The author is a 15 year member of Alpha Phi Alpha, married to a soror of Delta Sigma Theta and is a journalist who has written for many newpapers. He realized that the history of our organizations is an important part of the history of our people in this country in this century and should be told. The time and effort that he put into compiling the information in the book must have been mammoth.

The book is divided into sections profiling each sorority and fraternity. Each section contains a historical overview, interviews with an undergraduate and a graduate chapter, profiles and lists of prominent members, messages from the national president/basileus/polemarch and pictures dating back to the early years. This is followed by a section entitled Achievers Talk which consists of interviews with members such as Spencer Christian, Nikki Giovanni, Gwendolyn Goldsby Grant, Cynthia Horner, John H. Johnson, Julian Malveaux, Shaquille O'Neal, Tavis Smiley, Faye Wattleton, just to name a few. They each speak about what membership means to them and impart an important message that they feel fraters and sorors should hear. The author follows this section with information from the National Pan Hellenic Council and procedures for those who are seeking membership.

Our organizations could not have done a better public relations job. There are no secrets revealed, just great accomplishments. The recurring theme is our achievements as organizations and those of individual members. We all know about the projects that our own sorority/fraternity have championed and are proud. When you look at the collective activities, our contributions to our people and communities have been and continue to be monumental. It's only appropriate that this book was written at this time when we are in the process of changing centuries and approaching the anniversaries of 100 years of existance.

This is something I think we all need to support and applaud.

LTB

42 of 44 found the following review helpful:

Good but problematic...  Feb 10, 2000
By M. Jennings "Nupe357"
Let me first state that this book is an excellent reference for those intersted in African-American fraternities. However, it does have a few shortcomings. The book is primarily a summary of the history of each of the nine NPHC organziations. This is fine but where is the historical analysis? Without this, all we get is a "basic" history which tells us little about the evolving context that continuously shapes these organizations. Second, this book does not do justice to the huge "shake-up" that has occured surrounding the monumental changes in how NPHC organizations create new members. This issue is at the very core of "fraternal idenity" and what it means to be a member of an African-American fraternity/sorority in today's society. So how come it isn't discussed more? This is akin to ignoring the presence of an elephant that is sitting in your living room!

Lastly, despite being a history book, Mr. Ross falls slightly short in his examination of the early years of surrounding the history of black "Greeks." First, how does Mr. Ross justify including on his list of famous Alpha men a person (Frederick Douglass) who was dead more than ten years before Alpha Phi Alpha was founded? Second (and more importantly), how can you even BEGIN to talk about African-American greek-letter organziations without mentioning (or discussing) the role that Prince Hall freemasonry played in shaping the African-American fraternal movement of the early twentieth century?

All in all this is a good book but a truly thorough analysis of these 9 organizations has yet to be written...

22 of 22 found the following review helpful:

For Those Interested in Greek Life  Feb 07, 2000
By A Sorority Woman
I was very disappointed in the book. I felt that the book was written for the benefit of people interested in Black Greek Life or men interested in Alpha. For all of the hoopla surrounding this book, it's written more like several long drawn out magazine articles than it is a book(I am still trying to figure out the point of including an interview section). I found that it did not read as smoothly as a "real" novel would. I found it interesting that he spent double the amount of pages talking about his organization, Alpha Phi Alpha than any other(40 vs. 20). I found him to be biased in his view of some of the fraternities in regards to what he included. Also, some of the "history" that he included about those fraternities is questionable. And finally, I found that the interview section of supposed prominent greeks to be uninteresting. Had he spent more time on research and actually learning about the other organizations as opposed to taking things out of their history books, I would have enjoyed the book. So, basically, I would recommend the book to someone trying to get an insight onto Black Greek Life but not to a fellow Black Greek(It's just not worth the $30).

17 of 18 found the following review helpful:

Excellent Book!  Dec 30, 1999
By IotaNet
The author has done an outstanding job of giving the reader a thorough overview of Black Greek-Lettered organizations. Time and time again, I found myself saying, "Really? - I didn't know that!"

Black Fraternities and Sororities are a part of the fabric of African America and this book does an excellent job of placing these organizations and their members in the context of the history and achievements of the Black experience. I recommend it highly!

11 of 12 found the following review helpful:

Good Idea, but too many mistakes!  Jul 13, 2000

I was very excited to hear about this book so I rushed out to buy it as quickly as I could. Being a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority I was disappointed to discover that several mistakes had been made in regard to my beloved sorority. The first naming Hattie O'Daniel (the first African American woman to win an Oscar) as a AKA, when in fact she was a SGRHO and the second mistake was getting the wrong name with the wrong picture of our only living founder. For the record Vivian White Marbury is our last living founder (and the last living founder of the orginal great eight, I might add) and Mr. Ross quotes Mary Lou Allison Gardner Little as the living founder. We are so proud of Soror Marbury and to see this misquote is most likely upsetting to all members of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority. And from reading reviews from my other fellow black greeks I see that numerous other mistakes were made as well. It seems like Mr. Ross simply rushed the book out as fast as possible without covering his research more throughly. And it is true that it would appear that some basis is given towards Alpha Phi Alpha and other select sororities. My husband is an Alpha, and even he thought that the preference towards Alpha was not in the best taste considering the orginal idea behind the book. I commend Mr. Ross for the effort, but something of this importance should not have so many mistakes in it. My Advice? Save your $30 dollars and talk to members of the black greek community to get a better picture of what we are all about.

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