RESTORING HOPE CL (Hardcover)

by Cornel West (Author), Kelvin Shawn Sealey (Author)
Key Phrases: black spirituality, African American, New York, Howard Thurman (more...)

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: 226 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press (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: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #860,912 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Like a good conversation...., November 25, 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.

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 (Greensboro, NC United States) - 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.