Customer Reviews

Black Profiles in Courage: A Legacy of African-American Achievement

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Simply put, I love this book. I like the fact that it summarizes the lives of so many African Americans including the famous and the still unknown. I highly recommend this book to any reader seeking information about the lives and consequent impact of some of our heroes.

kareem is not only one of the greatest players of all-time but a very intelligent man.this book is a must for all.it's history that needed to be told.and i couldn't and wouldn't put it down.i recommend it for all.

What's more remarkable than the informative nature of this text is how it came to be...
An African American sport icon who gained success through one of the primary avenues African Americans have to reach affluence (sports and entertainment) just to use it as an avenue to actually uplift the intellectual level of his community. Well done!
I can't tell you how many tears it brings to my eyes to see a brother who achieve greatness through the stereotypical avenue of sports and actually use his greatness to do the truly great...uplift his people. Though there have been lists and books previous to his on the same subject, it has rarely been done by a person with such influence among youth, and for that I credit him unlike other past atheletes who simply use their stardom to sell grills, orange juice, or try and become rappers.

Peace to the God

I bought this book in hardcover when it first came out and since then have bought several copies to give to other people, both black and white, both young and old. Without fail, this book has impacted people, and every one of them has told me how much they learned from this wonderful book.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did a masterful job in gathering these inspiring stories from what has been, unfortunately, the footnotes of history, if they were acknowledged at all. The achievements by black Americans and their contributions to this country have been largely ignored by historians until recently. And even today, many black Americans who were not taught as young people about their heritage remain oblivious to what should be a matter of great pride.

We have taken great steps to equalize human rights, but we still have a way to go to completely obliterate the racial prejudice many of us grew up with. Books like this by people with the stature of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will help get us to where we should be--respecting people of all races, colors and creeds.

I thought I was pretty well informed on the subject of black history but that was an eye-opening book. Kareem did a great job with this book. I am proud to see a great athlete show his skills as a great scholar. Thanks for sharing these powerful profiles. I stand taller with this new knowledge of my heritage.

I found this book to be very informative and very well writen! I particularly enjoyed learning true historical facts that have long been misrepresented, or clouded with partial information. I highly recommend this book to any reader who enjoys history and is interested in learning truth.

This is one of the best African American books I have ever read. There are so many things that this book shears that I personally needed to know. It has inspired me to do better and to make a positive influence on others.

EXCITING BLACK ACHIEVEMENTS THAT WILL CAPTURE THE EYES & HEARTS OF BABYBOOMERS TO PRE-TEENS. I HAVE PURCHASED THIS DELIGHTFUL BOOK 5 TIMES & EACH TIME THAT I LOANED IT OUT, THE READERS WERE SO OVERWHELMED WITH THE CONTENT THAT THEY REFUSED TO RETURN THE BOOK TO ME. MR. JABBAR PRESENTS EACH CHARACTER WITH A BIT OF AN ATTITUDE THAT ENCOURAGES THE READER TO NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN. MR. JABBAR CLEARLY DEMONSTRATES HOW HISTORIANS DELIBERATELY DELETED AFRICAN AMERICAN ACHIEVEMENTS FROM TRADITIONAL HISTORY BOOKS & HE MAKES SURE THE READER UNDERSTANDS THE OVERWHELMING OBSTACLES THAT EACH HERO IN THIS BOOK FACED ON A DAILY BASIS. THIS BOOK SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING IN MIDDLE SCHOOLS THROUGH COLLEGE. WELL DONE KAREEM!

Let me begin with this: I liked "Black Profiles in Courage." Initially, I was disappointed in the tone of the work, but as I read further, I found many layers to the work, as well as the authors. Unfortunately, grammatical errors (which probably passed as "style," but are quite annoying) mar the overall work. Still, I would recommend this to most people, regardless of race, creed, political leaning, etc., as the tales contained are interesting in any capacity.

Unfortunately, many would-be readers will probably be put off by (what they perceive as) the angry tone of the work. I would strongly suggest to these people that they try to look deeper at the book, as there is a complexity present that might be missed. For example, Abdul-Jabbar's opinion of Thomas Jefferson provides nuance that is too often absent, even at the academic level. On the one hand, here was a man who wanted to abolish slavery, despite the fact that he owned slaves. And while Abdul-Jabbar may be disgusted at the latter fact, he proudly proclaims that Jefferson is an admirable man. It's a shame that such nuance is often absent in the American "black-and-white" (pun absolutely intended) worldview.

Moreover, the tales themselves are interesting. In particular, while I had heard of Crispus Attucks from my own high school history classes, I actually did not know that he was black. The tales of black patriots during the revolutionary and civil wars are full of the derring-do you would expect (my only gripe is that the tales are too short!). Of course, everything is tinged with a certain sadness, as you think of the fates that these people suffered, coupled with the fact that history has forgotten almost all of them.

I do deduct a star because of the numerous sentence fragments found in the work. From page one, there is one a page. It might seem a trivial thing to some, but it is important to me.

Other than that, I would recommend this book to most. It's a quick read if you want, but dig deeper, and there is much substance to be found. I don't know that I would recommend this to young readers, however. This book is nuanced, and balances anger and intellect in a mature way.

I don't know about the book, but the author brings an entire new meaning to the term, "head up".

Call me Ishmal......