AALBC.com's Best Selling Books
January & February 2003
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#1
Format: Paperback, 124pp. A message from the publisher about What Next In What Next, Walter Mosley -- New York Times best-selling author -- has
crafted a deeply personal and political proposal, offering a commonsense
approach to the challenge of finding world peace in a post-9/11 world.
Mosley recalls his father’s story about not feeling like an American until
German soldiers shot at him during World War II. Now the younger Mosley
explores what the terrorist attacks meant to him, and challenges African
Americans to use their unique position to help create a new kind of peace
between the U.S. and the rest of the world. What Next examines this and
other questions in a powerful polemic and call to action for African
Americans and freedom-loving people everywhere. |
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#2
Edited by Clayborne Carson and Kris Shepard Format: Hardcover, 240pp., In his introduction, the one-time ambassador to the United Nations
Andrew Young refers to MLK as "the voice of the century," and this
collection deftly pays homage to that powerful voice. Carson (a Stanford
University historian) and Shepard have compiled 12 of King's greatest
speeches and prefaced them with touching and inspiring introductions
written and read by prominent activists, leaders and theologians,
including the Dalai Lama, Sen. Edward Kennedy and others. There's a lot
more here than the "I Have a Dream" masterpiece (which is beautifully
introduced by Dr. Dorothy I. Height, longtime president of the National
Council of Negro Women). The material ranges from King's early talks in
Alabama churches to the magnificent "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech,
which he gave the night before his assassination. |
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| #3
by Sybil Barkley-Staples ISBN: 0971814872 "A moving story of love, hope and forgiveness that will touch your
heart" |
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#4
Saul Stacey Williams, Jessica C. Moore (Editor) Publisher: Moore Black Press Hailed as "a dreadlocked dervish of words...the Bob Marley of American poets" (Esquire), Saul Williams is a gifted young poet who is opening up this literary art form to a new generation of readers. Like his writing -- a fearless mix of connecting rhythms and vibrant images -- Saul Williams is unstoppable. He received raves for his performance as an imprisoned street poet in the Trimark Pictures release Slam, winner of the Camera d'Or at Cannes and the Grand Jury prize at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. The consummate spoken-word performance artist, Williams has also been signed by producer Rick Rubin to record a CD of his poetry. |
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#5
by Carl Weber ISBN: 1575669080 Read the AALBC.com Book Review Older sister Jasmine, a postal worker in Richmond, Virginia, is working hard, saving money, and waiting for the right man to walk into her life. And in fine-dressing, smooth-talking attorney Derrick, she thinks she’s found him. Derrick is generous, gorgeous, and oh-so-sexy. But all it takes is some pointed questions from Jasmine’s shrewd granny Big Momma to expose her man as nothing more than a lying, drug-dealing hustler. Refusing to admit she’s been played, Jasmine chooses to remain faithful to Derrick while he’s doing time. That is, until she finds him in a clinch on visiting day with his baby’s momma, Wendy. Derrick’s big mistake with Wendy pushes Jasmine even further toward the arms of good friend�and good man�Dylan. But when yet another baby momma comes into the picture, Jasmine will have to decide whether the right love is worth the complications that come with it� Little sister Stephanie is looking for a good time, not a good man, although she finds both in sweet, loyal Travis. Before she knows it, a one-night fling has turned into a three-year relationship. But then, Malek, Stephanie’s sexy high school sweetheart and the father of her adorable son, swings back into town�and that wild part of her wants another taste of the one that got away. Right in the middle of wedding planning, Stephanie falls into a crazy affair with Malek�one that could destroy the best thing that ever happened to her. Big Momma tries to keep Stephanie’s little family together, but a woman has to take care of her own life�and for Stephanie, part of keeping things real will be learning how to lie in the bed she made for herself. Now that she’s the momma, maybe it’s time to start acting like a grownup� The crazier things get, the more Jasmine and Stephanie realize how much
they actually have in common�and how much they have to learn from one
another. Because when it comes to sorting out life and love, no sister is
perfect, but real sisters are forever� |
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#6
by
Guy Johnson Format: Hardcover, 584pp., ISBN: 0375505679 violence and bloodlust that
seemed to be his grandfather's way of life, Jackson chose to distance
himself from King and live a simpler life. But now King is gravely ill,
and his impending death places Jackson's life - as well as those of his
family and friends - in jeopardy. Reluctantly, Jackson travels to Mexico
to see King. But after a brief reconciliation, his grandfather is
assassinated, and Jackson suspects that his grandmother Serena may have
had a hand in it. Jackson takes control of King's organization, and as he
does, he reflects on the summers he spent in Mexico as a child and the
lessons he learned there at the knee of his strong-willed, complex
grandfather. |
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#7
by Judge Greg Mathis and Blair S. Walker
Read an
AALBC.com Review |
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| #8
Format: Paperback, 336pp. Addicted is the story of Zoe, an African-American female arts dealer. It traces her life from the time she first meets her husband, Jason, in the fifth grade, falls in love with him over a game of Twister in the eighth grade, loses her virginity to him in high school and eventually marries him. Everything seems perfect in Zoe’s life to her friends and family as she secretly deals with serious problems in her marriage. After failing to get Jason to open up to her sexually, Zoe becomes involved in not one, not two but three extramarital affairs. By the time she seeks the aid of a prominent female African-American therapist, the walls of her picture perfect life have already started to crumble. The book shifts into high
gear as Zoe finds out that everyone from her lovers to her husband to her
own mother are hiding secrets of their own. Her best friend, Brina, is
physically abused by her alcoholic boyfriend, Dempsey. Zoe discovers under
hypnosis that her fascination with sex stems from two incidents in her
early childhood she had buried deeply into the crevices of her mind. She
is stalked and attacked. The book comes to a head on a cold, dark mountain
following a trail of murders and the true murderer is anyone’s guess.
Addicted does for women what Fatal Attraction did for men. It
will make a woman think twice before risking it all. |
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#9
by Francis Ray
Format: Paperback, 2nd ed., 352pp. In her mind's eyes, she could see Wes, tall and elegant in his tailored
tuxedo with a patterned vest, black tie, and snow white pocket square. Her
red Valentino slip gown highlighted her honeyed complexion and chocolate
brown eyes. The gown also picked up the red in Wes's vest and the red in
the rose in his lapel. |
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#10 - Three Way Tie
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What
Next: A Memoir Toward World Peace
A
Call To Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of
She'll
Learn
Baby
Momma Drama
Echoes
of a Distant Summer 
Inner
City Miracle: A Memoir
Addicted
I
Know Who Holds Tomorrow
