Pat M. J. reviewed Life Lit by Some Large Vision: Selected Speeches and Writings on + 66 more book reviews
A book that is the celebration of a wonderful man, talented, driven to commitment because he was Negro, and steadfast to his purpose. Most of his American fans thought they knew him but Ossie himself corrects some misapprehensions; he was often taken aback from his entrenched opinions about the Negro problems, of race in America. He did have epiphanies; he did see the dead ends of some of his assumptions about white people and the colored peoples' quest for equality in the U.S.A. and sought more enlightenment. He studied the valued arguments of the greats in his time who did commit everything in the conflict for Negro rights. The book is a credit to him for this striving and ability to change passionate beliefs when they proved false to his goals. He had a career to "protect" and nurture at the same time. His courage to pursue both ambitions in an uneasy balance all his life is described here. Letters, speeches, eulogies & tributes, and essays provide a monumental vision of a modern man who had only the weapon of free speech, and used it as a torch to light up falsities and wrong paths in the American self-vision and changed his own life. His wife, Ruby Dee, is no less brilliant and a visionary with courage to spare in her role as a famous women in American politics; her comments in the book are valuable.
I was a great fan of Ossie Davis during his lifetime,and this book gives keen insight into this outstanding human being who tried to make a difference in our great country.
