hardbound edition by Laurraine Goreau- no dust jacket
"Here is 'the real book' of the incredible Mahalia Jackson, as pledge to her by her close friend, Laurraine Goreau, before her death. Rich in poetic condensation and vivid imagery, it reaches back to recreate an era and a way of life that no longer exist; it surfaces hidden folk lore and cultural patterns; it delves into Voodoo and a secret psychic world. It shows you jazz at it roots when it was 'jass,' the Devil's temptation; first-hand, it gives you the surprising sociological significances of the whole gospel movement...but most of all, it takes you with a misshapen mote on a forgotten scrap of river-land as Mahalia pushes, fights, sings her way to a personage of unique stature among Americans to the world's peoples, revered by hundreds of thousands as a symbol of utter integrity, the bearer of God's tidings. She sang with literal faith in the path of salvation - yet waged a hidden struggle for health and elusive happiness as Halie, 'famous through disappointments.' Walk with her as a strong, quiet force in the early civil rights struggle, an ardent ally of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sit with her with the Empress of Japan. Search with her for God's intention and her temple. Swift-paced as a novel, the tale is told with absolute authenticity - the result of wholly fresh, careful, skilled research and a singular rapport which made the gathering possible, the language caught by cassette tape. Miss Goreau exercises a technical skill which enables the reader to move in and out of the minds of various characters as they add their threads to her intricate weaving of the life of one of the great, rare spirits of our time."
