"Originally published in 1967, William H. Leckie’s
The Buffalo Soldiers
was the first book of its kind to recognize the importance of African
American units in the conquest of the West. Decades later, with sales of
more than 75,000 copies,
The Buffalo Soldiers has become a
classic. Now, in a newly revised edition, the authors have expanded the
original research to explore more deeply the lives of buffalo soldiers
in the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry Regiments. Written in accessible
prose that includes a synthesis of recent scholarship, this edition
delves further into the life of an African American soldier in the
nineteenth century. It also explores the experiences of soldiers’
families at frontier posts. In a new epilogue, the authors summarize
developments in the lives of buffalo soldiers after the Indian Wars and
discuss contemporary efforts to memorialize them in film, art, and
architecture." (from the University of Oklahoma Press)
In
The Great Stain: Witnessing American Slavery, author Noel Rae "integrates firsthand accounts into a narrative history that
brings the reader face to face with slavery’s everyday reality, expertly
weaving together narratives that span hundreds of years. From the
travel journals of sixteenth-century Spanish settlers who offered
religious instruction and “protection” in exchange for farm labor, to
the diaries of poetess Phillis Wheatley and Reverend Cotton Mather, to
Central Park designer Frederick Law Olmsted’s book about traveling
through the “cotton states,” to an 1880 speech given by Frederick
Douglass, Rae provides a comprehensive accounting of parties from
throughout the antebellum history of the nation. Rae also draws on a
wide variety of accounts from less distinguished individuals: a surgeon
describes the brutal treatment and squalid conditions onboard a slave
ship as he made his daily rounds to collect the dead; an Englishman
visiting Haiti observes violent uprisings as, separated from the
population on the mainland, slaves were able to overpower their
captors.Most significant are the texts from and interviews with former
slaves themselves, ranging from the famous Solomon Northup to the
virtually unknown Mary Reynolds, who was sold away from her mother and
subsequently bought back not for sentiment or kindness, but because
after losing her daughter, the family’s wet nurse began to waste away
from grief. Surpassing a dispassionate listing of atrocities, Rae places
the reader within the era. Drawing on thousands of original sources,
The
Great Stain tells of repression and resistance in a society based on
the exploitation of the cheapest labor and fallacies of racial
superiority. Meticulously researched, this is a work of history that is
profoundly relevant to our world today." (from Amazon.com)
"1968-1969: Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy are
assassinated. Race relations are frayed like never before. Cities are
aflame as demonstrations and riots proliferate. But in Columbus, Ohio,
the Tigers of segregated East High School win the baseball and
basketball championships, defeating bigger, richer, whiter teams across
the state. Now, in
Tigerland, Wil Haygood gives us a spirited and stirring account of
this improbable triumph and takes us deep into the personal lives of
these local heroes: Robert Wright, power forward, whose father was a
murderer; Kenny Mizelle, the Tigers' second baseman, who grew up under
the false impression that his father had died; Eddie "Rat" Ratleff, the
star of both teams, who would play for the 1972 U.S. Olympic basketball
team. We meet Jack Gibbs, the first black principal at East High; Bob
Hart, the white basketball coach, determined to fight against the
injustices he saw inflicting his team; the hometown fans who followed
the Tigers to stadiums across the state. And, just as important, Haygood
puts the Tigers' story in the context of the racially charged late
1960s. The result is both an inspiring sports story and a singularly
illuminating social history." (from Amazon.com)
"Tina Turner—the long-reigning queen of rock & roll and living
legend—sets the record straight about her illustrious career and
complicated personal life in this eye-opening and compelling memoir. From
her early years in Nutbush, Tennessee to her rise to fame alongside Ike
Turner to her phenomenal success in the 1980s and beyond, Tina candidly
examines her personal history, from her darkest hours to her happiest
moments and everything in between.
My Love Story is an
explosive and inspiring story of a woman who dared to break any barriers
put in her way. Emphatically showcasing Tina’s signature blend of
strength, energy, heart, and soul, this is a gorgeously wrought memoir
as enthralling and moving as any of her greatest hits." (from Amazon.com)
