The Best of Emerge Magazine

by George Curry

Book Overview

The 1990s. African Americans achieved more influence and faced more explosive issues than ever before. One word captured those times. One magazine expressed them. "Emerge." In those ten years, with an... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345462289
• ISBN13: 9780345462282
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 665 Pages
• Weight: 1.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Best of Emerge Magazine

I recommend this book. People who fondly remember Emerge magazine need to purchase this anthology. We lack incisive reporting from real journalists. I'm tired of the fawning over celebrities with dubious talent, overemphasis on material possessions, and the dumbing down of our magazines like Ebony, Jet, and our daily newspapers. The Best of Emerge anthology brings home the high standrds of in depth investigative reporting.

Best of Emerge Magazine

This is a great book. As a long term subscriber to Emerge magazine I was extremely disappointed and angered when the magazine was shut down. This book has so many of the excellent articles that remember reading and I will be able to have this book as proof of what a quality magazine can be. I hope my grands and great grands will be able to access it for future reference.

Memorable Stories From " The Best Of Emerge"

I Was Really Caught Up Reading This Book,Because Before This Publication Folded A Few Years Ago, I Was A Subscriber For Many Years. Personally I Feel That This magazine Was One Of A Kind. There Were Many Stories That I Enjoyed Ready, Such As One That I Recall The Story About A College Student From Hampton University, Kimba Smith, That Was Involved With A Drug Dealer. She Ended Up Spending Time In A Federal Prison, But Was later Pardon By Bill Clinton. Thanks For "The Best Of Emerge" It May Be Gone, But Its NOT forgotten.

A Bygone Journalism Era Brought Back to Life

Journalist/Editor George E. Curry has resurrected the magnificent, hard-hitting, journalistic stories that made the now defunct Emerge Magazine the premier feature news publication in the 1990s. In this 660 + page volume, we are graced with The Best of Emerge Magazine edited by Curry. It is a work of brilliance to combine these stories in one work to be read at the readers' convenience and pleasure. It is also a vital, historical document worthy of being filed with the Schomburg Institute. The exposes are prolific, provocative and well-written. Who can forget "Kemba's Nightmare," the young college student who got caught in a drug dealer's web? She was sentenced to thirty years in jail, where she gave birth to her son and tore at the heartstrings of countless African Americans, especially middle-class parents, who were reminded "There but for the grace of God, that could be my child." Reported in three parts over several years, Kemba was pardoned by President Clinton just before he left the White House in 2000. Ralph Wiley's insightful essay in 1989 about black athletic superiority is now a classic as is Lee A. Daniels' stunning article, "Targeting Black Boys for Failure." Jill Nelson's story "Amazing Grace" examines the plight of Deborah Lyons, wife of the dishonored president of the National Baptist Convention. Nelson expounds on the subservient role Sister Lyons and other women take in the wake of male religious leaders who continually humiliate and shame their loved ones. "Driving While Black" and "Thinking While Black" are among other stimulating articles, as well as "Rape of a Spelman Coed" which made us look hard at the issue of acquaintance/date rape in the black community and our attitudes about it. Profiles of Dick Gregory, Johnnie Cochran, Farrakhan, Betty Shabazz, Elizabeth Catlett and Tom Joyner captured the essence of who's who in diverse black America. And did we not look forward to "Friend Fire", the witty column written by Lauren Adams Deleon, which looked at the stupid, crazy, bizarre, but true antics of our folk? There are a great many more great stories, but what remains with me to this day is the MasterCard moment of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, posed as a lawn jockey on the cover of one of the most controversial issues of the publication, and the accompanying article written by Curry himself. Priceless indeed.This reviewer is of the mind that such controversial issues as the Thomas piece, among others, led to the Emerge's demise, which is contentious in itself. It seems everybody does not agree with putting our dirty laundry out for all the world to view. Loquacious, innovative and groundbreaking, this is the meat of journalistic reporting. I was disappointed when the magazine ceased publication and have not found another quite to my satisfaction to replace it. I say there should be a campaign to bring back Emerge Magazine and I would gladly volunteer as the chairperson. Bring back Emerge!Dera WilliamsAPOOO Book