Revolutionary Suicide: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) [Paperback]

Huey P. Newton (Author), Ho Che Anderson (Illustrator), Fredrika Newton (Introduction)

Book Description

Release date: September 29, 2009 | Series: Penguin Classics Deluxe Editio

The searing, visionary memoir of founding Black Panther Huey P. Newton, in a dazzling graphic package

Eloquently tracing the birth of a revolutionary, Huey P. Newton's famous and oft-quoted autobiography is as much a manifesto as a portrait of the inner circle of America's Black Panther Party. From Newton's impoverished childhood on the streets of Oakland to his adolescence and struggles with the system, from his role in the Black Panthers to his solitary confinement in the Alameda County Jail, Revolutionary Suicide is smart, unrepentant, and thought-provoking in its portrayal of inspired radicalism.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Born the son of a Baptist minister in 1942 in Monroe, Louisiana, Huey P. Newton moved to Oakland, California, with his family at the age of three. Although functionally illiterate upon graduating from high school, he taught himself to read by studying Plato’s Republic. Newton enrolled at Oakland City College, where he campaigned successfully to have black history included in the curriculum. While at the college, he became familiar with the writings of Marx, Lenin, Frantz Fanon, and Chairman Mao. In 1966, with Bobby Seale, Newton co-founded the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, an organization in which Newton served as minister of defense. Though perhaps best known for their community street patrols, which openly displayed loaded firearms, the Black Panthers also sponsored breakfast programs for poor children and provided shoes and health care for the needy in the black community. Convicted in 1968 of manslaughter in the shooting death of Oakland police officer John Frey in 1968, Newton spent more than a year and a half in prison before his conviction was reversed. After a series of mistrials, the case against Newton was voluntarily dismissed. After reaching its high-water mark in 1970, when it claimed several thousand members, the Black Panther Party steadily declined, undermined in part by the efforts of the FBI. Accused of another murder in 1974, Newton jumped bail and spent the next three years in Cuba, after which he returned to the United States to stand trial and was acquitted of the charge. Newton earned a doctorate from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1980. He was shot to death by a gang member in 1989.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics; Reprint edition (September 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0143105329
• ISBN-13: 978-0143105329
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,857 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #60 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National > African-American & Black

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 58 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful... August 26, 2006

By Michael C. Howard

Format:Paperback

As a white middle class generation x'er, I knew nothing of the Black Panthers or Huey Newton that was based on personal knowledge or experience. What I had heard was that they were radical, dangerous, and hated white folks. That seemed overly simplistic, so I decided to look into the black power movement for myself. Of all the books I read on the movement (Malcolm, Eldridge Cleaver, SNCC, Soledad Brother, etc...), Revolutionary Suicide was the best.

First off, Huey is the best writer of all the writers I read on the subject. That includes both the primary books and the secondary interpretive books written by historians. Huey's writing reflects his life philosophy, he lives for the people and therefore writes for the people. He doesn't seek to impress the reader with a fantastic grasp of the english language. He writes simply and matter-of-factly, much as a good journalist does. This to-the-point writing style more engrossing than any of the other books I read on the movement.

Second, Huey, unlike many other movement leaders, doesn't look to hog the glory for himself. He is very upfront about what he was responsible for and what he collaberated on with others. He passes the glory around liberally (some would say too much) to spread the power to the people.

Finally, this book will give you a primary understanding of who Huey P. Newton was and what he was really about. Did he hate white people? Did he advocate armed revolution? Was he a murderer and thug? Read it for yourself.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A must read October 10, 2001

By Bakari Chavanu

Format:Paperback

If you're going to study the Black Panther Party, you of course must check out a story of its preminent leader. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. He gave me an understanding what it meant to be a radical Black activist during the 60s and 70s. It meant that you had to be courageous, committed, and five steps ahead of the cops, the FBI, and informants.

Of course, now, this is Huey's account of the Party. While his is seriously important, the works of other Panthers and scholars who are now publishing works about the Panthers must also be studied. For now that I'm reading a biography on another Panther leader, Geronimo Pratt, I'm very interested in understanding more about the political split that took place in the BPP. Why did Huey expell Pratt from the Party? Why did Eldridge Cleaver turn out to be so reactionary? I look forward to reading other books on the Panthers to answer these and other questions.

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This book was powerful in every detail. September 29, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

I felt as though this book was very powerful in expressing the reality of every African-American in society that lives in an urban area. Huey Newton is a powerful writer, but his books are often not read becuase of the fact that limitations are place on him because of his staus. I feel as though his books should be read by every one in order to understand our struggle and also African-Americans as a race and The Black Panther Party as a group. I give this book infinite stars and I think this book should be read by every intellectual and every conscious mind that's open to all possiabilities of reveloution. Stay Strong everyone and always remember the struggle. Peace!!!!!