This is actually an autobiography, as relayed by MacKinley Helm in flowing, easy reading style, marred by occasional use of pretentiously big words. On the whole, a sincere attempt to give a picture of the life and mind of a Negro who made good, of his struggles, his humiliations, as well as his successes. It is written without bitterness or envy, though occasionally he seems on the defensive, with a weakness for ironical situations. On the whole, a straightforward narrative, tracing his life from boyhood on a Georgia farm, schooling in Chattanooga (much of it self earned, and scattered), Fisk University, through his music; then his career as a singer, despite prejudice and criticism, reaching success and acclaim. The best part deals with the relations with his mother. A fine study of a gifted Negro in a white world; a book all musicians will enjoy.