"What The Hell Do You Have to Lose?" by Juan Williams

 I am going to start this review by telling you this is a book you should read. It is a book that educated me as to what is going on concerning rights of blacks in the United States. 

Don't turn me off.   It is not just that. It also concerns the political handling of civil rights.

Recall the statement made by our President Trump when he told the black voters who were supporting democrats that they were opening themselves up to bad schools, high crime and higher unemployment that they should join his campaign for "What the hell do you have to lose?"

 This book attempts to answer that. And I feel it does a good job. It is not an easy book  to read and Williams does not sugar coat his analysis .

He starts by tracing the Civil Rights problem way back to the start which would be during the civil war when the black was not allowed  to read or learn things, being thought being intellectually incapable. And then the treatment after the freeing.

I feel the white population fort eh most part don't know the history of the black person whose history intersects and strives to melt with European History.

What we have is a story of alternate universes. There are radicals in both groups who deny it or are ignorant at best. I feel the movement known as Black Lives Matter could have been avoided if the Europeans in American government had paid attention to the history steam of other nationalities, but not to the extent they blend and disappear.

By ignoring the other histories, we have enabled the so called supremacy of both groups to emerge.

Williams looks at the issue in six areas. Voting rights, Education, Public Accommodations, Black Voices, Employment, and lastly, Housing. He doesn't shout or blamer. He just states the facts.

I may have already said it. This is not an easy read if you are looking for something that will calm you.

It has the subtitle "Trump's War on Civil Rights".  When we are asked what is Trump doing for the blacks  in America? we must answer with Williams, he is ignoring it. His banner for the 2016 election was to Make America Great. And now it seems to be Make America Great Again. Does that mean, turn the system back  to before the civil rights movement or even  to the civil rights of the days of the civil war?

I will allow you to come to your own conclusion after you  read the book. 

It is published by the Hachette Book Group. The copyright is 2018. And it retails for $27.00.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

It is a big issue today. I am talking about the issue of police violence and the black community.

 I am sure books have been written about it and will continue to be written.

Sixteen-year-old  Starr Carter is trying to fit in to the world around her which is poor black neighborhood  with her attendance at the fancy prep school in the suburbs.

She is living in two worlds. At school she is different than when she is in her neighborhood.

 She witnesses the shooting of her childhood friend by a white policeman who, despite her attempts to hold him responsible, gets off.

The situation places her neighborhood and her family in the midst of the struggle to get along and to get justice. She must find her voice.

This forces her to come out of her shell to become an activist. This pressure is handled very well by the author.

This young adult fiction feels sound. It is not too harsh and not too lenient of the situation.

This is Thomas’ first novel. She handles her characters well. I will look forward to her further venture into the fiction realm, should she choose to go in that direction.

This tome has received the Coretta Scott King Award and the Michael L. Printz Award for 

Excellence in Young Adult Literature from the American Library Association. So, it is one of those we should pay some attention to, I feel.

The publisher is Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins. It is 444 pages long with an acknowledgement. It retails for $18.99. I am sure you can find it cheaper online if you don’t wish to support your local bookstore. 

A Doctor In The House By Candy Carson

I found this to be a very good biography from the viewpoint of the wife of Ben Carson. We saw his life story in  Gifted Hands yet if you really want the true picture of who a person is you need a ask a person who is close to him. A wife is.
Carson, the wife, knows the struggles of being married to a gifted pioneer in the area of  neurosurgery.
 At least from the view of having to support a strong man.
  You need to know is he a humble man? How does he deal with his children? How does he deal with those he works with? How does he treat his family?
 It may not be a complete unbiased picture. But it is a look at a man who has had struggles and worked through them.
  I decided to read this book because Carson was for a while one of the Republican candidates running for a chance to be in the 2016 election for United States President, or at least to be considered. He was attacked by Donald Trump and no one heard from him again or even knew anything about him. I just don't think it fair to him.
   It really doesn't matter what  your view of politics is. This is not that type of book.
   It has pictures from the family album.
   I consider it a book people should read to get a picture of  current black history. There are still people to look up to.