From one of our premier writers, scholars, and public intellectuals: a surprising, inspiring, often boldly infuriating, highly instructive and entertaining compendium of curiosities regarding African AmericansIn 1934,100 Amazing Facts About the Negro With Complete Proof: A Short Cut to the World History of the Negrowas published by Joel A. Rogers, a largely self-educated black journalist and historian. Now, with élan and erudition—and winning enthusiasm—Henry Louis Gates, Jr., gives us a corrective yet loving homage to Rogers's work. Relying on the latest scholarship, Gates leads us on a romp through African-American history and gossip in question-and-answer format: Who was the first African to arrive in America? What was the second Middle Passage? Did black people own slaves? Why was cotton king? Who was the first black president in North America? How much African ancestry does the average African American have? Who really invented...