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Title: commendable
Review: This book offers a look inside the rise and fall of Huey Newton and the Black Panther Party in Oakland from the 60's to the 80's. Nelson has spoken to many of the participants and assembled what appears to be a well-balanced overview of the promise and problems of the Party.His essential argument is that the Party began as a criminal enterprise with revolutionary trappings and was eventually consumed by it's own criminality. The book was apparently somewhat controversial because this, of course, contradicts the standard view that the Panthers began as a worthy endeavor but was tragically destroyed by increasing criminal activity and mismanagement and illegal government meddling.Despite some awkward prose, this is an excellent look at the turn from non-violence to violence in the Black Community in the mid-60's.GRADE: B
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