The Envy of the World: On Being a Black Man in America. . - Bookshelf - book review

Ebony, March, 2002

Journalist Ellis Cose has made a career out of examining race and racism in American society. His numerous books, including the bestseller The Rage of a Privileged Class, have explored the hopes and frustrations of Black Americans, and have provided a blueprint for replicating the success of some of America's most successful entrepreneurs and corporate executives.

Cose returns to this territory with his latest book, The Envy of the World: On Being a Black Man in America (Washington Square Press, $22). Here, he takes a probing look at the dramatic obstacles that Black men face--poverty, drugs, AIDS, prison, murder--yet concludes that progress has been made. Still, he warns that society and Black America will suffer unless the institutional reins and individual flaws holding Black men back are not addressed.