Live from Death Row

Rating:
Summary: free mumia
Review: ....I enjoyed this book I read death blossoms previously...I enjoyed this book very much it made me so angry because I truly feel that he is in jail only for his political beliefs....but one thing I can say is that his spirit is not broken...and that is so beautiful....the main thing this book did was change my views on capital punishment at first I was all for it but those views changed I am now against it....free mumia!!!

Rating:
Summary: Attests to the reactionary nature of the American popuation
Review: After reading this truly moving book, I have become disillusioned with the state of race relations in the US, not to mention the judicial system. Abu-Jamal, and Peltier in his book 'Prison Writings', have given flawless testimonials of the racism that is evident to 99% of minorities, and perhaps evident to about 10% percent of whites. In his book, Abu-Jamal asserts his innocence, which most evidence supports, quite eloquently. He also describes the harrowing lifestyle that he leads while on death row, such as the always constant danger of being murdered by a fellow inmate, and the omnipresent realization that he has no chance of ever leaving prison alive. The fact a high government official, and a former Presidential candidate, like Gary Bauer can generalize a truly tragic figure such as Abu-Jamal as a cop killer is sad. Saying something as blatantly bigoted comes easy to most people, but I can't comprehend how a person could say such a thing. And as recent events show, Abu-Jamal will most likely share the fate of fellow innocent victim, not to mention minority, Gary Graham.

Not only would I recommend Abu-Jamal's book, I would recommend that you join Refuse and Resist and other organizations that support Mumia Abu-Jamal's, and fellow political prisoner Leonard Peltier, immediate acquittal.

Rating:
Summary: A well written book about our prison system.
Review: Growing up in Philadelphia I formed my negative opinions of Mumia and his case without ever having researched his history myself. However, after the most recent Free Mumia march in Philly, I felt obligated to look into the case that riled people into such a frenzy. What I found was a case based on shaky ground at best, making it a jewel for human right activists. However, I still was not convinced either way of Mumia's innocence or his guilt. I picked up Live From Death Row hoping to develop a more informed opinion, one that was supported by my own experience with Mumia's writing. Surprisingly however, I found that the book did not deal with Mumia's case at all and instead focused on the social injustices that are acted out in our prisons every day. Mumia's anecdotes were insightful and intelligent, leading the reader to keep flipping page after page. At the very least, the book was an educational review of life in prison and deep look into the soul of a death row inmate. While I finished the book no more enlightened on the Mumia innocence/guilt question than when I started, I got a well written snap shot of life on death row. Mumia's writing will keep your interest and his intelligence and love for life shine through.

Rating:
Summary: Mumia a man of peace and courage
Review: I was so happy to read this book. I had read several of his articles in various publications over the years and I watched the HBO special abbout him. Still, the book gave me more food for thought. I enjoyed reading the book a great deal. He was simultaneously revealing about the condition that he lives under in death row as he was about his life before prison. He is such a learned and reflexive man. I mourn the lost of 23 years with his love ones and the MOVE movement and other folks who would have benefitted a great deal from being around him on the outside. Folks like me for example who experienced White Supremacy and black on black violence within the Ivy Towers of Philadelphia. There was so much history in the book about how he came to the MOVE and his involvement in the Black Panther Party. Throughout his youth he strove to find the truth about himself his race and his condition.

The urban or inner city streets of Philadelphia are just as treacherous as the ones found in DC or Oakland, Miami or New York to name a few of the deadlier ones. Mumia looked for and found a movement to participate in that would empower him and help to overcome the hardships that he faced as a young black male. These organizations gave him the strength to find his voice which he expressed on the radio as a host and in print as a journalist.

His description of the events that led to his arrest and subsequent imprisonment were clear. They used bribes and illegal means to convict him and he was obviously not guilty. How can an unconscious person shoot someone to death? Any CSI could recreate the crime (and I wish that they would) and find him NOT GUILTY!

I wish that he had described his life with his wife and children and other members of MOVE more. These are important people in his life who are working to FREE him. Moreover, the anti death row movement which is overly represented by the French has helped him a great deal in putting out his message and that was a great alliance for TRUTH.

MUMIA is an eloquent writer and I felt his innocence in his words. I grieve for him and his love ones and for all of those in death row who are not guilty.



Rating:
Summary: To live on deaths doorstep.
Review: Mumia Abu-Jamal,just might be one of the most admired men in Philadelphia.As a former member of the Black Panther Party in his teenage years to a prodominant radio personallity,he was and still is a man of great stature.As a black male in a society of where the majority of the power is white,he still had the courage to take on the most powerful force in Philadelphia.However because of what he belived in to be right he was cut down in his prime and commited for a crime many belive he did not commite.This book is great for showing the internal struggle of man versus society.Mumia shows everyday life through his eyes in one of the most horrific prisons in the United States.His life will inspire and move you.As he fights for his right for a fair trial,he will walk you through his life from his cell from a prison in the hills of south-central Pennsylvania.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Book
Review: Once I started reading this important piece of literature, I couldn't put it down. Mumia Abu-Jamal is an innocent man who got shafted by Rizzo and his goonsquad who saw no problem sacrificing one of their own to get Mumia. To all those who doubt his innocence, ever heard of a man named Arnold Beverly? He made a FULL CONFESSION to the crime. I sincerely doubt anyone would do so risking their life. Twenty years is far too long, FREE MUMIA!!

Rating:
Summary: Opens up your mind
Review: The essays that Mumia writes here offer the reader an insight in the criminal justice system that you could only see if you are inside it. When reading this essays,the reader gets the feeling of depression, isolation, sadness and of despair that any person on death row might be feeling. To me, anytime that a reader can feel the emotion of a story, the writer has achieved a point. Now whether or not you agree with the death penalty, I think that you should read this book. It will force you to think about you position and see it justice is really being served. The irony now is that someone else has finally come forward and admitted to the murder that Mumia was convicted of, but Mumia is still in a life or death battle to be freed. I think that the reader will enjoy this book and be overwhelmed by the emotion

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: This book is amazing. Soimple Amazing. No book better describes the life of a prison inmate than this. It makes you think, without being complicated. Mumia was once a Black Panther journalist, so he knows how to write, and this bookw as writtin in his 18(i think) year of jail for a crime he didn't commit. Simply told, this book describes how much and why jail time [stinks], in words everyone can understand.