How to Be: A Guide to Contemporary Living for African Americans - Hardcover

Cole, Harriette

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0684826453 ISBN 13: 9780684826455

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 1999

Synopsis

A guide to decent everyday living is steeped in the rituals of the African American community's rich heritage and recommends appropriate behavior for every aspect of life

About this title

Review:

The author of Jumping the Broom, former fashion editor of Essence and president of Profundities, Inc., Harriette Cole has the experience and the skill to translate into contemporary language the values and rules of behavior one learned, or was supposed to learn, as a child, updating them to take into account the vicissitudes of modern life.

Drawing on ancient sages and anecdotal tales, Cole covers general codes of conduct and every particular from dating, travel, and work to money, politics, and family. More conversational than an Emily Post treatise, more reflective than a simple laundry list of do's and don'ts, Cole's How To Be is as much a guide for the spirit as it is for specific behaviors. Still, she does take on specific questions that represent common quandaries, such as "What can I do when my child comes home proclaiming that he has changed his religion?" and "Do I have to change my vocabulary when I am speaking with elders?" and "I am in love with a wonderful man, but my family doesn't like him at all. How can I manage this?" Cole's answers reflect the history and culture of the African American community, but the topics and concerns of her book will be familiar to everyone, regardless of race, and her candid sagacity is refreshing and instructive, no matter what your color or background may be. --Stephanie Gold

From the Back Cover:

REAL MANNERS FOR REAL LIFE

Etiquette is more than knowing which fork to use. Good manners are the rules that let us find our way in today's rapidly changing maze of lifestyles, customs, and relationships. Anyone who doesn't know these rules is living and working at a real disadvantage.

In How to Be, noted author and editor Harriette Cole treats manners as a resource for the empowerment of people of African descent. She offers guidance drawn from the tried-and-true experience and wisdom of our African-American elders, as well as from European mainstream traditions in many areas of life, including:

FAMILY -- IMMEDIATE, EXTENDED, AND BLENDED

NEW CODES OF DATING, LOVE, AND SEX

ENTERTAINING FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND COWORKERS IN BOTH CASUAL AND FORMAL SETTINGS

WORKPLACE ISSUES -- FROM HOW TO RESIGN TO WHAT TO WEAR ON CASUAL FRIDAYS

RITES OF PASSAGE, INCLUDING WEDDINGS AND FUNERALS

HOLIDAY CELEBRATIONS LIKE CHRISTMAS, KWANZAA, AND JUNETEENTH AND MUCH MORE

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0684826453
• ISBN 13: 9780684826455
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 528