Overdue book speaks to black males

BlackNews.com

iUniverse, Inc., the leading provider of publishing technology solutions for authors, has released a new book entitled Shaasha Barta, The Book of the 41 Virtues, seen by many as an innovation that may well usher in a new way of reaching America's Black male population which has been under served by the traditional book industry.

The author, who goes by the pen name of Tika, worked as a counselor in the New York City Juvenile Justice system and saw first hand what young Black males needed in order to turn their lives around and make the transition from liabilities to assets in the Black community.

"The young felons I dealt with were a microcosm of Black males in general. They were completely disconnected from a sense of ethics and morality except that which they gleaned from music and other forms of media or the streets. No one has written for and to them in this way and I decided to do this using a new but simultaneously ancient form; a form that would be readily understandable to Black male readers in general but most particularly those who are most vulnerable to becoming statistics. Deep down, Black males are aching for a new direction. This book can help them find their way," said the author.   

And the idea seems to be working. Letters from prison inmates who have read the book focus on a recurring theme; that for the first time, they fully understand the concepts of responsibility, dignity and honor and this importantly, from a wholly Black perspective.

A Totally New and Novel Approach to Book Distribution

The author's goal is to literally give away up to 30,000 books per year to incarcerated Black males. If this goal is reached, it has the potential of rocking the publishing industry back onto its heels. It's expected that this unprecedented free distribution will ultimately drive substantial book sales.

However, the objective the author says is to get the book into the hands of as many Black males and those who care about them as possible. This would be unachievable if the goal were simply to generate returns on book sales. While most will still have to purchase the book, the author intends to channel profits from sales into prison distribution.

"I'm not focused on making money from the book. I'm interested in helping to change lives," added the author