Racehoss: Big Emma's Boy

Rating:
Summary: a light in the darkest dwelling of the soul...
Review: I am looking for this book which is now out of print I believe. Ordinarily I might overlook this subject matter... but, I was listening to NPR's Diane Rehm 25th anniversary show, in which she played various excerpts of past programs. Diane prefaced... "and the most moving interview for me was with Albert Race Samples" and then I heard this smallish quivering voice with a light Texas accent talking about his time in "the hole" in prison, about how one day (or night?) in the absolute blackness around him, a loneliness and desperation of the soul came upon him... he called out to God and was answered with a glimmer of light right in front of him... from then, he knew he was not alone. I was moved, as Rehm had been... and determined to try to find his book. I could only wish it would be available on CD and read by Mr. Samples himself.

Rating:
Summary: Where's the movie studios, anyway?
Review: I am ordering Racehoss to send to my brother in prison. I just hope he reads it. SOMETHING has got to wake that boy up......Albert Race Sample was very courageous in sharing his story. Once in a while a book comes along that really makes you think, and this is one of tham. Congrats, Racehoss.

Rating:
Summary: Racehoss: Big Emma's Boy
Review: I read this book for the first time back in 1997 and continue to find this book to be among the very best that I have ever read. Mr. Sample delivers his story in a hilarious yet touching manner. I recommend this as a must read for pretty much everyone.

Rating:
Summary: The straight and narrow
Review: If anyone had an excuse to go into a life of crime, it was Albert Race Sample, known as Racehoss because he was interracial. The son of a prostitute and grandson of a grandfather who murdered his (Racehoss') grandmother, Albert followed his destiny and ended up in a tough Texas prison, which is darker and starker than anything I've seen in books. In fact, I agree with another reviewer who suspects that Stephen King, and perhaps others, used Sample's book as a model for their prison stories and scenes. Read this book if you're thinking about going to prison--it'll change your mind real quick.

Rating:
Summary: The straight and narrow
Review: If anyone had an excuse to go into a life of crime, it was Albert Race Sample, known as Racehoss because he was interracial. The son of a prostitute and grandson of a grandfather who murdered his (Racehoss') grandmother, Albert followed his destiny and ended up in a tough Texas prison, which is darker and starker than anything I've seen in books. In fact, I agree with another reviewer who suspects that Stephen King, and perhaps others, used Sample's book as a model for their prison stories and scenes. Read this book if you're thinking about going to prison--it'll change your mind real quick.

Rating:
Summary: Stephen King MUST have read this book!
Review: In the mid 1980's I tuned into a repeat program on the local NPR affiliate in Washington D.C. Diane Rehm was the host of a repeat broadcast of an interview with the author. It was such an absolutely compelling interview with the man, now obviously (at that time) an elderly gentleman--that I had to go out right away and purchase the book. It was and still remains a book that embodies everything "Classic" literature is. King must have read this before writing "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption"--and as good a short story and subsequent movie as it was--Race Hoss:Big Emma's Boy is the ultimate real deal. Having heard the interview with the author, I am at a distinct advantage to analyze both the man and his writing. There are simply no superlatives to describe either. God Bless Albert Race Sample--thank you for a book that hopefully be filmed just as it is written. If approached honestly, it would be the finest portrayal of prison life as well as life as a young black man in the Deep South to date.