Book of the week for 10/7 - 10/13/07

SOUL ON ICE (Paperback)by Eldridge Cleaver

Soul On Ice, by Eldridge Cleaver is a collection of essays which includes the author’s thoughts and feelings on a variety of social issues. It covers his journey from rapist, to a Black Muslim, to one of this nations most eloquent writers and social critics. In reading this book I was surprised to discover how useful Cleaver’s perceptions in 1968 are when analyzing race relations today. Eldridge Cleaver’s book opens with the first chapter, “Letters From Prison.” In this chapter he describes his place in society as a Black man and a prisoner. In my opinion, the most shocking aspect of his personality he reveals in this chapter is that he discovered that he was motivated to rape white as an “insurrectionary act...defying and trampling upon the white man’s law, upon his system of values, and...defiling his women.” He described his acts of rape as revenge upon the white man by sending fear through the white community. I believe his acts of rape cannot be excused by their motives of anger and frustration, but it is very important to recognize the abyss of hopelessness he must have felt being a Black man at this time in America’s history. I think this was a very important turning point in Mr. Cleaver’s life because he realized, after he was sent to prison, “...that it is easier to do evil than it is to do good.” This is the reason he began to write. He used writing to find out exactly who he was in an effort to save himself from himself.

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Laurel (August 1, 1970)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 044021128X
ISBN-13: 978-0440211280
Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches