"This is a book of stories," writes Henry Louis Gates, "and all might be described as 'narratives of ascent.'" As some remarkable men talk about their lives, many perspectives on race and gender emerge. For the notion of the unitary black man, Gates argues, is as imaginary as the creature that the poet Wallace Stevens conjured in his poem "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird."

Includes index.

Introduction: ways of looking -- The welcome table (James Baldwin) -- King of cats (Albert Murray) -- The body politic (Bill T. Jones) -- The Powell perplex (Colin Powell) -- Thirteen ways of looking at a Black man (The Simpson trial) -- The charmer (Louis Farrakhan) -- Belafonte's balancing act (Harry Belafonte) -- The passing of Anatole Broyard.