Good & beautifully written but in some ways Maya's not a role model , 05 Jun 2008
Loved reading this book - very poetic & completely devoid of self-pity despite Maya's obviously deprived background & her having been the victim of extensive racial prejudice.

My only issue with it is how Maya who seems to be an extremely intelligent woman, doesn't ask herself whether it is a good thing that she had a baby resulting from an apparent one-night stand @ 16 - it seems that casual sex was almost expected & her Mum almost wanted her to be sleeping with strangers. She does seem to have come from the type of background placing her at risk of teenage pregnancy but maybe should have put a 'health warning' on young readers warning them not to indulge in risky sexual behaviours as getting pregnant at 16 is (despite what Maya seems to think) hardly something to be proud of.

Honest, explicit and a fearless pen, 07 May 2008
I learnt alot about American history and life in various cities in the US. This book is the autobiography of one of the most powerful women in America who lives, works and rose against the odds. This book must be deposited in every library around the world that women may read, learn and understand that life and its beauty in is doing different things under different and difficult circumstances which sometimes are cruel, nasty or not understandable to our way of life.

"... his teeth fell, no actually his teeth jumped, out of his mouth. ... grinning uppers and lowers lay by my right shoe, looking empty and ... contain all the emptiness in the world ... Sister Monroe was struggling with his coat, and men had to all but picked her up to remove her from the building ... 'Naked I came into this world, and naked I shall go out.' (pages 47) - made me laugh so much.

I also cried during the read on the fears of running a small family shop. I know those fears well. I felt those fears and I waited for those fears every day then.

The book is dedicated to all the Strong Black Birds of promise but reading it is an asset to any Bird who wants life to be one of promise and hope. What I take away most from this read is not to be ashamed of writing my truth. This reading gave me enough reasons why I should celebrate womanhood. The reading ended only after I felt and realised Freedom of the Press in the United States of America.


A book to keep and re-read, 15 Mar 2008
I originally studied this book at A-level; I love it and have read it three times more since finishing the course. This book will definitely have a permanent position on my book shelf.

Why does the caged bird sing?, 04 Oct 2007
It's simply this - he's deliriously happy that he's only a spectator in the madness of life. Did Maya secretly wish that she could observe her life from the safety of a cage instead of having the starring role? In fact is that how she coped at all?

Fantastic story. Full of racial prejudice (from both sides). But it's in examining the reasons for that prejudice that your empathy for Maya really grows. All kinds of parallels can be drawn between this book and The Color Purple and To Kill A Mocking Bird.


A great gift, 03 Sep 2007
I was given this book as a gift and am grateful to the giver for introducing me to this incredible woman. As a life coach I found her life journey of personal growth a great lesson on how you cannot change your situation but you can certainly change how you respond to it and that comes through in her character. I've seen her interviewed and her dignity and achievement shine throug and that's truely inspiring.

Good & beautifully written but in some ways Maya's not a role model , 05 Jun 2008
Loved reading this book - very poetic & completely devoid of self-pity despite Maya's obviously deprived background & her having been the victim of extensive racial prejudice.

My only issue with it is how Maya who seems to be an extremely intelligent woman, doesn't ask herself whether it is a good thing that she had a baby resulting from an apparent one-night stand @ 16 - it seems that casual sex was almost expected & her Mum almost wanted her to be sleeping with strangers. She does seem to have come from the type of background placing her at risk of teenage pregnancy but maybe should have put a 'health warning' on young readers warning them not to indulge in risky sexual behaviours as getting pregnant at 16 is (despite what Maya seems to think) hardly something to be proud of.

Honest, explicit and a fearless pen, 07 May 2008
I learnt alot about American history and life in various cities in the US. This book is the autobiography of one of the most powerful women in America who lives, works and rose against the odds. This book must be deposited in every library around the world that women may read, learn and understand that life and its beauty in is doing different things under different and difficult circumstances which sometimes are cruel, nasty or not understandable to our way of life.

"... his teeth fell, no actually his teeth jumped, out of his mouth. ... grinning uppers and lowers lay by my right shoe, looking empty and ... contain all the emptiness in the world ... Sister Monroe was struggling with his coat, and men had to all but picked her up to remove her from the building ... 'Naked I came into this world, and naked I shall go out.' (pages 47) - made me laugh so much.

I also cried during the read on the fears of running a small family shop. I know those fears well. I felt those fears and I waited for those fears every day then.

The book is dedicated to all the Strong Black Birds of promise but reading it is an asset to any Bird who wants life to be one of promise and hope. What I take away most from this read is not to be ashamed of writing my truth. This reading gave me enough reasons why I should celebrate womanhood. The reading ended only after I felt and realised Freedom of the Press in the United States of America.


A book to keep and re-read, 15 Mar 2008
I originally studied this book at A-level; I love it and have read it three times more since finishing the course. This book will definitely have a permanent position on my book shelf.

Why does the caged bird sing?, 04 Oct 2007
It's simply this - he's deliriously happy that he's only a spectator in the madness of life. Did Maya secretly wish that she could observe her life from the safety of a cage instead of having the starring role? In fact is that how she coped at all?

Fantastic story. Full of racial prejudice (from both sides). But it's in examining the reasons for that prejudice that your empathy for Maya really grows. All kinds of parallels can be drawn between this book and The Color Purple and To Kill A Mocking Bird.


A great gift, 03 Sep 2007
I was given this book as a gift and am grateful to the giver for introducing me to this incredible woman. As a life coach I found her life journey of personal growth a great lesson on how you cannot change your situation but you can certainly change how you respond to it and that comes through in her character. I've seen her interviewed and her dignity and achievement shine throug and that's truely inspiring.

Maya Angelou - What a wonderful woman!!, 10 Nov 2008
A woman before her time, thrilling and nail biting at times. Her struggle as a single parent in a diffcult time. Her stand for her rights and opinions in a time when black people where standing up and finally being listened too.

I have never wanted to finish a book so i could get onto the next book but this new edition all the books under one is fantastic!!

Thank you Maya Angelou

Good & beautifully written but in some ways Maya's not a role model , 05 Jun 2008
Loved reading this book - very poetic & completely devoid of self-pity despite Maya's obviously deprived background & her having been the victim of extensive racial prejudice.

My only issue with it is how Maya who seems to be an extremely intelligent woman, doesn't ask herself whether it is a good thing that she had a baby resulting from an apparent one-night stand @ 16 - it seems that casual sex was almost expected & her Mum almost wanted her to be sleeping with strangers. She does seem to have come from the type of background placing her at risk of teenage pregnancy but maybe should have put a 'health warning' on young readers warning them not to indulge in risky sexual behaviours as getting pregnant at 16 is (despite what Maya seems to think) hardly something to be proud of.

Honest, explicit and a fearless pen, 07 May 2008
I learnt alot about American history and life in various cities in the US. This book is the autobiography of one of the most powerful women in America who lives, works and rose against the odds. This book must be deposited in every library around the world that women may read, learn and understand that life and its beauty in is doing different things under different and difficult circumstances which sometimes are cruel, nasty or not understandable to our way of life.

"... his teeth fell, no actually his teeth jumped, out of his mouth. ... grinning uppers and lowers lay by my right shoe, looking empty and ... contain all the emptiness in the world ... Sister Monroe was struggling with his coat, and men had to all but picked her up to remove her from the building ... 'Naked I came into this world, and naked I shall go out.' (pages 47) - made me laugh so much.

I also cried during the read on the fears of running a small family shop. I know those fears well. I felt those fears and I waited for those fears every day then.

The book is dedicated to all the Strong Black Birds of promise but reading it is an asset to any Bird who wants life to be one of promise and hope. What I take away most from this read is not to be ashamed of writing my truth. This reading gave me enough reasons why I should celebrate womanhood. The reading ended only after I felt and realised Freedom of the Press in the United States of America.


A book to keep and re-read, 15 Mar 2008
I originally studied this book at A-level; I love it and have read it three times more since finishing the course. This book will definitely have a permanent position on my book shelf.

Why does the caged bird sing?, 04 Oct 2007
It's simply this - he's deliriously happy that he's only a spectator in the madness of life. Did Maya secretly wish that she could observe her life from the safety of a cage instead of having the starring role? In fact is that how she coped at all?

Fantastic story. Full of racial prejudice (from both sides). But it's in examining the reasons for that prejudice that your empathy for Maya really grows. All kinds of parallels can be drawn between this book and The Color Purple and To Kill A Mocking Bird.


A great gift, 03 Sep 2007
I was given this book as a gift and am grateful to the giver for introducing me to this incredible woman. As a life coach I found her life journey of personal growth a great lesson on how you cannot change your situation but you can certainly change how you respond to it and that comes through in her character. I've seen her interviewed and her dignity and achievement shine throug and that's truely inspiring.

Maya Angelou - What a wonderful woman!!, 10 Nov 2008
A woman before her time, thrilling and nail biting at times. Her struggle as a single parent in a diffcult time. Her stand for her rights and opinions in a time when black people where standing up and finally being listened too.

I have never wanted to finish a book so i could get onto the next book but this new edition all the books under one is fantastic!!

Thank you Maya Angelou

absolutely magnificent, 30 Jul 1999
i am 15 and have not yet finished this wonderful book, but i'm loving every minute of it so far. Still I Rise is by far my favorite. I never realized a single poem could hold such inspiration and strength. A book that should be read by everyone of all ages and colors. Many thanks to Maya Angelou for such lovely poems.

Good & beautifully written but in some ways Maya's not a role model , 05 Jun 2008
Loved reading this book - very poetic & completely devoid of self-pity despite Maya's obviously deprived background & her having been the victim of extensive racial prejudice.

My only issue with it is how Maya who seems to be an extremely intelligent woman, doesn't ask herself whether it is a good thing that she had a baby resulting from an apparent one-night stand @ 16 - it seems that casual sex was almost expected & her Mum almost wanted her to be sleeping with strangers. She does seem to have come from the type of background placing her at risk of teenage pregnancy but maybe should have put a 'health warning' on young readers warning them not to indulge in risky sexual behaviours as getting pregnant at 16 is (despite what Maya seems to think) hardly something to be proud of.

Honest, explicit and a fearless pen, 07 May 2008
I learnt alot about American history and life in various cities in the US. This book is the autobiography of one of the most powerful women in America who lives, works and rose against the odds. This book must be deposited in every library around the world that women may read, learn and understand that life and its beauty in is doing different things under different and difficult circumstances which sometimes are cruel, nasty or not understandable to our way of life.

"... his teeth fell, no actually his teeth jumped, out of his mouth. ... grinning uppers and lowers lay by my right shoe, looking empty and ... contain all the emptiness in the world ... Sister Monroe was struggling with his coat, and men had to all but picked her up to remove her from the building ... 'Naked I came into this world, and naked I shall go out.' (pages 47) - made me laugh so much.

I also cried during the read on the fears of running a small family shop. I know those fears well. I felt those fears and I waited for those fears every day then.

The book is dedicated to all the Strong Black Birds of promise but reading it is an asset to any Bird who wants life to be one of promise and hope. What I take away most from this read is not to be ashamed of writing my truth. This reading gave me enough reasons why I should celebrate womanhood. The reading ended only after I felt and realised Freedom of the Press in the United States of America.


A book to keep and re-read, 15 Mar 2008
I originally studied this book at A-level; I love it and have read it three times more since finishing the course. This book will definitely have a permanent position on my book shelf.

Why does the caged bird sing?, 04 Oct 2007
It's simply this - he's deliriously happy that he's only a spectator in the madness of life. Did Maya secretly wish that she could observe her life from the safety of a cage instead of having the starring role? In fact is that how she coped at all?

Fantastic story. Full of racial prejudice (from both sides). But it's in examining the reasons for that prejudice that your empathy for Maya really grows. All kinds of parallels can be drawn between this book and The Color Purple and To Kill A Mocking Bird.


A great gift, 03 Sep 2007
I was given this book as a gift and am grateful to the giver for introducing me to this incredible woman. As a life coach I found her life journey of personal growth a great lesson on how you cannot change your situation but you can certainly change how you respond to it and that comes through in her character. I've seen her interviewed and her dignity and achievement shine throug and that's truely inspiring.

Maya Angelou - What a wonderful woman!!, 10 Nov 2008
A woman before her time, thrilling and nail biting at times. Her struggle as a single parent in a diffcult time. Her stand for her rights and opinions in a time when black people where standing up and finally being listened too.

I have never wanted to finish a book so i could get onto the next book but this new edition all the books under one is fantastic!!

Thank you Maya Angelou

absolutely magnificent, 30 Jul 1999
i am 15 and have not yet finished this wonderful book, but i'm loving every minute of it so far. Still I Rise is by far my favorite. I never realized a single poem could hold such inspiration and strength. A book that should be read by everyone of all ages and colors. Many thanks to Maya Angelou for such lovely poems.

Simply Inspirational, 13 Jan 2008
An excellent and succinct tool for teaching adults and children to grasp life and have fun. It also serves to diminish the impact of negativity from ourselves and others to ourselves and others.

Not just for children, 18 Feb 1997
This poem is a good reminder to us all that life should be lived head on and without fear of the things that make the journey worthwhile.

Good & beautifully written but in some ways Maya's not a role model , 05 Jun 2008
Loved reading this book - very poetic & completely devoid of self-pity despite Maya's obviously deprived background & her having been the victim of extensive racial prejudice.

My only issue with it is how Maya who seems to be an extremely intelligent woman, doesn't ask herself whether it is a good thing that she had a baby resulting from an apparent one-night stand @ 16 - it seems that casual sex was almost expected & her Mum almost wanted her to be sleeping with strangers. She does seem to have come from the type of background placing her at risk of teenage pregnancy but maybe should have put a 'health warning' on young readers warning them not to indulge in risky sexual behaviours as getting pregnant at 16 is (despite what Maya seems to think) hardly something to be proud of.

Honest, explicit and a fearless pen, 07 May 2008
I learnt alot about American history and life in various cities in the US. This book is the autobiography of one of the most powerful women in America who lives, works and rose against the odds. This book must be deposited in every library around the world that women may read, learn and understand that life and its beauty in is doing different things under different and difficult circumstances which sometimes are cruel, nasty or not understandable to our way of life.

"... his teeth fell, no actually his teeth jumped, out of his mouth. ... grinning uppers and lowers lay by my right shoe, looking empty and ... contain all the emptiness in the world ... Sister Monroe was struggling with his coat, and men had to all but picked her up to remove her from the building ... 'Naked I came into this world, and naked I shall go out.' (pages 47) - made me laugh so much.

I also cried during the read on the fears of running a small family shop. I know those fears well. I felt those fears and I waited for those fears every day then.

The book is dedicated to all the Strong Black Birds of promise but reading it is an asset to any Bird who wants life to be one of promise and hope. What I take away most from this read is not to be ashamed of writing my truth. This reading gave me enough reasons why I should celebrate womanhood. The reading ended only after I felt and realised Freedom of the Press in the United States of America.


A book to keep and re-read, 15 Mar 2008
I originally studied this book at A-level; I love it and have read it three times more since finishing the course. This book will definitely have a permanent position on my book shelf.

Why does the caged bird sing?, 04 Oct 2007
It's simply this - he's deliriously happy that he's only a spectator in the madness of life. Did Maya secretly wish that she could observe her life from the safety of a cage instead of having the starring role? In fact is that how she coped at all?

Fantastic story. Full of racial prejudice (from both sides). But it's in examining the reasons for that prejudice that your empathy for Maya really grows. All kinds of parallels can be drawn between this book and The Color Purple and To Kill A Mocking Bird.


A great gift, 03 Sep 2007
I was given this book as a gift and am grateful to the giver for introducing me to this incredible woman. As a life coach I found her life journey of personal growth a great lesson on how you cannot change your situation but you can certainly change how you respond to it and that comes through in her character. I've seen her interviewed and her dignity and achievement shine throug and that's truely inspiring.

Maya Angelou - What a wonderful woman!!, 10 Nov 2008
A woman before her time, thrilling and nail biting at times. Her struggle as a single parent in a diffcult time. Her stand for her rights and opinions in a time when black people where standing up and finally being listened too.

I have never wanted to finish a book so i could get onto the next book but this new edition all the books under one is fantastic!!

Thank you Maya Angelou

absolutely magnificent, 30 Jul 1999
i am 15 and have not yet finished this wonderful book, but i'm loving every minute of it so far. Still I Rise is by far my favorite. I never realized a single poem could hold such inspiration and strength. A book that should be read by everyone of all ages and colors. Many thanks to Maya Angelou for such lovely poems.

Simply Inspirational, 13 Jan 2008
An excellent and succinct tool for teaching adults and children to grasp life and have fun. It also serves to diminish the impact of negativity from ourselves and others to ourselves and others.

Not just for children, 18 Feb 1997
This poem is a good reminder to us all that life should be lived head on and without fear of the things that make the journey worthwhile.

Funny bits, 03 Jul 2007
This book is about Maya Angelou emigrating to Ghana with her son.

There are some funny bits that I can relate to being from an african family. It was well written but the passages were abit slow.



Pointless and empty, 24 Sep 2002
I found this book such a waste of time.The first half was simply a list of black activists that Maya met in Ghana with very few worthwhile anecdotes.There was hardly any sense of the real Ghana at that time, just Maya patting herself on the back time after time simply for having mixed with some fellow American black activists.They seemed to make scant contribution to anything but Maya admired their rudeness, hostility and sarcasm.
What a disappointment the Malcolm X episode turned out to be; just a list of people he visited. Political rant over substance.

A wonderful end to an exhilarating journey, 03 Jan 2001
This book is the last in a series of 5 that has taken Maya Angelou from being a young kid in the South to a mature woman and mother living out her dreams in Africa. Maya's story combines so many elements of a good book- it has excitement, it touches history, it is philosophical, emotional - yet it is all true. One wonders as she comes into contact with the great figures of African and African American life, and as she contemplates the place of an African-American in the African dream, as well as the place of the Africa in the American dream.

Behind all of the great moments that do not happen in the lives of most people this story is ultimately human. She battles for the development of her son and herself as a woman, mother. She reaches a place of greater maturity and yet with these new skills with which to understand the world around her, comes the insecurities both trivial and profound, that she articulates in a manner that that brings the reader to empathise greatly as if Maya is holding up a mirror for the reader, to understand themselves with great warmth and courage.

The end of the other titles in the series were frustrating but this could be assuaged by the reading of the next, this last one leaves you satisfied by the experience, but bursting for more - surely the sign of a successful story and a great read

Good & beautifully written but in some ways Maya's not a role model , 05 Jun 2008
Loved reading this book - very poetic & completely devoid of self-pity despite Maya's obviously deprived background & her having been the victim of extensive racial prejudice.

My only issue with it is how Maya who seems to be an extremely intelligent woman, doesn't ask herself whether it is a good thing that she had a baby resulting from an apparent one-night stand @ 16 - it seems that casual sex was almost expected & her Mum almost wanted her to be sleeping with strangers. She does seem to have come from the type of background placing her at risk of teenage pregnancy but maybe should have put a 'health warning' on young readers warning them not to indulge in risky sexual behaviours as getting pregnant at 16 is (despite what Maya seems to think) hardly something to be proud of.

Honest, explicit and a fearless pen, 07 May 2008
I learnt alot about American history and life in various cities in the US. This book is the autobiography of one of the most powerful women in America who lives, works and rose against the odds. This book must be deposited in every library around the world that women may read, learn and understand that life and its beauty in is doing different things under different and difficult circumstances which sometimes are cruel, nasty or not understandable to our way of life.

"... his teeth fell, no actually his teeth jumped, out of his mouth. ... grinning uppers and lowers lay by my right shoe, looking empty and ... contain all the emptiness in the world ... Sister Monroe was struggling with his coat, and men had to all but picked her up to remove her from the building ... 'Naked I came into this world, and naked I shall go out.' (pages 47) - made me laugh so much.

I also cried during the read on the fears of running a small family shop. I know those fears well. I felt those fears and I waited for those fears every day then.

The book is dedicated to all the Strong Black Birds of promise but reading it is an asset to any Bird who wants life to be one of promise and hope. What I take away most from this read is not to be ashamed of writing my truth. This reading gave me enough reasons why I should celebrate womanhood. The reading ended only after I felt and realised Freedom of the Press in the United States of America.


A book to keep and re-read, 15 Mar 2008
I originally studied this book at A-level; I love it and have read it three times more since finishing the course. This book will definitely have a permanent position on my book shelf.

Why does the caged bird sing?, 04 Oct 2007
It's simply this - he's deliriously happy that he's only a spectator in the madness of life. Did Maya secretly wish that she could observe her life from the safety of a cage instead of having the starring role? In fact is that how she coped at all?

Fantastic story. Full of racial prejudice (from both sides). But it's in examining the reasons for that prejudice that your empathy for Maya really grows. All kinds of parallels can be drawn between this book and The Color Purple and To Kill A Mocking Bird.


A great gift, 03 Sep 2007
I was given this book as a gift and am grateful to the giver for introducing me to this incredible woman. As a life coach I found her life journey of personal growth a great lesson on how you cannot change your situation but you can certainly change how you respond to it and that comes through in her character. I've seen her interviewed and her dignity and achievement shine throug and that's truely inspiring.

Maya Angelou - What a wonderful woman!!, 10 Nov 2008
A woman before her time, thrilling and nail biting at times. Her struggle as a single parent in a diffcult time. Her stand for her rights and opinions in a time when black people where standing up and finally being listened too.

I have never wanted to finish a book so i could get onto the next book but this new edition all the books under one is fantastic!!

Thank you Maya Angelou

absolutely magnificent, 30 Jul 1999
i am 15 and have not yet finished this wonderful book, but i'm loving every minute of it so far. Still I Rise is by far my favorite. I never realized a single poem could hold such inspiration and strength. A book that should be read by everyone of all ages and colors. Many thanks to Maya Angelou for such lovely poems.

Simply Inspirational, 13 Jan 2008
An excellent and succinct tool for teaching adults and children to grasp life and have fun. It also serves to diminish the impact of negativity from ourselves and others to ourselves and others.

Not just for children, 18 Feb 1997
This poem is a good reminder to us all that life should be lived head on and without fear of the things that make the journey worthwhile.

Funny bits, 03 Jul 2007
This book is about Maya Angelou emigrating to Ghana with her son.

There are some funny bits that I can relate to being from an african family. It was well written but the passages were abit slow.



Pointless and empty, 24 Sep 2002
I found this book such a waste of time.The first half was simply a list of black activists that Maya met in Ghana with very few worthwhile anecdotes.There was hardly any sense of the real Ghana at that time, just Maya patting herself on the back time after time simply for having mixed with some fellow American black activists.They seemed to make scant contribution to anything but Maya admired their rudeness, hostility and sarcasm.
What a disappointment the Malcolm X episode turned out to be; just a list of people he visited. Political rant over substance.

A wonderful end to an exhilarating journey, 03 Jan 2001
This book is the last in a series of 5 that has taken Maya Angelou from being a young kid in the South to a mature woman and mother living out her dreams in Africa. Maya's story combines so many elements of a good book- it has excitement, it touches history, it is philosophical, emotional - yet it is all true. One wonders as she comes into contact with the great figures of African and African American life, and as she contemplates the place of an African-American in the African dream, as well as the place of the Africa in the American dream.

Behind all of the great moments that do not happen in the lives of most people this story is ultimately human. She battles for the development of her son and herself as a woman, mother. She reaches a place of greater maturity and yet with these new skills with which to understand the world around her, comes the insecurities both trivial and profound, that she articulates in a manner that that brings the reader to empathise greatly as if Maya is holding up a mirror for the reader, to understand themselves with great warmth and courage.

The end of the other titles in the series were frustrating but this could be assuaged by the reading of the next, this last one leaves you satisfied by the experience, but bursting for more - surely the sign of a successful story and a great read

A remarkable insight to story of Maya Angelou's young life, 20 Jan 2000
This is a enjoyable and easy to read book. It is easy to start and once you get going you can't put it down. Maya Angelou involves you in her feelings and thoughts through her young adult life. It is about the pressures which she faces in trying to bring up a child as a innocent young black female, living in South America in the late forties. The book at first centres around racism and later around her struggle to earn a living and look after her son, while trying keeping her pride and respectability. Gather Together in My Name is the second of five books in her autobiography. There is no need to read the first one before this one as each book is a self-contained story. I found this an intresting book. Throughout the book you are overpowered by Maya's positive and outgoing character as well as by her kind and caring attitude to her son and others. I very much enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anyone.

Good & beautifully written but in some ways Maya's not a role model , 05 Jun 2008
Loved reading this book - very poetic & completely devoid of self-pity despite Maya's obviously deprived background & her having been the victim of extensive racial prejudice.

My only issue with it is how Maya who seems to be an extremely intelligent woman, doesn't ask herself whether it is a good thing that she had a baby resulting from an apparent one-night stand @ 16 - it seems that casual sex was almost expected & her Mum almost wanted her to be sleeping with strangers. She does seem to have come from the type of background placing her at risk of teenage pregnancy but maybe should have put a 'health warning' on young readers warning them not to indulge in risky sexual behaviours as getting pregnant at 16 is (despite what Maya seems to think) hardly something to be proud of.

Honest, explicit and a fearless pen, 07 May 2008
I learnt alot about American history and life in various cities in the US. This book is the autobiography of one of the most powerful women in America who lives, works and rose against the odds. This book must be deposited in every library around the world that women may read, learn and understand that life and its beauty in is doing different things under different and difficult circumstances which sometimes are cruel, nasty or not understandable to our way of life.

"... his teeth fell, no actually his teeth jumped, out of his mouth. ... grinning uppers and lowers lay by my right shoe, looking empty and ... contain all the emptiness in the world ... Sister Monroe was struggling with his coat, and men had to all but picked her up to remove her from the building ... 'Naked I came into this world, and naked I shall go out.' (pages 47) - made me laugh so much.

I also cried during the read on the fears of running a small family shop. I know those fears well. I felt those fears and I waited for those fears every day then.

The book is dedicated to all the Strong Black Birds of promise but reading it is an asset to any Bird who wants life to be one of promise and hope. What I take away most from this read is not to be ashamed of writing my truth. This reading gave me enough reasons why I should celebrate womanhood. The reading ended only after I felt and realised Freedom of the Press in the United States of America.


A book to keep and re-read, 15 Mar 2008
I originally studied this book at A-level; I love it and have read it three times more since finishing the course. This book will definitely have a permanent position on my book shelf.

Why does the caged bird sing?, 04 Oct 2007
It's simply this - he's deliriously happy that he's only a spectator in the madness of life. Did Maya secretly wish that she could observe her life from the safety of a cage instead of having the starring role? In fact is that how she coped at all?

Fantastic story. Full of racial prejudice (from both sides). But it's in examining the reasons for that prejudice that your empathy for Maya really grows. All kinds of parallels can be drawn between this book and The Color Purple and To Kill A Mocking Bird.


A great gift, 03 Sep 2007
I was given this book as a gift and am grateful to the giver for introducing me to this incredible woman. As a life coach I found her life journey of personal growth a great lesson on how you cannot change your situation but you can certainly change how you respond to it and that comes through in her character. I've seen her interviewed and her dignity and achievement shine throug and that's truely inspiring.

Maya Angelou - What a wonderful woman!!, 10 Nov 2008
A woman before her time, thrilling and nail biting at times. Her struggle as a single parent in a diffcult time. Her stand for her rights and opinions in a time when black people where standing up and finally being listened too.

I have never wanted to finish a book so i could get onto the next book but this new edition all the books under one is fantastic!!

Thank you Maya Angelou

absolutely magnificent, 30 Jul 1999
i am 15 and have not yet finished this wonderful book, but i'm loving every minute of it so far. Still I Rise is by far my favorite. I never realized a single poem could hold such inspiration and strength. A book that should be read by everyone of all ages and colors. Many thanks to Maya Angelou for such lovely poems.

Simply Inspirational, 13 Jan 2008
An excellent and succinct tool for teaching adults and children to grasp life and have fun. It also serves to diminish the impact of negativity from ourselves and others to ourselves and others.

Not just for children, 18 Feb 1997
This poem is a good reminder to us all that life should be lived head on and without fear of the things that make the journey worthwhile.

Funny bits, 03 Jul 2007
This book is about Maya Angelou emigrating to Ghana with her son.

There are some funny bits that I can relate to being from an african family. It was well written but the passages were abit slow.



Pointless and empty, 24 Sep 2002
I found this book such a waste of time.The first half was simply a list of black activists that Maya met in Ghana with very few worthwhile anecdotes.There was hardly any sense of the real Ghana at that time, just Maya patting herself on the back time after time simply for having mixed with some fellow American black activists.They seemed to make scant contribution to anything but Maya admired their rudeness, hostility and sarcasm.
What a disappointment the Malcolm X episode turned out to be; just a list of people he visited. Political rant over substance.

A wonderful end to an exhilarating journey, 03 Jan 2001
This book is the last in a series of 5 that has taken Maya Angelou from being a young kid in the South to a mature woman and mother living out her dreams in Africa. Maya's story combines so many elements of a good book- it has excitement, it touches history, it is philosophical, emotional - yet it is all true. One wonders as she comes into contact with the great figures of African and African American life, and as she contemplates the place of an African-American in the African dream, as well as the place of the Africa in the American dream.

Behind all of the great moments that do not happen in the lives of most people this story is ultimately human. She battles for the development of her son and herself as a woman, mother. She reaches a place of greater maturity and yet with these new skills with which to understand the world around her, comes the insecurities both trivial and profound, that she articulates in a manner that that brings the reader to empathise greatly as if Maya is holding up a mirror for the reader, to understand themselves with great warmth and courage.

The end of the other titles in the series were frustrating but this could be assuaged by the reading of the next, this last one leaves you satisfied by the experience, but bursting for more - surely the sign of a successful story and a great read

A remarkable insight to story of Maya Angelou's young life, 20 Jan 2000
This is a enjoyable and easy to read book. It is easy to start and once you get going you can't put it down. Maya Angelou involves you in her feelings and thoughts through her young adult life. It is about the pressures which she faces in trying to bring up a child as a innocent young black female, living in South America in the late forties. The book at first centres around racism and later around her struggle to earn a living and look after her son, while trying keeping her pride and respectability. Gather Together in My Name is the second of five books in her autobiography. There is no need to read the first one before this one as each book is a self-contained story. I found this an intresting book. Throughout the book you are overpowered by Maya's positive and outgoing character as well as by her kind and caring attitude to her son and others. I very much enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anyone.

"The old ark's a-moverin', moverin' along.", 03 Jul 2006
For Maya Angelou, this line from an ancient spiritual epitomizes the civil rights struggle in 1957, a struggle in which she was intimately involved on many levels. Continuing the autobiography she started with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, she reveals her personal life from 1957 - 1965, drawing the reader into the individual, human costs of segregation and detailing her passion and commitment to end it. It is her additional commitment to the welfare of her son, however, and her determination that he will become a man of honesty and principle that unites the several sections of this book and gives it heart.

Angelou had overcome a tormented childhood to become a singer/dancer in the show Porgy and Bess before semi-settling in California. In 1957, Angelou, now twenty-nine and a single mother with a twelve-year-old son, decides to move from California to New York. There she entertains singer Billie Holiday for four days (an unforgettable character sketch), just three months before Holiday's death, and meets Godfrey Cambridge, then a New York taxi driver. With him, she puts on a revue in Harlem to raise money for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Drawn into the orbit of prominent black entertainers and showbiz entrepreneurs during the show, she also meets civil rights leaders, and eventually becomes a regional coordinator for SCLC. Her acceptance as a member of the Harlem Writers Guild leads to the beginning of her writing career. Throughout this period, her son Guy is going to public school, where on one occasion he has problems as the only black child. When they move to a black neighborhood, he runs afoul of a violent black street gang. As Angelou deals with the big civil rights issues, Guy is in the streets dealing with the basic power struggles that underlie and complicate any struggle for justice.

Angelou is candid throughout her narrative, depicting people she meets "warts and all," but she is equally candid about her own actions, her sexual needs, and her impatience with formality and red tape. Her willingness to use her tongue as a rapier gives spice to the narrative and a picture of Angelou as a formidable adversary. When she "marries" Vusumzi Make, a South African Freedom Fighter, and, with her son, moves to Egypt and later to Ghana, she continues her work toward a better life for Africans, while remaining an anchor for her son. In this intimate memoir, Angelou provides insights into the universal civil rights struggle, while, at the same time providing a very human picture of one woman's home life during this tumultuous period of history. Mary Whipple


Excellent. I'm waiting for the next part to arrive!, 13 Apr 2000
I've read other autobiographies which have deteriorated by the fourth part. This is not so with Maya Angelou's books. I've read parts one to four now, and at the end of each, I'm left feeling desperate to get the next part to find out what happens next in her life. Maya Angelou seems to have had a lot thrown at her in life, but seems to come out the far side better and stronger.

Good & beautifully written but in some ways Maya's not a role model , 05 Jun 2008
Loved reading this book - very poetic & completely devoid of self-pity despite Maya's obviously deprived background & her having been the victim of extensive racial prejudice.

My only issue with it is how Maya who seems to be an extremely intelligent woman, doesn't ask herself whether it is a good thing that she had a baby resulting from an apparent one-night stand @ 16 - it seems that casual sex was almost expected & her Mum almost wanted her to be sleeping with strangers. She does seem to have come from the type of background placing her at risk of teenage pregnancy but maybe should have put a 'health warning' on young readers warning them not to indulge in risky sexual behaviours as getting pregnant at 16 is (despite what Maya seems to think) hardly something to be proud of.

Honest, explicit and a fearless pen, 07 May 2008
I learnt alot about American history and life in various cities in the US. This book is the autobiography of one of the most powerful women in America who lives, works and rose against the odds. This book must be deposited in every library around the world that women may read, learn and understand that life and its beauty in is doing different things under different and difficult circumstances which sometimes are cruel, nasty or not understandable to our way of life.

"... his teeth fell, no actually his teeth jumped, out of his mouth. ... grinning uppers and lowers lay by my right shoe, looking empty and ... contain all the emptiness in the world ... Sister Monroe was struggling with his coat, and men had to all but picked her up to remove her from the building ... 'Naked I came into this world, and naked I shall go out.' (pages 47) - made me laugh so much.

I also cried during the read on the fears of running a small family shop. I know those fears well. I felt those fears and I waited for those fears every day then.

The book is dedicated to all the Strong Black Birds of promise but reading it is an asset to any Bird who wants life to be one of promise and hope. What I take away most from this read is not to be ashamed of writing my truth. This reading gave me enough reasons why I should celebrate womanhood. The reading ended only after I felt and realised Freedom of the Press in the United States of America.


A book to keep and re-read, 15 Mar 2008
I originally studied this book at A-level; I love it and have read it three times more since finishing the course. This book will definitely have a permanent position on my book shelf.

Why does the caged bird sing?, 04 Oct 2007
It's simply this - he's deliriously happy that he's only a spectator in the madness of life. Did Maya secretly wish that she could observe her life from the safety of a cage instead of having the starring role? In fact is that how she coped at all?

Fantastic story. Full of racial prejudice (from both sides). But it's in examining the reasons for that prejudice that your empathy for Maya really grows. All kinds of parallels can be drawn between this book and The Color Purple and To Kill A Mocking Bird.


A great gift, 03 Sep 2007
I was given this book as a gift and am grateful to the giver for introducing me to this incredible woman. As a life coach I found her life journey of personal growth a great lesson on how you cannot change your situation but you can certainly change how you respond to it and that comes through in her character. I've seen her interviewed and her dignity and achievement shine throug and that's truely inspiring.

Maya Angelou - What a wonderful woman!!, 10 Nov 2008
A woman before her time, thrilling and nail biting at times. Her struggle as a single parent in a diffcult time. Her stand for her rights and opinions in a time when black people where standing up and finally being listened too.

I have never wanted to finish a book so i could get onto the next book but this new edition all the books under one is fantastic!!

Thank you Maya Angelou

absolutely magnificent, 30 Jul 1999
i am 15 and have not yet finished this wonderful book, but i'm loving every minute of it so far. Still I Rise is by far my favorite. I never realized a single poem could hold such inspiration and strength. A book that should be read by everyone of all ages and colors. Many thanks to Maya Angelou for such lovely poems.

Simply Inspirational, 13 Jan 2008
An excellent and succinct tool for teaching adults and children to grasp life and have fun. It also serves to diminish the impact of negativity from ourselves and others to ourselves and others.

Not just for children, 18 Feb 1997
This poem is a good reminder to us all that life should be lived head on and without fear of the things that make the journey worthwhile.

Funny bits, 03 Jul 2007
This book is about Maya Angelou emigrating to Ghana with her son.

There are some funny bits that I can relate to being from an african family. It was well written but the passages were abit slow.



Pointless and empty, 24 Sep 2002
I found this book such a waste of time.The first half was simply a list of black activists that Maya met in Ghana with very few worthwhile anecdotes.There was hardly any sense of the real Ghana at that time, just Maya patting herself on the back time after time simply for having mixed with some fellow American black activists.They seemed to make scant contribution to anything but Maya admired their rudeness, hostility and sarcasm.
What a disappointment the Malcolm X episode turned out to be; just a list of people he visited. Political rant over substance.

A wonderful end to an exhilarating journey, 03 Jan 2001
This book is the last in a series of 5 that has taken Maya Angelou from being a young kid in the South to a mature woman and mother living out her dreams in Africa. Maya's story combines so many elements of a good book- it has excitement, it touches history, it is philosophical, emotional - yet it is all true. One wonders as she comes into contact with the great figures of African and African American life, and as she contemplates the place of an African-American in the African dream, as well as the place of the Africa in the American dream.

Behind all of the great moments that do not happen in the lives of most people this story is ultimately human. She battles for the development of her son and herself as a woman, mother. She reaches a place of greater maturity and yet with these new skills with which to understand the world around her, comes the insecurities both trivial and profound, that she articulates in a manner that that brings the reader to empathise greatly as if Maya is holding up a mirror for the reader, to understand themselves with great warmth and courage.

The end of the other titles in the series were frustrating but this could be assuaged by the reading of the next, this last one leaves you satisfied by the experience, but bursting for more - surely the sign of a successful story and a great read

A remarkable insight to story of Maya Angelou's young life, 20 Jan 2000
This is a enjoyable and easy to read book. It is easy to start and once you get going you can't put it down. Maya Angelou involves you in her feelings and thoughts through her young adult life. It is about the pressures which she faces in trying to bring up a child as a innocent young black female, living in South America in the late forties. The book at first centres around racism and later around her struggle to earn a living and look after her son, while trying keeping her pride and respectability. Gather Together in My Name is the second of five books in her autobiography. There is no need to read the first one before this one as each book is a self-contained story. I found this an intresting book. Throughout the book you are overpowered by Maya's positive and outgoing character as well as by her kind and caring attitude to her son and others. I very much enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anyone.

"The old ark's a-moverin', moverin' along.", 03 Jul 2006
For Maya Angelou, this line from an ancient spiritual epitomizes the civil rights struggle in 1957, a struggle in which she was intimately involved on many levels. Continuing the autobiography she started with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, she reveals her personal life from 1957 - 1965, drawing the reader into the individual, human costs of segregation and detailing her passion and commitment to end it. It is her additional commitment to the welfare of her son, however, and her determination that he will become a man of honesty and principle that unites the several sections of this book and gives it heart.

Angelou had overcome a tormented childhood to become a singer/dancer in the show Porgy and Bess before semi-settling in California. In 1957, Angelou, now twenty-nine and a single mother with a twelve-year-old son, decides to move from California to New York. There she entertains singer Billie Holiday for four days (an unforgettable character sketch), just three months before Holiday's death, and meets Godfrey Cambridge, then a New York taxi driver. With him, she puts on a revue in Harlem to raise money for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Drawn into the orbit of prominent black entertainers and showbiz entrepreneurs during the show, she also meets civil rights leaders, and eventually becomes a regional coordinator for SCLC. Her acceptance as a member of the Harlem Writers Guild leads to the beginning of her writing career. Throughout this period, her son Guy is going to public school, where on one occasion he has problems as the only black child. When they move to a black neighborhood, he runs afoul of a violent black street gang. As Angelou deals with the big civil rights issues, Guy is in the streets dealing with the basic power struggles that underlie and complicate any struggle for justice.

Angelou is candid throughout her narrative, depicting people she meets "warts and all," but she is equally candid about her own actions, her sexual needs, and her impatience with formality and red tape. Her willingness to use her tongue as a rapier gives spice to the narrative and a picture of Angelou as a formidable adversary. When she "marries" Vusumzi Make, a South African Freedom Fighter, and, with her son, moves to Egypt and later to Ghana, she continues her work toward a better life for Africans, while remaining an anchor for her son. In this intimate memoir, Angelou provides insights into the universal civil rights struggle, while, at the same time providing a very human picture of one woman's home life during this tumultuous period of history. Mary Whipple


Excellent. I'm waiting for the next part to arrive!, 13 Apr 2000
I've read other autobiographies which have deteriorated by the fourth part. This is not so with Maya Angelou's books. I've read parts one to four now, and at the end of each, I'm left feeling desperate to get the next part to find out what happens next in her life. Maya Angelou seems to have had a lot thrown at her in life, but seems to come out the far side better and stronger.

Good & beautifully written but in some ways Maya's not a role model , 05 Jun 2008
Loved reading this book - very poetic & completely devoid of self-pity despite Maya's obviously deprived background & her having been the victim of extensive racial prejudice.

My only issue with it is how Maya who seems to be an extremely intelligent woman, doesn't ask herself whether it is a good thing that she had a baby resulting from an apparent one-night stand @ 16 - it seems that casual sex was almost expected & her Mum almost wanted her to be sleeping with strangers. She does seem to have come from the type of background placing her at risk of teenage pregnancy but maybe should have put a 'health warning' on young readers warning them not to indulge in risky sexual behaviours as getting pregnant at 16 is (despite what Maya seems to think) hardly something to be proud of.

Honest, explicit and a fearless pen, 07 May 2008
I learnt alot about American history and life in various cities in the US. This book is the autobiography of one of the most powerful women in America who lives, works and rose against the odds. This book must be deposited in every library around the world that women may read, learn and understand that life and its beauty in is doing different things under different and difficult circumstances which sometimes are cruel, nasty or not understandable to our way of life.

"... his teeth fell, no actually his teeth jumped, out of his mouth. ... grinning uppers and lowers lay by my right shoe, looking empty and ... contain all the emptiness in the world ... Sister Monroe was struggling with his coat, and men had to all but picked her up to remove her from the building ... 'Naked I came into this world, and naked I shall go out.' (pages 47) - made me laugh so much.

I also cried during the read on the fears of running a small family shop. I know those fears well. I felt those fears and I waited for those fears every day then.

The book is dedicated to all the Strong Black Birds of promise but reading it is an asset to any Bird who wants life to be one of promise and hope. What I take away most from this read is not to be ashamed of writing my truth. This reading gave me enough reasons why I should celebrate womanhood. The reading ended only after I felt and realised Freedom of the Press in the United States of America.


A book to keep and re-read, 15 Mar 2008
I originally studied this book at A-level; I love it and have read it three times more since finishing the course. This book will definitely have a permanent position on my book shelf.

Why does the caged bird sing?, 04 Oct 2007
It's simply this - he's deliriously happy that he's only a spectator in the madness of life. Did Maya secretly wish that she could observe her life from the safety of a cage instead of having the starring role? In fact is that how she coped at all?

Fantastic story. Full of racial prejudice (from both sides). But it's in examining the reasons for that prejudice that your empathy for Maya really grows. All kinds of parallels can be drawn between this book and The Color Purple and To Kill A Mocking Bird.


A great gift, 03 Sep 2007
I was given this book as a gift and am grateful to the giver for introducing me to this incredible woman. As a life coach I found her life journey of personal growth a great lesson on how you cannot change your situation but you can certainly change how you respond to it and that comes through in her character. I've seen her interviewed and her dignity and achievement shine throug and that's truely inspiring.

It's been a long time coming, but A Song Flung Up To Heaven triumphantly completes the six volumes of autobiography that began nearly 30 years ago with Maya Angelou's astonishingly successful I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings- a work that changed readers' perceptions of what autobiographical writing could achieve. That book sold over half a million copies in its Virago edition alone, and Angelou enthusiasts will relish this sixth volume, even though its pleasures are more subtle than its predecessors.

The impact of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (which evoked the author's adolescence and sexual abuse in Arkansas) was unprecedented. It combined frankness and emotional force with a nuanced, poetic style--a style that Angelou has perhaps found more elusive recently. But it's here again, as affecting as ever.

The new book deals with the years 1964-68, a turbulent period in which Angelou came back to America after her African sojourn. This, of course, was the time of the murders of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King; Angelou was on the point of working with the latter in the civil rights movement. As always, her voice is fresh and exhilarating as she deals with the tragedies and triumphs of a packed life, and there are some set-piece moments, such as her account of a misguided revenge she took on an ex-lover.

Many women have become celebrated as writers and poets, but Angelou has also enjoyed a distinguished career as a civil rights activist, producer, performer, actress and filmmaker. With all of this under her belt, she can be forgiven the note of self-congratulation that creeps in at times. But for those who've followed her unique writing, this is a journey into a fascinating life and a riveting picture of divided America, always informed with that clear vision Angelou is famous for. --Barry Forshaw

Good & beautifully written but in some ways Maya's not a role model , 05 Jun 2008
Loved reading this book - very poetic & completely devoid of self-pity despite Maya's obviously deprived background & her having been the victim of extensive racial prejudice.

My only issue with it is how Maya who seems to be an extremely intelligent woman, doesn't ask herself whether it is a good thing that she had a baby resulting from an apparent one-night stand @ 16 - it seems that casual sex was almost expected & her Mum almost wanted her to be sleeping with strangers. She does seem to have come from the type of background placing her at risk of teenage pregnancy but maybe should have put a 'health warning' on young readers warning them not to indulge in risky sexual behaviours as getting pregnant at 16 is (despite what Maya seems to think) hardly something to be proud of.

Honest, explicit and a fearless pen, 07 May 2008
I learnt alot about American history and life in various cities in the US. This book is the autobiography of one of the most powerful women in America who lives, works and rose against the odds. This book must be deposited in every library around the world that women may read, learn and understand that life and its beauty in is doing different things under different and difficult circumstances which sometimes are cruel, nasty or not understandable to our way of life.

"... his teeth fell, no actually his teeth jumped, out of his mouth. ... grinning uppers and lowers lay by my right shoe, looking empty and ... contain all the emptiness in the world ... Sister Monroe was struggling with his coat, and men had to all but picked her up to remove her from the building ... 'Naked I came into this world, and naked I shall go out.' (pages 47) - made me laugh so much.

I also cried during the read on the fears of running a small family shop. I know those fears well. I felt those fears and I waited for those fears every day then.

The book is dedicated to all the Strong Black Birds of promise but reading it is an asset to any Bird who wants life to be one of promise and hope. What I take away most from this read is not to be ashamed of writing my truth. This reading gave me enough reasons why I should celebrate womanhood. The reading ended only after I felt and realised Freedom of the Press in the United States of America.


A book to keep and re-read, 15 Mar 2008
I originally studied this book at A-level; I love it and have read it three times more since finishing the course. This book will definitely have a permanent position on my book shelf.

Why does the caged bird sing?, 04 Oct 2007
It's simply this - he's deliriously happy that he's only a spectator in the madness of life. Did Maya secretly wish that she could observe her life from the safety of a cage instead of having the starring role? In fact is that how she coped at all?

Fantastic story. Full of racial prejudice (from both sides). But it's in examining the reasons for that prejudice that your empathy for Maya really grows. All kinds of parallels can be drawn between this book and The Color Purple and To Kill A Mocking Bird.


A great gift, 03 Sep 2007
I was given this book as a gift and am grateful to the giver for introducing me to this incredible woman. As a life coach I found her life journey of personal growth a great lesson on how you cannot change your situation but you can certainly change how you respond to it and that comes through in her character. I've seen her interviewed and her dignity and achievement shine throug and that's truely inspiring.

Maya Angelou - What a wonderful woman!!, 10 Nov 2008
A woman before her time, thrilling and nail biting at times. Her struggle as a single parent in a diffcult time. Her stand for her rights and opinions in a time when black people where standing up and finally being listened too.

I have never wanted to finish a book so i could get onto the next book but this new edition all the books under one is fantastic!!

Thank you Maya Angelou

absolutely magnificent, 30 Jul 1999
i am 15 and have not yet finished this wonderful book, but i'm loving every minute of it so far. Still I Rise is by far my favorite. I never realized a single poem could hold such inspiration and strength. A book that should be read by everyone of all ages and colors. Many thanks to Maya Angelou for such lovely poems.

Simply Inspirational, 13 Jan 2008
An excellent and succinct tool for teaching adults and children to grasp life and have fun. It also serves to diminish the impact of negativity from ourselves and others to ourselves and others.

Not just for children, 18 Feb 1997
This poem is a good reminder to us all that life should be lived head on and without fear of the things that make the journey worthwhile.

Funny bits, 03 Jul 2007
This book is about Maya Angelou emigrating to Ghana with her son.

There are some funny bits that I can relate to being from an african family. It was well written but the passages were abit slow.



Pointless and empty, 24 Sep 2002
I found this book such a waste of time.The first half was simply a list of black activists that Maya met in Ghana with very few worthwhile anecdotes.There was hardly any sense of the real Ghana at that time, just Maya patting herself on the back time after time simply for having mixed with some fellow American black activists.They seemed to make scant contribution to anything but Maya admired their rudeness, hostility and sarcasm.
What a disappointment the Malcolm X episode turned out to be; just a list of people he visited. Political rant over substance.

A wonderful end to an exhilarating journey, 03 Jan 2001
This book is the last in a series of 5 that has taken Maya Angelou from being a young kid in the South to a mature woman and mother living out her dreams in Africa. Maya's story combines so many elements of a good book- it has excitement, it touches history, it is philosophical, emotional - yet it is all true. One wonders as she comes into contact with the great figures of African and African American life, and as she contemplates the place of an African-American in the African dream, as well as the place of the Africa in the American dream.

Behind all of the great moments that do not happen in the lives of most people this story is ultimately human. She battles for the development of her son and herself as a woman, mother. She reaches a place of greater maturity and yet with these new skills with which to understand the world around her, comes the insecurities both trivial and profound, that she articulates in a manner that that brings the reader to empathise greatly as if Maya is holding up a mirror for the reader, to understand themselves with great warmth and courage.

The end of the other titles in the series were frustrating but this could be assuaged by the reading of the next, this last one leaves you satisfied by the experience, but bursting for more - surely the sign of a successful story and a great read

A remarkable insight to story of Maya Angelou's young life, 20 Jan 2000
This is a enjoyable and easy to read book. It is easy to start and once you get going you can't put it down. Maya Angelou involves you in her feelings and thoughts through her young adult life. It is about the pressures which she faces in trying to bring up a child as a innocent young black female, living in South America in the late forties. The book at first centres around racism and later around her struggle to earn a living and look after her son, while trying keeping her pride and respectability. Gather Together in My Name is the second of five books in her autobiography. There is no need to read the first one before this one as each book is a self-contained story. I found this an intresting book. Throughout the book you are overpowered by Maya's positive and outgoing character as well as by her kind and caring attitude to her son and others. I very much enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anyone.

"The old ark's a-moverin', moverin' along.", 03 Jul 2006
For Maya Angelou, this line from an ancient spiritual epitomizes the civil rights struggle in 1957, a struggle in which she was intimately involved on many levels. Continuing the autobiography she started with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, she reveals her personal life from 1957 - 1965, drawing the reader into the individual, human costs of segregation and detailing her passion and commitment to end it. It is her additional commitment to the welfare of her son, however, and her determination that he will become a man of honesty and principle that unites the several sections of this book and gives it heart.

Angelou had overcome a tormented childhood to become a singer/dancer in the show Porgy and Bess before semi-settling in California. In 1957, Angelou, now twenty-nine and a single mother with a twelve-year-old son, decides to move from California to New York. There she entertains singer Billie Holiday for four days (an unforgettable character sketch), just three months before Holiday's death, and meets Godfrey Cambridge, then a New York taxi driver. With him, she puts on a revue in Harlem to raise money for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Drawn into the orbit of prominent black entertainers and showbiz entrepreneurs during the show, she also meets civil rights leaders, and eventually becomes a regional coordinator for SCLC. Her acceptance as a member of the Harlem Writers Guild leads to the beginning of her writing career. Throughout this period, her son Guy is going to public school, where on one occasion he has problems as the only black child. When they move to a black neighborhood, he runs afoul of a violent black street gang. As Angelou deals with the big civil rights issues, Guy is in the streets dealing with the basic power struggles that underlie and complicate any struggle for justice.

Angelou is candid throughout her narrative, depicting people she meets "warts and all," but she is equally candid about her own actions, her sexual needs, and her impatience with formality and red tape. Her willingness to use her tongue as a rapier gives spice to the narrative and a picture of Angelou as a formidable adversary. When she "marries" Vusumzi Make, a South African Freedom Fighter, and, with her son, moves to Egypt and later to Ghana, she continues her work toward a better life for Africans, while remaining an anchor for her son. In this intimate memoir, Angelou provides insights into the universal civil rights struggle, while, at the same time providing a very human picture of one woman's home life during this tumultuous period of history. Mary Whipple


Excellent. I'm waiting for the next part to arrive!, 13 Apr 2000
I've read other autobiographies which have deteriorated by the fourth part. This is not so with Maya Angelou's books. I've read parts one to four now, and at the end of each, I'm left feeling desperate to get the next part to find out what happens next in her life. Maya Angelou seems to have had a lot thrown at her in life, but seems to come out the far side better and stronger.

Good & beautifully written but in some ways Maya's not a role model , 05 Jun 2008
Loved reading this book - very poetic & completely devoid of self-pity despite Maya's obviously deprived background & her having been the victim of extensive racial prejudice.

My only issue with it is how Maya who seems to be an extremely intelligent woman, doesn't ask herself whether it is a good thing that she had a baby resulting from an apparent one-night stand @ 16 - it seems that casual sex was almost expected & her Mum almost wanted her to be sleeping with strangers. She does seem to have come from the type of background placing her at risk of teenage pregnancy but maybe should have put a 'health warning' on young readers warning them not to indulge in risky sexual behaviours as getting pregnant at 16 is (despite what Maya seems to think) hardly something to be proud of.

Honest, explicit and a fearless pen, 07 May 2008
I learnt alot about American history and life in various cities in the US. This book is the autobiography of one of the most powerful women in America who lives, works and rose against the odds. This book must be deposited in every library around the world that women may read, learn and understand that life and its beauty in is doing different things under different and difficult circumstances which sometimes are cruel, nasty or not understandable to our way of life.

"... his teeth fell, no actually his teeth jumped, out of his mouth. ... grinning uppers and lowers lay by my right shoe, looking empty and ... contain all the emptiness in the world ... Sister Monroe was struggling with his coat, and men had to all but picked her up to remove her from the building ... 'Naked I came into this world, and naked I shall go out.' (pages 47) - made me laugh so much.

I also cried during the read on the fears of running a small family shop. I know those fears well. I felt those fears and I waited for those fears every day then.

The book is dedicated to all the Strong Black Birds of promise but reading it is an asset to any Bird who wants life to be one of promise and hope. What I take away most from this read is not to be ashamed of writing my truth. This reading gave me enough reasons why I should celebrate womanhood. The reading ended only after I felt and realised Freedom of the Press in the United States of America.


A book to keep and re-read, 15 Mar 2008
I originally studied this book at A-level; I love it and have read it three times more since finishing the course. This book will definitely have a permanent position on my book shelf.

Why does the caged bird sing?, 04 Oct 2007
It's simply this - he's deliriously happy that he's only a spectator in the madness of life. Did Maya secretly wish that she could observe her life from the safety of a cage instead of having the starring role? In fact is that how she coped at all?

Fantastic story. Full of racial prejudice (from both sides). But it's in examining the reasons for that prejudice that your empathy for Maya really grows. All kinds of parallels can be drawn between this book and The Color Purple and To Kill A Mocking Bird.


A great gift, 03 Sep 2007
I was given this book as a gift and am grateful to the giver for introducing me to this incredible woman. As a life coach I found her life journey of personal growth a great lesson on how you cannot change your situation but you can certainly change how you respond to it and that comes through in her character. I've seen her interviewed and her dignity and achievement shine throug and that's truely inspiring.

Classic Maya - a beautiful read, 05 Jul 2002
Maya Angelou began her autobiographical series with 'I know why the caged bird sings', and now ends it with, this, the sixth and very last instalment, which takes us on a journey from the point that she returned from Africa to the US to work with Malcolm X. Poignantly it brings us right up to the point where she begins to write 'I know why the caged bird sings'.

In the novel we see Maya reunited with her mother and brother, before being told the news that the man she had come to work with - Malcolm X - had been assassinated. She is devastated, but tries to put her life back together - starring on stage in local theatres and conducting Market research on black women. She discovers that many of the people she surveys in Watts, an area of Los Angeles are unhappy with their lives - having to cope with very little income because their husbands are not working and having to raise their children. This desperation is captured perfectly with Maya's wonderful writing style -"Without steady salaries, the people could not envision tomorrows." Soon riots break out in Watts, which she is a first hand witness to.

In 1968 Maya travels to New York to meet Martin Luther King Jnr., who had asked her to be his coordinator and to travel the country to pass on a message of non-violent protest to black preachers. Before she is able to make this journey, she is confronted by the terrible news of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jnr. This time, unlike the period after the death of Malcolm X, Maya totally withdraws from the world, finding it impossible to cope with the tragic death. But James Baldwin, a black and openly gay preacher is able to remove her from her isolation and invite her to a dinner party, where the idea for writing the novel 'I know why the caged bird sings' is born.

While her first book concentrated on the childhood horror that Maya experienced including the divorce of her parents and being raped by her mother's boyfriend, this final instalment concentrates on a different time of turmoil in Maya's life with the deaths of two people she was fond of and looked up to, but also plants the seeds for hope, when she begins writing the first novel of the series, which went on to become a critically acclaimed bestseller.

Although, I don't imagine that this will be anyway near as popular as 'I know why the caged bird songs', it still contains the wonderful and beautiful prose that she was famed for, "Some words are spoken and not heard because the ears cannot hear them." With this descriptive writing she actually TAKES us there, and relives her torture in such detail that it is easy to imagine that it is a work of fiction, rather than the completely true and autobiographical account that it is. If you were lucky enough to have seen Maya reading extracts from the book at the Hay-On-Wye festival you'll know that she is not just a talented and inspiring writer, but also a wonderful performer, bringing aspects of her book to life with her beautiful voice and expressions.

If you've read any of Angelou's other books then reading this will probably be like chatting to an old friend, but if this is your first time reading her books then you'll still be pleasantly surprised by this, the final memoir in her autobiographical collection which also gives a summary of her life thus far. Something that might have improved the book would be the inclusion of something at the end about her writing her novels, so the reader is given an idea of one of Maya's big successes, to end the collection on a joyous note. It is also incredibly short with large fonts and big margins so I finished it within a few hours. But these are minor quibbles when you realise how beautiful and inspirational this novel is. A heart-warming, engaging and excellent summer read, a celebration of a phenomenal and brilliant woman.

I recommend this to anyone. Please buy it, read it and enjoy it.

Good & beautifully written but in some ways Maya's not a role model , 05 Jun 2008
Loved reading this book - very poetic & completely devoid of self-pity despite Maya's obviously deprived background & her having been the victim of extensive racial prejudice.

My only issue with it is how Maya who seems to be an extremely intelligent woman, doesn't ask herself whether it is a good thing that she had a baby resulting from an apparent one-night stand @ 16 - it seems that casual sex was almost expected & her Mum almost wanted her to be sleeping with strangers. She does seem to have come from the type of background placing her at risk of teenage pregnancy but maybe should have put a 'health warning' on young readers warning them not to indulge in risky sexual behaviours as getting pregnant at 16 is (despite what Maya seems to think) hardly something to be proud of.

Honest, explicit and a fearless pen, 07 May 2008
I learnt alot about American history and life in various cities in the US. This book is the autobiography of one of the most powerful women in America who lives, works and rose against the odds. This book must be deposited in every library around the world that women may read, learn and understand that life and its beauty in is doing different things under different and difficult circumstances which sometimes are cruel, nasty or not understandable to our way of life.

"... his teeth fell, no actually his teeth jumped, out of his mouth. ... grinning uppers and lowers lay by my right shoe, looking empty and ... contain all the emptiness in the world ... Sister Monroe was struggling with his coat, and men had to all but picked her up to remove her from the building ... 'Naked I came into this world, and naked I shall go out.' (pages 47) - made me laugh so much.

I also cried during the read on the fears of running a small family shop. I know those fears well. I felt those fears and I waited for those fears every day then.

The book is dedicated to all the Strong Black Birds of promise but reading it is an asset to any Bird who wants life to be one of promise and hope. What I take away most from this read is not to be ashamed of writing my truth. This reading gave me enough reasons why I should celebrate womanhood. The reading ended only after I felt and realised Freedom of the Press in the United States of America.


A book to keep and re-read, 15 Mar 2008
I originally studied this book at A-level; I love it and have read it three times more since finishing the course. This book will definitely have a permanent position on my book shelf.

Why does the caged bird sing?, 04 Oct 2007
It's simply this - he's deliriously happy that he's only a spectator in the madness of life. Did Maya secretly wish that she could observe her life from the safety of a cage instead of having the starring role? In fact is that how she coped at all?

Fantastic story. Full of racial prejudice (from both sides). But it's in examining the reasons for that prejudice that your empathy for Maya really grows. All kinds of parallels can be drawn between this book and The Color Purple and To Kill A Mocking Bird.


A great gift, 03 Sep 2007
I was given this book as a gift and am grateful to the giver for introducing me to this incredible woman. As a life coach I found her life journey of personal growth a great lesson on how you cannot change your situation but you can certainly change how you respond to it and that comes through in her character. I've seen her interviewed and her dignity and achievement shine throug and that's truely inspiring.

Maya Angelou - What a wonderful woman!!, 10 Nov 2008
A woman before her time, thrilling and nail biting at times. Her struggle as a single parent in a diffcult time. Her stand for her rights and opinions in a time when black people where standing up and finally being listened too.

I have never wanted to finish a book so i could get onto the next book but this new edition all the books under one is fantastic!!

Thank you Maya Angelou

absolutely magnificent, 30 Jul 1999
i am 15 and have not yet finished this wonderful book, but i'm loving every minute of it so far. Still I Rise is by far my favorite. I never realized a single poem could hold such inspiration and strength. A book that should be read by everyone of all ages and colors. Many thanks to Maya Angelou for such lovely poems.

Simply Inspirational, 13 Jan 2008
An excellent and succinct tool for teaching adults and children to grasp life and have fun. It also serves to diminish the impact of negativity from ourselves and others to ourselves and others.

Not just for children, 18 Feb 1997
This poem is a good reminder to us all that life should be lived head on and without fear of the things that make the journey worthwhile.

Funny bits, 03 Jul 2007
This book is about Maya Angelou emigrating to Ghana with her son.

There are some funny bits that I can relate to being from an african family. It was well written but the passages were abit slow.



Pointless and empty, 24 Sep 2002
I found this book such a waste of time.The first half was simply a list