Low Road

Praise for Eddie B. Allen, Jr.

LOW ROAD

“Eddie B. Allen, Jr. beautifully unravels the tumultuous life of Donald Goines, painting a vivid portrait of the acclaimed author’s journey through hardships and triumphs. Allen’s narrative captivates with its raw honesty and compelling storytelling—a true masterpiece of a biography that sheds light on the complexities of Goines’s life and legacy. Low Road is a literary gem.” —JaQuavis Coleman, New York Times bestselling author

“A page-turner of a literary biography. Goines was an insider with the soul of an outsider, always studying the details of the ‘street life’ and its inhabitants—as well as the toll it took on his own life and those who loved him. And it is thanks to Low Road and the uncommon empathy and diligence of its author that Donald Goines’s struggle is finally laid bare, in its entirety and unvarnished. Eddie B. Allen, Jr. reminds us that Goines’s greatest story was his own life—and both the joys and tragedies that it presented, including a finale and postscript that even its late author wouldn’t have expected.” —C. M. Kushins, author of Cooler Than Cool: The Life and Work of Elmore Leonard

“[A] comprehensive look at the gritty novelist's own thug life, [Low Road] unfolds like a fast-paced thriller that mirrors Goines's popular bestsellers.” ―Essence

“It is indicative of both the explosive nature of Goines's subject matter and the timidity of the academy that Goines's achievement—selling more than five million books of utterly uncompromised fiction—has received little scholarly attention. Critic Allen's thorough and well-documented study will do much to change that, placing Goines's life and work in a coherent critical, historical and social frame . . . This work argues not only for a serious assessment of what Goines did achieve, but makes us mourn what he never got the chance to.” ―Publishers Weekly

“In an in-depth biography of the original street-fiction author, Donald Goines, Allen examines the life of the late author who influenced all your favorite rappers.” ―The Source

“Before there was urban fiction there was Donald Goines . . . On the basis of interviews with Goines' family and friends, and correspondence left by the author, Allen offers a portrait of a tortured man who suffered a color complex because of his fair skin, a longing to get beyond the restrictions of race, the pull of a life of crime and violence, and a strangling drug addiction that both inspired and destroyed him. Readers interested in the genesis of urban fiction and hip-hop influences will appreciate this look at an early pioneer.” ―Booklist

“For readers who are looking for the definitive story of Donald Goines's life, a wonderful addition to their bookshelves about black popular culture and its icons, and simply, a great read, this is the book.” ―Black Issues Book Review

“Allen illuminates the life and writings of arguably the most influential chronicler of black urban life in the post-World War II era. Goines' legacy is maintained by a hip-hop generation that is just as invisible and ignored. Eddie B. Allen, Jr. . . . thankfully brings that legacy into even sharper focus.” ―Black Voices
OUR ANTIE ROSA

“Rosa Parks inspired millions of Americans in 1955, including a nine-year-old boy in Arkansas learning about her story. Through the pages of Our Auntie Rosa, her family captures the quiet dignity—and commanding conviction—of one of the civil rights movement’s bravest champions.” —President Bill Clinton

“What a joy to discover that Rosa Parks, an international figure and ‘Mother of The Movement,’ was as dignified and heroic a private woman as she was a civil rights icon. This beautiful tribute, lovingly written by family members, completes the picture of a 20th century inspiration. As compelling as what she sat down for on a bus is what she stood for at home.” —Mitch Albom, author of Tuesdays with Morrie and The First Phone Call from Heaven