This book is a revisiting and expansion of a book by the journalist and historian of black history, Joel A. Rogers. It is written in a question and answer format so you can't use it to search for a topic in any organized way, and the answers are necessarily brief. However, there are extensive footnotes and many of the answers are interesting enough to warrant deeper exploration. The questions aren't arranged in any particular order. Some examples are: "Who buried the dead from the battle of Gettysburg?, What happened to the 'forty acres and a mule' that former slaves were promised?, Who was the first negro saint?, What was the second Middle Passage?, What happened to Argentina's black population? and Why was the summer of 1964 pivotal in the fight for civil rights."

The book touches on examples of negro history primarily in the United States, but also in other parts of the world, including Europe, Africa and South America. While the book was certainly informative, parts were definitely more interesting to me than others, and it would probably be better to dip into it a little bit at a time rather than reading it cover to cover as I did. I listened to the audio book, but followed along in the ebook so that I could view the illustrations.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

This eminently readable book is an expanded update on the 1934 classic by the same name. The story of the original author, Joel A. Rogers, is as inspiring and interesting as the other facts! The people, facts and stories in this book aren't just interesting, they're often uplifting, and always fascinating.

In addition to reintroducing us to the Roger's great research and writing, Dr. Gates explores the African-American experience through solid scholarship. Extremely well researched but still totally engaging, I highly recommend this book. Readers will come away with an appreciation for just how complex and varied the African-American experience was and is.

100 Amazing Facts About the Negros is a truly amazing book. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. did a wonderful job explaining the facts. He did not sugar coat anything, even when it shed light upon the not so good stuff about Negro's. I highly recommend this book to everyone to get a better understanding of all the cultures involved throughout time.

A Good Reason for the “Edgy” Title

I think most readers will see this title and ask, “What’s with that title?” Well, I did. The title seems very controversial; why in the world did the author pick that title?

The first thing to know about 100 AMAZING FACTS ABOUT THE NEGRO, is that the title was not picked to be some edgy title. It’s not that at all; author Henry Louis Gates is simply updating the classic 1934 book with the same name.

The original book was titled, “100 Amazing Facts About the Negro With Complete Proof: A Short Cut to the World History of the Negro,” and was published by Joel A. Rogers, a “largely self-educated black journalist and historian. “

In reading this book, I found it fun to just leaf through the various questions, and focus on ones that intrigued me. There were many that I could not answer—plus some real surprises. Here’s a few:

Q# 2: “How many Africans were taken to the United States during the entire history of the slave trade?”

I had no idea that most of the slaves went to the Caribbean and South America. The author explains: “Between 1525 and 1866, 12.5 million Africans were shipped to the New World. . . In fact, the overwhelming majority of the African slaves were shipped directly to the Caribbean and South America; Brazil alone received 4.86 million.”

Here’s another:

Q21: “Who was the first African-American fighter pilot?”

It was Eugene Jacques Bullard, who served during World War I.

You get the idea. This book is fun to read and fun to learn new things.


Advance Review Copy courtesy of the publisher.

Henry Louis Gates Jr. & team's update and revision to the compendium of Joel Rogers' columns in the Pittsburgh Courier.

The original intention was to provide historical information about the past accomplishments and achievements of black people throughout time. The book provides 100 different stories, many of which feature slavery and its condition, but many others about various historical figures who were of African descent and other important exploits by Africans and African-Americans.

A worthwhile exploration demonstrating that people of African descent have been active in the world and have accomplished many notable achievements throughout history.

I enjoyed this book and really learned some things I'd never known. I am a homeschool parent and African American and will definitely be incorporating this into my lectures this year. It was the one thing I had been needing for a long while and I'm so glad I found it in this book. I think everyone will be pleased to learn some of the things African Americans and Black people in general has gone through and our history.

Gates Does Rogers Proud

Joel Rogers' 1934 book, "100 Amazing Facts About the Negro With Complete Proof...", was, as you might expect, a wildly idiosyncratic work. Henry Gates has taken the Rogers framework, has updated the "facts", and has added his own engaging, personal stamp to the project.

There is indeed much here to entertain, inform, inspire, and prompt further thought and reading. The tone is conversational rather than academic, and while the book is founded upon deep scholarship it has a very engaging and welcoming style.

The Rogers frame has its benefits but also its challenges. Since the book is set out as answers to 100 interesting questions it is necessarily a bit of a hodge podge, and the topics follow no particular order. Because some of the questions overlap there are a number of facts, events, and important moments that appear several times, in various "answers". What was interesting in 1934 may not seem quite so interesting now, and so topics about black wealthy Russians, or the black ancestry of writers like Alexandre Dumas may not resonate with a modern reader. I would also suspect that there are some academic disagreements and controversies between some of the lines, (say, for example, in the treatment of Malcolm X), but as a general reader that was not especially evident to me.

But these are small matters. The larger and more important point is that Gates has set out a feast for the interested reader. This is, at a minimum, an excellent primer on the historic outlines of slavery in the United States, an interesting treatment of Lincoln and the Civil War, and in a larger sense a proud and wide ranging celebration of both famous and little known black Americans. One can skim, browse, or read carefully and deeply - all three approaches will bring their own rewards. As I say, Gates has done a fine, fine job building upon what Joel Rogers created, and this book has earned that "Amazing" title.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

Walking in the footsteps of Joel Roger and his 1934 work “100 Amazing Facts About the Negro With Complete Proof: A Short Cut to the World History of the Negro,” Gates, to put it simply, has crafted an absolutely fantastic work. Loaded from beginning to an end with a dizzying abundance of facts, stories, corrections of the historical record, and statistics that span time from the Roman Empire up to the Modern Era, there are probably very few who will be able to finish this work without having at least a score of brand new doors opened for them into the richness of black history that they’ll want to step into and explore even further (and that’s most likely quite a lowball average estimate when I consider the incredible amount that I was able to personally learn).

With its coverage of a magnificently diverse range of topics, events and figures all organized into a masterfully digestible format, this is not only an eye-opening delight, but I also believe this to be a brand new must-read for any history fan.

When I first saw the title of this book, I was more than slightly horrified. ‘Negroes’? Who says that anymore???

You see, I was unfamiliar with the 1934 book by Joel Rogers - and this book is an updated, sharp, and timely homage to that original book. (By the way, I now want to read the original as well.)

In our updated 100 Amazing Facts About The Negro, by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the author brings us 100 fascinating tidbits about blacks and their history in our modern world. Notice I said blacks - not African Americans. While there are plenty of African Americans profiled here, the book also features people from Europe, Mexico, the Middle East, and Africa – all sharing African ancestry and all impacting our world in amazing ways. Aside from specific people, you’ll also learn about exactly how much black blood the average white American may have and how much Native American blood the average African American has. You’ll earn about black saints, politicians, poets, and even a most unusual family who sailed on the Titanic – I never even heard of them before!

As well versed in history as I thought I was, I was astounded to learn of people I’d never before heard of and thoroughly enjoyed testing my family on their knowledge of some of these fascinating facts.

Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in history and culture!