Why I Love Black Women

Rating:
Summary: No thanks.
Review: Much is made of dyson's intellectual prowess; this just goes to show you that all things are relative. There are organisms shuffling down the street to whom dyson's intellect would, one assumes, seem impressive. But that don't necessarily make it so. You may, at some point, have heard the term pinhead. The term signifies that the owner of such a head has a tiny little brain, a "peabrain" if you will. This, in a nutshell, is dyson. He meanders around offering weak commentary and observation that appeals chiefly to the MTV and BET crowd. This is to say, he offers nothing of value other than allowing Penn to make their quota. Do yourself a favor and avoid at all costs.

Rating:
Summary: he got it right
Review: no man in existance has ever come close to summing up this topic the way dyson has... its amazing to me how close both the opinions he states are to that of my own... i applaud him and the black woman of these modern times... thank you mister dyson..

holla!

Rating:
Summary: Stop "talking under our clothes" Professor!
Review: No wonder Dyson's wife wrote that article in Essence several years ago complaining about all of the women who go after him!

While I'm sure Dyson is sincere in his praise of black women, his poorly hidden lust (combined with his good looks) makes this book read mostly like a brilliant 300 page booty call.

He actually goes on and on for 2 1/2 pages describing a 1973 photo spread of Freda Payne (complete with page numbers!) He then goes on to describe dancing with the "mercilessly sexy" and "insanely fine" Ms. Payne: "I was "flabbergasted, moved, disturbed, bothered, as the erotic swirl of her movement sent me crashing into sensual overload. I was done, done-in, undone, overdone."

The man is Michael Baisden with a Ph.D.!

I was happy to see that he devoted a chapter to discussing why some black women get upset over the double standards in interracial dating (i.e. black women are golddiggers with standards that are too high -- yet many educated black men "marry down" when they marry white women.)

Unfortunately, he doesn't give any sources for his stats (something he loves to criticize conservative writers for) so it's hard to take this book entirely seriously.

I'm giving him 3 stars for the title of the book, not the content. But if I were his wife, I'd put a tracking device on his shoes.....

Rating:
Summary: The best book I've ever read in my life
Review: This book taught me more about loving my black women than anything. It also taught me to appreciate all the positive ones that have been in my life. The strongest human being I have ever met in my life is my mother, and I know plenty of men who feel the same way. There have been all types of women who have helped to mold me into the man I am today and who I will be in the future. One reviewer said it's a book she'll be getting for many people in her family, and I'm sure I will do the same. It's a shame there aren't more books like this out there, not just about Black women, but every woman who has made her mark on this Earth. He won me over with this book, and I'll make sure to read anything else he brings to the table.


Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: This book was outstanding. Finally, a sensitive and thoughtful black man pays public tribute to the pain and beauty of black womanhood. In a society that is bent at all costs to defemenise and destroy black women and to see her as less then lovely and portrays her in a negative light, Dyson honors our pain and beauty. I wish that more people not just black men and women could understand the painful hole this society has dumped black women in. And, to the narrow small minded pinhead man, who wrote the no thanks review, (see above) he obviously hates black women and is insensitive to their pain and suffering. His comments deserve NO attention at all and perhaps he could use his time more wizely flipping through the cable channel and watching the O'Riley Factor. Please read this book, if you want to understand more black women.

Rating:
Summary: Still a positive book
Review: This was more about Dyson and who he thinks is the Who's Who of Black Women. Who he knows, who he's met, who he's gone to church with, went to school with, etc. The fact that HIS picture was on the hardcover proves this. Someone else also thought Dyson's picture on the jacket strange, because they printed the softcover with pictures of, dare I say it, black women.

This was a hard read for me, because I was expecting something else entirely. It took awhile to finish and I was not impressed. There were not enough unsung heroines. Too much of HIS experiences that black women just happened to be part of.

I thought this author was going to wax poetic about black women, if you are expecting the same, save your money.

Rating:
Summary: Inconclusive
Review: This was more about Dyson and who he thinks is the Who's Who of Black Women. Who he knows, who he's met, who he's gone to church with, went to school with, etc. The fact that HIS picture was on the hardcover proves this. Someone else also thought Dyson's picture on the jacket strange, because they printed the softcover with pictures of, dare I say it, black women.

This was a hard read for me, because I was expecting something else entirely. It took awhile to finish and I was not impressed. There were not enough unsung heroines. Too much of HIS experiences that black women just happened to be part of.

I thought this author was going to wax poetic about black women, if you are expecting the same, save your money.

Rating:
Summary: One man's dissertational view of women of color
Review: When I think of the contribution that black women have contributed to the makeup of this country, and their role in society in general, I as a responsive father, son, and husband can certainly give homage to why they are so important to our existence. As I've read other references on this subject it only reminded me that others may share some of the reverence I hold, and have opinions of their own. Eric Michael Dyson is one such person. Always opinionated bordering on controversial, his views somehow find ways to permeate the African-American social Diaspora. Why I love Black Women is his latest offering to commentary that he has given us throughout his annals in the academy. Dyson, married and an ordained minister, is the Avalon Professor in the Humanities at the University of Pennsylvania, once again shoots from the hip taking no prisoners as he candidly and vociferously opines about the virtues of the women that hold reverence in his mind. This is a book that will undoubtedly garner mixed emotions from some of the things that are articulated by the author. Albeit, his expressing his love for sisters in a way which is up front and personal. While he does devote some worthwhile space to his mother, the bulk of the book focuses on what seems to be his compulsive attraction to the rich and famous....and it may well be this fixation that may cause the average black woman to take issue with this show of "preference".

My problem with the text is that the author's appreciative gestures are to the point of distraction. As a result, one may perhaps tend to find other vestiges of value to justify continuing with the read. It's okay to fawn and express feelings for those that you admire on the level that you gravitate, but having such a lofty view should not neglect those that are women nonetheless and would ascend the same positions if they were so inclined. What's the big deal over this Ivy-League professor getting all worked up, not over everyday people, but over academics, lawyers, congresswomen, celebrities and business executives. Comments range on the rich and famous from Freda Payne to Star Jones.

I can't help but think too, that if I extol all that I love about African-American women, it would be imperative that I not neglect to include in generic reference all that may fall within my periphery in lieu of exalted personage. In sum, though Michael Eric Dyson's heart and mind might have been in the right place with good intent, his excessive if not thinly disguised parlance for lust got in the way of his emotion in this book superficial proportions.