Brothers: Black and Poor -- A True Story of Courage and Survival [Mass Market Paperback]

Sylvester Monroe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 13, 1989

They came of age during the '60s in a Chicago ghetto, bound by the ties of race, class and culture and dreaming of a better life. Newsweek reporter Sylvester Monroe returns to chronicle the lives of his friends in a stark, brutally honest study of the fate of poor black men in America. HC: Morrow.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Twelve men who grew up in a black South Chicago housing project participated in this portrait-study by a Newsweek team headed by Monroe, a former resident of the same ghetto and now the magazine's Washington correspondent, and editor Goldman, coauthor of Charlie Company, etc. Despite the lack of a male role model in their families, which were headed by single mothers in a racially isolated, impoverished enclave, most of the then teenagers had dreams, the usually futile pursuit of which and resulting anger they discuss here with a singular lack of self-pity. Some of them sought quick rewards as hustlers and outlaws, and others found transient glory in basketball, gang warfare and the military. Several "brothers" aspired to the American Dream of job, home, wife and perhaps a luxury car, or settled for waiting for the state lottery big hit. Under affirmative action, a select few obtained a good education and succeeded in the mainstream world, leaving behind those who failed to break out of the "cycle of despair." Photos not seen by PW. BOMC and QPBC selections.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

An expansion of a 1986 special issue of Newsweek , this work is a collective biography of 12 black men who grew up together in a Chicago housing project in the 1960s. As seen through the eyes and words of Monroe, one of the group and now a successful journalist who works for Newsweek , it is both depressing and exhilarating. All of the main characters, in some sense, wanted a piece of the American Dreamupward mobility. Although only three have achieved "middle-class status," most have at least "survived"in Monroe's view, a major accomplishment in light of the obstacles they faced. Marred only by some poor organization of material, this glimpse at contemporary lives is highly recommended. Anthony O. Edmonds, Ball State Univ., Muncie, Ind.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (September 13, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345361563
• ISBN-13: 978-0345361561
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,728,546 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Powerful, Realistic, and Depressing, June 21, 2007

By 

K.A.Goldberg (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brothers: Black and Poor -- A True Story of Courage and Survival (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a realistic, depressing, yet partly inspiring story of 12 young men that grew up in Chicago's notorious Robert Taylor public housing projects during the 1960's-70. Growing up in that isolated underclass atmosphere amid drugs and violence and far from middle class comforts, these young men learned the rough realities of the streets. Yet they were not without dreams, and a couple even achieved them. Author Sylvester "Vest" Monroe was the most successful, attending an elite boarding school that left him culture shocked and homesick, yet he persevered, eventually graduating from Harvard and joining Newsweek as a correspondent. A couple of his buddies did OK, but most stayed in that tragic cycle of near-despair. Just as sadly, effective solutions beyond platitudes are in short supply, athough teen pregnancy prevention programs, early childhood education, and social workers help somewhat.

This book is quite valuable for students, sociologists, former residents, and anybody with an interest in project life. As many know, Chicago has now dismantled the Robert Taylor Homes and other high-rise public housing, scattering residents into privately-owned Section 8 apartments in various neighborhoods and poorer suburbs. One hopes this will prove beneficial.

4.0 out of 5 stars Brothers---Powerful and Meaningful, February 4, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Brothers: Black and Poor -- A True Story of Courage and Survival (Mass Market Paperback)

Brothers, a true story by Sylvester Monroe and Peter Goldman, takes you into the lives of Sylvester and 11 of his friends from the south side of Chicago. You learn about the pressures they face growing up in poverty....the questions that enter their mind, questions we never have to worry about. Will they, like so many others, turn to drugs and crime or will they in some way succeed and get out of the harsh lives they live? Many have no father to support them instead they have brave mothers who try their best to create strong, intelligent children, but only some succeed. What will become of those who don't get out? Will the down hill spiral of drugs, gangs, pimping and crime catch them and bring them down like so many others? Will the white world outside exclude them and judge them because of their color? In this book is incredibly interesting to see how these 12 men can start from the same roots and be the best of friends, but in the end turn to completely different lifestyles. Monroe and Goldman truly catch the reader's interest by jumping from the story of one man to another, leaving you dyeing to know what happens to every one.
This book also serves as an eye opener. You see the lives of a black men through black men's eyes. It really puts into perspective the discriminations and poverty that faced black people in the past, and even today. Throughout the book each character has his own encounter with white people. Some don't get hired for jobs because of their race, others get onto an elevator to see a woman grasp her purse a little tighter because of their presence. It was truly embarrassing reading how these people were treated by the "master race" and it changed my own way of acting around people. Oprah Winfrey says, "I really wish America could read it" and I completely agree. This book really is meaningful....it makes you feel like you are the one being turned against, like your own family is the one who is being treated so poorly. For them every day is a fight, if they want to get out of the ghetto they have to work twice as hard as any white man. Some surrender to this fight, like their invisible fathers, others stay strong and pursue their goals even though it is difficult. However, in the world of the white man those who have the power to get out of the ghetto may have their dreams crushed.
Monroe and Goldman's style of writing was excellent throughout this book. Their spectacular imagery and passion kept the characters alive and the reader hooked. They put their heart and soul into this book and it paid off immensely. Beautiful lines mixed with intensity made this book incredible to
experience. There were some lines where I couldn't help but say wow. This non-fiction book was one
like no other, it was full of love and hate.. a war against white and black. Jesse Jackson says, "It made
me laugh, it made me cry. It had everything--humor and passion, hope and despair, crime and
punishment, defeat and triumph. The first honest look at black men in America in a long, long time".
In the book the variety of the brother's stories was just fascinating. They were such different people, but they were bound together by race, class, and culture. They met as boys, living in the Taylor projects of Chicago's south side, they went to school together, played basketball together, and when street gangs came, they fought together and defended each other. They would grow up to become completely different men, but even though the lives they lived differed greatly, a known killer could still be best friends with a successful Newsweek reporter.
An anonymous really puts their lives into words, "The world of the brothers was far removed from the possibilities of education and advancement that most white kids take for granted. Even so, some of them made it out of the ghetto. Most didn't". The world they lived was so much different from that most of us enjoy. They faced a world of crime and drugs, a world where killing a black man would get you two years behind bars, but killing a white would put in jail for life.
This book was so amazing to me. It showed me courage and faith in oneself, but it also showed me failure and so many black men getting sucked into a world of despair. Some had the potential to be basketball stars, or to finish school and become successful, but only some would make it. Only some
will be able to tell the white world that they were worth something. If you read this book I can assure you it will change your life. It made me laugh, cry, feel ashamed and feel proud. It touches your soul and makes you wonder how we can change the world, how we can prove it wrong, how we can be kind to those that others put down. It made me realize everyone deserves to live life in happiness and be able to pursue their wildest dreams no matter where they are born or what color their skin is.

4.0 out of 5 stars Brothers- the struggle of black men in America, February 3, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Brothers: Black and Poor a True Story of Courage and Survival (Newsweek Book) (Hardcover)

If you are looking for a good, enjoyable, and different than normal read, "Brothers" is the book for you. "Brothers" is a story of twelve black men from the Chicago projects, and a very good story too. "Brothers", which is written by one of the twelve, is one of the first books that gives an actual and honest look at black men in America. It truly defines the struggles and hardships of black men in the projects, and did a very good job showing the courage that was necessary to survive in life.

Sylvester Monroe, a Newsweek correspondent and one of the twelve "Brothers", teamed up with Peter Goldman to write this book. The book is broken up into six parts, each of which is a progression in time from the previous. The chapters in the book are, in a way, like short vignettes. Each chapter focuses on solely on one of the characters and an event in their life. Sometimes though, the chapter will cover a very large section of the persons life to show how they progressed.

The twelve "Brothers" were Sylvester Monroe, Honk Johnson, Billy Harris, Moose Harper, Greg Bronson, Ed Hamilton, Sonny Spruiell, Ray Stingley, Half Man Carter, James Bonner, Pee Wee Fisher, and Steve Steward. Each of these men are unique in their own way, and each chooses his own path through life. The twelve "Brothers" are not bound together by the blood running in their veins, as the title may suggest, but rather by the circumstances intertwined in their lives. According to the choices they make for themselves, each man will either find a way out of the ghetto and to a better life, or will fall into the trap of drugs, gangs, and stay in the ghetto for the rest of their lives.

Sylvester Monroe, for example, was one of the lucky few men of "Brothers" that made it. Sylvester, nicknamed Vest, was given his chance to get out of the ghetto and have a better life, and he took it as quick as he could. As a young kid, Vest's mom would always say that education was the best thing for a black man and that he (Vest) could be anything he wanted to be as long as he worked twice as hard and was twice as good as a white man. With this support and encouragement, Vest stayed in school and did well. Later on in life, one of Vest's teachers, Leroy Lovelace, gave him the chance to get out of the ghetto. It was called "A better chance" or the ABC program. With it, Sylvester was given a scholarship to attend St. George's in Rhode Island. At St. George's, Vest suffered from extreme culture shock. After a few weeks, he wanted to come home, but he didn't. Vest stuck it out until he graduated, and then went to Harvard where he graduated and became a Newsweek correspondent. Sylvester Monroe was very lucky. He had a mother who helped keep him on the right track growing up and then a teacher who gave him the chance of a lifetime. But if Vest had stuck with school and worked hard, he would have never made it.

Unfortunately, Vest was only one of a couple of the "Brothers" who made it to a better life. Some of the others came close to making it, and then something went wrong and they gave up. Its like they were climbing a mountain and right before the top, they slipped and fell. Instead of trying to hold on to something and climb back up, they gave up and fell all the way to the bottom again. Billy Harris is a perfect example of this. Growing up, Billy was an amazing basketball player. He was easily the best player in the neighborhood. Billy would play a kid in a game to 24 points and give him a 22 point head start. Billy would win almost all the time. When he graduated from Dunbar High School, Billy Harris was flooded with letters and scholarship offers to different colleges on account of his basketball playing. Unfortunately, Billy's coach told him to go to Northern University, who's basketball program was young and weak. Billy was picked in the 17th round of the draft for the Chicago Bulls, who already had plenty of good players at guard, which was his position. After a while, the Bulls dropped him, saying they just couldn't use him. From here on, Billy's career went into a downward spiral, constantly getting worse. He played some semipro ball for a while, but when the team folded, Billy gave up. Billy found that if he had a bunch of different girls that he could go between every few days he would be able to live mainly off of them and not need a job. So that's what he did. Billy Harris went from a pro level basketball player to a regular neighborhood pimp in a matter of months.

If these two stories sound interesting to you, then "Brothers" is definitely a book that you will enjoy. "Brothers" takes you into the lives of these 12 men and shows you firsthand their struggles and experiences. It is up to you to find out who makes it to a better life, and who falls into the trap that so many poor, black men in America do. This is a great read and you will definitely enjoy it!