"This is a little history with a big heart, meant to be savored more than studied, read out loud like poetry, or perhaps sung like a hymn."-Joseph J. Ellis, author of Founding Brothers "Davidson has written a work that should lead readers to reflect anew on America's past and present. . . . We can all use not just a good refresher course on American history, but also some good historical thinking on how we might better realize freedom, equality, and E pluribus unum."-The Daily Beast A fast-paced, character-filled history that brings the unique American saga to life for readers of all ages How did a land and people of such immense diversity come together under a banner of freedom and equality to form one of the most remarkable nations in the world? Everyone from young adults to grandparents will be fascinated by the answers uncovered in James West Davidson's vividly told A Little History of the United States. In 300 fast-moving pages, Davidson guides his readers through 500 years, from the first contact between the two halves of the world to the rise of America as a superpower in an era of atomic perils and diminishing resources. In short, vivid chapters the book brings to life hundreds of individuals whose stories are part of the larger American story. Pilgrim William Bradford stumbles into an Indian deer trap on his first day in America; Harriet Tubman lets loose a pair of chickens to divert attention from escaping slaves; the toddler Andrew Carnegie, later an ambitious industrial magnate, gobbles his oatmeal with a spoon in each hand. Such stories are riveting in themselves, but they also spark larger questions to ponder about freedom, equality, and unity in the context of a nation that is, and always has been, remarkably divided and diverse.

Buildings once symbolized Chicago's place as the business capital of Black America and a thriving hub for Black media. In this groundbreaking work, E. James West examines the city's Black press through its relationship with the built environment. As a house for the struggle, the buildings of publications like Ebony and the Chicago Defender embodied narratives of racial uplift and community resistance. As political hubs, gallery spaces, and public squares, they served as key sites in the ongoing Black quest for self-respect, independence, and civic identity. At the same time, factors ranging from discriminatory business practices to editorial and corporate ideology prescribed their location, use, and appearance, positioning Black press buildings as sites of both Black possibility and racial constraint. Engaging and innovative, A House for the Struggle reconsiders the Black press's place at the crossroads where aspiration collided with life in one of America's most segregated cities.

From its launch in 1945, Ebony magazine was politically and socially influential. However, the magazine also played an important role in educating millions of African Americans about their past. Guided by the pen of Lerone Bennett Jr., the magazine's senior editor and in-house historian, Ebony became a key voice in the popular black history revival that flourished after World War II. Its content helped push representations of the African American past from the margins to the center of the nation's cultural and political imagination.E. James West's fresh and fascinating exploration of Ebony's political, social, and historical content illuminates the intellectual role of the iconic magazine and its contribution to African American scholarship. He also uncovers a paradox. Though Ebony provided Bennett with space to promote a militant reading of black history and protest, the magazine's status as a consumer publication helped to mediate its representation of African American identity in both past and present. Mixing biography, cultural history, and popular memory, West restores Ebony and Bennett to their rightful place in African American intellectual, commercial, and political history.

A book of poetry, destine to move the mind, and create pictures of dream

Journalist, activist, popular historian, and public intellectual, Lerone Bennett Jr. left an indelible mark on twentieth-century American history and culture. Rooted in his role as senior editor of Ebony magazine, but stretching far beyond the boundaries of the Johnson Publishing headquarters in Chicago, Bennett's work and activism positioned him as a prominent advocate for Black America and a scholar whose writing reached an unparalleled number of African American readers.This critical biography—the first in-depth study of Bennett's life—travels with him from his childhood experiences in Jim Crow Mississippi and his time at Morehouse College in Atlanta to his later participation in a dizzying range of Black intellectual and activist endeavors. Drawing extensively on Bennett's previously inaccessible archival collections at Emory University and Chicago State, as well as interviews with close relatives, colleagues, and confidantes, Our Kind of Historian celebrates his enormous influence within and unique connection to African American communities across more than half a century of struggle.

THE WIND WHISPERERS is a collection of poetry set to take, whoever reads it, on an unforgettable journey of the heart.

This second instalment of poetry by James West is beautifully written in an electric mixture of words in verse that captures the many trials and tribulations of life's unpredictable journey. Many of the poems pursue some of the subjects we, as human beings, struggle to understand. Filled with some wonderful imagery, evoking many emotions of both the light and dark sides of life extremely well. This is a colourful anthology of poetry that that flows like the title of the book, will no doubt strike a chord of emotion from a diverse range of backgrounds.

Life is made up of a series of choices. Every day from the time we get up to the time we rest, we are making choices. Do I take this job? Do I attend this college? Do I marry this person? Do I buy those drugs? Do I have just one more drink? Do I finally stand up to my boss? Do I attend this church? Every choice you make in life has consequences. Some minor, some major, but each one moves you through life, creating footprints on your own individual roadmap. There is one choice out of all these choices in life that will be the most important choice you ever make. This ONE choice has been made by every single person who has ever lived or ever will live. Unfortunately, many people take this choice in life very lightly. They give it the same mental effort as when they decide on what to eat from the menu at their favorite fast food place. So go ahead, put this book back on the shelf, and head to the fast food joint. Or you can make a smart decision and take about an hour of your time to read this book. It will be time well spent. It will change your life. It will change your destiny. However, like everything you do today, the "choice" is yours. James West is a successful businessman who has traveled extensively throughout the United States and enjoys riding his Harley and hiking, especially in the remote canyons and mountains out West. The creator and author of the website dadssundaysermon.org, he has lived and worked most of his life in Pennsylvania but now spends much of his time with his wife, Janice, in their home in Florida. They are blessed with four children and five grandchildren.