- Hardcover: 384 pages
- Publisher: One World/Ballantine (Jun 6 2000)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0345439600
- ISBN-13: 978-0345439604
- Product Dimensions: 24.1 x 16.4 x 3.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 699 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,206,218 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
An entrepreneur and an innovator in African-American hair care became the first black female millionaire in America. The life of this historical figure, born Sarah Breedlove, was researched heavily by Alex Haley and proves to be a rich subject for Due, who relied on interviews, letters and other data compiled by the late author of Roots. The strong-willed heroine was born in Delta, La., in the 1860s to sharecropper parents, and was orphaned at age seven. Sarah and her older sister, Lou, find employment as washerwomen for a spirited black woman who runs a laundry business in Vicksburg, Miss. At 14, Sarah marries a good man, but when he is brutally killed, she and her daughter, Lelia, are nearly destitute, until Sarah starts her own laundry business in St. Louis. Sarah works hard for years before stumbling upon the "miracle" ingredientAsulfurAthat cures her painful, itching scalp and promotes hair growth. Perfecting her increasingly popular concoction, she turns her kitchen into a production line/beauty parlor. After she marries flashy adman C.J. Walker, a nationwide ad campaign turns Madam C.J. Walker into a household name, the business funding a beauty college where women ("black roses") are trained to care for African-American hair. Walker gains entry to the black elite and extraordinary material wealth, yet the same toil that builds her business leads to personal heartbreak and cuts her life short. The author of two supernatural thrillers (My Soul to Keep; The Between), Due's leap into historical fiction is accomplished and enlivened by rich characterizations. A few flash-forward scenes necessary for the story's irony or suspense barely halt the polished pacing and keen-eared dialogue as this dramatic rags-to-riches narrative moves briskly toward a bittersweet end. Agent, John Hawkins. Sample chapter distributed through select African-American beauty salons nationwide; 5-city author tour. (June) FYI: Due's own grandmother was a graduate of the Madam C.J. Walker School of Beauty Culture.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
YA-A fictionalized account of Madame C. J. Walker's riveting life as researched by Alex Haley prior to his death. Born Sarah Breedlove, Walker rose from an uneducated laundress to a woman of wealth. She was an ingenious and brilliant entrepreneur who created numerous hair and beauty products for women; however, she is most renowned for her invention of "the pressing comb" which allowed black women to relax their hair. Black leaders such as Booker T. Washington often sought her support both financially and as a community leader. Her legacy is reflective in many of the writings of Langston Hughes. Moreover, Walker was known as an elegant public speaker, and often commenced her speeches with the well-known one-liner, "I got my start by giving myself a start." Accordingly, the "Black Rose" (a phrase coined by Walker) believed that if an individual worked hard she could achieve her goals and much more. Wealth and notoriety came with a price, however: personal sacrifice and loss. Teen readers will love this fascinating novel.
ayo dayo, Chinn Park Regional Library, Prince William, VA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
ayo dayo, Chinn Park Regional Library, Prince William, VA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
No one had seen a car like it. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
No one had seen a car like it. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inspiring.....,
By
This review is from: The Black Rose (Paperback)
I enjoyed reading this book - I had put it off for a long time for some reason, but I'm glad I finally sat down & read it. I admired Sarah Bredlove's perseverence to go after her dream which was propelled by her adversities while growing up. This books gives the age-old message; keep your head up, follow your dreams & if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, nothing will be impossible unto you.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely Amazing!,
This review is from: The Black Rose (Paperback)
I waited a year before I read this book, I deeply regret this.I was absolutely amazed at the way this book was written. I couldn't put this book down until it was completed! I read it everywhere! When I read this book, it was like I was transported into the story. If I believed in time travel, I'd swear that Tananarive went back in time to witness and record Madame C. J. Walker's real life story. This is a must read. I look forward to reading all the books that Tananarive writes. All of her books are absolutely amazing!
5.0 out of 5 stars
A remarkable tale,
By MarvelousMarla "MarvyM" (Way down in Dixie) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Black Rose (Paperback)
I've read much about Madame Walker and how she created an empire through sheer determination and hard work, yet most of these accounts don't give a whole lot of insight into Sarah Breedlove McWilliams Walker, the person behind the legend. Madame Walker's life is such an awe-inspiring one that you can hardly blame her biographers if they seemed to focus mainly on her business accomplishments. But there was so much more to her. I understand that this is historical fiction, and as such, certain instances and characters are fabricated, but the gist of the book is based on research completed by Alex Haley. Still there are certain things that remain unknown about the great lady. Because this is a novel, it allowed the author to create dialogue and situations that may not have actually happened to Madame Walker, but were certainly possiblities for Black women during that time period. The slights from other Black folks who thought themselves superior to the former laundress, the incident with the White men who accosted her when she was alone at the train station, pulling a gun on her cheating husband in a hotel room with his other woman, these incidents may not have occured to Madame Walker as described by Due, but these situations help flesh out the story. Madame Walker believed in herself and in the worthiness of Black women when no one else did. Unlike other wealthy women of that era, Madame was a self-made millionaire. Her wealth didn't come from marriage or inheritance, and she helped other women make their own money along the way. Despite all this, there were those who held her in disdain either because of her humble beginnings or because they thought that she was only trying to get Black women to straighten their hair. Tananarive Due is an wondrous storyteller, and this book will impress upon the reader just how remarkable Madam Walker really was.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
