King of the cats Book

This is kind of a weak four stars. It's surprising that there have not been more biographies written on the eventful life if Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Haywood writes a rather admiring version, which is helpful in explaining what the powerful politician meant to his constituents in Harlem. It is a remarkable, colorful story of a larger than life figure. Powell was vilified in his later career, including an ouster from the House of Representatives which flew in the face of his overwhelming election victory. (He was reinstated by means of a Supreme Court decision). The negative publicity overshadowed his remarkable accomplishments on behalf of his people. It's a story of power, greed, threats, deals, race, sex and money and a figure of outsized charisma.

Haygood's story could benefit from tighter editing. For example, he writes that the Fifteenth Amendment gave the vote to black men and women. Women of any race were not enfranchised for decades to come. He does not address where the money financing his international high lifestyle came from. The complex cast of characters in New York politics could have been identified more carefully.

Nevertheless, it is quite a story and a life worth recounting. Powell was the grandson of a slave, and he rose to be the most powerful African American of his time. I do not think that this will be the definitive biography.