My American Life: From Rage to Entitlement

By Price Cobbs

Book Overview

An important, electrifying memoir of race and rage, rebellion, and redemption, from one of the most preeminent minds in American psychiatry. Medical professional, corporate consultant, freedom... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743496191
• ISBN13: 9780743496193
• Release Date: September 2005
• Publisher: Atria Books
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.0" x 6.1"

Customer Reviews

Superb book by a great man

Dr. Price Cobbs has made important contributions to American society in a number of ways: as a physician to his patients, as the articulator of major sociological insights in Black Rage, Cracking the Corporate Code: The Revealing Success Stories of 32 African-American Executives, as consultant / teacher / coach for leaders and managers in major corporate organizations, and as a model of integrity, achievement, energy and fun for family and friends fortunate enough to know him. In this book he shares his personal journey in an engaging and readable fashion, chronicling his life and the forces that helped shape him over the last 80 years in America. Readers of all races can find this to be a book of great interest, and perhaps they will go on to discover further Dr. Cobbs' insights into how we grew up, how that affected our self image and our views of others, and how we can move beyond our individual and societal programming to become healthier, better, more effective human beings.

Parallel Lives

For those of us who know and are friends/colleagues of Price Cobbs, and speaking for myself as a writer, being objective will not be easy...like Mom saying how terrific her son is. But I'll try objectivity. This book really ought to be entitled, "READ THIS BOOK !!" - bold, underscored and 2 exclamation points. As a long-time friend of Price and his family, there were no differences - well, perhaps a few, but to the point that differences are and should be treasured. So here I am in 2006 discovering a whole other Price Cobbs I thought I knew. And for the reader who has no personal knowledge of the author, it will be an adventure, an eye opener. In a word - riveting. His writing has evolved from the "Black Rage" days - it's crystal clear, concise and slam dunk. He writes eloquently yet simply and straight forward. His life is our lives if you think about it. So. READ THIS BOOK. Whether you are a young white liberal or old white ultra-conservative, an upwardly mobile black, Hispanic, Asian or whomever, or a stay-at-home parent - you will relate - and most likely be deeply touched by passages that ring true, that perhaps are on a par with your own experiences in this life. There is, or should be, great kinship in the human experience, and if more of us would adopt that mantra, the world as it is today would turn into a more peaceful place. Once, back in the 1960s when I headed public relations and media for Esalen Institute, Price asked me how I had managed to be this open, tolerant, understanding and relatively non-prejudiced person. I answered, "well, number one, I've always admired and been fascinated by other cultures since at least first grade; but number two, I do have prejudices. I hate cauliflower and bigots." But even coming out of the civil rights years, the Esalen racial confrontation experiences, this new book brings a whole new perspective about others'(and Price's in particular) pain and rage in dealing with the hurtful actions of others toward their fellow man. Like many readers, I would think, I get tired of all the "me me me" books out there today - growth, get rich, and other do-it books, and so I tend to read less and less. However, "My American Life" was one I could not put down. It has all the makings of a literary prize winner, and many of my friends and I feel strongly that it has the makings of a darned good feature length movie. So, strongly recommended; great reading.

A Book to Be Read by All

As a black and white couple married for over 45 years, we are fortunate to experience the very excellently articulated story, "My American Life," by Dr. Cobbs. He has provided us with a better understanding of our rage and the importance of entitlement in our lives. It is truly a book to be read by all Americans. Byron and Ann Barker

Bravo Dr. Cobbs!

As a white American, I found this book to be invaluable in educating me about the African-American experience in this country during the 20th century. I was completely unaware of the dynamics that shaped current racial issues in our country, and I found that the way Price Cobbs described his early childhood experiences and beliefs, as well as those of his parents, to be incredibly insightful. His training as a psychiatrist has certainly enabled him to describe the subtleties and nuances that I have often found lacking in other autobiographies. I also found that his self-disclosure was extremely helpful in bringing this to life. I wish that more Americans of every racial and ethnic background would read this as it provides such meaningful insight into our increasingly multi-ethnic society. Well done, Dr. Cobbs!