Death Blossoms: Reflections from a Prisoner of Conscience (Paperback)

by Mumia Abu-Jamal (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
It is impossible to escape the irony that a man so impassioned about life has spent the last 15 years on death row. A journalist (Live from Death Row, LJ 5/1/95) and self-described "professional revolutionary" accused of killing a Philadelphia police officer, Abu-Jamal has won international attention for his case. Prison walls, however, have done little to deter his activism. His latest book has a markedly spiritual undertone, as he discusses his views on religion and fellow inmates' thoughts on the subject. In this compilation of over 35 short commentaries and poems, the author questions the validity of Christianity and traces his struggles with religion. In one touching essay, he compares children to acorns, saying that they possess the power to grow into mighty oak trees. Abu-Jamal's words flow like the very sap of those trees, pulsing with energy and capturing the essence of life. Recommended for both public and academic libraries.?Erin Cassin, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Abu-Jamal has been on death row for 15 years for a crime many believe he did not commit. A well-respected African American journalist, Abu-Jamal followed a lifelong quest for meaning and enlightenment, which inspired him to join the Black Panther Party as a young man and later John Africa's community, MOVE, alignments that put him in clear opposition to the powers-that-be, a stance he firmly retains. Refusing to be silenced by his incarceration and impending execution, Abu-Jamal has defied the authorities to write Live from Death Row (1995), which has sold 80,000 copies, and now this collection of vigorous social critiques and moving essays on matters of faith. Like so many other oppressed writers-of-conscience, Abu-Jamal has been rewarded for suffering the torment of exile and isolation, vilification and a sentence of death with the grace of a genuine spiritual awakening, and the flame of his keen intellect and irrepressible soul burns brightly, illuminating each mind that opens to his wise words. Donna Seaman

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Product Details

• Paperback: 158 pages
• Publisher: Plough Publishing House; illustrated edition edition (January 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874860865
• ISBN-13: 978-0874860863
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #895,371 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blossums in Hell, February 19, 1997

By A Customer

A book from Death Row. Would it be about bars, death chambers, law and lament I wondered as I took the book from the hands of my friend? No, he reassured me, this is a book about life. I laughed at the irony but began reading. I now wonder what kind of acid the justice system is on to silence and still the intellect, insight and the voice of this modern small-time profit. A book that should be on the stands everywhere. This is no 'for lefties only' publication. Tim Buchanen, Northern Ireland

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating record of a spiritual journey, August 12, 2002

By	Michael J. Mazza (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

I found "Death Blossoms: Reflections from a Prisoner of Conscience," by Mumia Abu-Jamal, to be an engrossing book. A collection of short pieces, it is written by a death row inmate who was convicted of murdering a police officer, but who many supporters believe to be innocent. The book contains a foreword by Cornel West and an introduction by Julia Wright. Also included is a prison interview with the author.

From a literary standpoint, West really hypes up the author in his foreword; he compares Abu-Jamal to Herman Melville, Theodore Dreiser, Toni Morrison, Eugene O'Neill, and other great American authors. Wright contributes further to this theme, comparing "Death Blossoms" to works by Baudelaire and Oscar Wilde. So is Mumia all that? I don't know, but "Death Blossoms" is good stuff.

Although there is the expected sociopolitical critique, "Death Blossoms" is, at its core, the record of the author's spiritual journey. Abu-Jamal reflects on his mother's Baptist heritage and his father's Episcopalianism; he also details his explorations of other spiritual paths: Judaism, Catholicism, and the Black Muslim movement. His writings in these sections are powerful and evocative. Ultimately, he pays tribute to the guru known as John Africa and discusses at some length the path founded by this man.

Abu-Jamal also writes about prison life, the media, and United States history. Along the way he cites such diverse sources as Salman Rushdie, Ray Bradbury, the Qu'ran, Nietsche, and Ghanaian folklore.

Overall, this is a fascinating book. I did feel that some of the supplemental material by other authors reads too much like a hagiography of Mumia; it's like the publishers are trying to market him as some kind of modern saint. I also felt that this supplemental material was insensitive to the victim of the crime for which Abu-Jamal was convicted.

Is Abu-Jamal really guilty of murder, or is he an innocent man who was wrongly convicted under a fatally flawed system? I don't know. But I can say that "Death Blossoms" is a compelling piece of contemporary literature.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an amazing book, March 14, 2000

By	Rene Galli (Sydney Australia) - See all my reviews

This booked filled me with an indescribable feeling. Mumia Abu Jamal has been in jail for over 15 years waiting to be killed, and yet he is still able to write books like this that no doubt have a profound affect on anybody who reads it. It is definitely worth reading. On another note, can i just say that the person who gave this book one star below has got their facts wrong. the things he has claimed are presented in an untrue and very biased manner. to get the real details about the court case and another things surronding Mumia's inprisionment, just do a seach for his name on the net and it will be easy to track down.