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Name: The Black Book: Harris, Middleton A., Smith, Ernest, Levitt, Morris, Furman, Roger, Morrison, Toni: 9781400068487: Amazon.com: Books
Price: 19.31 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.8 (3146 reviews)

M. A. Harris

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The Black Book Hardcover – December 3, 2019

by Middleton A. Harris (Editor), Ernest Smith (Editor), Morris Levitt (Editor),

3,146 ratings

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A new edition of the classic New York Times bestseller edited by Toni Morrison, offering an encyclopedic look at the black experience in America from 1619 through the 1940s with the original cover restored.

“I am so pleased the book is alive again. I still think there is no other work that tells and visualizes a story of such misery with seriousness, humor, grace and triumph.”—Toni Morrison

Seventeenth-century sketches of Africans as they appeared to marauding European traders. Nineteenth-century slave auction notices. Twentieth-century sheet music for work songs and freedom chants. Photographs of war heroes, regal in uniform. Antebellum reward posters for capturing runaway slaves. An 1856 article titled “A Visit to the Slave Mother Who Killed Her Child.”

In 1974, Middleton A. Harris and Toni Morrison led a team of gifted, passionate collectors in compiling these images and nearly five hundred others into one sensational narrative of the black experience in America—The Black Book. Now in a newly restored hardcover edition, The Black Book remains a breathtaking testament to the legendary wisdom, strength, and perseverance of black men and women intent on freedom. Prominent collectors Morris Levitt, Roger Furman, and Ernest Smith joined Harris and Morrison (then a Random House editor, ultimately a two-time Pulitzer Prize–winning Nobel Laureate) to spend months studying, laughing at, and crying over these materials—transcripts from fugitive slaves’ trials and proclamations by Frederick Douglass and celebrated abolitionists, as well as chilling images of cross burnings and lynchings, patents registered by black inventors throughout the early twentieth century, and vibrant posters from “Black Hollywood” films of the 1930s and 1940s. Indeed, it was an article she found while researching this project that provided the inspiration for Morrison’s masterpiece, Beloved.

A labor of love and a vital link to the richness and diversity of African American history and culture, The Black Book honors the past, reminding us where our nation has been, and gives flight to our hopes for what is yet to come. Beautifully and faithfully presented and featuring a foreword and original poem by Toni Morrison, The Black Book remains a timeless landmark work.

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Amazon.com Review

Book Description
Seventeenth-century sketches of Africa as it appeared to marauding European traders. Nineteenth-century slave auction notices. Twentieth-century sheet music for work songs and freedom chants. Photographs of war heroes, regal in uniform. Antebellum reward posters for capturing runaway slaves. An 1856 article titled “A Visit to the Slave Mother Who Killed Her Child.”

In 1974, Middleton A. Harris and Toni Morrison led a team of gifted, passionate collectors in compiling these images and nearly 500 others into one sensational narrative of the black experience in America: The Black Book.

Now in a deluxe 35th anniversary hardcover edition, The Black Book remains a breathtaking testament to the legendary wisdom, strength, and perseverance of black men and women intent on freedom. Prominent collectors Morris Levitt, Roger Furman, and Ernest Smith, as well as Middleton Harris and Toni Morrison (then a Random House editor, now a two-time Pulitzer Prize—winning Nobel laureate) spent months studying, laughing at, and crying over these materials–from transcripts of fugitive slaves’ trials and proclamations by Frederick Douglass and other celebrated abolitionists to chilling images of cross burnings and lynchings, patents registered by black inventors throughout the early twentieth century to vibrant posters from “Black Hollywood” films from the 1930s and 1940s.

A labor of love and a vital link to the richness and diversity of African American history and culture, The Black Book honors the past, reminding us where our nation has been, and gives flight to our hopes for what is yet to come. Beautifully and faithfully presented, and featuring a new Foreword and original poem by Toni Morrison, The Black Book remains a timeless landmark work.

Look Inside The Black Book: 35th Anniversary Edition

Click on thumbnails for larger images

Cakewalking Couple

Courtesy of VertaMae Grosvenor Sunlight Soap: Advertisement, circa 1890

Courtesy of VertaMae Grosvenor Sculptured Mask: Ife Bronze Head, 13th century. This head, uncovered in Ife, Nigeria, was made by the “lost wax” process long before Europeans reached the region (960 – 1160 A.D.)

Courtesy of the Greater Acacia Collection Sheet Music for The Funny Little Darkies (circa 1870) Movie Poster for While Thousands Cheer (1940), starring Kenny Washington and Mantan Moreland

Courtesy of the Ernest Smith Collection

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. As fresh as the day it was born, 35 years ago, this category-smashing book is scrapbook, photo album, treasure chest and time capsule. An undated history of black life and culture in America emerges from the abundant photographs and contemporaneous reportage along with bountiful facsimiles of highly diverse articles (e.g., commercial advertisements, public notices, patent applications, sheet music and obituaries). Resonant scraps, photos and facts pepper the pages—The land on which Madison Square Garden in New York now rests once belonged to a black woman, Annie d'Angola; a photograph of Leo Pinckney, the first draftee of World War I; a list of black jockeys who've won the Kentucky Derby. Subjects occasionally cluster, among them black resistance to slavery, slave art (e.g., quilts, clothing, tools and furniture) and voodoo. Toni Morrison's quiet editorial hand is subtly acknowledged by her preface, which, in 1974, appeared without attribution as back jacket copy. Given the celebrated status of this book, which remains as valuable and fresh as when newly made, and the unlikelihood of another edition, an index would have been useful and welcome. Photos. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“An incredible testament to the strength, character, and endurance of a people . . . Especially in these historic times, I can think of no better way to celebrate African American achievement than through a retrospective look at our history—painful and pleasurable—our shared experiences and our successes. This is a book no American—black or white—can afford to ignore.”—Cornel West

“A terrible error grew as humans spread out around the globe from our common ancestors in Southern Africa: Race became a source of division and hierarchy instead of the minor adaptation to climate it truly was. The Black Book records some of the everyday suffering and wisdom that this false hierarchy has caused. There is not a member of the human family on earth who cannot learn from it.”—Gloria Steinem

“The Black Book is an important document of American history that defines a people’s strength, hope, and perseverance. By honoring the past, Toni Morrison’s remarkable book sheds light on the present, and shows the unlimited potential for the future.”—Gay Talese

“Terrific, terrific, terrific . . . Tell the truth and shame the devil.”—Melvin Van Peebles

“I first read The Black Book as a young man, sneaking it out of my dad’s library. It is appropriate that it should be returned to the world of publishing as we consider Morrison’s legacy, and the many dimensions of the much deserved monument we now seek to erect in her honor.”—Ta-Nehisi Coates

“I remember first coming across this book as a child and understanding even then that I was holding in my hands a majestic miracle that managed to beautifully, painfully, and accurately convey both the tragedy and the triumph of four hundred years of the black experience. I am so grateful that a new generation will get the opportunity to feel what I felt.”—Nikole Hannah-Jones

About the Author

“A friend introduced me to Middleton (Spike) Harris [a retired city employee], who became the chief author of the project. His collection of black memorabilia is extensive and his passion for the subject as intense as it is thorough. . . . His friend Morris Levitt, a retired public-school teacher and amateur black sports enthusiast, joined Harris on the project. So did Roger Furman, an actor and director of New York’s black New Heritage Repertory Theater. Finally, Ernest Smith [a collector of black memorabilia since he was fourteen] also joined. . . . All of these men have one thing in common: an intense love for black expression and a zest wholly free of academic careerism.”—Toni Morrison, in “Rediscovering Black History,” The New York Times

Toni Morrison was the author of award-winning works of fiction, nonfiction, and children’s literature. Her fifth novel, Beloved, earned her the Pulitzer Prize in 1998. She received the National Book Critics Circle Award and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. She died in August 2019.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

PREFACE

I am The Black Book.
Between my top and my bottom, my right and my
left, I hold what I have seen, what I have done, and what I have thought.
I am everything I have hated: labor without harvest; death without honor;
life without land or law. I am a black woman holding a white child in her
arms singing to her own baby lying unattended in the grass.

I am all the ways I have failed:
I am the black slave owner, the buyer of
Golden Peacock Bleach Creme and Dr. Palmer’s Skin Whitener, the selfhating
player of the dozens; I am my own nigger joke.

I am all the ways I survived:
I am tun-mush, hoecake cooked on a hoe; I am
Fourteen black jockeys winning the Kentucky Derby. I am the creator of
hundreds of patented inventions; I am Lafitte the pirate and Marie Laveau.
I am Bessie Smith winning a roller-skating contest; I am quilts and ironwork,
fine carpentry and lace. I am the wars I fought, the gold I mined,
the horses I broke, the trails I blazed.

I am all the things I have seen:
The New York Caucasian newspaper, the
scarred back of Gordon the slave, the Draft Riots, darky tunes, and merchants
distorting my face to sell thread, soap, shoe polish, coconut.

And I am all the things
I have ever loved: scuppernong wine, cool baptisms in
silent water, dream books and number playing. I am the sound of my own
voice singing “Sangaree.” I am ring-shouts, and blues, ragtime and gospels. I am
mojo, voodoo, and gold earrings.

I am not complete here; there is much more,
but there is no more time and no more space . . . and I have journeys to take,
ships to name, and crews.

Toni Morrison, 1973

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Random House; Anv edition (December 3, 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1400068487
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1400068487
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.95 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.4 x 0.8 x 11.67 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #11,621 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #21 in Black & African American History (Books)
- #25 in African American Demographic Studies (Books)
- #40 in Black & African American Biographies

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3,146 ratings

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Customers find this book to be a vital piece of historical understanding, providing valuable information about Black history. Moreover, they appreciate its readability, describing it as easy to read and beautifully written.

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67 customers mention "Information value"67 positive0 negative

Customers find the book informative, particularly praising its coverage of Black History and its role as a vital piece of historical understanding.

"...allows both new and longtime readers to experience the raw, unfiltered history that Toni Morrison and Middleton A. Harris so passionately..." Read more

"I visited the African American Museum in DC and was amazed with the volume of history...." Read more

"...And a different history when told correctly. I've bought 6 just to share with friends and family...." Read more

"This is world history! Facts, anthropology and history does not lie! Get a copy!" Read more

20 customers mention "Readability"14 positive6 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and gorgeous, with one customer describing it as a beautifully written history book.

"...Morrison’s powerful foreword and original poem further enrich this masterpiece, making it a must-have for anyone seeking to understand the roots and..." Read more

"An easy to read and good read on African American history." Read more

"...Difficult reading due to content as well as small print and fuzzy photo copying...." Read more

"Truly disappointed. Not a first edition as expected. Its writing are exact but not what I wanted. But I will keep it." Read more

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Tarrent-Arthur Henry
A Timeless Treasure of Black History and Resilience
Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2025
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The Black Book is an extraordinary and essential work that captures the depth, pain, and triumph of the Black experience in America. This new edition, with its original cover restored, allows both new and longtime readers to experience the raw, unfiltered history that Toni Morrison and Middleton A. Harris so passionately curated.

Through rare documents, photographs, and firsthand accounts spanning from 1619 to the 1940s, this book presents history not as a distant past but as a living testament to resilience. From haunting slave auction notices to inspiring patents by Black inventors, every page is a revelation. Morrison’s powerful foreword and original poem further enrich this masterpiece, making it a must-have for anyone seeking to understand the roots and impact of Black history.

This edition is a gift—both a historical archive and a source of inspiration. A must-read for scholars, students, and all who cherish truth and justice.

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Marcus Henry
Amazing Book
Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2025
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I visited the African American Museum in DC and was amazed with the volume of history. This book covers everything about African American History and you will learn a lot.

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3 people found this helpful

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T Ell
Essential History, Wow
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2024
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There was so much to uncover here. I grew up and was educated in a predominantly black community. Just when I thought I'd learned about all the prominence of black people's history, there's more.
An absolutely amazing and ground breaking book on the America that's never told. You need this book if you have black children. It's so important for them to know there was a different narrative about their history. And a different history when told correctly.
I've bought 6 just to share with friends and family. I'm nearly 50 and I'm marveling over pictures and letters in this book that I never knew existed.

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T Ell

Essential History, Wow

Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2024
There was so much to uncover here. I grew up and was educated in a predominantly black community. Just when I thought I'd learned about all the prominence of black people's history, there's more.
An absolutely amazing and ground breaking book on the America that's never told. You need this book if you have black children. It's so important for them to know there was a different narrative about their history. And a different history when told correctly.
I've bought 6 just to share with friends and family. I'm nearly 50 and I'm marveling over pictures and letters in this book that I never knew existed.

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7 people found this helpful

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Sue
The Black Book
Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2024
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This is world history! Facts, anthropology and history does not lie! Get a copy!

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Kimberly Davis
history
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2025
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great book

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Amazon Customer
Had to buy a magnifier to be able to read the book.
Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2024
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Had to buy a magnifier to be able to read the book, the print is awfully small.

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5 people found this helpful

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Charles Stevens
it showed up
Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2025
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the most and best book I have bought since I have been purchasing books

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Sandman
Things you didn’t know about the world in which black people existed
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2024
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Had an original copy years ago a loaned it out. This knowledge is refreshing to know

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B K Danta
This a major book on Black American social history in the form of images.
Reviewed in India on July 3, 2023
Verified Purchase

THE BLACK BOOK is a major statement on Black American social history, life and literary cultures, especially the history of pain, humiliations and erasure of the black people. This book shows aspects of black lives that we are not trained to see. The book takes the reader to the heart of black life in America by tracing black lives before and after a black person came to be associated with slavery. There are pictures, photographs, reports, notes, writings, and lives that tell us what we were not supposed to know or acknowledge: that the dehumanization of the black people was neither accidental nor sudden. The role played by Toni Morrison in the production of the book is huge. Morrison's two single page entries capture Morrison at her best. The Foreword is a synoptic account of what is included and what is not, and tells us that this is the book that every black person has written. Along with Preface, we see in this book the finest samples of her dark epiphanic writing--beautiful, frightening and yet persuasive at the same time.

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Kinman
This book is astounding and insightful
Reviewed in Canada on October 15, 2021
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Love that this book got the reprint that it truly deserves. I am just into five pages of it and wow am I ever bowled over by the revelation and the material presented. It is about time that we get the story of an America that mainstream and the white majority or the" schooled and successful" continue to deny or ignore for too long. I am in the diaspora, twice and no way am I anyway close to what the Afro-American had endured for decades and decades of untold misery as nothing more than a tool or chattel by their human owners.. And in sense in a greater slavery through the policies at work and firm with their roots in systemic prejudices. Particularly telling was the article about a black woman who murdered her children rather than have them endured what she did. This book has certainly whet my appetite for more of the fringe history or narrative, of people in America, especially those considered a minority..

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Stella Yllka Beshirja
The Black Book
Reviewed in Italy on October 14, 2014
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Molto contenta della gestione della consegna. Bellissimo il libro, peraltro difficilmente trovabile. Argomento molto interessante anche per motivi di studio

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Christine Martin
Objet en bon état
Reviewed in France on June 19, 2023
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Lire apprendre découvrir

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Andreas Bartram
alles OK
Reviewed in Germany on March 8, 2021
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alles OK

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5.0 out of 5 stars This a major book on Black American social history in the form of images.

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is astounding and insightful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Black Book

5.0 out of 5 stars Objet en bon état

5.0 out of 5 stars alles OK

This a major book on Black American social history in the form of images.

This book is astounding and insightful

The Black Book

Objet en bon état

alles OK