Mumbo Jumbo is like no other book you will ever read. While it was written in 1972, it really hasn't taken off beyond academic audiences, and it probably should have.

The funny thing is that I don't agree with any of Ishmael Reed's message, but I have to tip my hat off to him for presenting it well. He's hopelessly done his research here. This novel is absolutely loaded with hundreds of historical and cultural references. At first glance, it appears that many of the references have no significant meaning. However, these references will intice the reader to research them. By doing so, I learned a...