Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now | 
 enlarge | Author: Maya Angelou
Publisher: Bantam
Category: Book
List Price: $6.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  37 reviews
Sales Rank: 143741
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 160
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.4
ISBN: 0553569074
Dewey Decimal Number: 814.54
EAN: 9780553569070
ASIN: 0553569074
Publication Date: October 1, 1994
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Product Description
Offering gems of truth on every page, a treasure of a book from the beloved poet is down to earth, inspirational, and wise, offering thoughts on womanhood, spirituality, and the joy of living well. Reprint.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 32 more reviews...
 A Gentler, More Philosophical Angelou October 26, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
"I remind myself that it is sufficient that I know what I know and know that without believing that I will always know what I know or that what I know will always be true."
Fortunately, the foregoing sentence from "Death and the Legacy" on page 48 of Angelou's book is not typical of the writing style in the rest of it, else I would never have labored through it nor have written this review. With very few exceptions, and the quoted sentence is by far the worst, Angelou's writing is clear, straightforward, and unlikely to send the reader scurrying off to find a dictionary. At times, she even waxes poetic, both literally and figuratively, and at those times she is a delight to read. For the rest, while I find the writing not particularly inspirational, neither do I find it stultifying or insulting to the reader's intelligence. It is, let us conclude, quite agreeable.
This little book, of small dimensions and only 139 pages, is a collection of homilies and philosophical reveries. Except in the most general sense, none is connected to any other, so there is no thread, theme, or "story" in the book. Even the longest, most developed, essay requires a mere seven pages, and one is as brief as a single page, so this is hardly a book in which one can lose oneself or find much in the way of diversion.
The book can easily be devoured in a single sitting, but that's probably the wrong way to approach it. If one really wants to savor and appreciate the observations, reactions, and "lessons" in these ruminations, it's better to take them one at a time, consider each one for a while, and only then read the next.
The one thing that strikes me most forcefully about this book is that it reveals a much different Angelou than we find in her earlier, autobiographical writings. The angry young woman of the earlier books has become a more mature, gentle, understanding and almost forgiving person in this one. I say "almost" because the sections entitled "Voices of Respect"and "Brutality Is Definitely Not Acceptable" present a few things that Angelou is not yet prepared to forgive, and the angry, fierce young woman of Angelou's autobiographical writings comes close to reappearing. Yet, her extraordinarily gentle and understanding treatment of racism in "Our Boys" portrays a graciousness not often observed in her earlier books, and her poem in that section is nothing short of inspirational:
I note the obvious differences
between each sort and type,
but we are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
To see the full poem, by all means do read the book, particularly if you have read Angelou's autobiographical works. This one will show another side of this literary lady.
 A book of wisdom July 24, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
"Wouldn't take nothing for my journey now" is a series of short essays by Maya Angelou on a myriad of topics such as pregnancy, self-worth, style, death, friends, family, racism and many other topics.
This books is amazing, I could not put it down. In a couple of hours I was done with the book, and by the end I felt so much better. It is both uplifting and full of wisdom and advice. It is the type of book that you read with a highlighter, make notes and show to friends. The type of book that you quote and say "But, of course" this makes sense.
As another reviewer mentioned, some of the things she writes about are self-evident, but sometimes we need a reminder, something that tells us "go on". This book does just that.
The essays are so varied that more than one is bound to hit close to home. Her advice in each essay is advice that comes from experience and the wisdom that has come from that experience. She writes like a woman who has lived a lot, pondered a lot and has resolved some basic things as her truth.
When talking about womanhood, she borrows a bit from Shakespeare and says "A rose by any other name may smell as sweet," and then adds "but a woman called by a devaluing name will only be weakened by the misnomer" About death she writes that she "seems at peace with the idea that a day ill dawn when I will not longer be among those living in this valley of strange humors" and that she is capable of accepting this but "unable to accept the death of anyone else." She then launches onto a empathic discourse about the death of a loved one.
Each essay is full of wisdom and advice and this is something that everyone should read. It is also a great present to give.
Miniature gem February 22, 2008
This is almost like a daily affirmation book by poet Maya Angelou. It contains affirmations on every day life and issues that we all face as a human beings. My personal favorite is her mantra that when one cannot follow the way of the world, than he/she should create his/her own path. While doing that a person of real grace will accept God because God gives us purpose and God's love provides hope that there is something good for us out there. We all have to find our own way to get there. But that way we should still be a virtuous people with manners and respect towards others. Our unique style will make us a brand that will be attractive to the outside world, simply because we embrace it ourselves. While I understand Ms. Angelou's take on racism, I must add that racism in its exclusiveness, meanness and repulsion is no different from sexism, intolerance to people who are different in any way or are treated as a second class citizens due to their national origin. Wonderful book to keep in pocket and refer to in time of need for assurance and comfort. Simply written with wisdom of the woman who has seen, felt and experienced the world.
LIFE AND LIVING IS A STAGE November 30, 2007
Leaves the reader with the thought of what life is all about. Maya, a beautiful and renowned writer, in her usual way holds one spellbound with this piece.
Role Model for women May 19, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Maya Angelou is such an insightful writer. She has a very colorful background that explains why she is so well liked. She certainly knows about many, many aspects of life and has come a long way in her life. She is a true role model in the world. Not just for black women but for all women.
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