Customer Reviews

Adam's Belle: A Memoir of Love Without Bounds

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Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. was a flamboyant individual. Well-educated
and devilishly handsome, he was a firebrand minister, a passionate civil
rights advocate, and a controversial politician. As the first
African-American member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New
York, he attracted international attention. The ups and downs of his life
and career have been well-chronicled. Less is known or written, however,
about the people in his life. Powell blazed like a nova, blinding us to
the stars that orbited within his universe.

Author Joyce Burnett has taken a step in completing the record in
Adam's Belle: A Memoir of Love Without Bounds. Her collaboration with
Isabel Washington Powell, Powell's first wife, gives us a more textured
picture of this complex man. More importantly, it gives us a first-hand
look at a fascinating era in American history - the period from just
before World War I through the current day.

The narrative spans the period from Isabel, or Belle's, childhood
in Savannah, Georgia, where her family was one of a very few
African-American families living in a predominantly white neighborhood,
through the Roaring 20's and the Harlem Renaissance, to the Depression
and World War II, to her death on May 1, 2007. This is more than the
story of a beautiful, light-skinned African-American woman who had show
business success. It is a chronicle of life in America; warts and all.
It paints a picture of race relations during a turbulent and fascinating
period; not just relations between black and white, but the stratification
that existed within the African-American community based on skin color and
hair texture. Belle and her sister Fredi, for a brief time, were stars in
the black entertainment industry. They were also activists and fighters
for civil rights and dignity. This memoir gives us an up close and
personal look at the events and personalities of the era known as the
Harlem Renaissance, with some revealing insights into people like Ethel
Waters, Paul Robeson, Flo Ziegfield, Duke Ellington, and Josephine Baker.

It also paints a different picture of Adam Clayton Powell than the
one based upon the publicity surrounding him until his death. Isabel's
love for her "Bunny Boy" shows through in her every word. Even though
he divorced her to marry another show business personality, Hazel Scott,
her love for him never flagged. Her account of the devastation of her
divorce and how she learned to live alone again is both touching and
reaffirming. Her deep faith is also evident, despite the commonly-held
view of her day that show business people were all sinful.

Ms. Burnett is to be commended for her role in giving us a word
portrait of this remarkable woman and her times. By allowing Belle's
voice to carry the story throughout she has given us an authentic
narrative that rings true and clear. The only negative note, which Ms.
Burnett herself expressed on the flyleaf, is that Isabel Washington Powell
sadly did not live to see the work published. She would have been
pleased, I'm certain, to know that her book was awarded the 2009
Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year Award (Biography).
--------------------------Charles Ray

I've just finished reading ADAM'S BELLE by Isabel Washington Powell and i couldn't stop reading it.
The book was so full of life, joy, happiness, sadness and right back to joy again. I Finally got a detailed view into the lives of Fredi and Isabel Washington. They truly paved the way for the rights of not just black people, but human life in general. I am so happy that she shared her memories with us and i will treasure them so i too can enjoy my life to the fullest.

Peace and Love

Delano Sampson

I bought this book because I am fascinated by Fredi Washington, the older sister of Isabelle and this book is the closest thing I have to a biography about her.

The Good:

This book gives us an up close glimpse into the lives of the Washington sisters and the Harlem Renaissance. If you are interested in this period of time and the Cotton Club this book will be good for you. For those interested in Fredi Washington, this book gives important details about her early years/childhood.

The Bad:

The writing is sloppy, repetitive, and mediocre. The Washington sisters are an interesting subject, but this author was clearly incapable of actually writing their story.

The author kept repeating the same things over and over again in each chapter. Okay we get it...Adam left Isabelle for Hazel Scott, who is to the blame for Isabelle's failed marriage...not Adam (the other party in the marriage). It was too much and annoying at times.

Just my two cents...

This was such an interesting book. I remember reading on the first Mrs Powell in Essence and of course knew of her sister, Fredi and her role in the first Imitation of Life movie. Here is history right here with us and if it wasn't for the fact that this very book was being read by an online book club, I wouldn't have known of it's existence. It is sad how things ended between them because even past half a century later, I can feel it but it seems to me that he wasn't truly happy once he did all that but just IMHO.

As a scholar and fan of early film history, I have to admit I was quite ecstatic to find the memoirs of Isabel Washington Powell in my cue. Many people are more familiar with Powell's sister Fredi Washington who starred in the 1934 film adaptation of Imitation of Life, but Isabel also had a successful career on stage and film before she gave it up to become the wife of Adam Clayton Powell. In her book, Isabel recalls her upbringing in Georgia and her eventual move to New York to seek fortune and fame. Her charisma, warmth and arrogance (yes, arrogance) shine through in her words as she takes you on a journey through that now fabled time called the Harlem Renaissance. Her memoirs are a precious addition to pop culture scholarship since there is no film existence of the stage performances that made Isabel and Fredi famous. Furthermore, she gives us more insight to her famous sister Fredi and her contributions to African Americans in entertainment. Most of all, she expounds on the love of her life, the flamboyant Congressman of Harlem. This book is a must read for anyone interested in this very important part of African-American history.

TaKeshia Brooks
AAMBC Reviewer

At one hundred years of age, one definitely has some stories to tell. "Adam's Belle" is the autobiography of Isabel Washington Powell, a centurion with a wealth of life experience to share with the world. Focusing on her love story with Adam Clayton Powell, one of the most eligible bachelors in the country during the time, "Adam's Belle" is a moving story of how the prohibition didn't stop the roaring 20s from being fun. An utterly fascinating read of a time gone past.

Not too many people are aware of Rev. Powell's frist love, and getting and entirely differnet viewpoint of this man and his first wife. Her sister was Freddie Wasington who was a dancer at the Harlem Cotton club. Blacks would entertain but couldn't be patrons of this clun. This sort of discrimation is what Rev. Adamd C. Powell fought for!!!!!!!!!