Customer Reviews

Body & Soul: The Black Male Book

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

 

 

D'Angelo, the cover man, is not to be found inside. The title is much too broad; a more accurate title would be, "Fashion Styles of Some Rich & Famous Black Males." As for bodies, they are mostly clothes hangers here; the amount of skin on the cover is misleading. The contents rate as PG because of a couple behinds and a few covered crotches; there is no full, frontal nudity whatsoever. I don't know how anybody gets any soul out of this book, unless they see it in the eyes of some portraits or glean it from scattered quotes of fashion magazine staffers, usually a phrase or single sentence each, as the quotes, along with some other one-sentence observations by the author, are the only text. Therefore, the cover and title are cheap, bookselling tricks, but the book price is not cheap. A used copy, however, IS cheap, as buyers turn into sellers. Although a book about men of color, I am surprised that black & white plates out-number color 3:1, as I count about 90 b&w and 31 color photo's. I am a fan, too, of some of the people featured, but, to me, this is no reason to gush about the book as a whole. Although I could ooh and ah about some of the photo's, there are a like number of dogs and mediocre shots. What could form a pop-culture chapter itself is the number of celebrities who must have paid a lot for elaborate fantasy scenes shot by highly-paid photographers. I would not feel good about seeing this sort of arrogance if I shelled out a lot for their books, CD's, magazines, ticket prices, etc., the profits of which finance such folly. The author sees Black male fashion from a mainly GQ-type perspective, which may be right in-step in certain parts of Manhattan, but, from here in 'da hood, its seems like he's in an ivory tower. He has a new book coming out, with a similar cover and title, of which I will be suspicious. Except for a few unkwnowns, I expect that everyone involved is highly paid--subjects, photographers, fashion industry, etc.--and I wonder if people paid to be in this book, either in the form of their likeness(es) or their work; it would explain a lot.

This book is chock-full of gorgeous, sexy Black men in every imaginable shade and pose, with commentary on what makes the brothers so appealing to the begin with. You can check out the average, everyday man and the usual photos of celebrities (is that cover photo of D'Angelo the bomb or what???). My only complaint is that they didn't have to use the same models over and over: they could have used more variety (why wasn't Q-Tip from Tribe in there?? What about TC Carson or Larenz Tate, or Chris Tucker??? Maybe there will be a book 3.). Otherwise, if you want to get inspired by some FINE men, this book will fit the bill quite nicely!!! DELICIOUS!!!

Ladies, get your credit cards out (or borrow a friend's), get your car to the mall (or catch the bus), buy this book now (do what you must)! I am not even kidding you for one second. This is a beautiful book. This book will make you proud to be (check one): 1. Black 2. An admirer of black beauty 3. Female 4. Male 5. Visually adept. All I got to say is Gary Dourdan, my dear, God Blessed You. God Bless You. All the other fine young specimens and the infinitely talented stylists, editors and photographers, "y'all GO"! (Specifically, GO directly back to the drawing board and do this again...serially,pleeeeeease!) Love... me.

This book is a must have for men of color in the fashion business. Every big model for the last ten years is in the book and if you are seriously looking into building a portfolio, this book will help one see what the clients are looking for in black men of the millenium.

Body & Soul: The Black Male Book is a gem to behold and share. Going one step beyond the stark representation of black males by Robert Mapplethorpe. Duane Thomas has visually captured the soul,essence, style and sensuality of the black male today. Their beauty and elegance is universal and transcend talents and lifestyles. My favorite is Shemare Moore, but I must say all the images are captivating and soul stirring. A book of this caliber was long overdue and I'm glad Mr. Thomas took his passion and crafted such a grand pictorial of the 90's black male. My time capusle will definitely include Body & Soul. So generations to come will have the opportunity to bask in its splendor.

This is a great celebration of the Black male. The photography is absolutely beautiful. My favorites include Maxwell and Gary Dourdan. It is a must have.

Unlike most of the reviewers here, I got to meet some of the guys here either in concert, from the 'hood etc. All left a bad impression on me, so to see them so marvelously pictured here is confusing.