Ready for Revolution: The Life and Struggles of Stokey Carmichael (Kwame Ture)

About the Book

From the prison farms and lynch mobs of Mississippi to the political intrigue of the African liberation wars, Stokely Carmichael's remarkable life story covers the full range of the black liberation struggle in our time. Carmichael recounts his development from immigrant kid to impassioned activist in his own unmistakeable voice - clear, informed and good humoured. He also reveals his encounters with other freedom fighters. This is a fascinating personal testimony of a supremely committed black freedom fighter and a radical and engaging human being.

About the Author :
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.

Michael Thelwell has been a professor of Afro-American studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, since 1969. Before that he was a civil rights worker. He writes on topics such as politics and civil rights.

John Edgar Wideman's books include American Histories, Writing to Save a Life, Philadelphia Fire, Brothers and Keepers, Fatheralong, Hoop Dreams, and Sent for You Yesterday. He is a MacArthur Fellow, has won the PEN/Faulkner Award twice, and has twice been a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and National Book Award. He divides his time between New York and France.

Review :
"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