- Paperback
- Publisher: Scholarly Book Services Inc (Jun 27 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 087805751X
- ISBN-13: 978-0878057511
- Product Dimensions: 17.5 x 12.4 x 1.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 204 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,866,676 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Renowned for his searing protest literature about postwar America, Himes ( If He Hollers Let Him Go ) left this apocalyptic vision of the destructive effects of racism unfinished at his death in 1984. Initially it resembles the gritty detective novels which Himes used to express his political and moral views: the setting is Harlem, and the protagonists are black policemen Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones, seen in previous narratives. But in this most outspoken of Himes's books, he gives open expression to his conviction that the violent overthrow of American society is the only solution to racism. Here the detectives stumble upon the beginnings of an armed uprising in Harlem. As lone gunmen target white policemen and random racial strife spreads to other areas, the search for the source of the arms leads to mysterious entrepreneur Tomsson Black, and then back to his family's history in Alabama. With unflinching clarity, Himes examines the tormented lives of blacks, the ruthless, depraved behavior of Southern whites and their ambivalent attitude toward interracial sex. His writing is vivid and passionate, reflecting not only his own ambitions and frustrations, but also the repression, fear and buried rage felt by both blacks and whites in the grip of racism. Fabre and Skinner have skillfully reconstructed this provocative work, retaining the raw anger of the original and incorporating revisions that Himes had projected. Many readers will find Himes's extremist views frightening; the fact that he put the novel aside suggests that he was himself uncertain about his revolutionary vision.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Book Description
Tomsson Black, political visionary, business genius, and underground revolutionary, plots to avenge injustice by instigating racial turmoil. The roots of racism extend far back into his ancestry, and persecution and suffering have affected many generations of his family. Tomsson's own misfortunes are the impetus for him to found a criminal underworld whose ultimate purpose is the overflow of white society. This novel, the history of Tomsson Black and an indictment of racism in America, ends in apocalypse. It is Chester Himes's ultimate statement about the destructive power of racism and his own personal fantasy of how the American Negro, through calculated acts of violence and martyrdom, could destroy the unequal system pervading American life. However, after reaching an ideological impasse, Himes, one of the angriest writers in the black protest movement, left this novel unfinished. After his death in Spain in 1984, a rumor persisted that he had left a final, unfinished Harlem story, in which he literally destroys both his Harlem backdrop and his heroes in a violent racial cataclysm. The manuscript, entitled Plan B, is that novel. It was edited and published in France, where it was widely hailed as an unfinished masterpiece by readers and critics alike. This new edition, appearing for the first time in the United States, includes an introduction by Michel Fabre (The Sorbonne) and Robert E. Skinner (Xavier University), who have prepared Plan B for publication.
--This text refers to the
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First Sentence
A man called T-bone Smith sat in a cold water slum flat on 113th Street, East of 8th Avenue in Harlem, looking at television with his old lady, Tang. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
A man called T-bone Smith sat in a cold water slum flat on 113th Street, East of 8th Avenue in Harlem, looking at television with his old lady, Tang. Read the first page
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Prophetic Visionary,
By Jamie Helper (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Plan B (Hardcover)
This work is a testiment to Chester Himes' brilliant insight and characterstic of the schitzophrenic relationship most extremely talented black artists have had with America. Much praised for his urban crime series, his more politically charged work was often ignored. This book and the truths it reveals about America's ability and inclination to create entire groups of people with nothing to lose speaks volumes about today's society as it did when written by the author. Many who read this will be afraid, as well they should. You will be entertained none-the-less, and hopefully inspired to think. The ending leaves something to be desired, I suspect that is because Mr. Himes was not alive to complete it himself.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews) 4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Prophetic Visionary,
By Jamie Helper - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Plan B (Hardcover)
This work is a testiment to Chester Himes' brilliant insight and characterstic of the schitzophrenic relationship most extremely talented black artists have had with America. Much praised for his urban crime series, his more politically charged work was often ignored. This book and the truths it reveals about America's ability and inclination to create entire groups of people with nothing to lose speaks volumes about today's society as it did when written by the author. Many who read this will be afraid, as well they should. You will be entertained none-the-less, and hopefully inspired to think. The ending leaves something to be desired, I suspect that is because Mr. Himes was not alive to complete it himself.
5.0 out of 5 stars
the series is over--book #9,
By Bette B. Prater "retired & loven it" - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Plan B (Hardcover)
Book nbr9..203 pages. Published posthumoslyin 1993..Himes never finished it..he died in 1984. (7/29/09-11/12/84). Himes had a tortured soul. The main characters are here..GRAVE DIGGER & COFFIN ED..NYPD detectives with shiny big colts. Street smarts,tuff and mean. Story is about TOMSSON BLACK who wants a racial A P O C A L Y P S E ! DEATH and HATE is here also. THIS IS THE END...NO MORE DIGGER & COFFIN. YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE THE ENDING ! A must read ! I have have the whole series and a bio on Himes. Some of the books are hard to find. bbp okc ok 63 (today) retired |
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