The following is a list of African-American interest adult books, fiction and nonfiction, publishing between September 2010 and March 2011. Click here to see a short list of notable African American titles. Click here to see the Children's titles.
ABRAMS IMAGE
Understand Rap: Explanations of Confusing Rap Lyrics You and Your Grandma Can Understand (Oct., paper $14.95) by William Buckholz pairs hip-hop lyrics with dry, academic translations.
AFRICAN AMERICAN IMAGES
Understanding Black Male Learning Styles (Mar., paper $15.95) by Jawanza Kunjufu delineates how black males learn differently from other students and what can be done to most effectively reach them.
AMACOM
Black Faces in White Places: 10 Game-Changing Strategies to Achieve Success and Find Greatness (Oct., $24.95) by Randal Pinkett and Jeffrey Robinson dares young careerists to fight for what they believe in.
ATRIA/STREBOR
Daddy Long Stroke (Sept., paper $15) by Cairo takes a voyeuristic look into the mind of a womanizer who manipulates and seduces women by using what he’s got to get what he wants without remorse or regret.
When the Truth Lies (Sept., paper $15) by Timothy Michael Carson tracks an urban tale of love lost and found through the intertwining lives of four characters.
A Kettle of Vultures... Left Beak Marks on My Forehead (Oct., paper $15) by Sabrina Lamb forges comedy with fiction and social commentary.
Daddy By Default (Nov., paper $15) by Pat Tucker. Roxanne and her childless husband deal with his arrest for delinquent child support.
BASCOM HILL PRESS
Die Free: A Heroic Family History (Jan., $24.95) by Cheryl Wills traces the life of her ancestor who fled his slave plantation and fought in the Civil War.
BLOOMSBURY
The Hustle: One Team and Ten Lives in Black and White (Jan., $26) portrays ten lives, their intersection, and how race, class, and fate shape our stories.
CELEBRA
The Next Big Story: My Journey Through the Land of Possibilities (Nov., $24.95) by Soledad O’Brien uses her biggest reporting moments to offer a candid and personal look at where the country is going.
CITY LIGHTS
The Black History of the White House (Jan., paper $19.95) by Clarence Lusane delves into the untold history and politics of the White House from the perspective of African Americans.
DA CAPO PRESS
Becoming Jimi Hendrix: From Southern Crossroads to Psychedelic London, The Untold Story of a Musical Genius (Sept., paper $17.95) by Steven Roby and Brad Schreiber recounts the hardships that helped inspire Hendrix to persevere with his music and become a rock legend.
DAFINA
Don't Blame The Devil (Sept., paper $15) by Pat G'Orge Walker spins a humorous tale of mistakes and second chances, heartache and love, sin and salvation.
Torn Between Two Lovers (Sept., $20) by Carl Weber stars plus-sized diva Loraine Farrow, torn between the two men in her life.
What Love Tastes Like (Sept., paper $6.99) by Zuri Day. A tale about lust, trust, seduction—and other dishes best served sizzling.
Family Ties (Oct., paper $15) by Ernest Hill brings D’Ray Reid home from jail to find that the real fight for survival is only beginning.
Last Temptation (Oct., paper $14) by Michelle Stimpson. Peaches battles with both temptation and her faith.
What's His Is Mine(Oct., paper $15) by Daaimah S. Poole follows good girls and gold-diggers, all determined to get their share.
When the Sun Goes Down (Oct., paper $14) by Gwynne Forster conjures a family drama filled with fractured ties, secrets, and forgiveness.
You're All I Need (Oct., paper $6.99) by Karen White-Owens spans the continents as an irresistible Frenchman turns the life of an ambitious young woman upside down.
Deadly Pursuit (Nov., paper $6.99) by Ann Christopher. A mysterious man will do anything to protect a woman driven to know the truth.
Hustlin' Divas (Nov., paper $14) by De'nesha Diamond. Memphis’ hardest ride-or-die chicks fight along with their infamous men to lock down the Dirty South.
Heist (Dec., paper $15) by Kiki Swinson and De’nesha Diamond. A two-novella volume about women who know what they want and will do anything to get it.
The Liar's Club (Dec., paper $14) by Layla Jordan takes a fresh look at love, sex, and marriage—and the price of starting over when ends are not fully tied up.
Stay The Night (Dec., paper $6.99) by Chilufiya Sifaa uses Kenya as the backdrop for a steamy romance.
His Sexy Bad Habit (Jan., paper $6.99) by Cheris Hodges. A widower receives his second chance at love.
Ray of Hope (Jan., paper $15) by Vanessa Davis Griggs shares an uplifting tale in the first novel of a new series based on Bible stories.
Sweet Little Lies (Feb., paper $14) by Michele Grant portrays the realistic, funny, and sexy side of life and love.
The Choir Director (Feb., $24) by Carl Weber returns to church for some hard-earned lessons in love, brotherhood, and betrayal.
All Up in My Business (Mar., paper $14) by Lutishia Lovely explores the inner workings of a family business, complete with loves, lies, and scandal.
Man Enough for Me (Mar., paper $14) by Rhonda Bowen adds an inspirational twist to the lives of young singles dealing with life, love, and relationships.
She’s the One (Mar., paper $15) by J.J. Murray updates Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.
Some Like Them Rich (Mar., paper $6.99) by Shirley Hailstock. Amber and Don are both harboring secrets, but neither can deny the passion that ignites between them.
DOUBLEDAY
Disintegration: The Splintering of Black America (Oct., $24.95) by Eugene Robinson argues that instead of one black America, now there are four.
DUKE UNIV. PRESS
I’m Black When I’m Singing, I’m Blue When I Ain’t and Other Plays (Oct., paper $19.95) by Sonia Sanchez brings her plays together in one volume for the first time.
African Rhythms: The Autobiography of Randy Weston (Nov., $32.95) by Randy Weston and Willard Jenkins travels from Weston’s upbringing in Brooklyn, to World War II, and to Africa, the inspiration for much of his music.
THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS
Acting White (Oct., $25.99) by Ron Christie traces the complex history of the phrase that has haunted many blacks.
DUTTON
Tempted By Trouble (Sept., $26.95) by Eric Jerome Dickey considers love, betrayal, and the lengths some will go to in order to survive in a ruthless world.
THE ELEVATOR GROUP
Creativity for Christians: How to Tell Your Story and Stories of Overcoming from the Members of One Special Church (Sept., paper $15.95) by Sheilah Vance offers a transformative and bonding experience for individuals or churches.
Rejected for a Purpose: How God Uses Rejection to Help You Find and Fulfill Your Destiny (Sept., paper $15.95) by O.J. Toks reveals how rejection is a catalyst to help fulfill one’s purpose.
Cousin Myrtle (Oct., paper $15.95) by P.J. McCalla follows lifelong schemer and freeloader Myrtle.
ESPN BOOKS
Say It Loud (Nov., $35) by Roxanne Jones and Jessie Paolucci photographically chronicles the African American sports pioneers who put their careers in jeopardy for social and legal change, as well as the stars of today who carry on their memory.
GOTHAM
His Father’s Son: Earl and Tiger Woods (Oct., $27) by Tom Callahan seeks to know the son by studying the father.
Diet Drama: Feed Your Body! Move Your Body! Love Your Body! (Jan., $22.50) by Nancy Redd arms young women with the tools, knowledge, and support they need to succeed on their journey to healthy living.
Super Rich: A Guide to Having It All (Jan., $22.50) by Russell Simmons with Chris Morrow teaches how to drown out the noise and focus to find life’s purpose.
I Beat the Odds: From Homelessness to The Blind Side and Beyond (Feb., $26) by Michael Oher reflects on how far he has come from the circumstances in his youth.
GRAND CENTRAL PUBLISHING
Boogey Down (Oct., paper $7.99) by Daniel Serrano unravels an urban mystery featuring Detective Cassandra Maldonado.
Love, Honor and Betray (Jan., $24.99) by Kimberla Lawson Roby delivers the eighth installment of The Reverend Curtis Black series.
GRAYWOLF PRESS
Skin, Inc.: Identity Repair Poems (Sept., $23) by Thomas Sayers Ellis worries and self-defends, eulogizes and casts a vote, raises a fist and, often, an intimidating song.
HARVARD UNIV. PRESS
The Colors of Zion: Blacks, Jews, and Irish from 1845 to 1945 (Feb., $27.95) by George Bornstein argues that the cooperative efforts and sympathies among these three persecuted groups was much greater than often acknowledged today.
LAWRENCE HILL BOOKS
Eye of the Hurricane: My Path from Darkness to Freedom (Jan., $26.95) by Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, foreword by Nelson Mandela shares an intimate story of one of the most significant players in America’s longstanding quest for justice.
Working While Black: The Black Person’s Guide to Success in the White Workplace, Second Edition (Jan., paper $14.95) by Michelle T. Johnson update practical suggestions for negotiating the minefield of the white work world.
The Almighty Black P. Stone Nation: The Rise, Fall, and Resurgence of an American Gang (Feb., $26.95) by Natalie Moore and Lance Williams investigates the evolution of a motley group of poverty-stricken teens transformed into a dominant gang accused of terrorist intentions.
HYPERION
Is It Just Me? Or is it nuts out there? (Oct., $22.99) by Whoopi Goldberg takes a funny and honest look at how a loss of civility is messing with the quality of life for all of us.
INTERLINK
Swallow (Sept., paper $15) by Sefi Atta follows two young women in Lagos, Nigeria, who are trying to survive in a poor country with a corrupt government that does not treat its women well.
Understanding Racial Equality in the Obama Era: A Primer (Feb., paper $10) by Dedrick Dunbar Muhammad provides a clear, concise discussion of the current state of race in America.
LITTLE, BROWN
Harlem is Nowhere: A Journey to the Mecca of Black America (Jan., $24.99) takes a close, soulful look at the storied black community, from past to present.
MINOTAUR
Last Confession (Nov., $24.99) by Solomon Jones pits cop against killer in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse in the streets of Philadelphia.
NAL
When I Get Where I’m Going (Sept., $14) by Cheryl Robinson. Inspirational novel follows three sisters who not only reconnect with each other, but with themselves.
The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop (Dec., $24.95) by Dan Charnas gathers 300 stories from the industry’s biggest players to showcase the pitfalls, victories, and corporate clashes that made hip-hop what it is today.
NEWMARKET PRESS
The Words of African-American Heroes (Feb., $18.95; paper $12.95), selected and introduced by Clara Villarosa memorializes the wisdom and strength of notable African-Americans through more than 200 quotations.
ONE WORLD
Stay in Your Lane: Judge Karen's Guide to Living Your Best Life (Sept., $23) by Judge Karen Mills-Francis dispenses funny, raw, and real advice from the star of the syndicated show Judge Karen's Court.
Smooth Operator: A Novel (Sept., paper $14) by Risque. When Arri falls in love, will her new beau put an end to her side hustle of running an erotic website?
Natural Born Hustler: A Novel (Oct., paper $13) by Nikki Turner. When one of Desember’s schemes jeopardizes her life, her mother finally reveals the identity of Desember's father.
Ice: A Memoir of Gangster Life and Redemption-from South Central to Hollywood (Feb., $25) by Ice T and Douglas Century looks back at an orphaned child who ultimately turns away from the streets, and forges a path to international fame as a musician and film and television star.
The Strawberry Letter: Real Talk, Real Advice, Because Bitterness Isn't Sexy (Mar., $22) by Shirley Strawberry offers advice based on The Steve Harvey Morning Show segment, by the show’s cohost.
OPEN ROAD MEDIA
Home in the Morning (Nov., e-book $24.99) by Mary Glickman follows a Jewish family in Mississippi who tries to survive the tumultuous ‘60s and the secrets that will both bind them together and keep them apart.
OXFORD UNIV. PRESS
Democracy Remixed: Black Youth and the Future of American Politics (Sept., $27.95) by Cathy J. Cohen offers an in-depth analysis of the state of black youth in America today.
Making Slavery History: Abolitionism and the Politics of Memory in Massachusetts (Sept., $49.95) by Margot Minardi studies American abolitionism and commemoration of the Revolution in Massachusetts.
Mrs. Dred Scott: A Life on Slavery’s Frontier (Sept., paper $24.95) by Lea VanderVelde freshly illuminates some of the major issues confronting antebellum America, including the status of women, slaves, free blacks, and Native Americans.
Cry Liberty: The Great Stono River Slave Rebellion of 1739 (Nov., $19.95) by Charles Hoffer recalls the only large-scale slave rebellion that occurred in the British North American Colonies.
Women’s Work: An Anthology of African-American Women’s Historical Writings from Antebellum America to the Harlem Renaissance (Nov., paper $19.95) edited by Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp and Kathryn Lofton surveys the creative ways in which African-American women harnessed the power of print to share their historical revisions with a broader public.
Advancing the Ball: Race, Reformation, and the Quest for Equal Coaching Opportunity in the NFL (Dec., $24.95) by N. Jeremi Duru chronicles the campaign of former Cleveland Browns offensive lineman John Wooten to undo decades of discriminatory coach hiring practices.
The Life You Want: Get Motivated, Lose Weight, and Be Happy (Dec., $25) by Bob Greene and Ann Kearney-Cooke provides the support, practical advice and inspiration needed to get fit and stay that way–for life.
Courage to Dissent: Atlanta and the Long History of the Civil Rights Movement (Jan., $34.95) by Tomiko Brown-Nagin offers a sweeping history of the Civil Rights movement in Atlanta from the end of World War II to 1980.
Democracy’s Reconstruction: Thinking Politically with W.E.B. Du Bois (Jan., $39.95) by Lawrie Balfour uses Du Bois’s key texts to illuminate contemporary debates about race and political theory.
Integration Interrupted: Tracking, Black Students, and Acting White after Brown (Jan., $24.95) by Karolyn Tyson throws light on the complex relationships underlying the academic performance of black students.
Death or Liberty: African Americans and Revolutionary America (Feb., paper $21.95) by Douglas R. Egerton chronicles African-American history from 1763 to 1800.
Freedom Riders Abridged: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice, 2nd Ed. (Feb., paper $15.95) by Raymond Arsenault recounts the group of black and white volunteers who put their lives on the line to travel through the deep South for racial justice.
The Oxford Handbook of African American Citizenship, 1865-Present (Feb., $150) edited by Henry Louis Gates, et. al considers what the U.S. would look like today if freed slaves had been granted full political, social, and economic rights at the end of the Civil War.
Punishing Race: A Continuing American Dilemma (Feb., $24.95) by Michael Tonry sets out a twenty-first century agenda for addressing the racial issues that plague our society.
OXMOOR HOUSE
Love Your Life! O’s Handbook for Your Best Today–and Tomorrow (Oct., $29.95) from the editors of O, the Oprah Magazine offers an inspiring dose of everything needed to take leaps, forge ahead, and push to be the very best.
PLEXUS PUBLISHING
The Northside: African Americans and the Creation of Atlantic City (Nov., $24.95) by Nelson Johnson draws on personal interviews and archival research to reveal long-forgotten details about the people on whose backs the gambling mecca was built.
PRINCETON UNIV. PRESS
Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work (Oct., $19.95) by Edwidge Danticat argues that immigrant artists are obliged to bear witness when their countries of origin are suffering.
Reading Obama: Dreams, Hope, and the American Political Tradition (Nov., $24.95) by James T. Kloppenberg reveals the books, visionaries, social movements and personal struggles that have shaped Obama’s thinking.
The Indignant Generation: A Narrative History of African American Writers and Critics, 1934-1960 (Dec., $35) by Lawrence P. Jackson restores the “indignant” quality to a generation of African-American writers shaped by Jim Crown segregation, the Great Depression, the growth of American Communism, and an international wave of decolonization.
RANDOM HOUSE
The Warmth of Other Suns (Sept., $30) by Isabel Wilkerson chronicles the decades-long migration of African-Americans, from World War I through the 1970s--through the stories of three individuals and their families.
Open City (Feb., $25) by Teju Cole. A young Nigerian doctor in New York meets a young woman who holds a secret about him that will shatter everything he has come to understand about himself and his world.
RIVERHEAD
Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self (Sept., $25.95) by Danielle Evans looks at young African-American and mixed-race teens, women, and men struggling to find a place in their families and communities.
How to Read the Air (Oct., $25.95) by Dinaw Mengestu traces a man’s family history from the war-torn Ethiopia of his parents' youth to his life in the America of today.
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD
Loyalty in Time of Trial: African American Experience in World War I (Feb., $36.95) by Nina Mjagkij conveys the full range of the African American experience during “the Great War.”
SEAL PRESS
Strange Trade: The Story of Two Women Who Risked Everything in the International Drug Trade (Sept., $16.95) by Asale Angel-Ajani explores the global context within which African women are entering the drug trade in ever-increasing numbers.
SMILEY BOOKS
Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud (Oct., paper $15.95) by Cornel West takes an intimate, personal look at his rich public and private life.
Peace from Broken Pieces: How to Get Through What You’re Going Through (Nov., $24.95) by Iyanla Vanzant offers an intimate look at what happened when everything was falling apart in her own life and how she was able to get through it.
SPIEGEL & GRAU
Decoded (Nov., $35) by Jay-Z blends lyrics and their meanings with autobiographical narratives and original art inspired by the rapper’s life and work.
Pym: A Novel (Mar., $24) by Mat Johnson. An intellectual adventure about race, American literature, romantic love, Edgar Allan Poe, and snow beasts.
ST. MARTIN’S GRIFFIN
Welfare Wifeys (Sept., paper $14.99) by K’wan. The next installment in the Hood Rat saga.
Winter Break (Jan., paper $14.99) by Kayla Perrin explores a cruise vacation gone wrong, revealing ugly secrets, grudges between men, and a man overboard.
Living in the Village (Jan., paper $14.99) by Ryan C. Mack offers advice on becoming fiscally responsible, including tangible plans and personal advice for economic empowerment.
Aftermath (Feb., paper $14.99) by Tracy Brown. Four friends band together against the backdrop of a high-profile murder case, and confront the demons of their past.
He Was My Man First (Mar., paper $14.99) by Nancy Flowers and Courtney Parker. Two women will stop at nothing to make Rich their man permanently.
ST. MARTIN’S PRESS
Left for Undead (Sept., paper $7.99) by L.A. Banks. Sasha’s team faces ancient creatures from the depths of hell itself, bent on unleashing pure fury.
Some Sing, Some Cry (Sept., $26.99) by Ntozake Shange and Ifa Bayeza. An epic story of the Mayfield family from slavery through the watershed events of America’s troubled, vibrant history, to the modern day.
Somebody Pick Up My Pieces (Feb., $24.99) by JD Mason. The fourth and final novel featuring the popular characters from One Day I Saw A Black King.
TARCHER/PENGUIN
Becoming A Woman of Destiny: Turning Life’s Trials into Triumphs! (Sept., $22.95) shares the wisdom of Deborah as the ancient equivalent of the modern-day multitasking woman.
TOUCHSTONE
Real Wifeys: On the Grind (Jan, paper $14.99) by Meesha Mink looks at the scandalous life of a “wifey” who uses her sex appeal and street smarts to strike it big.
My Infamous Life: The Autobiography of Mobb Deep’s Prodigy (Mar., $24.99) by Albert “Prodigy” Johnson provides an inside account of his wild life with Mobb Deep plus scoop about the dark side of the entertainment business.
TURNER PUBLISHING
44 Things Parents Should Know About Healthy Cooking for Kids (Oct., paper $9.99) by Chef Rahman “Rock” Harper. The season 3 winner of Hell’s Kitchen and the National Celebrity Chef for the March of Dimes provides a plan to teach children to make conscious food decisions that will last them a lifetime.
UNIV. OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
Instant Recess: Building a Fit Nation 10 Minutes at a Time (Nov., paper $22.95) by Toni Yancey presents a practical approach to get America moving and back in shape.
VIKING
Getting To Happy (Sept., $27.95) by Terry McMillan revisits the four girlfriends from Waiting to Exhale.
Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention (Mar., $30) by Manning Marable gathers new information and shocking revelations to unfold a sweeping story of race and class in America.
YALE UNIV. PRESS
Atlas of the Transatlantic Slave Trade (Nov., $50) by David Eltis and David Richardson illustrates the scope of the entire transatlantic slave trade from 1501 to 1867.
