cover image Two of a Kind Stories

Two of a Kind Stories

Paul Carter Harrison, Gil Scott-Heron. Thunder's Mouth Press, $12.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-1-56025-035-7

According to Harrison, the purpose of this collection of 86 profiles is ``to identify those persons of African descent in recent times whose individual actions will have a lasting impact and effect on sustaining an affirmative transformation of the black experience into the twenty-first century.'' African American authors, athletes, media stars, musicians and other performers, and social activists parade past the reader in thumbnail biographies, each paired with a photograph. The editorial preference for breadth over depth, however, often results in frustratingly sketchy portraiture. Some of the author's pronouncements invite skepticism (we learn, for example, that Arsenio Hall's mother was ``constantly abused by his father simply because of differing opinions''), and, indeed, objectivity is not always evident: an entry on Carol Mosely Braun praises her ``stout-hearted and confrontative campaign'' while ignoring the scandals that surfaced during it; in the section devoted to Hill, the authors describe the Supreme Court nomination of Clarence Thomas (who is not profiled in the book) as ``clearly a political ploy, rather than a recommendation based upon merit.'' Ages 12-up. ( Nov. )