Following the death of his employer and mentor, Bumpy Johnson, Frank Lucas establishes himself as the number one importer of heroin in Harlem. He does so by buying heroin directly from a source in South East Asia, and he comes up with a unique way of importing the drugs into the United States. As a result, his product is superior to what is currently available on the street and his prices are lower. His alliance with the New York Mafia ensures his...

In 1987, obese, illiterate, black 16-year-old Claireece 'Precious' Jones lives in Harlem with her dysfunctional family. She has been raped and impregnated twice by her father, Carl. She suffers constant physical, mental and sexual abuse from her unemployed mother, Mary. After getting pregnant for the second time, Precious is suspended from her school. Her principal arranges to have her attend an alternative school where her new teacher, Ms. Rain,...

"The Street follows the spirited Lutie Johnson, a newly single mother whose efforts to claim a share of the American Dream for herself and her young son meet frustration at every turn in 1940s Harlem. Opening a fresh perspective on the realities and challenges of black, female, working-class life, The Street became the first novel by an African American woman to sell more than a million copies"--

"After the deaths and arrests of his entire crew and an informant-fueled investigation into his past, the man known on the streets as Animal relocates to Texas and finds fame and stardom as the newest act signed to the notorious Big Dawg Entertainment. His girlfriend, Gucci, is thrilled when she get the news that he's coming back to New York on a promotional tour, but when she discovers the hidden agenda behind his homecoming, nothing can prepare...

"It's the penthouse or the morgue. This is the philosophy adopted by Keshawn Wilson, a.k.a. K-Dawg, self-proclaimed lord of the streets. Keshawn is the youngest of five kids, and one of only two that don't belong to his mother's husband. As a little boy he feels the distance between he and his stepfather, and life becomes increasingly difficult for him as the years pass; his childhood and young adult years are spent in a home for boys and state prison,...

Based on a true story, American Gangster is the story of two men: Frank Lucas, former driver, bouncer, and collector for Bumpy Johnson, the so-called Robin Hood of Harlem; and Richie Roberts, night-school lawyer, detective, and honest cop. Frank is importing heroin direct from Bangkok--by-passing the Italian and Sicilian mafia--undercutting their prices, delivering superior product, and making a fortune. Richie, loathed by cops on the take for turning...

Dixie Dwyer, a jazz trumpet player who works in the Cotton Club, lives a life in which jazz, glamour and organized crime are combined and affect the lives of the people around him in the club.

Set in Harlem in 1958, this musical tells the story of three sisters struggling to find stardom as a singing group. But they learn that wishing on a star is one thing, and that being the star can be a one-way ticket to self-destruction.

A story of violence and desire, of tenderness and compassion, so gripping and moving, which lays bare the trials and sufferings, the yearings and aspirations of three generations of an African American family. The journey of a family from the rural South to "big city" Herlem, seeking both salvation and understanding and of a young boy struggling to earn the approval of a self-righteous and often unloving stepfather

"Susan Duff - the bossy, indomitable schoolgirl with a silver voice from the pages of Doig's most popular work, Dancing at the Rascal Fair - has reached middle age alone, teaching voice lessons to the progeny of Helena's high society. Wesley Williamson - business scion of a cattle-empire family - has fallen from the heights of gubernatorial aspirations, forced out of a public career by political foes who uncovered his love affair with Susan. Years...