Joe Brown served in two wars during the time when black soldiers were finally getting the respect they deserved in the Unites States military. He was drafted into the U. S. Army at the end of WWII and released early when the war ended. Then the Korean War came and in his third year of pre-med school; he was called back into service. Soon Joe found himself in a medical unit in the thick of the fighting in North Korea. This is his story in his own words. It is black history at its finest; personal and true to life.
#1042090 in Books 2006-02-15Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.98 x .77 x 6.06l; 1.05 #File Name: 0974699543321 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Three StarsBy bluesky2OK31 of 33 people found the following review helpful. Interesting but flawedBy Dr. James GardnerThis is a well written and thought provoking book; but unfortunately it suffers from some major flaws that limit its potential contribution. First; the good news. Hooper offers a well written and well documented discussion of early Christianity and the possible role of Mary Magdalene as an early leader of an alternate movement. He dissects the canonical gospels and the apocryphal literature from a structural and textual POV; and offers some interesting interpretations for many of the unusual passages.Hooper believes that there is some evidence to suggest that first century Christian sects were devoted to women's issues and had women leaders. He gleans his evidence from several sources; and attempts to put together a picture of this sect; which; over time; disappeared not only in fact; but also in memory. It's a reasonable theory and Hooper has more than enough evidence to put forth the case.Now the bad news - and there is lots of bad news. One of the main problems is that nearly half of the book has nothing to do with Mary Magdalene; but rather concerns itself with Paul (especially his letter to the Corinthians) and Peter. While this is an interesting subject; it surely doesn't demand the kind of space Hooper gives it in a book ostensibly about Mary Magdalene. Moreover; in his obsession with the role of women in Corinth; Hooper ignores the rest of the Mediterranean basin; and thus provides little light to shed on the life of Mary Magdalene; who surely didn't conform to Corinthian customs.A second problem with Hooper's book is his deliberate omission of the works (and theories) of Margaret Starbird. No discussion of Mary Magdalene can afford to ignore Starbird's work. You may not necessarily agree with all of her ideas; but you have to address them.A third problem with Hooper's book is the large number of errors he makes in trying to reconstruct the historical MM. Here is but a small list: - Hooper believes that Mary's name was "Mary of Magdala." While this is the common misperception; most scholars no longer accept this translation; and Hooper himself provides a (thoroughly inadequate) section late in the book explaining why this is the case (p. 252). - Hooper claims that Paul had an "inherent patriarchal bias" (p. 37) but he fails to mention that many of the patriarchal statements are not Paul's but later additions. - Hooper claims that the Gospel of Luke was written by a "disciple or a disciple of Paul" (p. 38) but there is no evidence for this statement. - Hooper writes - "By claiming that Mary had once been possessed by 'daimonia;' Luke was intimating that she had not always been in full possession of her mental faculties (p. 39)." This isn't true. Luke's statement (8:1-3) lists Mary with several other women as having been exorcised of demons - there is no reference; directly or indirectly; to the possible cause of these demons; nor does Luke at any point allude to any mental incapacity by Mary. - Hooper claims - "During the earliest years of Christianity; women...followed Jesus in taking up an ascetic lifestyle which encouraged celibacy (p. 43)." While this is true; it's equally true that early Christian women were also involved in orgies as they anticipated the end of the world; and there is more evidence of these orgiastic cases than there are for the celibate ones. - Hooper claims that the disciples were in danger; "even some years later (p. 65);" and therefore avoided Jerusalem after Jesus' crucifixion. There is no evidence whatsoever that this was the case; and indeed; Acts suggests that they were in Jerusalem shortly after his crucifixion. - Hooper distinguishes between Mary of Magdala and Mary of Bethany (p. 81) but offers no evidence that these are two separate people; and indeed; a careful study of the gospels reveals that they are the same person. But because he makes the errors that MM is Mary "of Magdala" he thinks "Mary of Bethany" is a different person. Indeed; there is no "Mary of Bethany" listed in any of the gospels; only a Mary who lives with her brother and sister in Bethany; but she is never called Mary of Bethany. But even if she were called that; there is nothing inconsistent with "Mary the Great" being from Bethany. - Hooper writes - "Jesus seemed to have had little regard for the value of blood relationships... (p. 125)" ignoring the fact that this common belief rests on sections of the gospels which were altered by rival early sects in order to reduce the influence of Jesus' family. See the recent books by Jeff Butz and Bart Ehrman (Misquoting Jesus) for documentation of this trend. - Hooper's discussion of Morton Smith's "secret" gospel (p. 179ff) boldly states that the issue has been resolved in Smith's favor; but the truth is that the issue is still hotly debated and recent books have come strongly out against Smith. While I tend to believe Smith; the issue is certainly not resolved.The bottom line is that this book has some very strong points and some very weak ones. I wouldn't recommend it to a beginning student unable to pick his/her way through the minefield of errors to retrieve the treasured thoughts. But for someone who is well grounded in the history of Mary Magdalene; there are definitely some good ideas in this book.58 of 62 people found the following review helpful. Timely; insightful; accessible correction to The DaVinci CodeBy Deborah L. Neff; Ph.D.Richard Hooper brilliantly writes a thorough overview of what is known about Mary Magdalene; complete with extensive references to the original documents; a "glossary" of names; terms and sources; and an extensive subject index. With rigorous attention to detail and accuracy; Hooper presents the beauty; vision; and leadership of Mary as apostle; restoring her to her rightful place at Jesus' side; and; in the process; returning to us the divine feminine in Christianity prior to Mary's erasure and corruption by patriarchy. Hooper shows us with great depth and sensitivity Mary's spiritual maturity and wisdom as a teacher in her own right; while providing a sense of the essence of Mary's relationship with Jesus. The style of presentation is quite accessible and a good read. Still; his critical attention to detail and cultural/comparative contexts speaks; as well; to the scholar of Christianty; World Religions; and Women's Studies. For me; as a cultural anthropologist; his thorough attention to relevant contexts is one of the book's strongest points. For example; he addresses some of the commonalities between early Christianty and Hinduism; shared as the basis of all Mystery Religions and traditions of ancient wisdom. While humorous; outspoken; even radical in his interpretation; Richard Hooper's work is theoretically and substantively consistent with that of the most prominent scholars in the field. It is a must-read by the lay person and scholar alike interested in the life of Mary Magdalene. The book was a powerful one for me; personally; as well as academicly; as Hooper returned to me the Jesus of my childhood; who did not discriminate on the basis of class or gender; but preached only love.
