Customer Reviews

Walking on Water: Black American Lives at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
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If anyone ever doubted that African Americans live diverse lives this book will prove otherwise. In his travels, Mr. Keenan interviewed blacks from various backgrounds. It was definitely an eye opener for myself at the great diversity. The region of birth and circumstances of environment determine how these blacks viewed themselves and their place in society. I found the chaper on blacks in Vermont and Louisiana as two examples of what the world does not see as exposed by the media. Yes, there were a few mistakes, but the people who nitpicked at this let these mistakes overshadow the purpose and revelations of this find memoir. This is a book that should be kept in all Americans libraries and in particulary African Americans. I commend the author on all the hard work and time he put into it.

Randal Kenan shows us things we normally do not see. It is paticularly interesting how this man, with his own admitted biases and limitations, gets in close and is able to get people to open up. His humility and willingness to learn that comes through the book so clearly must have something to do with it. The chapter dealing with the "Black Revolutionary" middle class college students was engaging and compelling. It would be interesting to see where they are today and what they are doing. Kenan shows us some memorable characters from the multicolored portrait of the Black populace. I will be looking for more. Get it, read it and see if you see what Kenan sees?

Walking on Water was such an interesting and original book, it was distressing to find so many mistakes in it which an editor or the author (during proofreading) should have caught. For example: (page 5) plural of genus is genera; (8)Mary McLeod Bethune, not McCleod; (28)Edward Brooke has an e on the end; (32) Shaquille O'Neal, not O'Neil; Plattsburgh (52), Arlen Specter (123) and (130)Charles Chesnutt's names were misspelled. It's Moms Mabley (130) not Mabble; (132) Ludington, not Luddington; Nicholas Lemann, not Lehman (152); Rueben (257), Reuben (259)--which is it? Fisk University is not spelled Fiske (276); Morehouse is a college, not a university (295); the book was Kingsblood Royal, not Knightsblood (311); (336) Monterey, not Monterrey; (337) MLK's speech was August 28, not 11th; (346) Auburn Avenue, not street. Kenneth Clark's name has no e on the end (356 and 662), and it's Johnetta Cole (552 and 662), not Jonetta. The book is wordy, patchy, sometimes too self-referential; quotes too long; too many adverbs (extremely, absolutely) and it has cliches that are avoidable (died laughing); the word burgeon is used three times on pp. 312-313. A few more editings or revisions could have rid this otherwise wonderful, frequently beautiful, book of misspellings and some flaws and made it nearly perfect.

AS pbs PUT IT DURING BLACK HISTORY MONTH. RANDALL KENAN'S WRITING IS INTELLIGENT, ARTICULATE, POETIC, RYTHMIC, HUMOUROUS AND DOWN RIGHT FASCINATING! A SEARCH FOR THE MEANING OF 'BLACK,' EXPECTED TO END IN ONE OR TWO YEARS, TOOK AN ENTIRE SEVEN YEAR CYCLE OF RANDALL KENAN'S LIFE. WHAT A MARVELOUS JOURNEY IT IS. THE STORIES OF THE PEOPLE HE INTERVIEWED ACROSS THE UNITED STATES ARE RIVETING AND ENHANCE OUR LIVES AND EDUCATE US RICHLY. I DID NOT WANT TO PUT IT DOWN, SAVORING EVERY PAGE. I AM HONORED AND MOVED TO SHARE HIS EXPERIENCE. NOW I WANT TO READ EVERYTHING ELSE RANDALL KENAN HAS WRITTEN.

The author takes us to different parts of the country to interview african americans, of every aspect of life, getting their opinion on the state of the race. I learned a lot by reading this book, like Mary Ellen Pleasant and her roled with John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry. Very informative book, about black life past, and present.

It's a great book - something I haven't seen in a long time. It really examines that pioneering spirit among black america and gives me inspiration. It was good that Kenan talked to black people, that many of us would not ordinarily meet being the urbanists that we are. I'm glad he sought many points of views rather than attempt to simplify black authentic existence to some 'boyz in the hood' apology thang. I'm inspired to go seek out the land as many of blacks have done - I think there are some key gems of knowledge than will spur on the development of black peoples. The can - do spirit!!

I just learned about Randall Kenan two weeks ago, when Time Magazine did a series about the Mississippi River. I decided to try his books, when he was described as the African American answer to William Faulkner. My only criticism. Too long! Otherwise, for someone who isn't African American it was a learning experience. You get to see profiles of African Americans in all walks of life.

I thought that Randall Kenan's book was very good, and thought provoking. The best things I liked about it was the fact that he tackled this very broad subject matter, but did not go into the book with any preconceived notions about the authenticity or meaning of "blackness." There was no sense that he was trying to label the people he was interviewing, or make any kind of judgments about them of how more or less "black cultured" they were. I think it is a tremendous credit to the author that despite the emotional tenderness of delving into one's personal heritage, through it all he was always able to come across as kind, considerate, unbiased, and at many times sympathetic to their particular point of view. The time consuming years in which it seemed to take for him to make this book, and his perserverence in remaining patient and sensitive is amazing. The other thing that deserves much appreciation is the fact that he just didn't go to where the obvious most dense congregation of black people were, nor did he just remain in the south to answer his question of "blackness." The whole idea that he interviewed black people in very obscure places: Maine, western Canada, Wyoming, etc. was a pleasant refreshing surprise that added depth, openess, and wonder with each succeeding chapter. I think this was the true gem of the whole book, and set it apart from others like it.

Despite the fact that I liked the book very much there were a couple of things I felt inhibited the flow. For instance, I felt a few of the interviews were too long, and the interviewees were allowed to go too far away from the main subject. Although I liked the injection of history in each chapter, which gave you a sense of how black people got to that place historically, some of the chapters felt bogged down with too much history, and not enough present day feelings, the Allensworth, California chapter was the best example of that. I also thought that there should have been a better distinction between the author's thoughts and what the interviewees were actually saying. Too many times that line was blurred, and got a little confusing.

Despite all this though I would still highly recommend the book. My few criticisms in the previous paragraph are the only things that kept me from giving it a full 5 star rating.

I recently finished reading a novel entitled PSEUDO COOL by Joseph Green. It's a strong story about young african-americans and the struggles they encounter while attending predominately white educational institutions. As with Mr. Green's PSEUDO COOL, I was moved by this book's examination of a people's experience that continues to evolve from too many untold beginnings toward an unknown end. I highly recommend both books to others.

Henry O. Tanner's painting is "Banjo Lesson," not "Guitar" (page 506). The newspaper is Atlanta Daily World, not Daily News (550); and Lorrie's story has too many "reallys" in it (562). The author could have deleted a few. Again, good book except for the mistakes and the overload of adverbs.