A complete documentary history of African Americans in one cartoon narrative.Art Spiegelman and Larry Gonick opened the door for an all-out renaissance of the cartoon form; bringing a medieval form of history -- through pictures -- together with a modern sensibility. In Still I Rise Roland Laird and Elihu Bey take the form to another level; using cartoons to tell the rich history of the achievements; struggles; hopes; suffering; and triumphs of people of African descent in America. In the process; they bring to light many surprising and little-known facts of American history; making the book a joy to both those who thought they knew it all already and those learning history for the first time.As National Book Award winner Charles Johnson points out in his introduction; the history of African American cartooning is itself a vibrant one; and almost unknown. Still I Rise is a great contribution. It not only tells history; it makes history.-- Posro Komics has been profiled in over 200 publications and on television programs such as "Yo; MTV Raps!"; "Today"; and ABC News. In 1993; Posro's syndicated cartoon strip The Griots reached over one million readers each week.-- "Permeating this encyclopedic research is Posro's recognition of the beauty; resilience; and spiritual endurance of black Americans". -- Charles Johnson
#248214 in Books Cohen; Roger 2006-04-11 2006-04-11Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.01 x .72 x 5.28l; .69 #File Name: 0385722311336 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A Must For Everyone Who Wants to Know the Truth About WWII's Secrets and the SS.By Kay RossI urge everyone to read this compelling work that tells of the disaster that befell our American GI's during WWII. So close to the day of the Allied Victory in Europe; but so unreachable for the men enslaved at Berga in the final months of the war. The Nazis made slaves of our POW's; with absolute disregard of anything remotely similar to the Geneva Conventions. These men were of many faiths; yet the Jewish boys were the most sought after target of these Barbarians. This story might never have been told; but I'm grateful that it was; even though it was many years afterward. They worked them to death; starved them to death; and; yes; they shot them to death. I had the privilege of attending a recent Veteran's Day showing of a documentary about these men; and even got to be with Tony Acevedo; the Mexican-American Medic who was imprisoned at Berga. He kept a diary that became the basis of the documentary. This book has so much detail about the horror of the Berga Death Camp.4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Brought back memories I was there as a prisoner.By William CartwrightFound the book in a new book section of the library and was amazed to find my name in it. Very good research. It was very helpful to my memories. I buried the seven soldiers who died at Grosslattengrun. Never knew the name of the village. At the time I was more interested in surviving. Two more soldiers died while we were burying the seven. We were supposed to catch up with the others and we convinced our guard to take a wrong fork in the woods and came to a village where we found out the Americans were only 30 kilometers away. Our guard put his rifle in a corner and said;"All is Kaput".The villagers put up nine of us until the Gi's came. .1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Five stars does not mean 'I love it' but that it is an important workBy Norman G. RudmanThis is a powerful and exquisitely written book about a subject that is an essential; if hard to deal with emotionally; lesson in history. I pursued it; after first reading an excerpt from it published in the New York Times; because my brother was a prisoner of war captured by the Germans at Bastogne on January 4; 1945; and he died in that captivity. From 1945 until 2013; we were never able to get an account of the treatment he suffered as a POW; but then a comrade who had undergone the same starvation; malnutrition and slavery; but survived; reached out and found me. Unfortunately; that comrade was himself on his deathbed when his son traced me and called. Second hand; through the comrade's family; I learned something about how the Nazis used their POWs as slave laborers to be beaten; starved and sickened until they were able to work no longer; then let die. This book; about a group of POWs captured nearby in the same battle provided insights and details I could not get directly; because the comrade died soon after our contact was made. It is not an easy book. But it embodies many lessons for those of us who want to learn what inhumanity looks like so we can defend against it whenever it rears its head.
