Customer Reviews

The Spook Who Sat By the Door

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I read this work when first published, loaned it out to a friend & never saw either again. In the mid 80's, I stumbled on to a copy of a video version(!) with a street vender, when I returned with cash payment...[right], he was gone. Finally, I heard an interview with the author on radio: Not one much for fiction, this book is an exception because of its impact upon media stereotype (Africans in the New World etc); However, the interview with Sam Greenley, was key in relation to what happened to many of the people involved with the making of the film: the involvement of the FBI with Hollywood to recoup their investment then confiscate all but two copies! Mr. Greenley became a cab driver (was an educator I believe), actors like Paula Kelly could'nt work in the industry for years.
I recommend this book (screenplay done by author but book is much better)to the USA, for it is classic unspoken Americana, and currently "on stage" elsewhere today.

I must have read this great book 35 years ago and it still pops up in my memory from time to time. A black man is hired to improve a white politician's image as an "equal opportunity employeer" and the new hire is assigned absolutely nothing to do but sit at his desk by the door and be nothing more than background color for the politician.

Well, the book really takes off when the new hire turns out to have his own agenda going and it involves being a bit more than window dressing for "whitey"

Perhaps we should send a copy of this book to Colin Powell for Christmas.

I rented the film about 20 years ago and found it to be simple but explosive, thought provoking, and very revolutionary.Then, I read the book and it was totally awesome. I don't usually read fiction, but once I started I could not put it down. The author, Sam Greenlee just had a knack for pulling the reader further into the story line and around each corner the excitement began again. The beginning gives no indication of what the ending has in store. Read it and have fun!!!

The book is quite interesting--definitely a page turner. It serves as a very fascinating exploration of the political outlook it presents. Hard truths continually hit you with regard the portrayal not just of establishment Whites, but also of liberal Whites and middle class Blacks.

I do have to take away a star based about the actual revolution plot itself, though. Many aspects of its execution require a signficant suspension of disbelief. And its goals are never detailed by the Freeman character to his soldiers, nor to the reader by Greenlee, beyond to "be free", to "make Whitey stop messing with us" and to "make Whitey choose between global interventionist policies (e.g. Vietnam) and continuing to oppress us".

Um . . . OK . . . so what does that mean? U.S. military policy has long been readiness to fight two major wars on two different fronts. How do various guerilla uprisings suddenly force such a choice? And even if they do, who's to say the choice wouldn't just be to concentrate on cracking down on Blacks? And even if that weren't the choice, what exactly constitutes a victory? Do Blacks run their own neighborhoods independent of any governmental authority that has Whites in it? Black neighborhoods secede for city, state or federal government control? Or do we all move to one place and the fed governemtn turns the land over to us for our own independent nation? Or do we expect that at the end of the rebellion Whites will just magically stop being racists because we've shown we fight back?

Just HOW will things be different at the end of the successful guerilla campaign? We will be "free". But what does that mean? What are the precise specific objectives. You don't undertake a war without some sort of measure in that regard and that is never given to us in this novel.

All that said though, the rest of the story elements are compelling and certainly make the book worth a read. Despite my criticism regarding the details of the plot, the book kept my attention from beginning to end and it had me looking long and hard until I found a copy of the movie to view also.

If the new world order conspiracies make you think, then this book will inspire you and empower you. This book was written with integrity. I am not going to reveal the plot, but take a look at the characters, the National Guard, the FBI, the CIA, the Chicago Police Department, some inner-city rival gangs and one inconspicous brother with a plan and strategy. The Spook Who Sat Behind the Door is valid and very necessary reading. This easy straightforward reading yet powerful

This book was recommended to me years ago but I decided recently that I would read it. I was not disappointed. I won't give a long drawn out review but I will say, those that are interested in the well being and seeing 'black' people progress as a whole will not be disappointed. Just imagine if every 'black' person read this book and took it to heart?

The Spook Who Sat By the Door is a metaphor for the black man that America thinks it has control of. Karenga once wrote that, "The negro was made and manufactured in America" and it has long been the belief of white people that they have "their negroes" under control. Because of the wholesale sellouts that left the streets following federal jobs in the post-riot sixties, far too many people in trouble think that most blacks have assimilated. This book will put the lie to that pronouncement. Simply, a brother gets into the system and doesn't become OF it. He works during day, trains revolutionaries and plans by night. Although he doesn't live to see his dream come true, it is his tireless work that brings the inevitable revolution into fruition. For people who are serious about struggle and organizing, this book should be read. Sam Greenlee knew what he was doing; the film, in fact, is one of the few cinema presentations that does justice to the literary version. (...)

I was ditching school in 1972 in a political bookstore when an excon walk in and said to me..."Read this book young brother!" I did! I then became a Black Panther, a Maoist, and a socialist. Afterward, I became an Ivy League MBA and a Republican with an SUV, two kids in private school and a fat mortgage! All because of this book! Read this book young brother!"

Wow!!! Now I see why this book have been banned by the FBI for more than 30 years. This book can change the mind of people and can make a person think of why people turn into militants and want to be free. I recommend this to people because they need to think of what happens to the oppressed when they are being harrassed, and abused by the oppressors.

I read this book and I have the movie.If a person would really
like to know how some black people really feel today and have been feeling for year's.Go read this book and watch the movie.
This movie and the book's deal's with the real issue of real liberation and freedom for black people and afrikan's world wide.