Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 25, 1994 TAG: 9411050010
SECTION: BOOK PAGE: E4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
By Geneva Smitherman. Houghton-Mifflin. $10.95 (trade paper).
This is a fascinating little (243 pages) dictionary of words and expressions that are often ascribed to black people. Not all black people use this language, of course, and many of the entries are common to almost all segments of American society, particularly in the South. If such phrases as "To a T," "That's All She Wrote" and "Drop a Line" have distinctly black origins or usages, Smitherman doesn't note them. And on at least one occasion, she simply makes a mistake. She states that "In Like Flin" comes from the 1960s spy movie, "In Like Flint." In fact, that title was based on an older phrase, "In Like Flynn," referring to actor Errol Flynn's legendary sexual prowess. Her definition is "Accepted by a person or group; well-received."
On the larger questions of language, Smitherman defines, about as well as anyone could, new usages that come out of the black community and gain wider acceptance. Considering the speed with which language changes, that's a tricky business. As Smitherman notes in her introduction, anything that is "considered DEF today can tomorrow become WACK and suitable only for LAMES if it gets picked up by whites."
Her book ranges from such arcane terms as "Five Percent Nation" (an offshoot of the Nation of Islam) to the various slang meanings of "Fly," "Dope" and "Crazy." There are comparatively few in-depth etymologies, but those would probably be more suited to a scholarly book. This is a popular work that fills a real need.
- MIKE MAYO, Book page editor
The Historical Atlas of the Congresses of the Confederate States of America: 1861-1865.
By Kenneth C. Martis. Simon & Schuster. (price not listed).
For those as interested in the political strategies of the Civil War as in the military ones, Kenneth C. Martis has provided a gem of research. Martis, a geography professor at West Virginia University, developed a cartographic overview of the civilian political landscape of the Civil War South. By tracing and focusing upon the national elected officials of the Confederate Congress, Martis believes one can gain an understanding of the feelings, issues and influences of the Southern population and the regional differences within it, as well as the changes in the political climate during the four years the Congress was in existence.
The "Atlas" contains 45 full-page maps, 48 statistical tables and a brief but detailed outline of the major issues and votes taken by members of the Confederate Congress. Considering the rather small amount of literature and research available on the Confederate Congress, Martis' project is most noteworthy and valuable. In addition to the colored maps, the work also explains the Southern electoral system and voter participation, the congressional histories of all 13 Confederate states, and the general factors - be they socioeconomic, geographic or political - that influenced the voting. What emerges is not a unified South, but one wherein local and state agendas many times surpassed war-time national concerns.
The author's hope is that this "Atlas" will "enhance and expand the understanding of the Civil War and the causes, issues, inner conflicts, and prolongation of the most important single event in American history."
- NELSON HARRIS
Man Medium Rare.
By Ian Brown. Dutton. $21.95.
Aside from the recent flurry of attention surrounding Sam Keen, Robert Bly, wild man retreats and the "men's movement" in general, there is Ian Brown.
His "Man Medium Rare" is a psycho-social walk across the landscape of American manhood. One will not find here, however, the poetic insight of Bly nor the philosophical ruminations of Keen. Instead, "Man" is a collection of snapshots from the lives of some 200 men the author either interviewed or in some way encountered in his journey to discover and describe the New Man. The book is as much autobiography as biography, for the author writes about his marriage, being responsible, and the upcoming birth of his first child. Unfortunately, this only adds to the disjointed nature of the book.
What Brown learns is that there is no typical man, no adequate singular definition for him. Unfortunately, it took Brown two years, 200 interviews and 272 pages to tell the reader something he or she probably knew all the time.
- NELSON HARRIS
Receptors.
By Richard Restak, M.D. Bantam Books. $23.95.
The Feb. 7 issue of Newsweek led with the cover story "Beyond Prozac." The article dealt with the new visions of psychopharmacology which propose that our burgeoning knowledge of the brain's chemistry will enable us to do much more than merely calm or stimulate ourselves with drugs. We may, the vision claims, even learn to induce long-term changes in personality traits.
This is truly the opening of a second Pandora's Box.
A Newsweek-style article will suffice for most. For the scientifically minded, Dr. Restak's book offers a deeper, more thoughtful approach. How do the legal and readily available drugs like caffeine and nicotine work? What about opiates and how will our new understanding of their action at a cellular level and below bring us new insights into behavior? What will the spin-offs be? Where are the possible trade-offs in terms of unwanted side-effects? The book is fascinating but clearly not for the casual reader. Those who find a magazine like Scientific American their particular cup of tea (caffeinated, of course) have the receptors for this stimulating piece.
- SIDNEY BARRITT
Nelson Harris is pastor of the Ridgewood Baptist Church.
Sidney Barritt is a Roanoke physician.
by CNB