Hardcover: 480 pages
Publisher: Knopf (October 11, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307272265
ISBN-13: 978-0307272263
Genre: Biographies, Memoirs, Literature
Description
Harry Belafonte is not just one of the greatest entertainers of our time; he has led one of the great American lives of the last century. Now, this extraordinary icon tells us the story of that life, giving us its full breadth, letting us share in the struggles, the tragedies, and, most of all, the inspiring triumphs.
Belafonte grew up, poverty-ridden, in Harlem and Jamaica. His mother was a complex woman—caring but withdrawn, eternally angry and rarely satisfied. His father was distant and physically abusive. It was not an easy life, but it instilled in young Harry the hard-nosed toughness of the city and the resilient spirit of the Caribbean lifestyle. It also gave him the drive to make good and channel his anger into actions that were positive and life-affirming. His journey led to the U.S. Navy during World War II, where he encountered an onslaught of racism but also fell in love with the woman he eventually married. After the war he moved back to Harlem, where he drifted between odd jobs until he saw his first stage play—and found the life he wanted to lead. Theater opened up a whole new world, one that was artistic and political and made him realize that not only did he have a need to express himself, he had a lot to express.
He began as an actor—and has always thought of himself as such—but was quickly spotted in a musical, began a tentative nightclub career, and soon was on a meteoric rise to become one of the world’s most popular singers. Belafonte was never content to simply be an entertainer, however. Even at enormous personal cost, he could not shy away from activism. At first it was a question of personal dignity: breaking down racial barriers that had never been broken before, achieving an enduring popularity with both white and black audiences. Then his activism broadened to a lifelong, passionate involvement at the heart of the civil rights movement and countless other political and social causes. The sections on the rise of the civil rights movement are perhaps the most moving in the book: his close friendship with Martin Luther King, Jr.; his role as a conduit between Dr. King and the Kennedys; his up-close involvement with the demonstrations and awareness of the hatred and potential violence around him; his devastation at Dr. King’s death and his continuing fight for what he believes is right.
But My Song is far more than the history of a movement. It is a very personal look at the people in that movement and the world in which Belafonte has long moved. He has befriended many beloved and important figures in both entertainment and politics—Paul Robeson, Eleanor Roosevelt, Sidney Poitier, John F. Kennedy, Marlon Brando, Robert Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, Fidel Castro, Tony Bennett, Bill Clinton—and writes about them with the same exceptional candor with which he reveals himself on every page. This is a book that pulls no punches, and turns both a loving and critical eye on our country’s cultural past.
As both an artist and an activist, Belafonte has touched countless lives. With My Song, he has found yet another way to entertain and inspire us. It is an electrifying memoir from a remarkable man.
About the AuthorsHe began as an actor—and has always thought of himself as such—but was quickly spotted in a musical, began a tentative nightclub career, and soon was on a meteoric rise to become one of the world’s most popular singers. Belafonte was never content to simply be an entertainer, however. Even at enormous personal cost, he could not shy away from activism. At first it was a question of personal dignity: breaking down racial barriers that had never been broken before, achieving an enduring popularity with both white and black audiences. Then his activism broadened to a lifelong, passionate involvement at the heart of the civil rights movement and countless other political and social causes. The sections on the rise of the civil rights movement are perhaps the most moving in the book: his close friendship with Martin Luther King, Jr.; his role as a conduit between Dr. King and the Kennedys; his up-close involvement with the demonstrations and awareness of the hatred and potential violence around him; his devastation at Dr. King’s death and his continuing fight for what he believes is right.
But My Song is far more than the history of a movement. It is a very personal look at the people in that movement and the world in which Belafonte has long moved. He has befriended many beloved and important figures in both entertainment and politics—Paul Robeson, Eleanor Roosevelt, Sidney Poitier, John F. Kennedy, Marlon Brando, Robert Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, Fidel Castro, Tony Bennett, Bill Clinton—and writes about them with the same exceptional candor with which he reveals himself on every page. This is a book that pulls no punches, and turns both a loving and critical eye on our country’s cultural past.
As both an artist and an activist, Belafonte has touched countless lives. With My Song, he has found yet another way to entertain and inspire us. It is an electrifying memoir from a remarkable man.
Harry Belafonte’s 1956 album Calypso made him the first artist in history to sell more than one million LPs. He has won both a Tony Award and an Emmy, and he was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Clinton. He has served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and is the recipient of Kennedy Center Honors for excellence in the performing arts. He currently resides in New York City with his wife, Pamela.
Michael Shnayerson, a longtime contributing editor to Vanity Fair, is the author of Irwin Shaw; The Car That Could; The Killers Within, coauthored with Mark J. Plotkin, and Coal River, which recounted the efforts of Appalachian lawyers and grassroots groups to stop the devastating practice of mountaintop coal removal in southern West Virginia. Shnayerson’s passion for those environmental activists was one reason Harry Belafonte chose him to collaborate on his autobiography. Shnayerson lives in Bridgehampton, New York, with his daughter, Jenna.
ReviewMichael Shnayerson, a longtime contributing editor to Vanity Fair, is the author of Irwin Shaw; The Car That Could; The Killers Within, coauthored with Mark J. Plotkin, and Coal River, which recounted the efforts of Appalachian lawyers and grassroots groups to stop the devastating practice of mountaintop coal removal in southern West Virginia. Shnayerson’s passion for those environmental activists was one reason Harry Belafonte chose him to collaborate on his autobiography. Shnayerson lives in Bridgehampton, New York, with his daughter, Jenna.
Amazing story of an extra ordinary man's life and struggles By Isaac Miller
As a younger man I believe I was jealous of Belafonte. All the girls, and not a few older women, swooned at his good looks. I think I realized that Banana Boat told the story of the farm workers I saw in cotton fields and peach orchards. I knew something of his close association with Martin Luther King, and of his broader fundraising for the Movement as a whole. I saw his movies, and think I recall his sitting in for Johnny Carson. I knew of his involvement in Africa and his work on behalf of the UN. I had no idea of the depth of his involvement or the skill he brought as a negotiator in behalf of so many causes. In an age in which celebrity, it seems, is sought by any means necessary, he shows, perhaps more than any one I can think of, how such notoriety can be put to the service of worthy ends.
Will he make it past the scars of early poverty and other demons of his growing up? Will he make it past grief at the deaths of heroes and close friends and the break up of marriages, the loss of dear friendships? Will he maintain the integrity that is threatened in this culture by both wealth and celebrity? Will he throw in the towel? There is an element of suspense in My Song that makes it a gripping companion to Taylor Branch and the work of others As I read I found myself almost praying for him. Strike the "almost".
In a sense the prayers are not just for Harry Belafonte, but for all of us. Handsome or not, known to many or just a few, something about Belafonte's story says that we can step up, and he encourages us, all of us, to continue to struggle to do so.
For those who seek to keep the legacies of King and Robeson, Mandela and Fannie Lou Haimer, Ella Baker and Malcolm X alive, this is a book to be cherished. For folks of faith there is much to be learned about how we can all be used by God.
Church folk of a certain stripe will be celebrating All Saints soon. I would suggest this is a highly appropriate book for this season in these times. It is a book that is probably necessary for all of us in all times.
Will he make it past the scars of early poverty and other demons of his growing up? Will he make it past grief at the deaths of heroes and close friends and the break up of marriages, the loss of dear friendships? Will he maintain the integrity that is threatened in this culture by both wealth and celebrity? Will he throw in the towel? There is an element of suspense in My Song that makes it a gripping companion to Taylor Branch and the work of others As I read I found myself almost praying for him. Strike the "almost".
In a sense the prayers are not just for Harry Belafonte, but for all of us. Handsome or not, known to many or just a few, something about Belafonte's story says that we can step up, and he encourages us, all of us, to continue to struggle to do so.
For those who seek to keep the legacies of King and Robeson, Mandela and Fannie Lou Haimer, Ella Baker and Malcolm X alive, this is a book to be cherished. For folks of faith there is much to be learned about how we can all be used by God.
Church folk of a certain stripe will be celebrating All Saints soon. I would suggest this is a highly appropriate book for this season in these times. It is a book that is probably necessary for all of us in all times.
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