Customer Reviews

Death Blossoms: Reflections from a Prisoner of Conscience

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I found "Death Blossoms: Reflections from a Prisoner of Conscience," by Mumia Abu-Jamal, to be an engrossing book. A collection of short pieces, it is written by a death row inmate who was convicted of murdering a police officer, but who many supporters believe to be innocent. The book contains a foreword by Cornel West and an introduction by Julia Wright. Also included is a prison interview with the author.

From a literary standpoint, West really hypes up the author in his foreword; he compares Abu-Jamal to Herman Melville, Theodore Dreiser, Toni Morrison, Eugene O'Neill, and other great American authors. Wright contributes further to this theme, comparing "Death Blossoms" to works by Baudelaire and Oscar Wilde. So is Mumia all that? I don't know, but "Death Blossoms" is good stuff.

Although there is the expected sociopolitical critique, "Death Blossoms" is, at its core, the record of the author's spiritual journey. Abu-Jamal reflects on his mother's Baptist heritage and his father's Episcopalianism; he also details his explorations of other spiritual paths: Judaism, Catholicism, and the Black Muslim movement. His writings in these sections are powerful and evocative. Ultimately, he pays tribute to the guru known as John Africa and discusses at some length the path founded by this man.

Abu-Jamal also writes about prison life, the media, and United States history. Along the way he cites such diverse sources as Salman Rushdie, Ray Bradbury, the Qu'ran, Nietsche, and Ghanaian folklore.

Overall, this is a fascinating book. I did feel that some of the supplemental material by other authors reads too much like a hagiography of Mumia; it's like the publishers are trying to market him as some kind of modern saint. I also felt that this supplemental material was insensitive to the victim of the crime for which Abu-Jamal was convicted.

Is Abu-Jamal really guilty of murder, or is he an innocent man who was wrongly convicted under a fatally flawed system? I don't know. But I can say that "Death Blossoms" is a compelling piece of contemporary literature.

This booked filled me with an indescribable feeling. Mumia Abu Jamal has been in jail for over 15 years waiting to be killed, and yet he is still able to write books like this that no doubt have a profound affect on anybody who reads it. It is definitely worth reading. On another note, can i just say that the person who gave this book one star below has got their facts wrong. the things he has claimed are presented in an untrue and very biased manner. to get the real details about the court case and another things surronding Mumia's inprisionment, just do a seach for his name on the net and it will be easy to track down.

A book from Death Row. Would it be about bars, death chambers, law and lament I wondered as I took the book from the hands of my friend? No, he reassured me, this is a book about life. I laughed at the irony but began reading. I now wonder what kind of acid the justice system is on to silence and still the intellect, insight and the voice of this modern small-time profit. A book that should be on the stands everywhere. This is no 'for lefties only' publication. Tim Buchanen, Northern Ireland

"Death Bloosoms" picks up where "Live From Death Row" leaves off. Mumia's reflections from family to the system make the reader stop and think about what is really going on. Even after almost 15 years on death row, Mumia has not lost hope or has his will been broken but prison life. This book is not for his supportors only, but for anyone that has any type of social conscience. In some ways this book is a little more heart-dreaced than his first, but they are both good nonetheless

Death Bloosoms" picks up where "Live From Death Row" leaves off. Mumia's reflections from family to the system make the reader stop and think about what is really going on. Even after almost 15 years on death row, Mumia has not lost hope or has his will been broken but prison life. This book is not for his supportors only, but for anyone that has any type of social conscience. In some ways this book is a little more heart-drenched than his first, but that is to be expected. When you can actually feel the emotion that the writer is trying to convey, then the writer has succeded in making his point. Now I know that there are many people who think Mumia is guilty, but how can we keep a man a death row when some other man has come forward and confessed to the murder. If anything, Mumia deseves to be freed while an investigation is conducted. This leads you to wonder how fair our judicial system really is if a man cant be freed after someone else has confessed. This book will take you into the depths of hell and give you a first hand look at what life really is like on death row. If this book cant make you re-think you position on capitol punishment, than I dont know what can.

You'd think a long-time revolutionary who'd been on death row for decades would have some interesting anecdotes, but you'd be surprised. I mean, I guess I can see why he couldn't tell us about the time he shot a cop, or what was going through his head when he tried to arrange for John Africa to represent him, but really, this? Boring. Trite analogies about kids, and uninspiring rambling about how screwed up society is and how the state just wants to silence him. He compares himself to Salman Rushdie, forgetting that Rushdie didn't gun down an Iranian cop, and whines about how badly the authorities have treated him since (which I am willing to believe, but isn't all that well-documented or explored).

I'd be genuinely interested in some memories of the days of MOVE and the Panthers, the same way I enjoyed the heavily self-censored memoirs of right wing criminals like G Gordon Liddy and John "red" Shea. Maybe the reason the American left is losing is because our celebrated criminals are less entertaining? I'm less interested in Mumia's asinine musings about his religious journey than the times Sonny Barger got high on cocaine and broke up rival bike clubs or observations about the rivalry between the HAs and Oakland cops. Did Mumia really cry when he went into a synagogue, pondering conversion, and they gave him a Hebrew book instead of an English one? I doubt it, but who knows, the guy is clearly a drama queen and a headcase. Which would be acceptable if he could write well, but he lets us down here too. For a pro journalist the guy uses some godawful, leaden prose. I'm aware my review isn't in the running for any awards either, but nobody invites me to speak at college graduations on the basis of my amazon activity.

Moldy oldy Cornel West shows up too (I'd forgotten about him until recently when he let us know that Obama's problem is that he's just not black enough, which Cornell discovered after a menial worker got inauguration tickets and he didn't), just to make things a little more insufferable. This little collection is purely for college kids who never found a cause they couldn't put on a t-shirt and really want to believe that their guy is a tortured genius rather than a relatively smart shmuck who's been in the can as long as they've been alive, or people who felt bereft of a cause after Tookie Williams was executed. But if you're not already ideologically committed to Mumia, you could pick pretty much any book at random and the chances that it would be as good or better are high.

Mumia Abu-Jamal gives us here a short but particularly pungent and stringent book. We find in those pages a sensitive man, a resolute human being, a deep believer in life, an optimist about the future and humanity, and yet a realist about the present, the US and American justice. What's new about his approach is that it blends poetry and facts so well that the poetry is the heart of the facts. And we definitely will keep in mind his main argument, or what I consider as such: how can anyone invoke the Christian God to support the most unhumane treatment of some men or women or even children, when Jesus, the Son of God, was treated exactly the same way. How dare they, the self-declared-righteous fake Christians submit any human being to what is the very basis of their own supposed and self-asserted religion? One answer: religion is a sunday entertainment and distraction (they are deranged) for them, and they are basically hypocritical. One reference is missing in the book: social darwinism. The Death Row of any prison in the US or in the world, is nothing but the elimination device of those who are not the fittest, that is to say who are not part of the dominant group of their societies. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU Université of Paris IX and II

In this book, Mumia Abu-Jamal deals a lot with faith and religion. He talks about the hypocritical past of Christianity, the militancy of the Nation of Islam, and of his own faith (and the faith of many MOVE members): "Life." Mumia has managed to keep an optimistic view on life even though he has been on death row for over fifteen years.

This book is of mostly one or two page essays concerning objectivity in the media, prison brutality, the outlook on life many death row prisoners have, faith, and his past. There is an excellent interview at the end of the book, conducted by the publisher. Whether or not you believe in the guilt of Mumia, this is a profound book that will provoke much thought and discussion.

This book is excellent. It examines life as well as any book. It focuses less on his personal history and examines life, faith, religion, politics, and everythign else imaginable. Mumia is a remarkable individual. The book takes only a few hours to read since it is short, but it's effects last forever.

this book is a must for the Social minded.very powerful&makes you think.so much heart&soul from Mumia Abdu-Jamal.he always makes you think about things.He writes from the soul of his mind.very compelling book.This Man deserves to be Heard&given a fair chance.