A Conversation with the Mann
by John Ridley

An evocative novel of an aspiring black comics rise to near-fame and fortune during the Rat Pack era, by the author of Everybody Smokes in Hell and Stray Dogs.What do you want?I want the Ed Sullivan Show.At the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement, like a lot of black Americans, comedian Jackie Mann wanted to be somebody. And for him there was only one way to achieve that: to make it big. Make it, no matter the cost: friends, family, ones own self-esteem and self-respect. This is the story of a young mans journey from Harlem to stardom, a story of Hollywood royalty, New York glitterati, Vegas Mafiosi, Northern bigotry, and Southern racism. This is a story of love, honor, betrayal, and redemption; of fame bought and paid for by any means necessary. It is the story of one mans desire and an entire races demands, and the incredible moment when the two came together as one. This is the story of Jackie Mann.