The national bestseller by the author of Defending the Spirit.In this powerful and controversial book; distinguished African-American political leader and thinker Randall Robinson argues for the restoration of the rich history that slavery and segregation severed. Drawing from research and personal experience; he shows that only by reclaiming their lost past and proud heritage can blacks lay the foundation for their future. And white Americans can make reparations for slavery and the century of racial discrimination that followed with monetary restitution; educational programs; and the kinds of equal opportunities that will ensure the social and economic success of all its citizens.In a book that is both an unflinching indictment of past wrongs and an impassioned call to our nation to educate all Americans about the history of Africa and its people; Robinson makes a persuasive case for the debt white America owes blacks; and the debt blacks owe themselves.
#688053 in Books Keith; Don 2006-10-03 2006-10-03Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.98 x .79 x 5.95l; 1.02 #File Name: 0451219511331 pages
Review
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. OK; but ...By Weeselyou can find better. I'm guessing the FINAL PATROL is the fact that the submarines profiled are still "active" as museums and memorials mainly to WW2 exploits. The book seems to lose focus a lot -- starting with the cover. The author's name is in the gold-colored background of a German Type XXI.The narration seesm to lose focus also: I'm guessing that some of this is an attempt to capture the speech and jargon of the WW2 era; but it comes across sounding; more often than not; like the text of a book intended for high-schoolers.Some of the stories really have little to no point: We read that the USS USTAFISH completed 6 war patrols and continued on into the Cold War. That's about the story except it takes pages to relate. Seriously; no details of the patrols and especially no details of the Cold War activities. In one chapter the author dredges up the Pearl Harbor Conspiracy angle to add spice -- I suppose. Hello? Continuing that old rumor does no one any service. Conspiracy theories of this sort are best with beer and pretzels in abundance. (The straight skinny is that the US concentrated its limited code-breaking efforts on the diplomatic codes and was not into the IJN's codes where the real clues were. Also the Japanese were not idiots: they purposely mimicked the traffic of the attack force using vessels still in the home waters thus confusing the traffic analytic picture.)The final chapter regarding the capture of U-505 has enough holes in it to drive said U-Boot through. This was not the first capture of a U-Boat nor of an Enigma. The Brits had done that several times by the time CAPT Gallery pulled off his stunt.The author limited his chapters; perhaps a good thing; to the WW2-vintage boats. I mention this because USS BLUEBACK and USS NAUTILAS are still preserved. Both are veterans of the Cold War which crops up tantalizingly throughout the book only to be dismissed almost out of hand. (So why mention it at all?) The former; though still a diesel-electric boat; is (IMO) more impressive than the latter. The B Girls were the first class of ALBACORE-hulled subs which is the standard for today.Did you catch the little irony there: USS ALBACORE (AGSS-569)is also around to be visited. While not a combat vessel; her impact on submarine design is critical and should not be overlooked in a compilation of museum/memorial subs.DBF; dudes. (SS-396; SS-581; and SS-582; google 'em.)1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Everyone should read this book.By Robert V. Rose; retired education researcherFinal Patrol is a book that everyone should read. Born in 1938; I was the "Ship's Surgeon" on the USS Proteus in Guam; 1964-66. Many of my fellow officers at the wardroom dinner table were enlisted men on subs during the war. I heard their sea stories of depth charges; surface attacks and heroism; though I never knew that Proteus was in Tokyo harbor for the peace signing until I read it in a previous Don Keith book.I've also visited a number of the sites of memorial vessels mentioned in the book; and America is a better place for Don's writing!0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Snippets from the Remaining Subs of WWIIBy Kenneth A. McKinleySixteen US and one German U-boat is all the submarines from World War II that we have preserved in various locations around the country. In Final Patrol; Don Keith gives us a brief history of each sub and details how they came to escape the scrap yard and become museum pieces for us to be able to appreciate. You can tell that Keith has a love affair with these vintage machines and their history and it shows in his writing. This propels Final Patol from being a bloated tourist pamphlet to an interesting book that you can read alone or use it as an accompaniment to planning vacations to see these wonderful examples of military might from a bygone era. The down side is that not all of the submarines from the era that are on display have an interesting history. Many of them were simply launched too late at the end of the war to see much or any fighting at all. While this doesn't diminish what they are; it does make for some dry reading if you were expecting to read exciting tales for each one of the subs. Final patrol is still a solid read and I'll be visiting my third sub on the list next month in Hawaii.
