All Things Censored

More than 75 essays—many freshly composed by Mumia with the cartridge of a ball-point pen, the only implement he is allowed in his death-row cell—embody the calm and powerful words of humanity spoken by a man on Death Row. Abu-Jamal writes on many different topics, including the ironies that abound within the U.S. prison system and the consequences of those ironies, and his own case. Mumia's composure, humor, and connection to the living world around him represents an irrefutable victory over the "corrections" system that has for two decades sought to isolate and silence him.

The title, All Things Censored, refers to Mumia's hiring as an on-air columnist by National Public Radio's "All Things Considered," and subsequent banning from that venue under pressure from law and order groups.

Customer Reviews:

Hear the voice of reason and justice

By king moshushu - May 21, 2000

Clearly there is a lack of understanding about this work. Mumia Abu-Jamal is a journalist who has been wrongly sentenced to die for a murder which even the most casual observer of the evidence can see he did not commit. These recorded commentaries and essays by Mumia serve to continue to deliver his voice to the people. For those who question the production value of the recordings, remember that they were all recorded in a prison visitation room made of concrete and plexiglass. The reverb/echo effect is a result of the location, not as some have believed from studio tampering. Mumia's voice is highly trained in public speaking - rightly so as he was a radio journalist prior to his 1982 imprisonment - and is as beautiful and terrible as his essays. Unleashing such a voice on the listeners of NPR might have been disastrous only because they might not have been able to handle the truth. The text of the book not only offers insights into the NPR/All Things Considered... read more

An Author Speaks to the People

By "reader-2" - September 27, 2000

There is a lot of media hype surrounding Mumia Abu-Jamal, a prisoner on Pennsylvania's death row. This book by author Jamal, a collection of his essays, cuts through that media hype and conveys Jamal's words in his own voice and writing style. I found this book to be extremely compelling and thought-provoking reading, and would highly recommend "All Things Censored" to anybody without hesitation. The bonus of having a CD of Jamal's banned voice-recordings of his essays included in this book is a real treat, and makes "All Things Censored" even more of a bargain to buy. I particularly enjoyed listening to the CD of Jamal's essays as I sat reading his words in his book. You will too.

Voice of Humanity

By B. Hackman "bbhack" - October 31, 2000

The wisdom of Mumia Abu-Jamal has transcended the grim sentence our system handed him. Whether or not he murdered a man is not as important as the fact that our penal system dehumanizes its inmates. Not only that, our justice and law enforcement systems are profoundly discriminatory, especially against minorities in the lower economic classes. The death penalty merely tortures these inmates until their execution, at a much greater cost than keeping them incarcerated. Why does the system kill to teach our children that killing is wrong? Until we abolish the death penalty, our society can not hope to be truly humane, and the blood of Mumia will be on our hands.