A formidable free-style book that isn't straight biography but a mix of history, street-level investigative reporting, hagiography, Deep South sociology, music criticism, memoir and some fiery preaching. McBride is a National Book Award-winning author and jazz saxophonist who thinks deeply about race and art . . . Especially rich are McBride's profiles of Brown's family and intimates . . . Ultimately, McBride tells a story of a musician who not only changed pop worldwide but who was an icon of black self determination - a man whose fight against America's racist heritage defined his life and, remarkably, his death

Unlike most biographers of such heroes of black music, McBride writes from inside the culture, loosely entwining his own story with that of his subject. There is bitterness here as well as celebration . . . This is not the smoothest or most comprehensive of biographies. But it has soul, and in this case that counts for more' -- Richard Williams

[A] thoughtful and probing work . . . when McBride digs in, especially when describing the music - that massive, unstoppable, titanic, world-shaking accomplishment - by virtue of his own training as a saxophonist, he does so with great warmth, insight and frequent wit . . . James McBride's welcome elucidation of these points is clear, deeply felt and unmistakable

National Book Award winner McBride dissects the career, legacy, and myth of the Godfather of Soul. One of the most iconic figures in pop music, James Brown is also one of the most unknown and falsely represented figures in American cultural history . . . An unconventional and fascinating portrait of Soul Brother No. 1 and the significance of his rise and fall in American culture

The author pursues the truth about the godfather of soul, revealing details of his mysterious childhood and his personal influence on everyone from Al Sharpton to Michael Jackson