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With Ossie and Ruby: In This Life Together [Hardcover]

Ossie Davis (Author), Ruby Dee (Author)
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)


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Book Description

October 21, 1998
Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee are legendary stars of the American stage, television, and film, a beloved and revered couple cherished not just for their acting artistry but also for their lifelong commitment to civil rights, family values, and the black community. Now they look back on a half century of their personal and political struggles to maintain a healthy marriage and to create the record of distinguished accomplishment that earned each a Presidential Medal for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts.

With Ossie and Ruby overflows with consummate storytelling skill developed by decades in the spotlight. From their early years as struggling actors in Harlem's black theater to Broadway and Hollywood stardom, they regale the reader with colorful, entertaining tales of the places they've been and the people they've met. But their charming humor is leavened with a more serious side, as they share their experiences of keeping a family together in a world where scandal and divorce is the rule, and of being artists and political activists in an era of intense racial ferment. Born into the struggle, their characters were shaped by the dynamic collisions of life, politics, and art; and from those experiences, they achieved some sense of their worth as married people, friends, and lovers.

Warm, positive, and compelling, this is a book that will surprise and challenge readers everywhere -- black and white, male and female, young and old. Lifting the veil of public image, media hype, and mystique, Ossie and Ruby speak of the real-life dilemmas and rewards of their lifelong search for purpose and value.


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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee met in 1945, when they were both performing in the same play on Broadway; Davis, resuming an acting career that had been interrupted by a World War II tour of duty in Liberia, was cast as the male lead, while Dee was originally hired as understudy to the female lead and soon found herself taking over the part. Three years later, still working together, they took advantage of a rehearsal-free day in their schedule to get married--and have been together through thick and thin ever since.

Trading turns with one another, Davis and Dee discuss the high and low points of more than a half century in each other's company. With Ossie & Ruby has enough stories for at least three books, covering the world of stage and film, the history of the civil rights movement, and the endurance of love and marriage. Their telling, in alternating first-person narration, is unflinching in its portrayal of the hardships they endured for being black-skinned and "left-wing" political activists--and equally firm in their continued dedication. This is a first-rate memoir by a man and a woman--each with a thriving career--who have collaborated to form a union even greater than the sum of its parts.

From Publishers Weekly

In December the co-authors will mark their 50th wedding anniversary, an almost unheard of milestone for two stars of the performing arts this century. Even before their marriage, according to Davis, "we were in love, head over heels, and stuck with each other forever!" Rather than just telling the story of a successful marriage, however, their book (related in alternate voices) provides a panorama of the 20th-century African American experience, or, as they label it, The Struggle. Both socialists and militant battlers for African American rights, Davis and Dee have known, and worked with, such leaders as W.E.B. DuBois, Paul Robeson, Martin Luther King and Malcom X. And they haven't shied away from the consequences of taking a public stand: during the flowering of McCarthyism, Dee was called a Communist sympathizer in the press. Still, with refreshing honesty, they steer clear of self-congratulation, as when Davis tells how, as a little boy, in exchange for a few pieces of peanut brittle, he acquiesced as some racist local cops mistreated him. Of course, Dee and Davis also chronicle their careers as pioneers on stage, film and television, from their involvement with New York's African American theater scene during the Depression to their work alongside stars like Sidney Poitier and Lena Horne. From Davis's youth as a "Negro boy surrounded by white hoods, burning crosses, and stories that brought the smell of burning flesh," to Dee's concern for the future of African American theater, this is a compelling read, effectively evoking the challenges and rewards that have attended the authors' roles as black leaders over the past 60 years. Photos not seen by PW. Appendix, index. Agents, Betty McCort and Susan Crawford. (Nov.) FYI: Also out this November is Ruby Dee's My One Good Nerve, a collection of verse based on her one-woman show of that title. (Wiley, $16.95 192p ISBN 0-471-31704-7)
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 496 pages
  • Publisher: William Morrow; 1st edition (October 21, 1998)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0688153968
  • ISBN-13: 978-0688153960
  • Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,248,569 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.9 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars What a wonderful journey!!, June 17, 1999
This review is from: With Ossie and Ruby: In This Life Together (Hardcover)
What a great glimpse into the lives of two beautiful people. I have always known these 2 were special but what confirmation!! A tenderly written life story. This sometimes hilarious book was a walk thru history and a true love story. I am changed.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars karmyclace@hotmail.com, January 26, 1999
This review is from: With Ossie and Ruby: In This Life Together (Hardcover)
This is by far the best book I have ever read. Ossie Davis says early in the text that his first love is writing. As a professional writer, I am amazed at the depth of his thoughts and eloquence with which he puts them together. Davis and Dee's memoirs are less like reading than enjoying a glorious symphony of essence of life. This is a must read for anyone who loves the English language.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars an inspiring, and revealing tale told by 2 great Americans, January 20, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: With Ossie and Ruby: In This Life Together (Hardcover)
When I was in college I had the very good fortune to attend several "An Evening with Ossie and Ruby" presentations on campus. These were a series of selected readings which Mr Davis and Ms Dee presented with honesty, skill and emotion. I became a fan at the first session. THey are people of talent, integrity, and human compassion.As a rule I do not read biographies but I had to read this book! and I am ever so glad I did.these are two people who broke barriers and reached new heights thus changing and improving both our culture and our arts. Their talent, commitment and perserverance is inspiring and reminds us that there are no small players in this drama called life.
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First Sentence:
I remember consciously acknowledging myself, the fact of myself as a girl and a part of a family, as I stood alone facing the window in apart 24. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
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Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Purlie Victorious, Mount Vernon, Ossie Davis, Martin Luther King, New Rochelle, Ruby Dee, American Negro Theatre, Center High, Hunter College, Anna Lucasta, Howard University, Paul Robeson, Seventh Avenue, Green Pastures, Los Angeles, West Indian, Father Divine, Strivers Row, Dick Campbell, Howard Da Silva, Negro History Week, Fred O'Neal, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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