"'Brother West' is like its author: brillant, unapologetic, full of passion, yet cool. This poignant memoir traces West's transformation from a schoolyard Robin Hood into a progressive cultural icon. From his youthful investigation of the "death shudder" to why em embraced his calling of teaching over preaching, from his three marriages and his two precious children to his near-fatal bout with prostate cancer. West illuminates what it means to live as "an aspiring bluesman in a world of ideas and a jazzman in the life of the mind"." -- Inside cover.