Men Cry in the Dark [Paperback]

Michael Baisden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1999

Men Cry In the Dark is a intriguing novel about four friends who grew up poor on the south side of Chicago and how they became successful entreprenuers. The story focuses on thier friendship and their relationships. Never before has a book dealt so frankly with issues such as fatherhood, interracial dating, and the older man younger woman syndrome. This is a book you don't want to miss.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Success did not come easy for this Chicago native, who was born in 1963. In 1994 he was driving trains for the Chicago Transit Authority and struggling to keep a small business from going under. In 1995 he released his first book, Never Satisfied: How and Why Men Cheat, a controversial book of short stories about unfaithful men and the women who support their irresponsible behavior. The large New York publishing companies rejected his work, saying it wasnt marketable - which basically meant, it wasnt good enough. Not willing to concede defeat, Michael decided to self-publish. He borrowed money from friends and family, charged his credit cards to the limit, and sold his automobile.

Within eight months, he sold more than 50,000 books and was on Essence and Emerge magazines best sellers lists. He toured with black expos, sorority conventions, and book fairs. He even signed books at the local night clubs, and hair salons. I was determined to make it! he says. I would sell books at a funeral if they let me. Eventually, his popularity grew and so did the demand for his next book. This time, instead of writing another book on relationships, Michael took a gamble on a novel. There was a void in African-American novels written by men, he explained. I wanted to destroy the myth that men dont read.

In July of 1997 he released his second book, Men Cry in the Dark. Once again, the book was a big success, selling 30,000 hard cover editions during the first six months. This time the national media paid attention. Michael has been a guest on several local and national radio programs, including the syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show. His electrifying personality has earned repeated appearances on talk shows such as Ricki Lake, Sally Jesse, Maury Povich, and Queen Latifah, and The View. He has also been a guest host for Tavis Smiley on BET Tonight.

Michael is happily single and is currently living in Atlanta Georgia. where he is working on another controversial book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 330 pages
• Publisher: Legacy Pub; 1st edition (February 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964367513
• ISBN-13: 978-0964367517
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (260 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #589,894 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Pretty Good First Effort at Fiction, October 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Men Cry in the Dark (Paperback)

I read Men Cry in the Dark this summer, and I passed it on to several friends. I haven't had it in my possesion since I finished reading it because everytime one person returns it to me, another takes it! After reading other reviews of the book, I had to put my two cents in. I think some of the critisms of the book were valid, but the personal attacks on the author were way out of line and unnecessary. I must admit, that as a person who does a lot of reading, this was far from one of the better books I've read. However, in spite of the grammatical errors and jump from first to third person, I thought it was a good story that needed to be told.

As a 26 year old married woman who has been with the same man since I was 20, I'm not at all familiar with the "dating game" and the issues the characters faced in their quest to find a good mate. Maybe that's why I found the story interesting. Everybody has not had the same experiences, and when reading, you should be prepared to find perspectives that are different from your own.

That said, I noticed that a lot of the reviews from the ladies were full of hostility and criticism about Mr. Baisden's characters, both the men and the women. Points about the men's bad judgements in selecting (or choosing not to select) women based on their education, amount of money they had, their bodies, age and skin complexion were addressed. Many ladies were quite upset about this. However, if Mr. Baisden is telling a story from a male perspective, then could it be that he is addressing the fact that, right or wrong, men make stupid choices based on trivial aspects of a woman's make-up the same way women do with men (i.e., his job, whether or not he's been to college, his physical appearance, how much money he makes, etc.)? None of these tell you the true worth of a person, or whether or not that person will make a suitable life partner. Perhaps that is why these men were in their thirties, had been with many women, and still hadn't found one to spend the rest of their lives with (except Tony)?

In regards to the female characters, men have dated some real losers the same way women have. I didn't hear any women disagreeing with Terry McMillan when she wrote about some of the jerks the characters in Waiting to Exhale came across. I know you women who had such harsh critism for Men Cry in the Dark can't be naive enough to believe that men don't ever come across some real chicken heads in their quest for Ms. Right.

I really couldn't relate to the experiences of the characters in Men Cry in the Dark, but I thought it was an interesting story that should make men and women take a look at their own responsibility for making wise decisions in selecting a mate and doing the work necessary to keep one once they've found them. I've already read Never Satisfied: How and Why Men Cheat (it's another one my friends keep "stealing" from me) and I look forward to reading Maintenance Man. I also plan to buy the Love, Lust and Lies video. Keep up the good work, Mr. Baisden. In spite of the negative reviews, you definitely have an audience who appreciates your work!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars THIS is a good book?, September 15, 2005

By 

ray in dc (washington dc) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Men Cry in the Dark : A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

Who REALLY thinks this book is "excellent?" Even if you're being charitable, it doesnt measure up! Aside from errors, his writing style is not interesting - compared with novels that DO have compelling writing, Michael Baisden's is like reading an article in the newspaper (this is my main problem with it)!
Also, the characters don't seem like real people - they're more like soap-opera characters (Derrick of course is the author's fantasy image of himself)! These are educated sophisticated men, yet they're always ready to fight? And why does the author regard beating someone senseless as "satisfying?"
Why is there so much name dropping? Brand names over and over - it makes the book seem like a commercial!
And considering the violent behavior of Angela, I'm surprised she didnt come after Derrick with an axe (a "home girl with intellect and class" who behaves like a guest on Jerry Springer)!
I suspect these characters arent modeled on real people - just the author's fantasies ! Yes, it's his first book, but that's no excuse - HE thought it good enough to present to the public!
Mr Baisden is an entertaining talk show host, but writing is evidently NOT his forte! All you have to do is read "Lost in the City" - a collection of short stories by Edward P Jones (a GOOD black male writer) to see the difference! GOOD writing pulls you into the story and holds your attention - Michael Baisden hasn't learned this yet!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Unfortunately, I bought all the hype, and wasted $13.00, January 14, 2004

By 

"ally1queen2" (Milwaukee, WI (Brew City)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Men Cry in the Dark (Paperback)

During the last few years, I have been very disappointed in the quality of Contemporary African American Literature. I purchased "Men Cry in the Dark" upon the recommendation of an acquaintance and I trusted this individual's judgement. Never again. This book and its plots and subplots were not carefully thought out, nor cleverly crafted, and poorly written, at best.

In college, I enrolled in a beginning creative writing class. From day one, the instructor of this class emphasized "Show your readers, don't tell them. Show, show, and show some more." I now understand what that instructor meant. Throughout Mr. Baisden's book there is nothing but telling and shabbily constructed dialogue between the characters. "Men Cry in the Dark" was bland and did little to capture the essence of friendships between black men and how they relate to black women.

The whole time I was reading this "train wreck" I kept asking myself, "I wonder how much of this is really fiction, meaning that Derrick, the protagonist and his life had some strong similarities to Baisden's life? For example, both were from Chicago, both worked unrewarding jobs and took risks, both were well regarded and were on radio talk shows. Also, Michael Baisden has his own magazine in real life.

Anyway, I feel that Baisden had the best intentions when he began writing this book. After all, after Waiting to Exhale, there were some critics that felt the book was too negative in its portrayl of African American men.

In subtle ways, I do feel that this novel is negative as well. For example, women are constantly belittled for being too materialistic. However, on every other page it seemed that Derrick was talking about the Boucheron perfume Angela was wearing, or Mark's love of luxury cars, or the no good women his friend Ben was always trying to have relationships with.

I also found another scene in Baisden's book unrealistic. In the restaurant, where Angela and Derrick met, there was a man that was harrassing Angela. Even following her in the bathroom. In the novel, Angela unmercifully beats this man up. I find it hard to believe that a woman could inflict that much physical harm to a man. The way he described the scene was more telling than showing, and in general it was just unbelievable. At that point I lost credibility in the story that I was being told because of how it was presented.

Secondly, Tony's wedding was supposed to be one of the books highlights. Instead, I felt like I was rushed through that scene. I felt that this was a very important, once-in-a-lifetime occassion for this character, and Baisden did a very poor job of describing the moment and allowing the reader to actually be there. As a reader, I want to feel like I am there and a part of the event. There was too much telling and not enough showing.

Thirdly, there was no closure and resolution in Mark's relationship with his Caucasian lover. As a reader, I felt like I was left hanging.

Again, what best describes this book and Baisden's work as a whole would be overrated and oversensationalized. All I can say is the people that give this book four and five-star ratings must have not read literary works by the greats like Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, Gloria Naylor, Alice Walker and Maya Angelou. As a reader, I like to explore and visualize. There wasn't any of that in Baisden's book. Hmmm... you know, I should really consider a career in writing, since garbage like this is revered by the masses. I'm quite sure I could come up with something just as good if not better!