The gift of books and holiday reading

The holiday season is upon us and it is a time for gift-giving. What better way is there to express affection for that special someone than with a book? Listed below is a gift guide with suggestions for just about everyone on your list.

Gordon Parks, one of Black America's most celebrated and diversely talented artists, reflects upon his awesome accomplishments, both personal and professional, in A HUNGRY HEART (Atria Books, $26).

Anything written by renowned historian John Hope Franklin is always a perfect gift. MIRROR TO AMERICA: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JOHN HOPE FRANKLIN (Farrar, Straus & Giroux Book Publishers, $25) is the poignant story of Franklin, who remains one of the most admired, relevant and influential historians in the world. Despite the hardships of his life and career, his is as warm and loving a soul you are likely to encounter in this or any lifetime, say friends and admirers.

Here's something for that special someone who is a fan of Walter Mosley's hard-boiled detective Easy Rawlins. CINNAMON KISS (Little, Brown and Company, $24.95) is Mosley's 10th installment in the Rawlins series, and it sizzles with the intensity of Mosley's actual life experience growing up in Los Angeles in the late 1960s. Following on the heels of his best-seller, Little Scarlett, which cakes place in the immediate aftermath of the Watts riots of 1965, CINNAMON explores some of the vast cultural changes that occur in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement. As with the other novels in the series, CINNAMMON continues to chronicle America's search for a new identity in the 20th century.

Holly Robinson Peete, yes, she writes too, has some advice for women: "Don't be afraid of football." GET YOUR OWN DAMN BEER, I'M WATCHING THE GAME!: A WOMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVING PRO FOOTBALL (Rodale Trade Paperback, $14.96), written with Daniel Paisner, is an easy-to-read primer on the game. For women who are already fans but want to take their knowledge of the game to the next level, Peete provides tons of facts, football history and trivia that will quickly make any fan into an aficionado.

Cornel West has written a gem of a book for that more thoughtful person on your list. In DEMOCRACY MATTERS: WINNING THE FIGHT AGAINST IMPERIALISM (Penguin, $15), West returns to the analysis of what he calls the arrested development of American democracy--and once again he is encouraging a candid national debate about the challenges facing our country.

Her music is touching and emotional, but wait until you read the inspirational life story of Fantasia Barrino, the former American Idol winner. LIFE IS NOT A FAIRY TALE (Fireside/Simon & Schuster, $21.95) is Fantasia's down-to-earth and moving account of her incredible and somewhat controversial journey to the top of the popular music scene. "I hope this book shows that it is possible to change," she says, "no matter what you have done or what has been done to you."

COPYRIGHT 2005 Johnson Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group