A Do Right Man [Deckle Edge] [Hardcover]

Omar Tyree (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 10, 1997

Bobby Dallas is a straight, single, good-looking, employed black man - and he doesn't even have kids. Every woman dreams of him, but what does Bobby Dallas dream of? After a shattering breakup with his first love, Bobby heads towards cynicism and burnout as he wanders for years between women and jobs. His unpredictable love life and career in talk radio lead him on a whirlwind of uncertainty as he struggles to keep his feet on the ground. In A DO RIGHT MAN, Tyree gives us a rare glimpse of the confusion of the professional man trying to do the right thing, pondering the fundamental questions of love, life and marriage.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Unlike his previous book (Flyy Girl, LJ 9/15/96), which was basically a YA novel, this is for adults and, ironically, less vulgar. Narrator Bobby Dallas begins the story as he is graduating from Howard University in Washington, D.C., and seeking a career in radio. Like Flyy Girl, this book has its problems, starting with the repetitious plot line: Bobby meets girl. Bobby gets job. Bobby loses girl. Bobby loses job. Bobby is confused. By midbook, the emotional chaos of the main character becomes annoying. The author has done an impressive amount of research into the world of radio and gives an honest if tiring interpretation of a black man struggling to do right, while getting it all wrong. By the penultimate chapter, it appears that Bobby Dallas, now successful in radio at the age of 31, will never find a woman who loves him. But then Faye Butler, the love of his life who started out with him at Howard in the first chapter, returns to him in a happily-ever-after sort of ending. Fans of Terry McMillan or E. Lynn Harris may enjoy this. Because the author shows promise and offers a rare view of the true-to-life emotions of black males, this is recommended for larger public library collections.?Shirley Gibson Coleman, Ann Arbor Dist. Lib., Mich.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Tyree (Flyy Girl, 1996) returns, this time, fortunately, focusing less on Afrocentric theorizing and more on character- -resulting in a good deal more engaging read. The first-person story centers on Bobby Dallas (the ``do right man''), who, despite the weight he's obliged to shoulder as a prototypical Good Black Man, manages to come off as likable, complex, and utterly confused. Bobby has always wanted to be ``in'' radio. And so at Howard University he interns at a couple of stations and makes contacts that ought to be useful in the future. Just before graduation, though, the campus babe and slick New Yorker Pearl Davis takes a shine to Bobby, leading him to throw over best friend Faye Butler, who's been expressing romantic interest in him for years, and follow Pearl to Manhattan, where the talk-radio scene is as cut-throat as the city streets. Sure enough, once Pearl's modeling career takes off, she dumps him fast, and Bobby moves back to Washington to make a real run for his dream job. But while he hooks up there with lots of smart and beautiful women, he finds he can't stop thinking about Faye. After finding professional success, with women of all kinds banging down his door, Bobby is all the more convinced that Faye, his soulmate, was the one he let get away. It will take a coincidence and an act of bravery to gather all the ragged threads of Bobby's life together into a cohesive strand. Tyree in a new, more subtle mode. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (November 10, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684829290
• ISBN-13: 978-0684829296
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (127 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,352,583 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Omar Tyree is a New York Times bestselling author, entrepreneur, journalist, screenwriter, and public speaker. A renowned business figure, he has published seventeen books, and his articles have been published in the Washington Post, Essence, Upscale, and the Washington Times.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Slow But Not Bad, May 16, 2000

By 

Brian K. Walley (Clayton, Delaware) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Do Right Man (Paperback)

This is the second book that I read by Omar Tyree and I will say that it was better written and had a lot less cursing in it than Flyy Girl but the plot moved along very slowly. Omar told an intesting story of how Bobby Dallas climbs the ladder in the radio industry while having to "watch his back" from some of the other people in the radio business. The other sub plot involved his feelings for Faye, the lady in his life that he let get away after falling for another woman (Pearl). I found the book worth reading but parts of the book just seemed to drag on taking away from the overall enjoyment of the book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Do Right Book, November 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Do Right Man (Paperback)

This book was so so so so good. My aunt put me on to reading books, with my first one being Flyy Girl. That book was great too. I picked up this book in the store saying to my self, I sure do need a do right man. But for now, I will settle for a Do Right Book. This book was really great, I suggest this book, not only to the sisters, but to the brothers too. I.B.U. - U.B.I. MOntlclair State University class 2003

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Do Right Man, January 12, 2006

By 

Trashell "Dnic" (Cincinnati, Oh. Usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Do Right Man (Paperback)

A Do Right Man by Omar Tyree

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Inc.

Year: 1997

Number of pages: 350

Genre: Fiction

This book A Do Right Man is about a brother from North Carolina that is educated and handsome. His name is Bobby Dallas. Bobby graduates from college in he profession of radio talk show. Bobby has everything a good man could ever want except a good woman by his side. After the heart-shattering breakup with his first love he is running in between jobs and woman for along while. As Bobby becomes more successful in his career he starts to make a lot of plans for his future in his professional, as well as his personal life. With those intentions he tries to mend broken relationships but he finds out that being a man that does right is not at all easy.

I like this book and I would strongly recommend people to read it. This book is well written and even though its fiction the kind of situations that the character in this novel runs into is things that we can experience in everyday life. Once you pick this book up it will be hard to put it down.