I was sent a copy of Bill Cosby’s Come on People new book to review after my NPR appearance by what I believe to be some of his public relations people. I have to admit that I may have been a little harsh in my language on News & Notes but I still feelthe same way. A great deal of what Cosby and Poussaint say is dead on and useful but it has been presented in such a negative way that the people he wishes to reach won’t listen. Come on People is an excellent book that expresses what the problems are in the African American community and gives step by step instructions on how fix them.

The best thing about the book is how it has managed to divide itself into chapters and sections that address specific problems and how to solve them. The authors managed to find people throughout the country who can relate to the subject matter and who have gone through difficult situations and overcome them. Cosby and Poussaint, for the most part, manage to avoid coming across as condescending or negative as they examine problems such as teen pregnancy, mental illness, health, and education. It is very useful to those who are in a trouble spot in their lives or who know someone who is.

The cool thing about books that demand changes in behavior is that they allow you to give a relative or friend much needed advice without bruising their ego. If there is someone you know who over disciplines their child, or who is trying to figure out how to improve their own circumstances you can give them the book without being perceived as meddling. All in all, it is an excellent book and worth reading.

What saddens me is that the book is probably one of the best in terms of step by step instruction that I have seen in years and it is unlikely to reach the people who need it most, the African American underclass. I agreed with Cosby and thought that people were overreacting to his original comments when I heard the substance of what he said through third parties. When I actually recordings of his rants via radio I was taken aback by the disrespectful way he spoke of the African American lower class going as far as mocking their names. I was near the end of the book and was riding the Metro in D.C. when a sister struck up a conversation with me by asking me what I was reading. I told her it was Cosby’s book and she and a friend of hers began to discuss it with me. They said that “Cosby’s heart is in the right place but that mouth…ummm”. What they meant was that Cosby’s delivery is so stained with contempt that it made it next to impossible to listen to what he said.

I don’t pretend to know what type of situation these sisters were coming from, but I would hazard to guess that there were at least some portions that would have been useful to them. I learned a lot myself. But I have to admit that if it were not for the review copy I probably would not have read it. What this means to me is that the message, which is a phenomenal one, has been lost. I would recommend that anyone who cares about the African American community read this book, and I am sure that many in the frustrated middle class will do so. But those who need it most, those in the African American under class, will likely not do so because of Cosby’s failure to speak frankly out of concern rather than from frustration and anger.