Top shelf

In Jewels, 50 Phenomenal Black Women Over 50 (Little, Brown and Company, $29.99) by photographer Michael Cunningham and author Connie Briscoe, 50 well-known and not-so-well known women tell how they succeeded against all odds. "Whether 50 or 80, on the stage or in the boardroom, whether for themselves, their children or for the world, these women seized opportunities when they were available and created them when they weren't," writes Briscoe in the preface. Coupled with beautiful portraits, this photo-essay book also includes an original poem by the renowned poet Nikki Giovanni. Social activist and author bell hooks is well known for her intellectual writing, but, When Angels Speak of Love (Atria Books, $16.95) is her debut collection of poems. With subjects like love and loss, passion and joy, hooks offers 50 bold poems to engage the reader's spirit and mind.

In FROM THE HEART: 7 RULES TO LIVE BY (Hyperion, $19.95), by Robin Roberts, the celebrated sports and broadcasting television personality gives the reader seven easy-to-follow principles for success that she says helped her" ... find joy in my life and fulfillment in my work."

In CAN WE TALK ABOUT RACE? AND OTHER CONVERSATIONS IN AN ERA OF SCHOOL RESEGREGATION (Beacon Press, $22.95), by Beverly Daniel Tatum, Ph.D., the president of Spelman College discusses pressing issues in American education and race relations, including issuing a warning about the resegregation of America, the resultant growing isolation and how she feels schools can bridge the racial divide.