(The face of journalism was forever changed after Jill Nelson came along. Volunteer Slavery, the memoir and explosive expose of her experiences in the white, male-dominated world of The Washington Post, served as a wake-up call to all Americans and placed Nelson at the forefront of the African American political arena.

Now, the bestselling author is back with Straight, No Chaser, a call to arms written in an effort to "look at the sum of [black women's] lives beyond the how-to-snag-a-man, am-I-pretty-enough and how's-my-hair concerns that dominate [their] daily existence." Nelson encourages black women--especially young girls--to develop a positive identity in the face of adversity and to look critically at their role models, many of whom she believes send mixed messages to the African American community. From Barbie to bra burning, Mike Tyson to the Million Man March, Nelson takes a personal and thoughtful approach to the empowerment of the black female.

Jill Nelson's first book, Volunteer Slavery, was an account of her time as a writer at the Washington Post, a sojourn that ended with her resignation and a near-nervous breakdown. In this new collection of essays, Nelson issues a call to arms to black women. As she sees it, black women are at the center of the black community as parents, workers, churchgoers, nurturers, and caregivers, yet are excluded from discussions about the future of that community. In this stirring, sure-to-be-talked-about book, Nelson challenges black women to "speak up and out, to speak the truth about what is really happening in ourselves, our communities, and the larger culture."

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