Top shelf. - book review

Ebony, Jan, 2002

* THE RECKONING: WHAT BLACKS OWE TO EACH OTHER (Dutton, $24.95) is a public challenge issued by human rights and civil rights activist Randall Robinson, executive director of TransAfrica, who argues that Black Americans of all ages and classes must join the struggle to wrest America's inner cities--and the people who populate them--from the grip of crime and poverty.

* A MORE PERFECT UNION: ADVANCING NEW AMERICAN RIGHTS (Welcome Rain Publishers, $24.95) is U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s personal analysis of the link between race and economics. Jackson and co-author Frank E. Watkins trace the many ways in which race has shaped America's institutions and attitudes and propose a radical strategy for dealing with the nation's economic and racial inequities.

* FUTURELAND: NINE STORIES OF AN IMMINENT WORLD Warner Books, 24.95) is best-selling author Walter Mosley's trek back into the realm of science fiction. This collection of nine futuristic stories offer Mosley's highly imaginative view of a world in which computers reign and elaborate government conspiracies threaten whole segments of the population.

* COSBYOLOGY: ESSAYS AND OBSERVATIONS FROM THE DOCTOR OF COMEDY (Hyperion, $17.95) offers humorous insights drawn from the life of megastar Bill Cosby, who writes about everything from his first skiing experience to making love to his wife to lying to his mother.

* THE MOOD OF CHRISTMAS AND OTHER CELEBRATIONS (Friends United Press, $12) is the re-issue of influential theologian Howard Thurman's 1973 treatise on the true meaning of Christmas, examined in six chapters that explore the social and spiritual significance of the holiday.

* PAY YOURSELF FIRST: THE AFRICAN AMERICAN GUIDE TO FINANCIAL SUCCESS AND SECURITY (Amber Books, $14.95) offers tips on how to get out of debt and stay out of debt, as well as investment strategies and advice on ways to avoid the most common mistakes people make with their money, by Jesse B. Brown, president of Krystal Investment Management.