Having It All? : Black Women and Success

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Book!
Review: I must say that this bookd is long overdue. Finally a book that heralds the accomplishments of a sector of the population that has been constantly overlooked: black women. Throughout the book, the author discusses the age old question of whether it is possible to have it all. Judging by the women profiled in the book, its not only possible, but imperative! Granted some of the women felt that there was more that they could do or acquire, but a majority of them were qute settled and happy with themselves and their chosen lifestyles.
The book is an easy read, something that is difficult to accomplish in some instances with nonfiction. Chambers brilliantly weaves in self help strategies with colorful and interesting anecdotes. I would definitely recommend this book to every black woman out there. It provides a lift as you read and see just how powerful and accomplished black women are and continue to be on a daily basis in a world that only grudingly acknowledges them.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Book!
Review: I must say that this bookd is long overdue. Finally a book that heralds the accomplishments of a sector of the population that has been constantly overlooked: black women. Throughout the book, the author discusses the age old question of whether it is possible to have it all. Judging by the women profiled in the book, its not only possible, but imperative! Granted some of the women felt that there was more that they could do or acquire, but a majority of them were qute settled and happy with themselves and their chosen lifestyles.
The book is an easy read, something that is difficult to accomplish in some instances with nonfiction. Chambers brilliantly weaves in self help strategies with colorful and interesting anecdotes. I would definitely recommend this book to every black woman out there. It provides a lift as you read and see just how powerful and accomplished black women are and continue to be on a daily basis in a world that only grudingly acknowledges them.

Rating:
Summary: WOW!!!
Review: I read Ms Chamber's book, and I was real glad to know that there are sisters who are achieving and doing things some of us have only dreamed of. I enjoyed reading of the Aunt Jemina's who although some folk had beef with them, these women were representatives of Quaker Oats during segregation, and had toured the country meeting people and promoting the product. one of them urged other women to go out and meet others as well. In present day situations, although the women are achieving, they are also having unique situations, such as being one of the onlys,meaning being the only black in town or at a company, or who has achieved some first momentum. One lady spoke of living in a predominately white town in California, and whenever she would go and make an order, the salespeople would hesitate ordering thinking she wouldn't come back and all. Another spoke about having a black West Indian nanny who called her by her first name, told her personal business, and then had the nerve to tell her that they didn't care to work for black people. Then you had a woman who had a prominent position with a prestigious museum in New York, who after the museum changed administrations, demoted and finally fired her despite the fact that she did great things for this museum. She has went on to the Studio Museum of Harlem. And on and on. Most spoke of vacations in Europe, living in the best of communities, but still there was this echo among them if this was really worth it. It should be required reading at colleges and high schools. Very resourceful book.

Rating:
Summary: Black Women Are Having Their Cake and Eating it Too
Review: Journalist Veronica Chambers has attempted to give readers a panoramic view of the successful Black woman's journey amongst a sea of self-help and other nonfiction books on similar subjects in Having it All. Drawing upon historical context along with interviews with an assortment of African American women, it appears she has favorably portrayed them in this text. Recent articles such as the Newsweek article about successful Black women's strides and challenges juxtaposed against the reported dismal picture of African American men's accomplishments give a short synopsis of the obstacles, fears and triumphs of having it all. This book digs further into the psyche of Black women, who Zora Neale Hurston has called " the mules of the world". But we have come a long way baby, as evidenced in the changing face of Aunt Jemima who has gone from an overweight, handkerchief wearing mammy to a perfectly coifed, smartly dressed intelligent woman that entertainment stylist B. Smith would be proud to honor.

Can Black women have it all? Over a five-year period Chambers spoke with such high profile women as Janet Hill, Starr Jones, and Donna Auguste along with others not as well known who struggle with the same doubts and concerns as their White counterparts but with the added burden of race. What is interesting is how each of these women define success. Some count having it all as having successful careers along with the financial rewards along with a satisfying marriage and children. Still others women measure their success by their careers strides only and do not feel the need to marry and/ or have children. But more times than not, they all find themselves straddling the line between the Black and White worlds. Some of these women are first generation college graduates from working-class backgrounds, others have parents who were the first to partake of the benefits of the civil rights movements, and still others come from affluent backgrounds of several generations.

Thelma Golden, former curator at the Whitney Museum and now a director at the Studio Museum in Harlem, talks about having a sense of entitlement, never allowing race to be a stumbling block. Robin Nelson-Rice, who has traveled and lived abroad in her career, talks of being worlds apart economically and education-wise from her family, and the author herself talks about constantly being asked for financial assistance by her extended family. Susan Fales-Hill, who is a legacy of affluence, regularly appears in Vogue and Vanity Fair society pages and cautions Black women to keep their options open when choosing a mate. Still another young woman who was raised by parents in the Black Power movement despairs of finding a Black man with which to grow old.

This was very well researched and written and like other exposes in the same vein including "Our Kind of People" by Lawrence Otis Graham, overdue. Chambers, who has been a staff editor at Newsweek and other publications, continually stresses that the women we see in these pages are not exceptions, but the norm, women we know and see everyday. I don't know if this book is so much about women who want or have it all as about women who have come into their own and have learned to negotiate their lives on their own terms. I would recommend it if only to reassure us that, yes we can have it all.

Dera Williams
APOOO BookClub

Rating:
Summary: Required reading!
Review: Thank you, Veronica! Having It All? is well researched, insightful and positive. Chambers boldly explores the challenges and triumphs of black women who now have choices to pursue their dreams and enjoy the best of what the world has to offer. I was inspired. We are fabulous and there are many others like us, ladies. Every black woman should read this book!

Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: The only book I've ever read that makes discussions about race and gender exciting. Perfect for anyone trying to understand the changing face of success in America.

Rating:
Summary: A for Effort
Review: The title of this book, Having It All, ends in a question mark. A deliberate choice of punctuation, that question mark implies that some level of discourse, some debate will follow in order to answer the question of the title. But although it seemed Ms. Chambers truly wanted to answer it, there was too much murkiness involved in the premise - not least of which was the lack of a definition for the "It All" referred to in the title. The word 'success' (as in 'successful Black women') is similarly glossed over, but from the descriptions that follow, it seems to refer to women earning, or being born into, a lot of money.

The confusion begins with the first line of the introduction: "Thank God for Clair Huxtable," or more specifically, the fictional 'Cosby Show' character's introduction to mainstream America. Invoking the memory of a tv character who, by Ms. Chambers' own admission, broke the needle on the "Let's be real!" meter would have been a less glaring misstep if any one of the women chronicled in her book had come close to mirroring the character's over-achieving, stress-free lifestyle. Thankfully, they do not; the women are real, well-rounded, insightful, gratifyingly imperfect. Their stories are what make the book worth reading, but Ms. Chambers zig-zags between telling them and marveling over the fact that such women (Black women with enough disposable income to afford beautiful homes, designer clothes, plush vacations and disrespectful servants) even exist. The stories don't really match the cheerleading, self-congratulatory tone of the book. These women clearly don't have 'it all'(thus answering the question of the title), but they do have rich, interesting lives that seem to fulfill them, ups-and-downs notwithstanding. Should we, as Black women, just be pleased that there are so many more Black women of means out there, or should we be discouraged by the price we're likely to pay (racial isolation, the dearth of desirable mates) by joining their ranks? Ms. Chambers doesn't know either, and you won't be any closer to an answer after reading this book.

As a reader, I was initially thrilled by the subject matter and ultimately disappointed by the book's lack of focus. Overall, though, I would recommend this book, if only for Ms. Chambers' exhaustive research and for the brave, candid disclosures of the women involved.

Rating:
Summary: Missing Stats to support claims
Review: This book is an interesting read and I enjoy the women's stories the author chose to profile. However, I picked up this book with hopes of more key success techniques for black women hoping to attain the status of those mentioned in the book. Instead was an overwhelming reinforcment of captalism, consumerism and black women using white/western definitions of success.

Chambers however did pick a unique topic that is becoming very influential in Black American culture. But with lack of statistics, surveys and data to show numbers, many of the statements were more opinions and less factual.

For the sequel, I hope she emphasizes the techniques that move the women to the "top" and provides more numbers to give a broader view of middle class professional black women