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Target Zero: A Life in Writing by Eldridge Cleaver
Eldridge Cleaver was a complex man who inspired profound adulation, rage, and fear. Target Zero, which includes previously unpublished essays, short stories, letters, interviews, and poems, is the most significant collection of Cleavers work since his bestselling Soul on Ice. Ishmael Reed, the prize-winning author of Flight to Canada, This excellent anthology is bound to add to our knowledge of one of the most fascinating personalities in American history. This edition will include a reading group guide featuring discussion points and a QA with the editor, Kathleen Cleaver.Foreword by Henry Louis Gates Jr.
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First published January 1, 2006
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About the author
Eldridge Cleaver
40 books147 followersLeroy Eldridge Cleaver, better known as Eldridge Cleaver, was a writer and political activist who became an early leader of the Black Panther Party.
In 1958 he was put in jail for rape. There he was given a copy of The Communist Manifesto. When he got released he joined the Black Panther Party. He then joined the Oakland-based Black Panther Party, serving as Minister of Information, or spokesperson.
His book Soul On Ice is a collection of essays. In the most controversial part of the book, Cleaver acknowledges committing acts of rape, stating that he initially raped black women in the ghetto "for practice" and then embarked on the serial rape of white women. He described these crimes as politically inspired.
Later in life he converted to Mormonism.
In 1958 he was put in jail for rape. There he was given a copy of The Communist Manifesto. When he got released he joined the Black Panther Party. He then joined the Oakland-based Black Panther Party, serving as Minister of Information, or spokesperson.
His book Soul On Ice is a collection of essays. In the most controversial part of the book, Cleaver acknowledges committing acts of rape, stating that he initially raped black women in the ghetto "for practice" and then embarked on the serial rape of white women. He described these crimes as politically inspired.
Later in life he converted to Mormonism.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 11, 2009
Edited by Kathleen Cleaver, this book is a selective compilation of Eldridge Cleaver's writing. It opens with his prison classics, and large excerpts from Soul on Ice. Also included are several examples of personal correspondence, and his excellent interview with Playboy Magazine. It closes with an address he gave after his conversion to born-again Christianity, followed by a tribute from his "running buddy," Cecil Brown.
Kathleen Neal Cleaver edited the volume, and her introduction, together with Henry Louis Gates Jr's Foreword, are excellent additions.
Think of it as one of those posthumous "Greatest Hits" retrospective albums that includes all the #1 hits and classic B-sides, along with the less-exciting later works that are give valuable perspective to the artist's growth and development.
Kathleen Neal Cleaver edited the volume, and her introduction, together with Henry Louis Gates Jr's Foreword, are excellent additions.
Think of it as one of those posthumous "Greatest Hits" retrospective albums that includes all the #1 hits and classic B-sides, along with the less-exciting later works that are give valuable perspective to the artist's growth and development.
Displaying 1 of 1 review