From: Jonathan Hunt <jhunt24>
Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2004 17:24:40 +0000

First off, let me say that I've not read the book yet, so please take this with a grain of salt, but from the quotes Nina offered, I'd say that it's slightly more than just a problem with documentation, because of the presentation of black people as a monolithic entity, rather than acknowledging the plurality of thoughts, opinions, attitudes, etc. Some black people felt this way. other black people felt that way, still others felt another way.

But let me also say that presenting the essence of this fifteen year time period in a mere hundred and fifty pages is a very daunting task, but one fraught with the twin perils of generalizing and condensing. (Anyone remember our discussion of the Abraham Lincoln picture book biography?)

Jonathan
Received on Mon 20 Dec 2004 11:24:40 AM CST