Description: The long anticipated autobiography of the late Stokely Carmichael chronicles the legendary civil rights leader's work as the charismatic patriarch of Black Power, Pan-African activist, and social revolutionary--a major milestone in African-American writing.
Brief description: Stokely Carmichael, was among the most fiery and visible leaders of Black militancy in the United States in the 1960s, first as head of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and then as prime minister of the Black Panther Party, where he coined the phrase "Black Power." In 1969 he cut his ties with American groups over the issue of allying with White radicals and moved to Guinea. He declared himself a pan-Africanist. In 1978 he changed his name to Kwame Ture, to honor African socialist leaders Kwame Nkrumah and Ahmed Sekoe Toure. He lived in Guinea for 33 years, until his diagnosis with prostate cancer. He died on November 15, 1998.
Review Quotes: "Du Bois had prophesied the domination of the twentieth century by issues of race in the struggle for freedom and equality. Kwame Ture exemplified that prophesy in his revolutionary life of activism. Ekwueme Michale Thelwell has brought together diverse elements of Ture's life, ideas, and times into a compelling and necessary story told with masterly skill, respect, and fideltiy." -Chinua Achebe, author of Things Fall Apart "I knew Stokely as a brilliant, charismatic, and courageous figure in the Southern movement against racism. He was a thinker of extraordinary vision and a fighter of unequalled courage. We should welcome his autobiography as told to his friend Mike Thelwell." -Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States "Stokely Carmichael is the most courageous and consistent black revolutionary of his generation. Long live his spirit!" -Cornel West, professor, Princeton University "Ready for Revolution captures Carmichael's electrifying moments in the national spotlight and his emblematic journey." -The New York Times Book Review "Maybe the single best autobiography to come out of the Movement struggles....Carmichael turns out to be a wonderful storyteller with a marvelous ear for dialogue." -Bookforum "Carmichael's magnetism seeps through. The courage, warmth, and compassion of the man, the sharp intellect and devilish sense of humor. All are there." - The Washington Post "Be prepared to revise your understanding of civil rights....Ready for Revolution [allows] Carmichael to tell his story and finally take his rightful place in history." -Chicago Sun-Times "Reading Michael Thelwell's scrupulous, engaged, respectful rendering of Stokely Carmichael's life will remind protesters and marchers and street fighters, guerillas in the hills, voters at the ballot box, reformers in tenements or legislatures, revolutionaries young and old, they are not alone, never have been, never will be." -John Edgar Wideman, prize-winning author of Brothers and Keepers and Philadelphia Fire "Reading the book, in fact, is like sitting down with the last of the 'grand old men' of the movement and having him give you the back-story as to what was going on. It adds to the historical record the memoirs of a legendary but later reclusive historical actor. It is passionate about politics and struggle, poignant in regard to Carmichael's love, respect and admiration for ordinary black folk, and he is dead-up hilarious in describing the twists and turns on the road to revolution." -The Nation "Carmichael's autobiography is an extraordinary work, maybe the single best autobiography to come out of the Movement struggles. It is a remarkable page-turner. . .eveidence of the often-overlooked intellectual firepower and generosity of spirit that won Carmichael legions of life-long friends and supporters...[Carmichael] turns out to be a wonderful storyteller with a marvelous ear for dialogue." -Bookforum