Soul on Ice

By turns shocking and lyrical, unblinking and raw, the searingly honest memoirs of Eldridge Cleaver are a testament to his unique place in American history.

User reviews

LibraryThing member bcquinnsmom

I think that you have to read and consider this book as a product of its times (originally published in 1968). I mean, everyone who cares knows that Eldridge Cleaver went on to become a member of the Mormon church (although he wasn't very active), then dinked with some other religious groups,

merged with the right wing, ran for the Senate as a Republican, and supported Reagan for president. So -- people change. But at the time this book was written, Cleaver was an angry man, and this book reflects a bit of the invective espoused at the time, and not just by Cleaver. Furthermore, he had every right to be angry, considering what was happening back then in the area of civil rights -- Vietnam, the death of Malcolm X, race riots, etc. Put into historical perspective, you've got an awesome source for the viewpoint of some radical Blacks of the time, you know, the ones who felt like Black America had to get up and do something.

And, if you judge this book by the writing, Cleaver is considerably eloquent, able to express himself well through the written word.

I'd recommend this one to people who want to put themselves in the mindset of one facet of that era. I wouldn't espouse his politics, but you do have to take into account that had their not been people like Cleaver, or Angela Davis, or Malcolm X (and the list goes on), who didn't sit quietly and hope for change, African-American people might just find themselves continuing to live in the status quo of that time, and then where would someone like Obama be? Not that I agree with their methodologies, but at least people took notice.

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LibraryThing member jeaneva

First read this when I was a freshman in college. 1968 was a scary year. After some campus turmoil, our gymnasium was burned out. The scorched skeleton remained as a poignant reminder for many years.
The book laid a guilt trip on a lot of white folks and seemed to predict an impending storm of

racial violence. The author was a prison inmate at the time he wrote it, but his cry for freedom was not a personal one. The lesson I came away with was that when one segment of our society is oppressed, the morality of the whole is seriously compromised.
Eldridge Cleaver's conversion to Christianity which came later was no surprise to me. He spoke with the voice of compassion and conviction which I associated with Jesus. I don't own his later book which speaks of the fire which melted his heart of ice--but I want to find it.

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LibraryThing member kalital

Once revolutionary, now a period piece. Most notable for feminist readers is Cleaver's section on "practicing" raping white women by raping black women. Not pretty.

LibraryThing member abergsman

It is difficult to give a rating to this book without also assessing Eldridge as a person.

LibraryThing member davadog13

What began as a genuinely compelling look at a young man with a lot of anger and little direction, became a story of a man completely sure of himself, and almost entirely unrelatable. I definitely understand why he was angry, and early on he actually makes some valid points, and even mixes in a

little humor. However, when he goes into diatribes about homosexuality, it makes me stop and reassess the man. It comes off a little hypocritical and weak minded. The worth of this book to me was a look at a life that I will never know. I'll never be the minority with the kind of problems he faced. God willing I'll never end up in jail. There were parts of this book that were eye opening and make me rethink my own opinion on some things. The rest of it is the ramblings of a man full of rage, hurt, and aching to find his path.

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LibraryThing member JerseyGirl21

I think this should be a high school must read.

LibraryThing member mykl-s

Another classic, well worth the read.

LibraryThing member Ranjr

This was an interesting one. First, let's get the elephant out of the way: the author was a misogynistic homophobic man serving time for serial rape at the time of authorship. The text absolutely in no uncertain terms unapologetically blurts it out. The man had his problems some of which were no

doubt due to the system of society that continues to this day. Because of this, there are some still relevant insights to be found here. The text also unconsciously makes his psychological shortcomings fairly blatant but they smacked me in the face when I became lulled by his eloquence. They almost seemed to rear up out of nowhere and disappear again as he ran with his ideas, though looking back their essence is streaked throughout.

The most vital asset of this collection of letters and essays is its earnestness. I believe the man was sincere in his outpouring. He was not the greatest philosopher/political thinker nor were some of his opinions anywhere near progressive or even sympathetic. There are a few weak points in the book. I don't mean his blatant misogyny, homophobia, or reference to his crimes as "an act of revolution" (though any are welcome to avoid this book based on those aspects of the man) but to a couple of sections of the book that possibly due to these backwards beliefs fell short of the immersion of the rest.

The first of these weak bits include the love letters to his attorney, there was nothing there at all for me other than some very awkward and corny lines to wonder at. This section of the book was titled Prelude to Love - Three letters, and the following section titled White Woman, Black Man were the weakest of the whole book. Although, I did enjoy the beginning and some ideas that are floating around in the text of the essay in this section titled The Allegory of the Black Eunuchs. The first fourth of it opens onto the attitudes of young blacks towards older blacks (at least within prison) in a conversation while eating beans. However, the rest of the piece degenerates along the lines of a sex-based discussion of Amazonian black women and the always more desirable white women.

Overall, I'm glad I read it. It is also somewhat demoralizing to have it confirmed through this book that certain points of his anguish are still points of anguish in the American landscape today. I would recommend this book if you're curious and are willing to accept a snippet of sincere life experience and raw individual thought regardless of its repulsiveness or its victimhood or its crimes.

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