides a comprehensive history of African-American civic associations.
REGAN
Jokes My Father Never Taught Me: Life, Love and Love with Richard Pryor (Nov., $24.95) by Rain Pryor presents a loving yet brutally honest memoir by the daughter of Richard Pryor.
Oscar Micheaux: The Great and Only (Feb., $29.95) by Patrick McGilligan. A biography of the director who pioneered African-American cinema.
Photo by Sammy Davis, Jr. (Feb., $49.95) edited by Burt Boyar collects never before-seen photography of Sammy Davis Jr., from the Rat Pack and classic Hollywood to intimate shots of ordinary life.
The Beat of Urban Art: The Art of Justin Bua (Mar., $34.95) by Justin Bua presents a biographical narrative told in both text and art form.
RUTGERS UNIV. PRESS
Bridging the Divide: My Life (Jan., $29.95) by Senator Edward W. Brooke charts his meteoric rise from Boston lawyer to Massachusetts attorney general to the first popularly elected black U.S. senator.
SEVEN STORIES PRESS
Typecasting: On the Arts and Sciences of Human Inequality (Oct., $34.95) by Elizabeth and Stuart Ewen looks at the stereotypes and racial sciences "discovered" during two centuries of expanding colonial contact and the birth of mass culture.
Targeted: Homeland Security and the Business of Immigration (Jan., paper $16.95) by Deepa Fernandes sheds light on the history and current state of one of America's most polarizing new controversies.
Army of None: Strategies to Counter Military Recruitment, End War and Build a Better World (Mar., $12.95) by David Solnit and Aimee Allison reveals how young people of color are recruited into what has been termed the "poverty draft."
SIMON & SCHUSTER
On the Shoulders of Giants (Jan., $26) by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with Raymond Obstfeld shares a personal journey of the impact the Harlem Renaissance had on both American culture and his own life.
ST. MARTIN'S
The Sacred Place (Feb., $23.95) by Daniel Black offers a tale set in the segregated South and inspired by the murder of Emmett Till.
This Fire Down in My Soul (Mar., $21.95) by J. D. Mason. The ladies of Hope Filled Christian Center Church have more on their minds than saving their souls.
ST. MARTIN'S GRIFFIN
White Lines (Jan., paper $14.95) by Tracy Brown goes deep into the urban jungle for a love story where addiction, betrayal and redemption are just the beginning.
What a Woman Wants (Jan., $13.95) by Brenda Jackson. Women take charge and do what they want–especially if the right man comes along.
The Wicked: A Vampire Huntress Legend (Feb., $14.95) by L. A. Banks. The eighth title in the Vampire Huntress Legend series, with new enemies joining forces with the old in a battle that will lead to Armageddon.
We'll Never Tell (Mar., paper $13.95). A night of revenge turns deadly in this novel of sorority sisters, sex, lies and betrayal.
It's Like Candy: An Urban Novel (Mar., paper $14.95) by Erick S. Gray looks at the power of money and the women who'll do anything to get it.
STATE UNIV. OF NEW YORK PRESS
Strengthening the African American Educational Pipeline: Informing Research, Policy and Practice (Feb., paper $26.95) edited by Jerlando F. L. Jackson examines the experiences of African-Americans throughout the educational enterprise.
Irish and African American Cinema: Identifying Others and Performing Identities, 1980-2000 (Mar., $65) by Maria Pramaggiore looks at how the two cinemas portray complex and changing notions of national and racial identity.
TEMPLE UNIV. PRESS
Silent Gesture: The Autobiography of Tommie Smith (Feb., $27.50) by Tommie Smith and David Steele explains his road to the 1968 Olympics, his record-breaking 200m sprint and the backlash following his gold medal win.
Frankie Manning: The Ambassador of the Lindy Hop (Mar., $27.50) by Frankie Manning and Cynthia Millman recounts the life and times of the legendary swing dancer.
UNIV. OF ARKANSAS PRESS
Up Against the Wall: Violence in the Making and Unmaking of The Black Panther Party (Nov., $34.95) by Curtis Austin offers a comprehensive history of the Party.
Out of the Shadows: A Biographical History of African American Athletes (Nov., $34.95) edited by David K. Wiggins looks at 20 black athletes from the 19th century to today.
VENDOME PRESS
Angels in Africa: Profiles of Seven Extraordinary Women (Oct., $35) by Kimberley Sevcick, photos by Beth O'Donnell documents seven African women working to overcome devastating problems in their communities.
VIBE STREET LIT
Death Around the Corner (Jan., paper $15) by C-Murder chronicles a young boy's harrowing journey from the notorious New Orleans Calliope Housing Projects to hip-hop mogul.
Snow (Mar., paper $14) by Kenji Jasper ponders what happens to a hustler when he realizes there's more to life than the streets.
African-American Interest Children’s Books 2006
The following is a list of children’s books of African-American interest, both fiction and nonfiction, published between September 2006 and March 2007.
AUGUST HOUSE
Anansi and the Pot of Beans (Sept., paper $3.95) by Bobby Norfolk. An African trickster tale that reveals why spiders have no hair. (4-8)
The Bear, the Bat and the Dove (Sept., paper $3.95) by Rob Cleveland retells three of Aesop’s lesser-known fables. (4-8)
The First Music (Dec., $16.95) by Dylan Pritchett culls the sounds and rhythms of the West African forest to reveal the music inside everyone. (4-8)
CHILDREN’S BOOK PRESS
Young Cornrows Callin out the Moon (Mar., $16.95) by Ruth Forman uses poetry to celebrate black culture, community and the magic of childhood. (4-up)
FARRAR, STRAUS & GIROUX
Standing Against the Wind (Sept., $16) by Traci L. Jones. A shy, studious eighth-grader discovers that she has more options in life than she previously realized. (12-up)
The Escape of Oney Judge: Martha Washington’s Slave Finds Freedom (Feb., $16) by Emily Arnold McCully tells the true story of a young slave who took great risks to flee from the Washingtons and live a free life in New Hampshire. (6-up)
FARRAR, STRAUS & GIROUX/FOSTER
Harlem Hustle (Oct., $16) by Janet MacDonald. A streetwise 17-year-old Harlem dropout naively believes that his dream of rap stardom is about to come true. (12-up)
FARRAR, STRAUS & GIROUX/ KROUPA
Night Boat to Freedom (Nov., $16) by Margot Theis Raven, illus. by E.B. Lewis. A slave boy risks his life to row other slaves across the Ohio River to freedom. (6-up)
HARCOURT
This Jazz Man (Nov., $16) by Karen Ehrhardt, illus. by R.G. Roth, makes over This Old Man with some of the era’s best swing musicians. (3-7)
Satchel Paige: Don’t Look Back (Jan., $16) by David A. Adler, illus. by Terry Widener, looks at a talented athlete who just wouldn’t give up. (5-8)
Cupid: A Tale of Love and Desire (Jan., $17) by Julius Lester revisits one of the world’s most famous tales. (12-up)
HARPERCOLLINS/AMISTAD
God, Can You Hear Me? (Feb., $16.95) by Justine Simmons, illus. by Robert Papp, captures the questions and prayers kids ask when confronting loss, confusion and sadness. (5-10)
HYPERION/JUMP AT THE SUN
Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom (Sept., $15.99) by Carole Boston Weatherford, illus. by Kadir Nelson, paints a portrait of one of the most inspiring figures of the Underground Railroad. (5-8)
Whoopi’s Big Book of Manners (Oct., $15.99) by Whoopi Goldberg, illus. by Olo, teaches kids how to behave in social situations, and have fun while doing it. (4-8)
Freedom Ship (Oct., $15.99) by Doreen Rappaport, illus. by Curtis James. A young Civil War-era slave and his family risk everything to sail to freedom. (5-9)
Shouting! (Feb., $16.99) by Joyce Carol Thomas, illus. by Annie Lee, provides a look at a mother, daughter and congregation celebrating ritual and faith. (All ages)
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN/GRAPHIA
What Your Mama Never Told You: True Stories About Sex and Love (Jan., paper $7.99). Essays by black women who want to pass on their wisdom to their “little sisters.” (16-up)
LEE & LOW
When the Horses Ride By: Children in the Times of War (Sept., $17.95) by Eloise Greenfield, illus by Jan Spivey Gilchrist uses simple verse to express universal truths about both conflict and childhood. (4-8)
John Lewis in the Lead: A Story of the Civil Rights Movement (Oct., $17.95) by Jim Haskins and Kathleen Benson, illus. by Benny Andrews, celebrates the life of a legend of American history. (7-12)
SCHOLASTIC
Dear Mr. Rosenwald (Sept., $16.99) by Carole Boston Weatherford, illus. by R. Gregory Christie, looks at the true story of the Rosenwald schools built in the rural South during the 1920s by the president of Sears, Roebuck & Co. (4-8)
Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story From the Underground Railroad (Jan., $16.99) by Ellen Levine, illus. by Kadir Nelson, retells the story of Henry “Box” Brown, the famous runaway slave. (4-8)
A Friendship for Today (Jan., $16.99) by Patricia C. McKissack. A tale of segregation, family and one surprising friendship. (9-12)
Harlem Summer (Mar., $16.99) by Walter Dean Myers. A coming-of-age story of a teenager’s summer during the Harlem Renaissance and his run-ins with famous gangsters, writers and musicians. (12-up)
SCHOLASTIC/CARTWHEEL
Thugaboo: Sneaker Madness (Sept.) and Thugaboo: A Miracle on D-Roc’s Street (Oct., both paper $4.99) by the Wayans Family features the trials and tribulations of the Thugaboo Crew—nine kids growing up in the inner city. (7-10)
SCHOLASTIC/LEVINE
Dizzy (Oct., $16.99) by Jonah Winter, illus. by Sean Qualls. An illustrated biography of jazz musician Dizzy Gillespie. (4-8)
SCHOLASTIC/ORCHARD
Welcome Precious (Sept., $16.99) by Nikki Grimes, illus. by Bryan Collier, combines text and illustrations to welcome a new baby into the world. (0-3)
Lily Brown’s Paintings (Jan., $16.99) by Angela Johnson, illus. by E.B. Lewis, brings imagination to life with a little paint and a lot of love. (4-8)
SCHOLASTIC/PUSH
Tyrell (Oct, $16.99) by Coe Booth. An African-American teen tries to survive against difficult odds. (12-up)
WOZA BOOKS
The Call to Shakabaz (Jan, $15.50) by Amy Wachspress sets a fantasy adventure in an African-American cultural context. (9-14)
