Name: No Crystal Stair
ISBN: 9780761361695

Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

Told by a banker that he should sell fried chicken rather than books, since "Negroes don't read", Lewis Michaux defies the odds to build Harlem's National Memorial African Bookstore, an intellectual center and gathering place from 1939 to 1975.

A Documentary Novel of the Life and Work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem Bookseller

No Crystal Stair

Jeni Enjaian

I read this book in approximately an hour. I intended to read just for a short period of time but could not put the book down.
In this fictionalized biography of Lewis Michaux, Nelson deftly weaves together things that have fascinated me since I learned how to read, history, story-telling, and a love of books. I wish I had reminded myself to slow down and savor the beautiful narrative as she wrote, shifting from voice to voice throughout each section. All too soon the book ended, leaving me wanting more, more of Nelson's narrative as well as knowing more about Michaux and his work during the Civil Rights era.

I highly recommend this book. I do not think I could recommend any book higher.

No Crystal Stair A Documentary Novel of the Life and Work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem Bookseller

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