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The Glory Field
An exciting, eye-catching repackage of acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers' bestselling paperbacks, to coincide with the publication of SUNRISE OVER FALLUJA in hardcover. "Those shackles didn't rob us of being black, son, they robbed us of being human."This is the story of one family. A family whose history saw its first ancestor captured, shackled, and brought to this country from Africa. A family who can still see remnants of the shackles that held some of its members captive -- even today. It is a story of pride, determination, struggle, and love. And of the piece of the land that holds them together throughout it all.
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
166 people are currently reading
1187 people want to read
About the author
Walter Dean Myers
224 books1,186 followerspseudonyms:
Stacie Williams
Stacie Johnson
Walter Dean Myers was born on August 12, 1937 in Martinsburg, West Virginia but moved to Harlem with his foster parents at age three. He was brought up and went to public school there. He attended Stuyvesant High School until the age of seventeen when he joined the army.
After serving four years in the army, he worked at various jobs and earned a BA from Empire State College. He wrote full time after 1977.
Walter wrote from childhood, first finding success in 1969 when he won the Council on Interracial Books for Children contest, which resulted in the publication of his first book for children, Where Does the Day Go?, by Parent's Magazine Press. He published over seventy books for children and young adults. He received many awards for his work in this field including the Coretta Scott King Award, five times. Two of his books were awarded Newbery Honors. He was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award and the Virginia Hamilton Award. For one of his books, Monster, he received the first Michael Printz Award for Young Adult literature awarded by the American Library Association. Monster and Autobiography of My Dead Brother were selected as National Book Award Finalists.
In addition to the publication of his books, Walter contributed to educational and literary publications. He visited schools to speak to children, teachers, librarians, and parents. For three years he led a writing workshop for children in a school in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Walter Dean Myers was married, had three grown children and lived in Jersey City, New Jersey. He died on July 1, 2014, following a brief illness. He was 76 years old.
Stacie Williams
Stacie Johnson
Walter Dean Myers was born on August 12, 1937 in Martinsburg, West Virginia but moved to Harlem with his foster parents at age three. He was brought up and went to public school there. He attended Stuyvesant High School until the age of seventeen when he joined the army.
After serving four years in the army, he worked at various jobs and earned a BA from Empire State College. He wrote full time after 1977.
Walter wrote from childhood, first finding success in 1969 when he won the Council on Interracial Books for Children contest, which resulted in the publication of his first book for children, Where Does the Day Go?, by Parent's Magazine Press. He published over seventy books for children and young adults. He received many awards for his work in this field including the Coretta Scott King Award, five times. Two of his books were awarded Newbery Honors. He was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award and the Virginia Hamilton Award. For one of his books, Monster, he received the first Michael Printz Award for Young Adult literature awarded by the American Library Association. Monster and Autobiography of My Dead Brother were selected as National Book Award Finalists.
In addition to the publication of his books, Walter contributed to educational and literary publications. He visited schools to speak to children, teachers, librarians, and parents. For three years he led a writing workshop for children in a school in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Walter Dean Myers was married, had three grown children and lived in Jersey City, New Jersey. He died on July 1, 2014, following a brief illness. He was 76 years old.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 215 reviews
March 2, 2015
In a brief 375 pages, Walter Dean Myers, in his novel "The Glory Field", covers roughly 250 years in the history of a black family, spanning multiple generations. Starting with the abduction of an 11-year-old boy named Muhammad Bilal off the coast of West Africa in 1753, the novel follows key events in the lives of the progeny of Muhammad, from slavery to the Civil War to Reconstruction to the Civil Rights Movement to present day (or 1994, which is when the book was published).
A symbolic family totem that manifests itself throughout the book, Muhammad's iron shackles that the slave traders used to restrain the slaves on board the slave ships is used to represent the struggles that the family faced in the past, the metaphoric shackles that continue to keep them down in the present, and the sense of freedom and liberation that is constantly within grasp in the future.
Also at the heart of the book is the titular Glory Field, the piece of land located on Curry Island, South Carolina that has been the home for the Lewis family. Even when most of the family members have gone off to find their own paths throughout the country, Glory Field is where the family members return to find fellowship, safety, and a sense of strength to help them continue on in the struggles of the rest of the world.
Myers, a prolific author who has written over 50 best-selling books, most of them targeted to the young adult markets, has written a beautiful and powerful epic about the history of black people in the United States. Myers clearly understands that learning history comes not from dry textbooks of dates and names and important events but from being able to relate to the everyday people who have been impacted by history as it unfolds.
This is why "The Glory Field" is such a powerful book. Myers is a master of the writing adage, "Show, don't tell".
Rather than being told that life as a slave on a Southern plantation---regardless of how kind the plantation owners were---was completely dehumanizing, we are shown, through the eyes of runaways Joshua, Lem, and Lizzy Lewis in 1864, how cruel and inhumane the system was. We see it through the whippings and the torturous working in the fields in stiflingly hot weather. We see it in the renewed hope of the young men as they quickly join up with a Union regiment, while Lizzy goes to work as a regiment nurse.
Rather than being told how racist and unfair Southern whites acted toward blacks---even as they truly believed they were good Christian people---we see, through the eyes of Elijah Lewis in 1900, how hypocritical whites were, after he saves the life of a young white boy during a hurricane. Rather than showing gratitude, members of the local Klu Klux Klan attempt to lynch him, because he accepted reward money that some whites in town felt he should not have received. He escapes, and moves to Chicago, embodying the Great Migration.
Rather than being told how much the system--and the world---was dominated by white culture, we see, through the eyes of Luvenia Lewis in 1930, how unfairly slanted opportunities for education and jobs were toward whites and against blacks as she loses a much-needed job based not on her performance but because of a nasty joke played on her by a fellow white employee. We see the extra work and effort she must put forth just to attain a "normal" livelihood that white people are simply born into and take for granted.
Rather than being told how awful segregation was, we see, through the eyes of Tommy Lewis, how a system that allows "coloreds-only" hospitals, bus seating, and diners can be so unjust that it goes against every ideal of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" upon which this country was supposedly founded.
Rather than being told the legacy of racial self-loathing and the effects of over 200 years of oppression, we see, through the eyes of Malcolm Lewis, how his cousin, Shep, is wasting his potential through the slow suicide of crack addiction.
"The Glory Field" is that rare find: a novel that brings history to life and gives us an honest, eye-opening look at what life was like for the people in different eras. Undoubtedly, this would make excellent supplementary reading for students of middle school or high school age who are studying American history.
A symbolic family totem that manifests itself throughout the book, Muhammad's iron shackles that the slave traders used to restrain the slaves on board the slave ships is used to represent the struggles that the family faced in the past, the metaphoric shackles that continue to keep them down in the present, and the sense of freedom and liberation that is constantly within grasp in the future.
Also at the heart of the book is the titular Glory Field, the piece of land located on Curry Island, South Carolina that has been the home for the Lewis family. Even when most of the family members have gone off to find their own paths throughout the country, Glory Field is where the family members return to find fellowship, safety, and a sense of strength to help them continue on in the struggles of the rest of the world.
Myers, a prolific author who has written over 50 best-selling books, most of them targeted to the young adult markets, has written a beautiful and powerful epic about the history of black people in the United States. Myers clearly understands that learning history comes not from dry textbooks of dates and names and important events but from being able to relate to the everyday people who have been impacted by history as it unfolds.
This is why "The Glory Field" is such a powerful book. Myers is a master of the writing adage, "Show, don't tell".
Rather than being told that life as a slave on a Southern plantation---regardless of how kind the plantation owners were---was completely dehumanizing, we are shown, through the eyes of runaways Joshua, Lem, and Lizzy Lewis in 1864, how cruel and inhumane the system was. We see it through the whippings and the torturous working in the fields in stiflingly hot weather. We see it in the renewed hope of the young men as they quickly join up with a Union regiment, while Lizzy goes to work as a regiment nurse.
Rather than being told how racist and unfair Southern whites acted toward blacks---even as they truly believed they were good Christian people---we see, through the eyes of Elijah Lewis in 1900, how hypocritical whites were, after he saves the life of a young white boy during a hurricane. Rather than showing gratitude, members of the local Klu Klux Klan attempt to lynch him, because he accepted reward money that some whites in town felt he should not have received. He escapes, and moves to Chicago, embodying the Great Migration.
Rather than being told how much the system--and the world---was dominated by white culture, we see, through the eyes of Luvenia Lewis in 1930, how unfairly slanted opportunities for education and jobs were toward whites and against blacks as she loses a much-needed job based not on her performance but because of a nasty joke played on her by a fellow white employee. We see the extra work and effort she must put forth just to attain a "normal" livelihood that white people are simply born into and take for granted.
Rather than being told how awful segregation was, we see, through the eyes of Tommy Lewis, how a system that allows "coloreds-only" hospitals, bus seating, and diners can be so unjust that it goes against every ideal of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" upon which this country was supposedly founded.
Rather than being told the legacy of racial self-loathing and the effects of over 200 years of oppression, we see, through the eyes of Malcolm Lewis, how his cousin, Shep, is wasting his potential through the slow suicide of crack addiction.
"The Glory Field" is that rare find: a novel that brings history to life and gives us an honest, eye-opening look at what life was like for the people in different eras. Undoubtedly, this would make excellent supplementary reading for students of middle school or high school age who are studying American history.
January 23, 2013
This is what some others call a never again book. It isn't the worst, but it definitely isn't good. As soon as you start getting wrapped up, and think your okay with reading this they change to another decade. Here's the chapters:
July 1753, page three
March 1864 page seven
April 1900 page forty-one
May 1930 page seventy-seven
January 1964 page one hundred fifteen
August 1994 page one hundred fifty-nine
Two hundred, the end.
That itself is completely disturbing. I have to read this for language arts, this is fucking language arts, not history. And don't get me started on trying to explain how I feel about the writing. He says the most worthless shit I have ever heard, the writing font size is probably the smallest I've ever seen. Trying to squeeze every fricking bit that he can onto a small page. Not working. I mean it was great in the beginning until he decided to go ahead another decade, and the adorable kid is dead, and we know NOTHING of how he died, because we are struggling to finish this, I have to constantly keep reading back and forth to see what the heck is going on. And then my mom says. "Go watch the movie, it's great! The story is magical!"
First off: There is a MOVIE? I mean I like history, and all that it is but come on, fucking come on. I can barely even FINISH the BOOK. And secondly, you would have your daughter see the movie, instead of reading the story?! What kind of parenting is that, I could fail the test because of that! OH and I have to do an essay on why I loved the book, and what difficult choice I have made.
I just want this book away from me forever, after this test, I am so done with reading books by Walter Dean Myers. Sorry! Just get it off of my shelf, it doesn't deserve to be there.
Well, that is what I think of this book, seems like a lot of hatred, but that is not what was intended, I'm just very upset with this book, I had high expectations.
July 1753, page three
March 1864 page seven
April 1900 page forty-one
May 1930 page seventy-seven
January 1964 page one hundred fifteen
August 1994 page one hundred fifty-nine
Two hundred, the end.
That itself is completely disturbing. I have to read this for language arts, this is fucking language arts, not history. And don't get me started on trying to explain how I feel about the writing. He says the most worthless shit I have ever heard, the writing font size is probably the smallest I've ever seen. Trying to squeeze every fricking bit that he can onto a small page. Not working. I mean it was great in the beginning until he decided to go ahead another decade, and the adorable kid is dead, and we know NOTHING of how he died, because we are struggling to finish this, I have to constantly keep reading back and forth to see what the heck is going on. And then my mom says. "Go watch the movie, it's great! The story is magical!"
First off: There is a MOVIE? I mean I like history, and all that it is but come on, fucking come on. I can barely even FINISH the BOOK. And secondly, you would have your daughter see the movie, instead of reading the story?! What kind of parenting is that, I could fail the test because of that! OH and I have to do an essay on why I loved the book, and what difficult choice I have made.
I just want this book away from me forever, after this test, I am so done with reading books by Walter Dean Myers. Sorry! Just get it off of my shelf, it doesn't deserve to be there.
Well, that is what I think of this book, seems like a lot of hatred, but that is not what was intended, I'm just very upset with this book, I had high expectations.
March 9, 2021
The Glory Field is the history of an American black family, running from the first member (brought over as a slave) to modern times (1994). Each chapter begins with a small segment of the family tree, which is pictured as a whole at the book’s beginning. They are not continuous, but they do have references to older members which lends the stories some continuity. I particularly loved the way the beginning and end were tied together with the images of chains: first,the literal chains of the slave, and last, the chains of drug addiction.
Along the way, I found myself bored and easily distracted. I almost regretted starting the book. The book is written for middle grade readers, which probably led to my restlessness. But the author pulled it off with an ending that literally brought me to tears. Malcom’s special gift is the bookend that this story needed. A perfect ending.
Along the way, I found myself bored and easily distracted. I almost regretted starting the book. The book is written for middle grade readers, which probably led to my restlessness. But the author pulled it off with an ending that literally brought me to tears. Malcom’s special gift is the bookend that this story needed. A perfect ending.
May 2, 2022
I've read a number of books by this author. He's an excellent writer. I found that, while this book traces an Afro-American family from pre-slavery to today, it speaks to every family. It's a story of seeking freedom, of improving life generation after generation. Even more, it speaks to how each generation carries the stories of the family's past and bears witness to the present; how the next generation carries hope for the future. And most of all, it speaks to the importance of family. Yes, quite a book.
April 12, 2012
I had a difficult time deciding whether or not I wanted to rate this as historical fiction. Since the majority of the book takes place before my students were born, I decided that they would consider it historical fiction and so should I.
I read The Glory Field as part of my classes' author study of Walter Dean Myers. I don't know what in particular drew me to this particular book out of all the choices available. I think I just liked the title.
I had a difficult time following the timeline and family members. The family tree really helped. Should I ever teach it, I think I will incorporate lessons on genealogy.
The full circle of the Glory Field and the shackles brought tears to my eyes. The family is so.... human! No one is perfect; they have the human foibles I could identify with. I grokked it when the family helped Shep with words of encouragement and reminding him one step at a time. Lately, my life has been like that: one day at a time.
I think I particularly liked the reference to babies as "vessel[s] of hope." There's such a quiet dignity to that phrase. There's a lot of dignity in the Lewis family.
I read The Glory Field as part of my classes' author study of Walter Dean Myers. I don't know what in particular drew me to this particular book out of all the choices available. I think I just liked the title.
I had a difficult time following the timeline and family members. The family tree really helped. Should I ever teach it, I think I will incorporate lessons on genealogy.
The full circle of the Glory Field and the shackles brought tears to my eyes. The family is so.... human! No one is perfect; they have the human foibles I could identify with. I grokked it when the family helped Shep with words of encouragement and reminding him one step at a time. Lately, my life has been like that: one day at a time.
I think I particularly liked the reference to babies as "vessel[s] of hope." There's such a quiet dignity to that phrase. There's a lot of dignity in the Lewis family.
February 10, 2009
I am a big fan of Walter Dean Myers because I think that he writes in a style that is real and easy for teens to relate to. However, this book is different from some of his others. It is the story of an African-American family told in the first person by each of its narrators from their time as slaves in the later 1700's to the mid-nineties. Some people equate it to Roots. The novel shows the struggle and strength of the family over the generations. It ties into many of the key historical events of the period where the characters live from slavery, to the great migration, to the civil rights movement, and even a struggle with drugs in the present day scenario. It was a summer reading book for me before my freshman year of high school.
I attempted to use this book (because of the symbolism that is easy to find/understand/explain in shackles) as well as the powerful themes. My high schoolers did not enjoy it as much as a I hoped, but I still think it is a good book.
I attempted to use this book (because of the symbolism that is easy to find/understand/explain in shackles) as well as the powerful themes. My high schoolers did not enjoy it as much as a I hoped, but I still think it is a good book.
February 18, 2012
This book is HORRIBLE. Horrible with a capitol "H"! It is a very long book that goes on and on and on about the same thing. There is no action what-so-ever, and is quite boring. I feel bad for any other student who had to read this book. On top of it all, every 80 pages, the setting, main character, and time period changed, just to confuse you. I would not recommend this book to anyone. But, if I HAD to recommend "The Glory Field" to anyone, I would to the older aged people, because they may appreciate this novel more than I did.
February 10, 2009
Interesting life of a family of former slaves and what takes place w/each generation.
Brings to light again why the Election of Mr. Obama was so important in this years election.
I am a WASP, however w/50%Irish/Scot background and other half being German, these groups were slandered against but not at the level of African-Americans.
Mr. Myers brings forth this message of hope for each generation from the Civil War to present in the Lewis family.
Brings to light again why the Election of Mr. Obama was so important in this years election.
I am a WASP, however w/50%Irish/Scot background and other half being German, these groups were slandered against but not at the level of African-Americans.
Mr. Myers brings forth this message of hope for each generation from the Civil War to present in the Lewis family.
April 26, 2009
This book is L-A-M-E (no offence Walter)
February 9, 2011
this book seems to have not keep my attention through out the reading
February 8, 2018
Me and Mr. Walter Dean Myers—ugh we have such a tortured reading relationship..I love his books, have a library fairly well stocked with his literary cannon as he writes for my audience of beautiful young black and brown children and their issues—however I struggle with his writing style..Its not easy or fluid to me..He is challenging, kinda disjointed in his sequencing and asks a lot of you to finish his stories..He is not for every reader and I find myself putting his books down to refocus a lot but he is rewarding overall and I love his plots..Alright Myers rant over as this is like my fourth book by him LOL..so on to the review..
"It don't make a difference how old you are if you can't read," Miss Julia said. "Reading makes your mind mature. So if you don't read then your body gets stronger but your mind doesn't." (pg. 26-27)
Ambitiously telling the story of a plot of land and a family from 1753 to 1994—the descendants, the slave masters, the rebellious, the prideful—just an epic that I feel focused a lot on some characters more than other—case in point the first character Muhammed Bilal who is an eleven year old African taken savagely from his homeland and kept chained underneath a ship and sold away..though he only gets a mere eight pages and then we are in 1834 and he is mentioned constantly as a guiding force and a strong presence though that is never explained or shown..(its like you are reading what the author thinks you already know all the time and you never got the background information so you are a step behind..sigh)…You then meet descendants in the 1900s that go through a complex rescue of a missing boy by ship, another scenario of a girl in 1930s Chicago who wants to go to college and this side plot of her life and the church (could have been edited for sure) and I think this for sure the longest story that is multifaceted and shows so many forms of racism—
“It was what so many whites expected of Negroes; that one day they would show up and announce that they were pregnant or call to say they had been arrested (Pg. 181)
You finally leave that story for 1964 and a black basketball player in South Carolina trying to get into a white University and dealing with the politics and racial stress of two leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X telling black people how to live their lives…The book ends with a beautiful passage on shackles and 1994 returning full circle to the people and events that shaped the lives of each generation.
“He lifted the shackles, felt their weight, ran his fingers along the smoothness of the well-worn iron. He even thought about putting them around his ankles, but knew that it would never be the same. It wasn’t his to experience only his to know about, to imagine how hard it had been. The weight of the shackles gave substance to all the people who had worn them. They gave weight, even to those who had been broken by them, or by the invisible shackles they have found along their way.”(Pg 374)
This book has been described as an epiclike Roots but for a younger audience however I did not find this an easy read..its all over the place, filled with unrelated people and events and does not make an easy reading experience at all..Having read Alex Haley’s brilliant work Roots as a child and adult (definitely a reread one day) I can say it really follows a family more fluidly and has cohesive narrative qualities I felt this was lacking-though I do appreciate all the moments in history this book encompasses and addressed..ugh it was just hard reading! Good not great and I will give him like one more book then part ways with the great and hard to read Mr. Myers..whew loving my Black History binge!
September 10, 2018
It's tough for me to give this book only three stars. The main thing that was disruptive to me was how the time period changed with no real resolution to each of the characters before the year shifted. It started in the 1700s and ended in 1994, all in the span of 300~ pages. That made it a little confusing. He does tie it all together in the end so that you can see what happened to everyone. I'm wondering if the author did that on purpose? We tend to lose track of family members over time but then catch up at family reunions. So maybe the abrupt shift in time was symbolic? I don't know.
I also wish that the land had been more in the forefront of the story. It was mentioned here and there as more of a passing thing rather than something that the story centers around, which is misleading based on the book blurb.
There were some really great lines tucked away in the book and some powerful symbolism. But all in all, this book was just mediocre for me. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either.
I also wish that the land had been more in the forefront of the story. It was mentioned here and there as more of a passing thing rather than something that the story centers around, which is misleading based on the book blurb.
There were some really great lines tucked away in the book and some powerful symbolism. But all in all, this book was just mediocre for me. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either.
October 20, 2019
This book is interesting and pretty good. I liked his writing, he is a good story teller. It was interesting to follow the family through its history. I loved the bits of family tree at the beginning of each part. The only thing I didn't really like about the book, was that I wanted to hear more of the story and would be disappointed to discover that the story jumped ahead two generations each time. I do think it does a really good job of introducing readers to many stages of racism against African Americans. I loved the part that the shackles played in the story.
#anownvoicesbook
#anownvoicesbook
January 2, 2018
This was a very long book, but ultimately a good book. I found that, as the subject matter lightened and became more contemporary to present day, the writing became lighter and more humorous. I didn't exactly expect Myers to make jokes about slave ships, but I laughed more frequently in the later decades. I enjoyed the connections between decades as characters reappeared and themes persisted. After so very many pages, I was satisfied, but I wonder if this family saga needed to be quite so long.
September 28, 2024
p.87 "I thought he was going to leave his shadow behind he was moving so fast."
p.133 "The only way some people can see their own manhood is by pushing somebody else down."
p.374 "The weight of the shackles gave substance to all the people who had worn them, and who had triumphed in spite of them. They gave weight, even, to those who had been broken by them, or by the invisible shackle they had found along the way."
p.133 "The only way some people can see their own manhood is by pushing somebody else down."
p.374 "The weight of the shackles gave substance to all the people who had worn them, and who had triumphed in spite of them. They gave weight, even, to those who had been broken by them, or by the invisible shackle they had found along the way."
February 27, 2018
Great book for young adults. I enjoyed the portrayal of people fighting for freedom, dignity, and their identities throughout history. This would be a great way to teach my students about experiences that are foreign to most of them. I think literature is so helpful in teaching empathy and history, and this book is great for that.
August 28, 2025
Excellent book with themes of family, place, freedom, what it means to be yourself, and to be human. The storytelling and writing are both great. The story follows the Lewis family starting when the first member is captured in Africa and enslaved in America, all the way up to the 1990s. Each chapter is a sort of vignette focusing on one family member in each generation, very similar to Homegoing. Overall, I’m really glad I read this book.
January 24, 2022
wow grape
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 27, 2023
This book provides a great sense of family, history, and their effects and meanings in our lives. It is more geared toward the young adult reader than adult readers.
February 11, 2019
i found that the book was very entertaining, but after a while of reading the book it got boring and a bit confusing. For example in this book it goes by generations of the family, in the beginning it was fine because it made sense and you already knew the characters. But when i started reading chapter four i got a bit confused because they introduced new characters which i found a bit confusing but continued to read the book. As time passed by i found the book was getting boring and would just end up almost falling asleep while reading the book. i would recommend this book to people that like reading historical fiction books. i give this book a 3 out of 5 stars.
February 11, 2023
My daughter had to read this book for 8th grade English. As with all her reading assignments, I read them too so we can discuss and learn together. The Glory Fields tells the story of a history through the generations of one families transformation while always holding a handful
If the soil of the glory fields. The writing brought this dark history and journey of struggle and hope alive for a 13 year old and her mom.
If the soil of the glory fields. The writing brought this dark history and journey of struggle and hope alive for a 13 year old and her mom.
April 14, 2010
I really struggled getting into this book. If it hadn't been assigned for my field experience I probably would never had finished it. The story starts back in 1743 with the first descendant of the Lewis family, Muhammed, being captured and brought to American to be a slave. The book is made up of five shorter chronological stories that are about the descendants of Muhammed. The history of the family and a piece of land in South Carolina called "The Glory Field," tie the stories together. It is interesting to see the progress and strength the characters have. The stories are a bit detached and I think this book would be best appreciated with classroom instruction. If I had to teach this book, I would do it in a jigsaw manner - have the class divide up, read and then report on the stories.
March 18, 2010
I read this book for English class and ended up really enjoying it! The book is the story of the Lewis family, and their struggles through slavery and racism. I like how it takes you from the first generation when slavery was just starting up in the 1700's, through the late 1800's, 1930's, the civil rights movement in the 60's, and eventually to the modern day. Each section follows a further generation of the family, organized by dates (April 1880, July 1963, etc.) but usually you will see characters from previous chapters, but they are now older. All in all, a very interesting and fun book.
February 12, 2008
Abt the lives of african americans from the past to the present....How african american people went through alot of things to overcome their freedom. It starts from the edge of slavery (when a girl escapes with her two freinds despite the danger ahead.) all the way up to the present. The book is filled with lots of emotions and at the begining when lem died, I felt so sad and so on to the end. anyone cud read this book bcuz it is awsum for any age grup, if u can read.
January 8, 2017
Probably actually 3.5. Very interesting story. More to say later.
October 31, 2025
This is one of those books that middle school kids are given as required reading, and I understand why. The teachers are trying to sensitize them to other people’s world views.
The problem I have with the book is that the style is very choppy. We get a few pages of the story of one member of the family and then it ends abruptly partway through whatever activity they’re working on and picks up again 30 years later. There’s really only one place where there’s even reference to a person who had been in an earlier story. There are of course comments about the first member of the lineage to come to the United States, but the people don’t even have his name right by then. There’s also a huge focus on this glory field, but in truth the only time it really comes up is at the very end when the family is changing it over from farming property into leisure property. A 16-year-old is required to help harvest the sweet potatoes and he does three days of backbreaking labor with perhaps one or two sentences from an uncle reminding him that his ancestors had no option to leave when they were retired or at the end of the day or even at the end of the crop.
The writer wastes very few words on description of character or the characters themselves or if their environment. He just drops in and says here are so so doing such and such. In that sense I found the story simplistic and not very helpful to understanding the human experience.
The problem I have with the book is that the style is very choppy. We get a few pages of the story of one member of the family and then it ends abruptly partway through whatever activity they’re working on and picks up again 30 years later. There’s really only one place where there’s even reference to a person who had been in an earlier story. There are of course comments about the first member of the lineage to come to the United States, but the people don’t even have his name right by then. There’s also a huge focus on this glory field, but in truth the only time it really comes up is at the very end when the family is changing it over from farming property into leisure property. A 16-year-old is required to help harvest the sweet potatoes and he does three days of backbreaking labor with perhaps one or two sentences from an uncle reminding him that his ancestors had no option to leave when they were retired or at the end of the day or even at the end of the crop.
The writer wastes very few words on description of character or the characters themselves or if their environment. He just drops in and says here are so so doing such and such. In that sense I found the story simplistic and not very helpful to understanding the human experience.
August 24, 2022
I picked this up as a discard from the public library. I was excited because Walter Dean Myers is one of my favorite writers, and I had never even heard of this novel. It is similar in a way to Roots (as it says on the cover) in that it is the multigenerational story of an African-American family beginning with an enslaved African ancestor, but there could be a thousand compelling and original novels on this theme. I was thinking this was the first time I encountered a novel for adults by Myers, but actually each of the protagonists is a child or a teenager. The section that I was the most interested in was the one about the girl in Chicago (in the 1920s perhaps?) who wanted to go to college. I loved reading about her church, her choir, her job and awful employers, her talent for doing hair, the rent party, her godmother--for me that segment was over too quickly. The final section that took place in the 1990's I realized I had read before as a short story in some other context. It made more sense as part of the whole book and I liked it better this way. (For example, the two cousins have a harrowing trip in a locked truck that harkens back to the Middle Passage which was in the first section. When I read it without this larger context, I just wondered how going to a family reunion could possibly help a drug addict and thought the truck part was weird.) It's great that Walter Dean Myers was so prolific because there's lots more out there for me to read.
November 1, 2021
Walter Dean Myers writes about the Lewis Family beginning in 1753 upon a boat with young Muhammad Bill on a slave ship. Each part of The Glory Field takes place and time at crucial times in American history. Muhammad’s, Lizzie’s, Elijah’s, Luvenia’s, Tommy’s, and Malcom’s stories and journeys are different and all take place during a different time period. Ultimately, each Lewis family members journey and story is to let the reader see how American history changed over the years and still continue to change. Not one Lewis family member character in this book showed defeat. They each had their own challenges and they overcame their life challenges with determination, sticking strongly to their faith in God and not giving up, and their live for one another. Walter Dean Myers did an excellent job with descriptions, including emotional feelings, touch and smells to help the reader imagine what these family members went through from the time the shackles were put on Muhammad to the end of the book when the shackles is what has held this family together.
April 5, 2019
This was a really excellent children's novel. I would highly consider teaching this as a literature circle whole class text.
The best part about the book was also it's most frustrating. I liked that the book would introduce the reader to these tiny segments of a person's life and then completely deny the reader any closure. Even better were the way that that character's outcome was often treated as part of the larger mythology of the Lewis family, something casually mentioned off hand in the next section, in the next generation. Because that's what really happens to family stories. Powerful tales. Elijah and Abby were my favorite, but I liked Tommy's section, but only because Jennie was my favorite character in the book.
The best part about the book was also it's most frustrating. I liked that the book would introduce the reader to these tiny segments of a person's life and then completely deny the reader any closure. Even better were the way that that character's outcome was often treated as part of the larger mythology of the Lewis family, something casually mentioned off hand in the next section, in the next generation. Because that's what really happens to family stories. Powerful tales. Elijah and Abby were my favorite, but I liked Tommy's section, but only because Jennie was my favorite character in the book.
August 20, 2019
Read for JHU project. A great portrayal of systemic racism, as this book traces an African-American family and its relationship to the piece of land called "The Glory Field" from the first ancestor brought as a slave to America to a pair of cousins in the 90s helping bring in the last harvest before the land is converted to a resort. Each chapter is a moment in the life of a family member, most of which dovetail with significant moments in African-American history, like the Civil War, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Civil Rights movement. Overall this book reads more like it was trying to push forward a message about systemic racism, the meaning of masculinity, and the meaning of family more than it was devoted to telling a good story, but it's still a solid work by Myers.
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