Invisible Man

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We rely, in this world, on the visual aspects of humanity as a means of learning who we are. This, Ralph Ellison argues convincingly, is a dangerous habit. A classic from the moment it first appeared in 1952, Invisible Man chronicles the travels of its narrator, a young, nameless black man, as he moves through the hellish levels of American intolerance and cultural blindness. Searching for a context in which to know himself, he exists in a very peculiar state. "I am an invisible man," he says in his prologue. "When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination--indeed, everything and anything except me." But this is hard-won self-knowledge, earned over the course of many years.

As the book gets started, the narrator is expelled from his Southern Negro college for inadvertently showing a white trustee the reality of black life in the south, including an incestuous farmer and a rural whorehouse. The college director chastises him: "Why, the dumbest black bastard in the cotton patch knows that the only way to please a white man is to tell him a lie! What kind of an education are you getting around here?" Mystified, the narrator moves north to New York City, where the truth, at least as he perceives it, is dealt another blow when he learns that his former headmaster's recommendation letters are, in fact, letters of condemnation.

What ensues is a search for what truth actually is, which proves to be supremely elusive. The narrator becomes a spokesman for a mixed-race band of social activists called "The Brotherhood" and believes he is fighting for equality. Once again, he realizes he's been duped into believing what he thought was the truth, when in fact it is only another variation. Of the Brothers, he eventually discerns: "They were blind, bat blind, moving only by the echoed sounds of their voices. And because they were blind they would destroy themselves.... Here I thought they accepted me because they felt that color made no difference, when in reality it made no difference because they didn't see either color or men."

Invisible Man is certainly a book about race in America, and sadly enough, few of the problems it chronicles have disappeared even now. But Ellison's first novel transcends such a narrow definition. It's also a book about the human race stumbling down the path to identity, challenged and successful to varying degrees. None of us can ever be sure of the truth beyond ourselves, and possibly not even there. The world is a tricky place, and no one knows this better than the invisible man, who leaves us with these chilling, provocative words: "And it is this which frightens me: Who knows but that, on the lower frequencies, I speak for you?" --Melanie Rehak

Book Description

Invisible Man is a milestone in American literature, a book that has continued to engage readers since its appearance in 1952. A first novel by an unknown writer, it remained on the bestseller list for sixteen weeks, won the National Book Award for fiction, and established Ralph Ellison as one of the key writers of the century. The nameless narrator of the novel describes growing up in a black community in the South, attending a Negro college from which he is expelled, moving to New York and becoming the chief spokesman of the Harlem branch of "the Brotherhood", and retreating amid violence and confusion to the basement lair of the Invisible Man he imagines himself to be. The book is a passionate and witty tour de force of style, strongly influenced by T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land, Joyce, and Dostoevsky.

Customer Reviews:

Awesome book .......2007-09-05

The book came in new condition and I would buy a lot more books from this company in the future.

lightining.......2007-07-20

I've only read a couple of novels in my life where I could feel the author's intensity, like he was on fire with the muse when he wrote it. One was a portion of The Idiot by Dostoevsky, the other was this novel.

It can't be sustained.The novel falls off after the first half, but how can you sustain perfection?

Over-hyped.......2007-07-06

Long-winded and boring. Those who admire style over substance may enjoy this novel. Ellison reminds me a little of Joyce, i.e., the writing, prose and style are inventive and, at times, beautiful. However, unlike Joyce, the story goes nowhere and any revelations seem naive. Even for the time, he realizes his characters as overly-broad charicatures. In the end, the novel's premise is fundamentally flawed as Ellison seems unable to separate racism from hatred of the poor and institutional (religious, corporate, governmental, etc.) oppression.

A powerful novel, too often overlooked.......2007-06-26

With the release of Arnold Rampersad recent much praised biography of Invisible Man's author, Ralph Ellison, the time has truly arrived for readers to look again at this extraordinary novel. Too long pigeonholed as "African American literature" Invisible Man doubtless stands as a contender for the greatest American novel of the 20th century. Ellison draws on a wide range of sources to construct this opus, African American folk lore, 19th Century American literature, the bible, and Shakespeare, all tools brought into service as build this intricate tale of his narrator and protagonist, the never named "Invisible Man." From the treacherous terrain of the deep south, to the hopes and disappointments of Harlem, and to the Byzantine world of the American Communist Party, Ellison brings his readers along on a well guided tore of the landscape of the African American experience pre-WWII.

Yet as I said at the beginning, Invisible Man is a novel that speaks to the very heart of the American experience with its complex pull between expectations and class, the belief in limitless potential based on meritocracy and the minefield that destroys that very dream. Through it all, Ellison tells his tale with wit and deft humor, all of which contribute to the edifice that is this awesome work of fiction.

Dramatic Expose; Still Relevant Today.......2007-05-26

The quintessential novel serving as a precursor to the civil rights movement, "Invisible Man" explores the trials and tribulations of a gifted black man in the Depression era South and Harlem. Although racial strife and inequality is the central focus to Ellison's work, larger questions of individuality and conformity in an imperfect world abound. Even though the systemic racism and Jim Crow violence of this era has been relegated to the back burner of history, "Invisible Man" is still a potent story today, regardless of one's race or position in life.

"Invisible Man" serves as an apparatus for Ellision to espouse his own beliefs on the role of Blacks in America. Although Ellison rejects a philosophy of conformance to white society and the pursuit of economic success to trump racial inequality, he also vehemently rejects the black supremacy ideology, personified by Ras the Exhorter. Yet, the most damning condemnation is reserved for the organizations who manipulate and cajole blacks for their own agenda, as personified by the Brotherhood. Initially, the narrator (the unnamed "invisible" man) is offered a job as spokesman, who will spout their socialist propaganda at massive rallies in an attempt to organize Blacks into a vital force for socialist change. However, it soon becomes evident that the White power structure of the Brotherhood is using him as a means to dupe others. Indeed, the Brotherhood ultimately decides to "sacrifice" their Harlem contingency, a nice way of saying they they will let Blacks wallow in their own cesspool of racism and horrid living conditions.

Throughout the novel blindness plays an important role. In his attempt to advance himself, the narrator is blind to the true ambitions of the Brotherhood. Ras the Exhorter, the fiery demagogue, is blind to the race riot and violence he helps to incite. The white oppressors are blind to the black individual and his ability to succeed. Indeed, it seems as if no one is immune to the blindness of stereotypes, be they black or white.

On a higher level, "Invisible Man" explores the meaning of individuality and an attempt to define one's self. Throughout the novel, the narrator lets others define who he is. Only when he realizes that he's been living a pipe dream does he wake up and cast off the illusions of equality and manages to understand himself. However, this relates to anyone who as ever struggled to define themselves.

Overall, Ellison provides a multi-dimensional and thought-provoking novel. Although it was written sixty years ago and most of the systemic racism is gone, it is still relevant today. Indeed, it may be even more relevant as we attempt to break from the conformance of society and find our true selves.

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Deep Wells.
Rage and Selfishness
Science and Morals
WOW THAT WAS A GREAT BOOK
A Bit Dated in Parts, but Otherwise Has Stood the Test of Time

The Invisible Man (Signet Classics)
H.G. Wells
Manufacturer: New American Library/Penguin Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0451528522
Release Date: 2002-09-03

Book Description

This masterpiece of science fiction is the fascinating story of Griffin, a scientist who creates a serum to render himself invisible, and his descent into madness that follows.

Customer Reviews:

Deep Wells. .......2007-07-16

One of the most fertile and imaginative minds of the last 200 years, H.G. Wells foresaw the uses and impacts of the military tank, atomic bombs, and automobile freeways. Thanks to "The Invisible Man" we can add another biggie -- modern terrorism.
Wells envisioned what strong currents of fear, chaos and dread could be unleashed in an open, industrialized society by a small group of disgruntled men, or -- as in our story -- by just one man with a powerful invention.
Our author impressively challenged his own pro-science proclivities by showing how Griffin's breakthrough enabled him to sink to the lowest levels of depravity. Science is not necessarily uplifting, a heretical view among many Darwinists whom Wells associated with. Perhaps sentiments contained in "The Invisible Man" caused Wells's chances of leading England's Fabian Socialists to vanish.
Humor is used to bring home the existential dilemna. Our bodies, visible or not, are something we're stuck with as long as we're alive, Wells reminds us.
Another tension visible in the story and in Wells's own life is the individual's relationship to the masses. Wells, the political socialist, rose from humble circumstances (his father was a gardener, his mother a housemaid), making him a poster boy for capitalism and its up-from-boot-straps mystique. Griffin, Wells's "Invisible Man," is also an exceptional individual. Does Wells believe exceptional people need to be beaten down by socialism? Perhaps Wells thought some (like Griffin) need to be deflated while others (like himself) need not be.
Socialism usually means misery for all except the ruling clique (although Wells and idealistic fellow travelers of his era likely didn't view it as such). Maybe Wells took his public literary adoration as proof that he was one of the insulated elite.
Wells resembles current-day social democrats in acknowledging the beneficial role of the entrepreneur amid welfarism (although they just can't keep themselves from playing politics). Capitalism's "creative destruction" weakens the glue of order, something Wells valued highly. How to maintain order and cultural consensus without killing the golden geese found only in a market system? Tis a question that won't disappear anytime soon.

Rage and Selfishness.......2007-07-11

What caught my attention nearly immediately was how adept H.G. Wells was at conveying the rage held within Griffin, the Invisible Man. Admittedly, initially I was somewhat sympathetic to Griffin, trying to imagine how the total frustration of the circumstances might cause a nearly uncontrollable rage; however, within a matter of pages - if not paragpraphs - Wells removed any reader sympathy by developing the Invisible Man into a man most unworthy of such sympathy. To put it plainly, the Invisible Man was just a real jerk, and worse. The progression of the story displayed the extremely selfish position of the Invisible Man towards the surrounding society. Oddly, I finished the book with some small amount of sympathy toward Griffin, but sympathy only that a man should end up leading such a pathetic life, and that his rage and selfishness should ultimately lead to his violent demise. Unfortunately, such pathetic lives and violent endings are still too commonly found today.

Science and Morals.......2007-06-05

Having read the Ralph Ellison novel many years ago, I felt compelled to finally lift Wells' of the shelf recently. What a clever and accomplished man, and so prolific in his writing.
So, what did I make of this one?
Wells obviously explores the age-old tension between science and morality, examining what happens when the latter is not regarded in pursuits of the former. Naturally the story is largely, therefore, allegorical (aren't most?).
We meet the invisible man and hear his story, after which we follow him closely to his final breath, relieved that he is gone.
Personally I felt no sympathy for the character and did not feel I 'owned' him, unlike other novels where I have felt I could, to some degree, sympathise and identify with a protagonist with a distorted sense of reality or even a murderer. Yet, the story was effective,well written and achieved what it set out to do.
It is one of the classics that you need to have read also, because there are so many references to it in other works, such as Joanne Harris' 'Gentleman and Players'.

WOW THAT WAS A GREAT BOOK.......2007-04-13

THE INVISABLE MAN BY H.g. Wells is a great book that any one 9 and older would enjoy. It all begins on a cold December night and a blizzard just struck a quiet English country village. A train also arrived and a strange looking man got off. His name was Griffin. He was wearing a long heavy coat, he had bandages all over his face and the only thing you could see was his nose, dark glass, gloves, and a hat. When he got off he started going towards town. He fought his way through the storm and came across a hotel. So he got his room, he had tons of boxes full of things. Little did the hotel keeper know this short tempered man would cause this town more trouble then it could handle. Slowly the small town realizes there is something different about Mr. Griffin then meets the eye.
Mr. Griffin is a scientist who found a way to become invisible and it has gone to his head. He is trying to terrorize every one and overpower the small town and will kill anyone in his way. Griffin was not always this way once he was a scientist who was working on medicine and graduated top of his class. Then he switched his studies. He found out how to make a human transparent. My favorite part is when the town gets together and searches for the invisible man. They use attack dogs and lock their doors so the invisible man has no where to stay, and nothing to eat, but that doesn't stop him.
All in all this is a great book that you should read.

A Bit Dated in Parts, but Otherwise Has Stood the Test of Time.......2007-03-12

H.G. Wells certainly wasn't the first author to write stories involving something or someone who is invisible but his novel was definitely the first big hit of the invisible man genre. It is also easily the best known and widely circulated of the invisibility stories written before the 20th century. In fact with maybe the exception of H.F. Saint's Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1987) (which was later turned into a Chevy Chase movie which although enjoyable, was nowhere near the masterpiece that book was), Wells' 1897 classic is still probably the most well known of the genre today. This book also has had a number of movies made based on its story and as well has had a few sequel books written by other authors in the modern era such as Legacy of the Invisible Man by Dave Ulanski and The Invisible Dirty Old Man by Richard S McEnroe, both based on relatives of or people who found possessions of characters from Wells' story.

This was one of H.G. Wells first stories, it was actually originally a short story as were most other invisible man stories pre dating it which Wells later came back and expanded to the length it is now. Being one of his first stories the quality of the storyline isn't always sensational and is in fact rather slow moving in parts for the reader. A large number of words Wells picked to use, unfortunately for him have also dropped out of the English language meaning you've either got to look them up or just take a wild guess as to what he is referring to. The best parts of the story were when Griffin was recounting how he became invisible and the events straight after in London to his friend Kemp. The novel really would have benefited from more of this type of storyline. Saying that though if you're a fan of the invisible man genre you definitely need to check this out. Better stories have been written in the modern era that go more into depth with the problems an invisible man faces and have a lot faster paced storylines such as H.F. Saint's Memoirs of an Invisible Man as well as Donald E Westlake's novel Smoke.

The version of this book I have also has a lengthy intro by someone called Christopher Priest who is obviously a hard core fan of Wells. While it is great for fans of this genre to learn about other stories about invisible people (although it is certainly no comprehensive list there's many titles missing) unfortunately though Priest's bias shows as he makes some ludicrous claims about other stories being based on Wells' story which if he actually read these books, aside from having an invisible character have nothing more to do with this storyline at all then the this book does when compared to the invisibility stories that Wells must have read before writing this.

Anyway if you have no idea what this novel's about the basic storyline is a man named Griffin wrapped in bandages who never takes of his coat or gloves checks into a small town hotel. Obviously trying to keep his secret Griffin is quite short with the busybody landlady and others who just walk into his room uninvited and keep pestering him about things that are non of their business. Small town bigotry and gossip has locals assuming he is either a member of an undesirable to them race, criminal or something worse, so when there is a burglary in town he is the main suspect. Not being treated the way he should be he decides he'll become even more abusive back to them so it is not long before a physical fight breaks out, the police get involved and he is forced to shed his clothing, expose his secret and escape. Not having the most pleasant of personality certainly doesn't help stop those he has enlisted to assist him from betraying him and stealing his possessions. Griffin decides that if he is going to be labelled and treated as a ruthless monster he will go one better and become an even worse and feared villain then their lies ever wrote in the papers.

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man: A Casebook (Casebooks in Criticism)

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Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man: A Casebook (Casebooks in Criticism)

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0195145364

Book Description

This casebook features ten distinctive and provocative essays in addition to a generous sampling of Ellison's comments on the novel. A number of the latter are from letters never before published; also published here for the first time is Part II of Ellison's "Working Notes on Invisible Man," an undated exposition of his authorial intentions, probably written in 1946 or 1947. The ten essays are a selection of the most perceptive and comprehensive essays written on Invisible Man during the last thirty-five years, including an essay by Kenneth Burke, which began as a letter to Ellison about the novel, written before its publication in 1952. Also among the essays is Larry Neal's "Ellison's Zoot Suit," in which he finds the novel an exemplary enactment in fiction of the "black aesthetic." The essays explore topics of narrative form, classical and vernacular points of reference, and the relationship between the themes of love and politics. Taken together with Ellison's "Working Notes" and later commentary on the novel, these essays account for the continuing appeal of Invisible Man more than fifty years after its publication. An editor's introduction and a full bibliography accompany the essays, selections from Ellison's writings, and informal statements on his novel. The volume offers a rich variety of interpretations of Invisible Man for students and scholars of Ellison.

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A beautiful and moving reading by Joe Morton
The Best Work of American Fiction I've Ever Read.
A classic work that needs no name or adjective to describe.
The Recognition of One's Indentity

Invisible Man
Ralph Ellison
Manufacturer: RH Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 0739322079
Release Date: 2005-04-19

Book Description

Ralph Elllison's Invisible Man is a monumental novel, one that can well be called an epic of modern American Negro life. It is a strange story, in which many extraordinary things happen, some of them shocking and brutal, some of them pitiful and touching--yet always with elements of comedy and irony and burlesque that appear in unexpected places. It is a book that has a great deal to say and which is destined to have a great deal said about it.

After a brief prologue, the story begins with a terrifying experience of the hero's high school days, moves quickly to the campus of a Southern Negro college and then to New York's Harlem, where most of the action takes place. The many people that the hero meets in the course of his wanderings are remarkably various, complex and significant. With them he becomes involved in an amazing series of adventures, in which he is sometimes befriended but more often deceived and betrayed--as much by himself and his own illusions as by the duplicity of the blindness of others.

Invisible Man is not only a great triumph of storytelling and characterization; it is a profound and uncompromising interpretation of the Negro's anomalous position in American society.

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

A beautiful and moving reading by Joe Morton.......2007-09-06

Joe Morton's narration of Invisible Man is remarkable. He brings individual voices to dozens of characters. This was my first exposure to a great, great book and I am grateful that I heard it rather than read it. The impact of Morton's reading will stay with me for a long time.

The Best Work of American Fiction I've Ever Read........2007-06-22

And Joe Morton's performance is brilliant. The audio version is stronger than the written.

This book was the inspiration for my first book.

A classic work that needs no name or adjective to describe........2006-02-24

In my opinion this classic work is one of the top five fiction books in African-American History. I read the book some time ago and wanted hear it on tape to determine if my opinion of the book would change. My opinion of the book was unchanged, it is and will alway be a classic. To be highly critical of the book I would suggest it loses some pacing at the very end. However, the books clearly shows Ellison brillances as a writer and a thinker. He calls into question many issues that the Afro-American community deals with today: racisms, head negro in charge-isms, Uncle Tom-isms, being a credit to our race-isms and more. I think the underlining question raised in this book is how far will Afro-American go to please the majority race. How much of our efforts not to be the majority created stero type Afro-American is to be a credit to our race as oppose to denying our race. A must read or listen to for anybody with an interest in African-American history.

The Recognition of One's Indentity.......2005-05-13

I like the fiction "Invisible Man" because it discloses a universal question: how to recognize one's identity in the community. Every person is a member of a society and lives in a community. We live, work, have various relationships with different individuals and organizations. Have we asked ourselves: who am I? Certainly we know our names, professions, relatives, friends, likes and dislikes, but that doesn't mean we are completely aware of our identity in the world, that is, what we are as social existence, what the society expects of us and what we are entitled to in the society. So there is the time we feel confused, unsatisfied, lost, disappointed, unbalanced. The society is a system, which is formed by historical force. A single individual has not the power to change it or alter it. One's indentity is decided by the society, by the relationship s/he has with the outside world.
It is important to know one's identity clearly because that is the basis for s/he to understand her/himself and the outside world and to act accordingly. The clear awareness of one's identity can help s/he avoid illusion,misdecision,misaction and so on and make her/him have more possibilities to live peacefully and successfully.

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Great Help
Save Yourself- Buy the Cliffs Notes
Stacy`s amazing book of The Invisible Man
Starts off great but drags on for too long

The Invisible Man (Cliffs Notes)
Durthy A. Washington
Manufacturer: Cliffs Notes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0764586564

Book Description

The original CliffsNotes study guides offer expert commentary on major themes, plots, characters, literary devices, and historical background. The latest generation of titles in this series also feature glossaries and visual elements that complement the classic, familiar format.

With CliffsNotes on Invisible Man, you accompany a young black man in Harlem during his process of self-discovery and individuality. Through a difficult passage into manhood, author Ralph Ellison writes of the alienation of humans in everyday life, yet remains whole and optimistic.

This concise supplement to Ellison's Invisible Man helps you understand the overall structure of the novel, actions and motivations of the characters, and the social and cultural perspectives of the author. In addition to chapter-by chapter summaries and commentaries, other features include

Character analyses of major players
A character map that graphically illustrates the relationships among the characters
Critical essays on the novel's symbolism and setting, profiles of leadership, and more
A review section that tests your knowledge
Background of the author, including career highlights and literary influences

Classic literature or modern modern-day treasure — you'll understand it all with expert information and insight from CliffsNotes study guides.

Customer Reviews:

Great Help.......2006-02-04

Very detailed. I used it to help me to understand the concepts behind the story, and it is indeed helpful. Gives you different insight into meaning of things.

Save Yourself- Buy the Cliffs Notes.......2002-09-23

I had the read Ellison's Invisible Man for AP Literature- and after struggling through the first five unbearably long chapters- I made a decision- To through th book out the window!!! Save yourself the agony of reading this "great" work of American literature- buy the cliffs notes- they have all of the info w/o the boring stuff!

Stacy`s amazing book of The Invisible Man.......2001-10-25

I thought the book The Invisible Man was a good book.It was about a man who had bandages all over him. Some people thought he was very ill and tried to doctor himself.Others said they would hearsounds coming from his room. One rainy day, a family owned a hotel. He asked if he could stay in one of the rooms,and he asked if they would not come check on him.

Starts off great but drags on for too long.......1999-04-27

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New Essays on Invisible Man (The American Novel)

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New Essays on Invisible Man (The American Novel)

Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521313694

Book Description

Published less than forty years ago, Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man" shares with older classic works the odd quality of seeming to have been in place much longer. It is a novel that encompasses much of the American scene and character: though told by a single Afro-American voice and set in the contemporary South and then in modern New York City, its references are to the First World WAr, to Reconstruction, to the Civil War and slavery, to the founding of the American republic, to Columbus, and to the country's frontier past. In his introduction to this volume Robert O'Meally discusses Ellison's fictional strategies for reaching a wide audience while remaining true to his own artistic vision and voice. Then each of the five critical essays explores a different aspect of this capacious novel. One looks at the novel's protagonist as an embattled artist-in-training; another focuses on the novel's political and philosophical backgrounds: a third discusses the style and meaning of the nameless narrator's speeches; a fourth examines the novel's modernism in light of its references to jazz and anthropology; and the final essay considers "Invisible Man" as a kind of war novel. Written in an accessible style, these essays represent the best of recent scholarship and provide students with a useful introduction to this major novel.

An Invisible Man: The Hunt for a Serial Killer Who Got Away With a Decade of Murder

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An incredibly true tale
One of the most frightening books I have ever read
Gripping; Chilling
dont answer the door
The names that matter

An Invisible Man: The Hunt for a Serial Killer Who Got Away With a Decade of Murder
Stephanie A. Stanley
Manufacturer: Berkley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0425208877

Book Description

In the summer of 2002, a serial killer prowled the streets of Baton Rouge, preying on the city's best and brightest women. The authorities had a profile of their suspect. They were wrong. This is the shocking true story of the investigation that went awry--and the good old-fashioned police work that solved the case.

Customer Reviews:

An incredibly true tale.......2006-11-29

This book is the story of Derrick Todd Lee, a black serial killer. Stephanie Stanley, the author, got the idea to write this book from a source on this story. It was a good idea, as the other press on this story did not tell the background of Derrick Todd Lee. Mr. Lee was well known to the Louisiana police and had a long history of run ins with the law.
Ms. Stanley is a superb writer. I hope that I will be able to read more by her.
This is a tale of errors by the police and by the FBI. It is very difficult to read. It also saddens me, that due to errors in identifying Derrick (he was thought to be white, not black in the FBI profile, the police tended to look at the boyfriends of victims rather than the possiblity of a serial killer being loose) he was allowed to kill for longer than he should have been. At least the mistakes were not as bad as in the Coral Watts case (read "Evil eyes" by Corey Mitchell) and the Green River Killer case.

One of the most frightening books I have ever read.......2006-09-17

This is one of the best true crime books I have ever read. I am originally from Louisiana and currently live in Jackson, MS, the home of Murray Pace, so I have followed this case from the beginning. Ms. Sanders does an outstanding job of making one feel the outrage of the victim's families, and the failure of the legal and judicial system of La. - this man should never have been on the streets. Also, when the author writes about the victims and their families, she is very respectful and empathetic. I made the mistake of reading this book while my husband was out of town, and I was petrified. I believe every woman should read this book, in order to see how easy it was for this evil man to kill these smart, careful, and responsible women.

Gripping; Chilling.......2006-09-16

Stephanies book, An Invisible Man, is a spine chilling account of a serial murderer that should have been caught many years prior to his arrest, but due to poor investigative work was delayed many years. The book is superbly done and Stephanies ilk for detail and accuracy leaves nothing to be desired. I recommend this book to anyone with a desire for detail in real life crime.

dont answer the door.......2006-08-01

If you like true crime novels, you will really enjoy this one! After reading this, you won't answer your door again! This is about a serial rapist/killer who manages to elude capture by slipping through the cracks numerous times. You wonder how someone this obvious could get by for so long with stalking and murdering women in areas with very little crime. The killer becomes more and more frenzied and eventully is caught, but at the expense of many lives. Very good read!

The names that matter.......2006-07-11

Stephanie's writing style is engaging and assessible reflecting her reporter's roots. She has told the story of the horror and darkness which enveloped so many of us in those awful years with clarity and compassion. Even though I've spent much time trying to learn about Derrick Lee, I still learned many things about him from this book. Stephanie's book also reminded me that criminal profiling is only an "educated" guess of dubious worth and unexpected potential for harm; that the justice system is a system and all the parts need to work for justice to be anything but serendipitious; and - above all - that Derrick Lee should never, ever have been outside a prison when my child died.
P.S. Gina Wilson Green, Geralyn Barr DeSoto, Charlotte Murray Pace, Pam Kinamore, Trenisha Dene Colomb, Carrie Lynn Yoder, and Randi Meubreuer - these are the names you won't remember, but they're the names that matter.

Cultural Contexts for Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man: A Bedford Documentary Companion

Average customer rating:

Invaluable Resource for in-depth research
Nice companion, but rather boring.

Cultural Contexts for Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man: A Bedford Documentary Companion
Eric Sundquist
Manufacturer: Bedford/St. Martin's
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0312100817

Book Description

A unique supplement to one of the most important African American novels of this century. As Invisible Man chronicles the major moments of African American life during the first half of the twentieth century, this volume illuminates and contextualizes the novel with a collection of speeches, essays, folktales, historical analyses, photographs, and other cultural and historical documents.

Customer Reviews:

Invaluable Resource for in-depth research.......2004-09-12

Eric Sundquist's book is an invaluable resource for information when trying to understand the background of Invisible Man. This is the place to start if you're doing research on the novel. Not only does Sundquist present the prolific sources that Ellison used and referenced through the novel, the editor also provides additional resource materials for each reference. It's wonderful if you're writing a research paper, and helpful for the curious reader who wants to be even further convinced of Ellison's genius.

Nice companion, but rather boring........2000-05-08

I used this book in my Writing 122 class when we read Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. It was somewhat helpfull, especially explaining some of the allusions made in the book, but overall it was very boring and dry. Also, some of the background explanations of different historical figures were difficult to follow. I'd give it four stars for helpfullness, but since it can be confusing/dry, only three stars total.

H. G. Wells: The Time Machine, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Invisible Man, The War of the Worlds, The First Men in the Moon, The Food of the Gods (Masters Library)

Average customer rating:

H. G. Wells: The Time Machine, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Invisible Man, The War of the Worlds, The First Men in the Moon, The Food of the Gods (Masters Library)

Manufacturer: Amaranth Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Leather Bound
ASIN: 0808162985

Product Description

Bound in blue bonded leather. Gilt edges, silver titles, and raised spine.

Man Visible and Invisible: Examples of Different Types of Men as Seen by Means of Trained Clairvoyance

Average customer rating:

The Classic Work by CW Leadbeater!
Text 5 Stars! Black-and-White Illustrations 1 Star?

Man Visible and Invisible: Examples of Different Types of Men as Seen by Means of Trained Clairvoyance
C. W. Leadbeater
Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Parapsychology | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0766102556

Book Description

1909. How these Things are Known; The Planes of Nature; Clairvoyant Sight; Trinity; Animal Group Soul; Upward Curve; Human Consciousness; Their Outporing; How Man Evolves; What His Bodies Show Us; What the Colors Show; The Savage; The Ordinary Person; Sudden Emotion; Permanent Condition; The Developed Man; The Health Aura; The Causal Body of the Adept.

Customer Reviews:

The Classic Work by CW Leadbeater!.......2005-09-23

Just buy it - if you have any interest at all in this subject then don't mess around. Get the classic that started it all.

Text 5 Stars! Black-and-White Illustrations 1 Star?.......2002-12-10

Be sure the book you order has color illustrations, not black and white ones. This version may be the black-and-white photocopy I've seen of the original classic published by the Theosophical Society. Both the original and the black-and-white version present the same textual descriptions, which are vivid, wise and beautifully crafted. The original presents 26 wondrous and compelling color illustrations, including health auras and mental, astral and causal bodies as seen by Bishop Leadbeater. However, a recent and terribly disappointing publication from a different publisher merely presents crude black and white illustrations, which do no justice to the text. I recommend contacting the Theosophical Society to be sure you obtain the authentic version.

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