This book is not only an insult to Rev. Jackson, in light of his many years of work and sacrifice, but also an insult to the Black community which he has affected. Rev. Jackson did not approach the Black community saying, "Look, I am an angel, and God has placed a halo around my head." He came to the community as a fallible human being trying to do what he thought best to make a difference for people. We all have our frailties, shortcomings and weaknesses. We believe that Allah (God) can use our strong points, for example, the ability to think on our feet. One must possess the ability to recognize the traps, plots and plans of those who are against Black people receiving justice in a historically unjust society.

I strongly reject, detest and abhor the accusations in Timberman�s book. Regency Press, the publisher of the book, must have an agenda for the 2004 election by publishing such trash. I feel this is part of the smear campaign targeted at Rev. Jackson�s domestic life. This attack commenced soon after he stated that he found discrepancies in the past presidential election and fought to have a recount. When they write the history of this period, they will say that he had a major impact on the voting habits of Black people in this country�the likes of which we had not seen since Jimmy Carter�s election in 1976. Even those who dislike him will admit that he is the impetus behind many Black people going to the polls.

Many Blacks in the past did not concern themselves with voting in local, gubernatorial, congressional, or presidential elections, however Rev. Jackson persuaded them to go to the polls. The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan registered to vote for the first time in his life because of Rev. Jackson�s cogent reasoning. This caused thousands of Muslims who previously disregarded the electoral process to register.

After reading the book, one might conclude that Rev. Jackson is a communist or a communist sympathizer by the way Timberman positioned Jack O�Dell with him. By making inappropriate references, he distorted Rev. Jackson�s trip to South Africa. He states that America had to maintain a relationship with South Africa because of the Soviet Union, which was seeking to control the entire southern area. This is similar to former President Reagan�s justification of his support for the late Jonas Savimbi. The South African government, the Israelis, the British, and the Americans supported Savimbi in fights against the legitimate government of Angola and to keep fights going which took the lives of nearly a million people. Angola has more land mines than any other country in the world. They made most of these land mines in the United States of America. Today, we hear about the children in Sierra Leone whose limbs they accuse the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) of chopping off. They accuse members of the RUF of this atrocity, yet how often have we read that American-made land mines have maimed thousands of young soldiers, children and the elderly in the country of Angola? The United States of America backed all of this. For Timberman to imply that Rev. Jackson had another motive for visiting South Africa is absurd. Timberman stated that America was trying to justify maintaining her relationship with South Africa. He criticized Rev. Jackson as though he was doing something against America by going there to rally the people, though the people rejected Rev. Jackson.

Timberman closes a chapter by saying that he did not get his mansion. He stated that Rev. Jackson was trying to buy a small house outside Chicago on a lake, which belonged to the Kellogg family for $295,000. Rev. Jackson was attacked, and Timberman states, "Jackson didn�t get his mansion, perhaps in part (because) of the vigilance of a CBS news reporter, but he learned to identify a new enemy, the Jews." This description of that event is inappropriate. The modest house that Rev. Jackson has on Constance Street and the cars that he drives do not match up to the picture painted of him. Timberman talks about the source of Rev. Jackson�s few suits and about his friends who help pay some of his expenses.

He discusses that Rev. Jackson asked President Clinton to pardon prisoners who had worked in the cause and may be innocent. However, Timberman makes it appear that Rev. Jackson wants to free hardened criminals who are menaces to society. He needs to read the Quranic scripture that says, "free the captive believer." Again, this is a terrible way to describe a man who after 45 years in the struggle is left without any credibility, or right to stand before Black people for whom he has sacrificed his time, family, wealth and health. Let us all in one voice say, "Shame on you, Kenneth R. Timberman."

As I went through the book, I unsuccessfully searched to find passages where Timberman gave him credit for some accomplishments. I can verify that the book contains some distortions because I have personal knowledge of some experiences, and he distorts these events. For example, Timberman wrote that Min. Farrakhan made a trip to Libya in hopes of getting funds to support Rev. Jackson�s presidential campaign. That statement is not true. Those of us who were involved in the trip know that it is not just a distortion but also an outright lie. The book is full of half-truths, distortions and outright lies, but one would ask what is the purpose? After the National Enquirer�s article on Jesse Jackson�s newborn child and now this attack, perhaps Hilary Clinton�s statement about a right-wing conspiracy attacking Clinton is true. I believe another of its targets is Rev. Jackson.

I am critiquing this book not because I want people to read it. We need to have a demonstration against this type of literature; Black people should have a book-burning bonfire, exposing journalists found guilty of trying to dismantle our leaders. In Timberman�s book, he uses Barbara Reynolds� book written in 1975 titled "America�s David." I would like Reynolds, who is an excellent writer, to do a critique of how Timberman has used her name and work to further support his attack on Rev. Jackson. If we allow people like Timberman to continue and do not lift up our voices, the Black community will have no leadership. People with the same view as Timberman will declare that all of our leadership is unworthy. We need to stand by our leaders.