When Dr. Maya Soetoro-Ng was growing up on the island of Java, her mother pinned a postcard over her bed of a Georgia O'Keefe painting entitled "Ladder to the Moon." The surreal tableau, which featured a ladder suspended in the desert air and stretching towards a lonely half-moon hanging high in the sky, served to whet the imagination of the bright youngster with an insatiable curiosity.

Given Tavis Smiley's lofty status as the host of a hit, nationally-syndicated, TV talk show, one might not suspect that he'd suffered any setbacks over the course of his meteoric rise. But contrary to appearances, the accomplished broadcaster/entrepreneur/publisher/philanthropist/author has definitely taken his share of missteps on his way to the top.  

After being wrongly imprisoned, you might think Rubin "Hurricane" Carter would be a bitter man. You'd be wrong. Kam Williams reviews his inspiring autobiography, Eye of the Hurricane: My Path from Darkness to Freedom

You can't help but take notice when Dick Gregory gives a how-to book promoting health a ringing endorsement

Judge Lillian McEwen recently published her memoir, "D.C. Unmasked & Undressed," a steamy tell-all chronicling her sexually-adventurous private life, paying particular attention to her longtime relationship with a prominent colleague, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
In the process, McEwen belatedly resurrects the reputation of Anita Hill by offering proof that the disgraced law professor was telling the truth ...

Last year, love advice books were all the rage in publishing, at least in terms of the African-American demographic. But judging from the e arly offerings of 2011, it looks like the how-to focus has shifted from the bedroom to the kitchen. After all, it's only March, and the "Pass It Down Cookbook" already represents the fourth opus I've reviewed

When Clarence Thomas' wife, Ginni, placed a phone call to Anita Hill last fall asking for an apology for the tawdry testimony during the Supreme Court confirmation hearings which had almost torpedoed her husband's candidacy, little did she know the extent to which the ill-advised request would only open up a can of worms.

Michelle Obama has signed with the Crown Publishing Group for a book about the garden she started on the South Lawn of the White House and the benefits of healthy eating

Anybody who thinks that the medical establishment's secret exploitation of African-Americans in the name of science ended with the notorious Tuskegee Experiment of 1932 has another thing coming.

While there is much concern about childhood obesity in this country, there are also many children who suffer from the opposite condition – food intake disorders. In her new book "Give Food a Chance: A new view on childhood eating disorders" Portland-based doctor and Reed College graduate Dr. Julie O'Toole, MD, MPH, draws from over a decade of clinical experience treating eating disorders in children and young adults