Resurrecting Mingus
Adams, Jenoyne
Free Press. February. 240p.
ISBN: 0-684-87352-4. $23

Adams examines interracial marriage and the resulting biracial children from the perspective of biracial attorney Mingus Brown, whose self-identity and family loyalty are challenged when her African-American father leaves her Irish mother.

Remember Me to Harlem: The Letters of Langston Hughes and Carl Van Vechten, 1925-1964
Bernard, Emily (Editor)
Knopf Alfred A. February. 416p.
ISBN: 0-679-45113-7. $30

In these letters, poet Hughes and his older white mentor, Van Vechten—two important men from the Harlem Renaissance—discuss literature and politics while gossiping about other literary figures like James Baldwin, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Ralph Ellison.

The Haunting of Hip-Hop
Berry, Bertice
Doubleday. January. 224p.
ISBN: 0-385-49845-4. $21

Berry’s latest work features hip-hop music producer Harry “Freedom” Hudson from New York.  He moves into his Harlem brownstone only to discover that spirits of the ancestors haunt it.  These ghosts, his ancestors, chide him for the messages in the music he produces.

On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker
Bundles, A’Lelia
Scribner. February. 400p.
ISBN: 0-684-82582-1. $30

Bundles, formerly an ABC News producer, presents a biography of her great-great-grandmother, Madam C.J. Walker, who was the daughter of slaves, but became a heroine to African-American women as a philanthropist.

The Butterfly’s Way: Voices from the Haitian Diaspora in the United States
Danticat, Edwidge (editor)
Soho. February. 272p.
ISBN: 1-56947-218-1. $15 (pap.)

This collection of poems, essays, stories, and letters were written and told by individuals whose Haitian experiences helped shape their lives.  The definition of “Diaspora,” given by the Haitian Embassy’s Gerard Alphonse Ferere is “any dispersal of people to foreign soils.” But Danticat’s tells us it is the “floating homeland, the ideological one, join[ing] all Haitians living in the Diaspora.”

Raising Fences: A Black Man's Love Story
Datcher, Michael
Riverhead Books. March. 336p.
ISBN: 1-7322-171-6. $23.95

Datcher, a poet and journalist, presents a view of young African-American men rarely seen in the media.  These men long for loving, stable marriages, fatherhood, and homes in safe neighborhoods.

Gabriel’s Story
Durham, David Anthony
Doubleday. January. 304p.
ISBN: 0-385-49814-4. $23.95

Fifteen-year-old Gabriel Lynch’s mother moved from New York to a primitive one-room sod house in Kansas.  However, he is not satisfied with this new life and leaves home to seek adventure and becomes a cowboy.  From the story readers get a rare look at the roles of African-American cowboys.

Brutal Imagination
Eady, Cornelius
Putnam. January. 96p.
ISBN: 0399147209. $13.

Poet Eady deals frankly with the subject of the Black man in America.  First he deals with the image of African-American men in the imagination of whites. Poems are mostly narrated by the Black kidnapper that the notorious Susan Smith invents to cover up the 1994 killing of her two sons in South Carolina. The book also focuses on the African-American family and the barriers of color, class, and caste that tear it apart.

Finding Fish
Fisher, Antwone Quenton
William Morrow. February. 368p.
ISBN: 0-688-17699-2. $25

Fisher was born in prison to a single mother and became a ward of the foster care system in Cleveland, OH.  The years of mental and physical abuses he suffered from the family who took him in, damaged his self-esteem.  This is the story of his inspiring quest to become a successful adult and family man. Notably, actor Denzel Washington has bought film rights to the story.

From the Soul of the Black Family
Harris, Phyllis
Putnam’s & Sons. April. 224p.
ISBN: 0-399-14706-3. $23.95

Harris asked African-American men and women in interviews to recall their childhood.  The result is a tribute from sons and daughters honoring their parents and grandparents who instilled in them self-respect, confidence, and strong values.

Game Day
Jeter, Derek
Three Rivers Press. April. 128p.
ISBN: 0-609-80794-3. $19.95

Jeter, shortstop for the New York Yankees, is multitalented.  More than 120 photographs show Jeter preparing for a game: waking up, working out, heading to the stadium, playing, and unwinding afterwards.

Like a Natural Woman: The Black Woman's Guide to Alternative Healing
Kashef, Ziba
Kensington Publishing. January. 304p.
ISBN: 1-575-66630-8. $23.

Kashef, who claims she is a “natural woman,” has created a guide to alternative healing, hygiene, and the connection of mind, body, and spirit among African-American women.

The Warmest December
McFadden, Bernice L.
Dutton. February. 208.
ISBN: 0-525-94564-4. $22.95

Childhood can often be rough on most children and no less for Kenzie.  Now, years after dealing with her father’s alcoholism, she visits him on his deathbed and rejoices that she indeed has control over making her own choices in life.

A Day Late and a Dollar Short
McMillan, Terry
Viking. January. 432p.
ISBN: 0-670-89676-4. $25.95

A story is told through the alternating voices of the fictional Price family about what can go wrong in families, and why, and what brings people back together.

Money, Power, Respect: What Brothers Think, What Sistahs Know
Milner, Denene and Nick Chiles
Morrow, William & Co. January. 272p.
ISBN: 0688178863. $20

Milner and Chiles believe money, power, and respect are most important in male/female relationships.  The authors reveal what they believe African-American men and women think about these matters.

The African American Pre-Law School Advice Guide
Mitchell, Evangeline
Hope’s Promise Publishing. 2001. 278p.
ISBN: 0-967-93030-8. $24.95

Do you really want to go to law school? This guide, specifically written to help African- American students through the process, provides over 250 “things you really need to know before applying,” plus a checklist of almost all the things to do.

How to Make Black America Better: Leading African Americans Speak Out
Smiley, Tavis
Doubleday & Company. January. 208p.
ISBN: 0-385-50214-1. $21

BET talk show host Tavis Smiley speaks to all African Americans, including those in entertainment and the media. He suggests we “think Black first,” by considering the consequences of our actions with regard to the Black community, and putting family first.

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Corinne Nelson is a contributing writer who has written for the Library Journal.