RESTORING HOPE CL [Hardcover]

Cornel West (Author), Kelvin Shawn Sealey (Editor), Henry Louis Gates (Afterword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 25, 1997

"Cornel West is one of the most authentic, brilliant, prophetic, and healing voices in America today"

—Marian Wright Edelman





Nine of America's most influential artists, scholars, and public figures—Maya Angelou, Bill Bradley, Harry Belafonte, Patricia Williams, Wynton Marsalis, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, James Washington, James Forbes, and Haki Madhubuti—talk with Cornel West about their political awareness, art and politics, and the possibility of hope among African-Americans today.

"This book has all the freshness, all the spontaneity of good conversations anywhere, and benefits greatly from the integrity and wisdom of its contributors."


—McKay Jenkins, The Star-Ledger, Newark
"This is not a book for the faint-hearted. . . . Cornel West, an authentic, brilliant and prophetic black voice, deals squarely and directly with America's problems of race, recommending changes in behavior and attitude among blacks as well as whites, prescribing solutions difficult to attain, but no more difficult than perpetuation of the status quo."


—Melvyn Schreiber, County Daily News, Galveston, Texas
"West manages to extract something from each [contributor]. His intellectual exuberance flavors the book, and the conversations reveal important truths about our racial impasse."


—In These Times

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Harvard professor Cornel West issues "a kind of wake-up call to each of us,"asserting that "Black America sits on the brink of collective disaster." In this collection of eight question-and-answer interviews, West seeks ideas for inspiring and reinvigorating black America. Actor-singer Harry Belafonte talks about his influences; politician Bill Bradley urges each of us to confront race in our daily lives; poet Maya Angelou makes the point that "one other word for hope is love"; and trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis discusses both music and the need to rebuild black communities. The book is a project of the Obsidian Society, a nonprofit corporation dedicated to improving conditions for black Americans. Profits from the book will benefit the organization.

From Library Journal

How is hope created and maintained? In his Race Matters (LJ 3/15/93), West said that there was an "eclipse of hope and the collapse of meaning in much of black America." With this book he returns to the topic of hope and meaning in the African American community by conducting a series of interviews with leading politicians, writers, musicians, journalists, and scholars, including Bill Bradley, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Wynton Marsalis, and Maya Angelou. Each talks of how hope can be created and nurtured through the strength of the traditional black church, the love of close families, and the experience of shared cultural history and traditions. The interviews?thoughtful, intimate, and intriguing?make the reader believe that hope in black America can indeed be restored. Recommended for all libraries.?Nora Harris, Marin Cty. Free Lib., San Rafael, Cal.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press; 1ST edition (September 25, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807009423
• ISBN-13: 978-0807009420
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,197,852 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Like a good conversation...., November 24, 2000

By 

"chbrown12" (Ausitn, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Restoring Hope (Paperback)

This work was like a good conversation. A bit pithy and cliched at times, it raises many important issues within the black American diaspora yet does not present any specific solutions. The reader definitely gains the sense that he or she is actually engaged in conversation with Dr. West and the other individual; however, just when the reader is about to put his two cents in, the chapter ends. The conversations with Pat Williams was the most enlightening. I guess, one could perceive the levity of the this work as optimism, a quality that earns the four stars. Definitely, a nightstand piece that preps you for a solution-oriented mind.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome brother!!!, December 8, 2010

By 

freyourself - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Restoring Hope (Paperback)

I love Cornel West! He's probably one of the most profound writers I've met! I'm almost done with this book, and I just feel like, if enough people read this book, they would feel enlightened to hope and reach out to other groups of people and respect each other, even if they may not fully understand who that person is.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Look Into The Future of Black America, December 15, 2002

By 

Alex Thanos (Columbus, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Restoring Hope (Paperback)

In this book sociologist, Cornel West, decided to interview prominent figures in America in order to get their feelings on the future of black America. In this book West interviews Maya Angleou, Harry Belafonte, and Bill Bradley just to name a few. West deals with all aspects of black culture. He deals with the church, music, and literature all key in understanding black thought and history. Each person included the book has a unique perspective on what direction blacks are heading for in the future. This book's main thought is that even though black poverty is an American problem, blacks have risen up from hard times in the past and will continue to be a major part of this country.