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Books : The Envy of the World: On Being a Black Man in America |
List Price: $22.00Price: $12.85 You Save: $9.15 (42%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Binding: Hardcover
Format: Bargain Price
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 176
Publication Date: January 29, 2002
Sales Rank: 2375259
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
With an eloquence and compassion reminiscent of James Baldwin's Letter to My Nephew, Ellis Cose presents a frank and realistic examination of the daunting challenges facing black men in twenty-first-century America and offers a way out of the cycle of defeatism and despair that wreaks havoc on America's black communities.
Black men have never had more opportunity for success than they do today. Yet, as Ellis Cose bluntly puts it, "We are watching the largest group of black males in history stumbling through life with a ball and chain wrapped around their legs. If brought together in one incorporated region, the population of black males behind bars would instantly become the twelfth largest urban area in America." Add to that the ravages of AIDS, murder, poverty, and illiteracy, the raging anger between many black men and women, and the widening gap separating the black elite from the so-called underclass, and you have a prescription for a paralyzing pessimism.
But even as he acknowledges the systemic obstacles that confront black men of all social strata, Ellis Cose refuses to accept them as reasons for giving up or giving in. In powerful and stirring prose, Cose rails against the historical worldview that has categorized academic achievement as a source of shame instead of pride in many black communities; he also outlines steps black males can take to enhance their odds for success.
With insightful anecdotes about a broad range of black men -- from Franklin Raines, the first black man to run a Fortune 500 company, to unlettered ex-prisoners -- Cose documents the amazing journey the black race has made, and contemplates the challenges ahead. Both a warning of the vast social tragedy that is wasted black potential and a vital call to arms that can enable black men to reclaim their destiny, The Envy of the World is an honest and important book for anyone concerned about the future of America.
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
Ellis Cose makes some salient points pertaining to conundrum that exists in American for Black men, especially young black males.
A few of the topics covered in The Envy of the World: a peek into Cose's own journey through Chicago's public school system, America: the perpetrator behind the stereotypes of the Black man, the de-valuation of intelligence because being smart is not 'keeping it real' or being 'cool', the prison industrial complex & the spiraling out of control incarceration rate of African-American's and how both got its start, the apparent appeal of thuggish behavior and prison stints.
Two antidotes that I believe Cose is trying to prescribe are: education and mentorship; and how both of these can dramatically influence the lives of young black males in today's society. Many have said education is the key, but Cose reveals why many are not choosing that route and states the obvious repercussions of opting for the alternative. There are many examples in the book of mentoring programs and their positive results, but I believe Cose is attempting to relay that it will take more than just a handful of well-placed programs to make a significant difference. In order to affect change, combating the rising prison rate for African-Americans for instance, everyone must be a mentor, even if it is just merely leading by example.
Although much of this is not new, Cose's common sense approach rings resoundingly with the reader and makes ... Read More
Rating:  -
I felt that the book was well-written; I thought that it would have gave a solution to the problem not just re-state the facts. If you plant o get this book, save your time; check it out from the library.
Rating: -
Well after reading a chapter I thought I would check it out, and sorry but that is what I should have done, checked it out. It was on point but I was looking for something new, something different. I never found it, but I have read other works by Cose that was thought provoking. So it may be a good read but at a different time.
Rating: -
As a young, black, recent college graduate, I was inspired, enlightened, uplifted, and humbled by reading this book. It helped me to realize some truths and fallacies of my own existence. I am more than aware of what being a black man in America consists of. On the other hand I have shielded myself from certain aspects of life in order to protect my sanity and peace in such an unjust nation. I could relate to just about everything, if not everything this book touched on. Ellis Cose did a marvelous job in both exposing some defects in today's society and inspiring young blacks not to use them as a crutch, but to focus on the many opportunities society prevents us with. This is a great read for anyone.
Rating:  -
The Envy of the World: On being a Black man in America is a well done book that gives the reader a view on what it's like to be black or if you are black helps you to understand some of the issues that you're facing. At the end of the book in "The twelve things you must know" he gives some important points that I think Blacks should pay close attention to. He also makes great points in the "Too cool for School" chapter. He brings out important points in the book, like the fact that the quality of education that Blacks receive is far lower than that of whites. Also, the important distinction of the inner city school and the rich suburban school. There are two different types of education going on here and if some people expect the inner city school kid to compete with what the rich suburban kid has, you're really living in a fantasy world. Sadly, the people who would most benefit from this book, probably won't even read it or probably won't even hear of this book. I tend to agree with most of what Ellis Cose has to say in this book and I think it is a book that every person should read to view the struggles of the Black man. A lot of people say that in essence, you're blaming society. However, if the evidence is supporting the claim, who can deny the facts?
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