THE BLACK LIST

Journalist Elvis Mitchell teamed with photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders to create a stunning collection of portraits of successful African-Americans. The subjects range from political leaders to sports stars to entertainers—including the likes of Maya Angelou, Colin Powell, and Slash—but lower-profile cultural and business leaders may be the most fascinating. Mitchell's intriguing introduction explains his objective: a modern, new "black list" loaded with power and inspiration. In this audiobook version of the book and documentary film, three narrators read the transcripts from selected interviews. Although capably read, the conversational interviews are sometimes awkward due to their verbatim delivery. Lacking the exquisite photographs, the listener may feel this anthology is not ideally suited to the audiobook format. N.M.C. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2009]