New Releases by Charles Johnson

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Known for his blending of philosophy, spirituality, humor, and a rollicking good story, Charles Johnson is one of the most important novelists writing today. From his magical first novel, Faith and the Good Thing, to his decidedly philosophical Oxherding Tale; from his swashbuckling indictment of the slave trade in the National Book Award-winning Middle Passage, to his more recent imaginative treatment of Martin Luther King Jr. in Dreamer, Johnson has continually surprised, instructed, and entertained his many avid readers. As this collection of interviews suggests, the novelist is as multifaceted and complex as his novels. Trained in cartooning and philosophy, martial arts and meditation, and producing teleplays, photobiographies, and literary criticism in addition to fiction, Charles Johnson represents a model of what he calls “life as art.” Alluding to the "Three Gates" of Buddhist "Right Speech," the title of this volume aptly captures the generous spirit that characterizes Charles Johnson’s work. An indispensable resource for all of Johnson’s many readers, Passing the Three Gates represents both the transformation of the artist over time and the continuity and endurance of his aesthetic and spiritual vision. A V Ethel Willis White Book

On March 2, 2010, the Secretary of Defense appointed the two editors to co-chair a working group to undertake a comprehensive review of the impacts of repeal, should it occur, of Section 654 of Title 10 of the U.S. Code, commonly known as the "Don''t Ask, Don''t Tell" law. Their assignment was two-fold: (1) assess the impact of repeal of Don''t Ask, Don''t Tell on military readiness, military effectiveness, unit cohesion, recruiting, retention, and family readiness; and (2) recommend appropriate changes, if necessary, to existing regulations, policies, and guidance in the event of repeal. This document constitutes their report of that assessment and their recommendations. This is a print on demand edition of an important, hard-to-find report.

Drawn from the wisdom of ancient oral tradition, this book contains two main doctrines: teaching the attainment of wisdom, and warning against life''s pitfalls, from excessive drink to promiscuity. The text is introduced by Charles Johnson.

"Were it not for the Buddhadharma, says Charles Johnson in his preface to Turning the Wheel, "I''m convinced that, as a black American and an artist, I would not have been able to successfully negotiate my last half century of life in this country. Or at least not with a high level of creative productivity." In this collection of provocative and intimate essays, Johnson writes of the profound connection between Buddhism and creativity, and of the role of Eastern philosophy in the quest for a free and thoughtful life. In 1926, W. E. B. Du Bois asked African-Americans what they would most want were the color line miraculously forgotten. In Turning the Wheel, Johnson sets out to explore this question by examining his experiences both as a writer and as a practitioner of Buddhism. He looks at basic Buddhist principles and practices, demonstrating how Buddhism is both the most revolutionary and most civilized of possible human choices. He discusses fundamental Buddhist practices such as the Eightfold Path, Taming the Mind, and Sangha and illuminates their place in the American Civil Rights movement. Johnson moves from spiritual guides to spiritual nourishment: writing. In essays touching on the role of the black intellectual, Uncle Tom''s Cabin, and Ralph Ellison, Johnson uses tools of Buddhist thinking to clarify difficult ideas. Powerful and revelatory, these essays confirm that writing and reading, along with Buddhism, are the basic components that make up a thoughtful life.

From the National Book Award-winning author of Middle Passage, a fearless fictional portrait of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his pivotal moment in American history. Set against the tensions of Civil Rights era America, Dreamer is a remarkable fictional excursion into the last two years of Martin Luther King Jr.''s life, when the political and personal pressures on this country''s most preeminent moral leader were the greatest. While in Chicago for his first northern campaign against poverty and inequality, King encounters Chaym Smith, whose startling physical resemblance to King wins him the job of official stand-in. Matthew Bishop, a civil rights worker and loyal follower of King, is given the task of training the smart and deeply cynical Smith for the job. In doing so, Bishop must face the issue of what makes one man great while another man can only stand in for greatness. Provocative, heartfelt, and masterfully rendered, Charles Johnson confirms yet again that he is one of the great treasures of modern American literature. Dr. Charles Johnson is a novelist, screenwriter, essayist, professional cartoonist and the Pollock Professor of English at the University of Washington. He is the author of more than sixteen books, including the PEN/Faulkner nominated story collection The Sorcerer''s Apprentice and the novel Middle Passage, for which he won the National Book Award.

From National Book Award–winning author Charles Johnson comes a sly, witty, and insightful collection of short stories exploring issues of race and identity. In “Sweet Dreams,” a Kafkaesque tale is set in a world where dreams are taxed—a reality that leads to a man and his dreamlife being audited. In “Cultural Relativity,” a young woman falls in love with the son of the president of an African nation—but is forbidden to ever kiss him. A deeply humane story, “Dr. King''s Refrigerator” offers a remarkable glimpse into Martin Luther King Jr.''s life and his refrigerator. “Kwoon” is a graceful and illuminating story about a martial arts teacher on Chicago''s South Side. Compassionate and amusing, thought-provoking and richly imagined, Dr. King''s Refrigerator and Other Bedtime Stories is a wonderful and compelling collection from one of America''s most beloved authors.

It includes fine explanations of general packing rules and background on pack organization; records of endurance; the diseases that can strike pack animals and how to avoid them; cargo slinging; and much more.

Stirring and triumphant photographs taken by "LIFE" photographer Adelman evoke the heady days of the Civil Rights Movement when America faced its worst nightmare only a generation ago. Concluding on a note of celebration, the photographs reveal ever-increasing signs of racial reconciliation.

When a slaveowner and his African-American butler drunkenly decide to switch places in each other''s beds, the result is a hilarious imbroglio and an offspring, Andrew Hawkins, whose life becomes the "Oxherding Tale," a deliciously funny, bitterly ironic account of slavery, racism, oppression--and the African-American spirit--in the Old South.

"This book provides a sweeping account of what has come to be called the Golden age of piracy. It went through four editions in two years, and without doubt owed a substantial part of its success to a dramatic writing style that vividly captures the realities of pirates'' savage existence. The book contains documentary evidence of events during the lives of its subjects. In the 270 years since its original publication, Johnson''s work has come to be regarded as the classic study of one of the most popular subjects in maritime history."--Publisher description.

Faith Cross, a beautiful and purely innocent young black woman, is told by her dying mother to go and get herself "a good thing." Thus begins an extraordinary pilgrim''s progress that takes Faith from the magic and mysticism of the rural South to the promises and perils of modern-day Chicago. It is an odyssey that propels Faith from the degradation of prostitution, drugs, and drink into a faceless middle-class reality, and finally into a searing tragedy that ironically leads to the discovery of the real Good Thing. National Book Award-winner Charles Johnson''s first novel, originally published in 1974, puts the life-affirming soul of the African-American experience at the summit of American storytelling.

Short stories inspired by the history of slavery in America, by the National Book Award–winning author of Middle Passage. Nothing has had as profound an effect on American life as slavery. For blacks and whites alike, the experience has left us with a conflicted and contradictory history. Now, famed novelist Charles Johnson, whose Middle Passage won the National Book Award, presents a dozen tales of the effects and experience of slavery, each based on historical fact, and each about those Africans who arrived on our shores in shackles. From Martha Washington’s management of her slaves, bequeathed to her at the death of the first president, to a boy chained in the bowels of a ship plying the infamous passage from Africa to the South laden with human cargo, from a lynching in Indiana to a hunter of escaped slaves searching the Boston market for his quarry, from an early Quaker meeting exploring resettlement in Africa to the day after Emancipation—the voices, terrors, and savagery of slavery come vividly and unforgettably to life. “[These] highly detailed short historical fictions bring to life this most shameful period in our nation’s history.” —The New York Times Book Review

This work reaches across the colour line to examine how race, gender, class and individual subjectivity shaped the lives of black and white women in the 19th- and 20th-century American South.

Chronicles the lives of Africans as slaves in America through the eve of the Civil War.

Published in a private, limited edition in his lifetime, this dialogue offers Twain''s skeptical assessment of religious belief, free will, and the nature of humanity.

Little is known about the many achievements of African American guardsmen in U.S. history from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries. This detailed account thus fills an important gap in our knowledge about the establishment of African American militias in 1877 and their service in wartime and peacetime until the integration of the National Guard in 1950. This careful study of extensive primary and secondary sources is intended for military historians and for all who want to know more about African American contributions to the defense of our nation. Following a short introduction providing some historical background, the study launches into a description of the establishment of African American militia organizations in and about 1877 and their involvement in the Spanish American War and in quelling civil disturbances and disasters up to 1914. The history deals next with the service of African American guardsmen units in World War I, their work in the years between the wars, and their involvement in World War II. The story ends with a description of the initial reorganization of these units and their integration into the National Guard in 1949 and 1950. A lengthy bibliography of primary and secondary sources is useful as well in pointing to the role of African American militias and guardsmen in the history of this important period.