A prize-winning historian tells a new story of the black experience in America through the life of a mysterious entrepreneur.To his contemporaries in Gilded Age Manhattan; Guillermo Eliseo was a fantastically wealthy Mexican; the proud owner of a luxury apartment overlooking Central Park; a busy Wall Street office; and scores of mines and haciendas in Mexico. But for all his obvious riches and his elegant appearance; Eliseo was also the possessor of a devastating secret: he was not; in fact; from Mexico at all. Rather; he had begun life as a slave named William Ellis; born on a cotton plantation in southern Texas during the waning years of King Cotton.After emancipation; Ellis; capitalizing on the Spanish he learned during his childhood along the Mexican border and his ambivalent appearance; engaged in a virtuoso act of reinvention. He crafted an alter ego; the Mexican Guillermo Eliseo; who was able to access many of the privileges denied to African Americans at the time: traveling in first-class train berths; staying in upscale hotels; and eating in the finest restaurants.Eliseo’s success in crossing the color line; however; brought heightened scrutiny in its wake as he became the intimate of political and business leaders on both sides of the US-Mexico border. Ellis; unlike many passers; maintained a connection to his family and to black politics that also raised awkward questions about his racial status. Yet such was Ellis’s skill in manipulating his era’s racial codes; most of the whites he encountered continued to insist that he must be Hispanic even as Ellis became embroiled in scandals that hinted the man known as Guillermo Eliseo was not quite who he claimed to be.The Strange Career of William Ellis reads like a novel but offers fresh insights on the history of the Reconstruction era; the US-Mexico border; and the abiding riddle of race. At a moment when the United States is deepening its connections with Latin America and recognizing that race is more than simply black or white; Ellis’s story could not be more timely or important. Winner of the 2017 Phillis Wheatley Award for nonfiction from the Harlem Book Fair 1 map; 8 pages of illustrations
#1684250 in Books W.W. Norton Co 1995-01-17Ingredients: Example IngredientsFormat: Box setOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 3 10.10 x 5.00 x 6.80l; 8.40 #File Name: 039303691X2075 pages
Review
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy CustomerWonderful24 of 33 people found the following review helpful. Interesting but overpriced collectionBy Barrie W. BrackenI bought this set back in 1995 before I had a computer or know what the Internet was all about. That's my rationalization for spending $150 for three volumes. If you're looking for a nice looking attractively bound set with a slip-case to impress your visitors this set is fine for you; if you're interested in content; and you know a little bit even about Jefferson and Madison; you can find much of this material on the Internet free of charge.The three volumes containing over 2000 pages are handsomely bound; sewn signatures; and readable type. Each section of letters is accompanied by 10 to 14 pages of introduction. If I were to compare this set with the letters between Jefferson and Adams this collection word fall far short. Probably it's only real value is the letters of Madison which are more difficult to locate than the works of Jefferson. Since I consider Jefferson to be overrated I must admit my reason for buying this set was an interest in Madison. And perhaps this colors my own evaluation of the set and readers should take this into account.What are the benefits of this set the volumes? The letters are presented in periods of activity and each period is introduced rather well. It offers a convenient way of comparing the thoughts of these two individuals on any single topic that is covered. The major problem as I see it is the limitation of topics. They seem to have been cherry picked for popular consumption. I can see an important use for this set in a library where history 101 students can find resources for a term paper. I believe the serious scholar of American history will be disappointed in this.
