Customer Reviews

Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud, A Memoir

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Those four words help me sum up someone I hold in extremely high regard. Dr. West's memoir has many lessons to be taken; self-discovery, education, community, and living for a purpose. It's amazing to see a person such as him struggle with portions of his being, which to me, only contributes to his importance, simply because you'll see pieces of yourself in this book. Even with those questions he has of himself, you'll see a degree of self-esteem and self-love, as well as love for others, that's simply remarkable.

There are parts in here that will make you laugh, such as the encounter he had with Amiri Baraka, or the time he took his folks to hear Eldridge Cleaver speak; he talks about his highly-publicized disagreements with Lawrence Summers in vivid detail. He even talks about his appearance, and why he chooses to wear his attire we've come to known him associated with: three-piece suit, tie, scarf, with the big 'ol afro. All of it brings a range of emotions, and it was a pleasure being exposed to them.

By his own admission, he is a bluesman, a man who loves hard, speaks truth, questions unapologetically, and a servant of the people. He truly, unequivocally loves all people. Music has shaped, and continues to shape and contribute to, his daily being. Most importantly, he remains a child of God, something he holds near and dear, and at the forefront of everything he does and all everything that he's about.

Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud, A Memoir by the legendary Dr. Cornel West opened my eyes to the life of one of the people that I admire most in the field of higher education. West unapologetically laid his accomplishments, failures, joy, and pain out for the world to see in black and white. After reading about West's journey from a hot tempered youth to becoming one of the leading educators, writers, and lecturers in the American academy I was left feeling inspired and encouraged to follow my own "calling." The book was very motivational and I recommend it to anyone who is looking to read a story about what "could be" if you work hard enough for it .

Cornel West's books are approaching mediocrity. His earlier works were deep, philosophical, and serious. But his recent works are just collections of anecdotes that skim the important issues.

LIVING AND LOVING OUTLOUD is full of unnecessary name-dropping. I think it's great that Dr. West appreciates the works of other writers, but he doesn't go into any detail when he compares himself to Proust or Pound. He annoyingly compares himself to a "Bluesman" throughout the book, but it doesn't add anything but filler. He makes some references to the "Bluesmen" being downtrodden, always on the move, unloved, etc. But how is his life anything like that? He says his ex-wives have taken all his money, but how could he be "homeless" or "broke" when he gets $5000 for a lecture? He says he let his wife "Eleni" divorce him and sue him for all he's worth, but then he says "I let her." Now whose fault is that? This "Bluesman" comparison sounds more ike self-pity.

I'm giving this book two stars because there are some great topics here. He has a chapter on his childhood, his conflict with the Black Muslims, his fued with Lawrence Summers. But then he starts skimming; he gives a small anecdote about his relationship with a Turkish woman and their daughter, then a self-pitying story about her demands for child support. But he mentions that she and their daughter live in Germany, he flies over every six weeks, they have "long walks by the Rhine". I'd be interested in learning more about this; how does the life of a Black-American-Turk in Germany compare to how her life would be in the USA? Does she get treated differently at school in Germany because of her color? Does this tri-racial kid have any identity issues? How does Dr. West compare life in Germany to life in the USA?

I think that Dr. West has developed and ego problem. He's become narcissistic and he wraps himself in his own fantasies. It's time for him to step back, take a vacation, and slow down. He needs to write something that has the same depth that he had when he wrote RACE MATTERS. Now that was a great book!

First off, let me state that i am a HUGE supporter of Brother West & admire & welcome his insight. But that said, this book is horribly put together in almost every aspect, the editing & production should be disassembled & not allowed to work in publishing again. From the horrendous cover to the complete inability to articulate the essence of Dr. West (isn't that what an editorial team is for?) this book is a failure. I'm unsure who or how they decided what to cut out and what to present, but there are certain areas in this book, especially areas where Brother West is speaking about his lady friends, where you go, huh? Why would a publisher put this in the book? Why would they put material that waves a red flag and reeks of "backlash" from readers? I truly believe this is a missed opportunity for both supporters of Dr. West and individuals who were hoping to be inspired by Brother West's words. One can only hope that his potential audience will look elsewhere to gain a deeper understanding of the man and his work.

Since I like Cornel West, and am inspired by him and his work; it was a given that I would have good things to say about his memoir: Brother West:Living and Loving Out Loud. I do like the book:very much. The best thing about it is that it chronicles his development to a point he may not have expected to land in life.

His self-description as "a jazz man in the life of the mind, and a blues man in the world of ideas" is a colorful way to sum up the fact that he has uniquely taken the mantle of Martin Luther King. In his speeches and other public appearances, West lovingly bears witness to the pain and struggles of the poor and disposessed; and relentlessly challenges
us to be our best selves all the time. Said another way: West, like King, can walk with crowds and keep his virtues, and talk with kings, but not lose the common touch. All people seemed to count with them, but none too much. How easy it would've been for King and West to rest on their academic laurels, and retreat to the ivory tower. Each chose the opposite path, and we are all the better for it. Both King and West belong to all of us. This is probably part of the reason that West's most intimate personal relationships have been so painful for him.

I hear those who say the book is shallow in places-especially the little he actually writes about his own son, and their relationship. It's not necessarily a weakness of the book, though. It's just West's recognition of his own human frailty; and that he is work in progress. West's letter to his children late in the book is deeply moving.

This book is an important reminder that the people we grow up with and befriend; and the music and books we gravitate to are not just personal window dressing. They actually can shape lives in ways we never imagined. For that, I thank brother West.

I purchase this book with great anticipation, but was literally stunned by the absence of serious thinking, the constant name dropping, the sharing of the names of female companions and lovers, the sharing of a life choices that can only be described as sad, and the incredibly poor editing. I have deep respect and love for Dr. West, but some of the things that he shares are hard to believe. We are asked to believe that a person who has made many millions of dollars from a speaking schedule that includes almost two hundred speeches a year at between $7,500 to $15,000 per speech and more, a salary from his tenured professorships at Harvard and Princeton, and teaching positions at other colleges and universities, financial awards, and major selling books has so little money that he can not afford a room and must sleep in "Central Park." As a person who was born and raised in Harlem and East Elmhurst, New York, I have a difficult time accepting that my millionaire brother can not afford a room, find a place to sleep on the Princeton campus or in that community or have a friend provide him with a place to lay his head. Why does the world need to know that he slept with Kathleen Battle or Michelle Wallace? Did they agree to have this information shared with the world? This is a sad and shallow book by an otherwise wonderful brother.

As a fan of Dr. Wests and David Ritz I was predisposed to enjoy this book. And I did enjoy much of it. However, given the intelligence and artistry of the two writers I was a bit dumbfounded at the nearly total lack of introspection. While the root of the problem is Dr. Wests refusal to look inward at anything that doesn't pertain to the intellect, Mr. Ritz must share in the blame. This book does suffer from the most common complaint about auto-biographies: the uncomfortable personal faults are glossed over and either a happy face or a "woe is me" is placed on everything. The persona Dr. West creates for himself in this book reminds me of the stuff I used to do as a kid - maybe I shouldn't have stopped doing that(!) and maybe it is kid stuff. There's something sad about having to try to convince the world that you're something you're not. With all the clubbing and travel that Dr. West does you can bet that there is a lot of his life not mentioned in the book. A couple of reviews have chided the author for not detailing his relationship with his son: this may be at the sons request, we don't know, but we can be sure that a lot of guys have daddy issues.

So enough about the bad! There are so many things to laud about Dr. West besides his unswerving philosophical and political support of humanities finest instincts and against the tyranny of capitalism and free-market economics. The book details Dr. Wests work to heal African American/Jewish relations while still acknowledging the positive aspects of the Nation of Islam, my heart really goes out to him on this subject where he gets slammed on all sides by the fundamentalist idealogues that make life so miserable for so many in the world. At least he does have some influential friends and allies, some of whom are a bit surprising. His details about academic politics shouldn't surprise anyone ("Academic politics is the most vicious and bitter form of politics, because the stakes are so low." - Sayre's law). Finally, someone presents a true picture of the Black Panthers, it thoroughly disgusts me to see the lies propagated about the Panthers in the media, Dr. West tells it like it was. It seems so fitting that Dr. West worked hard for President Obama's campaign, they're both so optimistic! Dr. West is forthright in describing his intention in looking and dressing the way he does: it makes him feel good to look the way he wants. This is so refreshing in this era of deodorant soap, hair gel and Penny's hip look that infects our society.

I've seen Dr. West speak and he is all that. It is absolutely inspiring to get validation of one's value sytem by such an intelligent and interesting person. And the fro is the best!

As stated above, one of the reasons I was interested in this book is because the co-writer is David Ritz. Mr. Ritz is one of the very best biographers of musicians working today and has written many great biographies (Brother Ray, Etta James, The Neville Brothers, just to name a few.) Do search out his books if you liked this one.

I struggled with how many stars to give this book - I initially gave three but, on serious reflection, it deserves four. This is a book I would recommend to anyone interested in American life.

I am someone who has always admired, appreciated and learned from the brilliant insights of Professor West. This memoir is lively and engaging, and gives us a personal glimpse into the true nature of this amazing man.

It is good to have a better understanding of the people and events that shaped his world view, and we come away from this book feeling more connected. It is an excellent read, and I do recommend it.

If You Think You Know Cornel West - Think Again !!

I first became familiar with the work of Cornel West when I was an undergraduate student in the UMass Lowell department of Sociology where I was taking a course called "Sociology of Law" with Professor Daniel Egan. For a paper in that class, I quoted a paragraph from an article by a Dr. Cornel West. I had no idea who this person was but I absolutely loved what he had to say and, even more so, the way in which he said it. I did not know that he was a professor from Harvard University, that he was an African American, or that he was just a few years older than me. All I cared about was his stance on the topic in question. I thought he was right-on - and I ended my paper with something he had written.

Years later, I was watching TV when former US Senator Bill Bradley (the one time famous basketball player) was running for president of the United States, and there was this very energetic black man in the audience rooting for him during one of his speeches where he was attending the event with his wife. That is when I found out that this man was the very Cornel West who I had quoted in my college paper. I felt a burst of joyous exhilaration and excitement to see that I had been inspired by such a cool individual. This man was no ordinary stuffed-shirt academic from the halls of the Ivy League intelligentsia contingent. Indeed, though he was very much a part of the academic tradition (He himself refers to it as the Ancient Greeks did themselves: "Paedeia."), he was truly extraordinary. I was very impressed, and I liked him right away. Since that day, whenever his name comes up in print or I happen to catch him speaking on television, I always tune in or read what he has to say. I consider him one of the brightest literary lights of our generation.

If you think you know Cornel West, think again! ... Read this book and learn about the real Cornel West from the man himself in his own words. Indeed, as he himself states in this book, the writing style is less academic and more conversational - and I really like that. I try to write that way myself. I find that more people can relate to you when you write in a conversational style. The interviews were always my favorite section of Rolling Stone magazine, and books like Plato's Republic, Castaneda's Don Juan books, and the book by Quang Van Nguyen called Fourth Uncle in the Mountain are all books written in this conversational and dialogue style. It's like you're a part of the conversation, right there listening in - and not like someone is lecturing to you for hours on end.

There are some great lines in this book. Being a musician, and a lover of The Blues, my favorite is from page 7 where Dr. West states: "A true bluesman commands respect but doesn't give a damn about respectability." What profound words! ... I should stop right there and end this review right now but I feel compelled to add a few more choice selections from this book. I could quote excellent passages from pages 125, 150, 169, 179, 186, 187, 209, 210, 212, 216, 223, 229, 232, 236, 237, 241, 245, and 251. But I will only quote from a couple. From page 125, Dr. West writes: "When arrested, threatened, or persecuted, I give myself permission to be full of righteous indignation and moral outrage but I try to never allow righteous indignation to degenerate into bitter revenge, or let moral outrage become hateful anger. My blues sensibility or tragic-comic disposition leads me to juxtapose the sheer absurdity of the situation with the utmost seriousness of the injustice. So I retain a painful smile on my face even as I respond to the undeniable hurt with intense ethical energy." ... This man has mastered the art of Christian Zen. Gurdjieff would say that he has mastered the process of "Nerhitrogool" - "a state of irrepressible inner laughter." Indeed, sometimes it pays not to show one's truest inner feelings - only one's verbalized noetic observations and objective thoughts on the matter of the situation at large.

On page 150, the good doctor writes: "I made my views clear and, as a result, was viewed by the administration as an outsider. Social privilege was of little interest to me; I didn't care about hanging out at fancy parties with fancy people. I cared about articulating, with as much effectiveness as possible, my conviction that this crazy world of ours requires close scrutiny and vigorous Socratic questioning. I was looking to challenge and be challenged, looking to teach and be taught, looking to be a good student, an honest thinker, and a decent human being. I was trying to balance the personal with the professional." Man, that sure says it all in a nutshell as to the human condition of speaking truth to power as they say. Right-On, Cornel West! Anyone who ever has the chance to take a class with this "kalothithaskalo" ("Teacher of `The Good'!" in ancient Greek) should count themselves eternally blessed. Dr. West's style of intellectual combat and political activism represents the best reflection and embodiment, archetypally, of the cosmic "warrior ethos" as opposed to the revengeful "tribal ethos."

On page 179, speaking of himself and the way that he dresses (kind of like a Hassidic Jewish rabbi, or an undertaker), professor West says, "... I believe we all struggle to persevere in the face of life's ever-present deep disappointments. We live in a creative tension with catastrophe. Catastrophe is our constant neighbor. He lives next door, and he may be moving in at any moment. My outfit reminds me of that truth. We're born to die, and the bluesman, who dances around the edges of disaster, must also be a righteous funeral director, directing his life in a way that never denies the certainty of a calamitous ending. I am a sad soul with a joyful disposition. ... To be a philosopher is both the most serious of vocations and the most playful of dispositions. Serious because the love of wisdom puts everything at stake in one's thinking and living. Playful because even in one's deepest moments one still might be wrong and therefore prone to a humbling laughter at oneself. There is a sense in which philosophy is the love of wisdom in the consciousness of folly."

Indeed. Castaneda - or Don Juan - called it "controlled folly" - a type of acting on the stage of life in the face of the "terror of the situation" as Gurdjieff called it. Gurdjieff would play upon this theme in his evening meal "toast to the idiots." The Zen clown and Saint Paul's "holy fools for Christ" come to mind. Brother West is definitely doing his duty to the spiritual Tao / way of the dharmic tradition of the noble eightfold path to truth, enlightenment, and ultimate spiritual liberation - as a Christian. As the Dalai Lama himself has said, if one sincerely follows one's own path to spiritual liberation, that is all that matters. It is what lies in your heart that matters most of all. And from what I can see, brother West is following "the path with heart" as Castaneda would say.

Though I have my college degree in Sociology, most of my undergraduate years (both in and out of college) as a young man were spent studying Philosophy. I was really a Philosophy Major for most of my academic years, and I can really relate to the philosophic quest for "The Good" that both Plato (through Socrates and Diotima) and Cornel West (through Jesus, Schopenhauer, and David Hume) elucidate in their writings. If I could take a class with Cornel West, I would jump on that train so fast you would think I was running from the devil himself!

Check out this gem from page 216: "I see my role as an educator, as someone who feels both a Socratic and prophetic calling, to implement what Nietzsche called a singing paideia. I am always compelled to remember that paideia represents an unfathomable education in which self-examination and service to others produces a mature, compassionate person willing to speak, live, and sacrifice for truth." ... and this final gem from page 232: "My conclusion became my calling: that justice is what love looks like in public, just as democracy is what justice looks like in practice. When you love people, you hate the fact that they're being treated unjustly. Justice is not simply an abstract concept to regulate institutions, but also a fire in the bones to promote the well-being of all."

Man, that applies to everything - whether you're saving the Kinks, saving the wales, saving a damn old historic tree by the side of the road, or saving the whole planet from ecological catastrophe. Basically, as an old girlfriend once said to me, "you just got to care." If one cares, one will feel compassion. If one feels compassion, one will care. It's all one. It's the acting on that feeling that counts. Cornel West has proven to the whole world in his actions as well as his writings that he is, truly, a compassionate creature of the cosmos who cares, and cares deeply, about people. ... God bless him! ... YOWZA! - George Nicholas Koumantzelis / The Aeolian Kid

They say you can't judge a book by its cover. But what if you could? What if you could view a cover and tell you were in for one grand read? To be honest, I didn't get that impression when I decided to purchase Brother West Book. I just though I was going to read a well written biography and to be honest again, what influenced me to get the book wasn't Brother West, it was David Ritz.

So I purchase the book, I begin reading and believe it or not, grew angry when I had to put it down. I was upset I couldn't read it as quick as I would have wanted to read it. The time it took to read this piece wasn't based on any interruptions. But on the fact that Brother West lived such a full and exciting life, I had no choice but to put it down in order to take it all in! This man, way ahead of his time, a legend, icon and pioneer simply AMAZED me with this piece and I am sure he had to leave some things out, but nonetheless, it was an entertaining and inspiring read to say the least. Chapter after chapter, I was engulfed in this mans journey through life, and it's been such a full journey and life, I am somewhat afraid of what is still yet to be seen. How does he do it? How did he live through it all? A scholar, lover, father, activist, round the clock reader, brother, son and devoted Christian. He spreads like confetti. At times, too thin and his health suffered for it as well as some of his relationships, but in any event, he has lived a full life and has provided so many with so much, it would be somewhat selfish to want to confine him to one particular duty or calling. He is truly a free spirit and his book, Living and Loving Outloud only scratches the surface of the extraordinary life this man has lived and is still living.

There wasn't much I didn't like about this read. Some things left me pondering the outcome, yet, maybe the outcome hasn't come yet. Overall, I would recommend this read to avid readers of all genres. I would also like to thank the critics who gave Brother West such a bad review. For it was you guys who encouraged me to go out and purchase this wonderful piece and I have no regrets.

Peace & Blessings to you always Brother West!
May your light continue to shine and guide others!
Author/Publisher Marie Antionette