Less a biography than an analysis of James Brown's cultural legacy, Kill 'Em and Leave: Searching for James Brown and the American Soul is reflective and fascinating. As a child, James McBride's family lived across the tracks from Brown's home in Queens, N.Y. McBride's youngest sister braved the singer's front steps to knock on the door, something no other kid ever had the courage to do. Brown stepped onto the porch to greet her and said, "Stay in school, Dotty. Don't be no fool!"
Brown's message never changed: stay in school, work hard, be proud of who you are. McBride (The Good Lord Bird; The Color of Water) details how the Godfather of Soul's significance as a successful African American entertainer and singer has no analogue. In addition to a profound influence on American music and culture, Brown left his considerable wealth to poor children in Georgia and South Carolina (although in the 10 years since his death, none of it has gone anywhere but into the pockets of lawyers hired by Brown's family to contest his largesse).
Kill 'Em and Leave also looks at what's left of James Brown's non-financial legacy via a sort of travelogue, with author, musician and educator McBride's informed commentary about environments that shaped Brown's life. It's impossible to separate McBride's own experience from the story he tells, and the book is all the better for it. This is an insider's look at the racial, musical and cultural effects of the supreme force of will that James Brown brought to every endeavor he was involved in, from the deep South to New York City. --Rob LeFebvre, freelance writer and editor