"I just finished Beads on A String and in all sincerity I have to say it is a work of subtle genius. Several years back I read one of the most unusual history books ever written, "The Peoples' History of the United States." Anyone who has read that revelation of history as events that really happened, as opposed to events as reported by those who were left holding the most power, will see a similar sort of understanding in this amazing work by Ey Wade. An alternative title for her work could well be, "A History of the People of the United States. I can give this work no higher compliment.
I was consistently fascinated by unexpected connections, accomplishments and contributions being added to the ongoing tapestry of our country by so many people from so many ethnic and cultural backgrounds, that I simply couldn't put the book down. If I could ask for anything more, it would literally be just that...more.
This is the story of the heroes of our collective past. What is incredibly moving is that so many of these heroes have gone unsung for so long.
I can gladly recommend this book to anyone interested in the historical journey of the land we live in. Beyond that, I can just as easily recommend it to anyone who just likes a great read.
INTERVIEW
African-American History Examiner (AAHE): What is your book about?
Ey Wade (E. W.): Beads on a String is about applause.
History was written in more than Black & White and Beads on a
String-America’s Racially Intertwined Biographical History lauds loudly
the accomplishments of all races that helped make America the great
country it has become. America’s glorious multi-racial history is
finally acknowledged.
Tired of picking up an American history book and seeing the accolades
given to one ethnicity at a time? Ever wondered what the Chinese,
Japanese or any other race contributed to America within a certain time
frame?
Beads on a String-America’s Racially Intertwined Biographical History is the book for you to read.
With hyperlinks and videos it celebrates hundreds of people such as
Hiawatha who fought for freedom of his people, Lonnie Johnson who
invented the ‘Super Soaker’, Dalip Singh Saund was a member of the
United States House of Representatives, Rev. Rick Warren blessed the
2008 Presidential Inauguration, Arpad G.C. Gerster was one of the first
surgeons in America, Yamato Ichihashi was one of the first academics of
Asian ancestry in the United States; Antonio Meucci invented the
telephone, Michael Jackson entertained; Minoru Yamasaki
second-generation Japanese-American architect designed the World Trade
Center, and Amadeo Peter Giannini founded the of Bank of Italy which
later became Bank of America.
Beads on a String-America’s Racially Intertwined Biographical History, never stops celebrating our heritages from the naming of the country by
Martin Waldseemuller to the elimination of overt racial discrimination,
through education, entertainment and to the glorious day of racial,
political and social unification with Barack Obama’s Presidential
election.
AAHE: How did you pick the topic for Beads on a String-America’s Racially Intertwined Biographical History?
E. W.: At one time I was a home-schooling parent and
in the process of teaching Black history month we go into the
conversation of teaching Black history only once a month. I decided to
write a book and teach the about the contributions of all races.
AAHE: How is Beads on a String-America’s Racially Intertwined Biographical History different from other books that cover the same or similar information?
E. W.: Beads on a String is different because it is
the only American history book to include and celebrate all ethnicity
which have contributed to the greatness of this country.
AAHE: What do you like most about being an author?
E. W.: I love the idea of being able to write down
my thoughts and emotions, have a reader read my words and find
themselves within the pages.;
An excerpt of
Beads on a String-America’s Racially Intertwined Biographical History:
NAMING AMERICA
In our quest to learn about America’s colorful history and to ascertain
the inclusion of the contributions from every race that has made America
the great nation it is, our biggest wonder was how this great country
received its name. Why the great America wasn’t called ‘Columbus’?
Should this nation not have been named after the person said to have
discovered the new worlds? In actual fact, it has been. In 1507 the map
maker Martin Waldseemuller named North and South America, after Amerigo
Vespucci.
The phrase “united States of America” was first used officially in
the Declaration of Independence, adopted on July 4, 1776. On November
15, 1777, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Articles of
Confederation, the first of which stated “The Stile of this Confederacy
shall be ‘The United States of America.’” The name was originally
proposed by Thomas Paine.
Why wasn’t America named after Christopher
Columbus? For a while the Americas were also known as Columbia, after
Columbus, prompting the name District of Columbia for the land set aside
as the U.S. capital. Columbia remained a popular name for the United
States until the early 20th century, when it fell into relative disuse;
it is still used poetically, and appears in various names and titles.
Columbus Day is a holiday in the United States, and other countries in
the Americas, commemorating Columbus’ October 1492 landing. Mundus Novus (“New World”) was a Latin translation of a lost Italian
letter sent from Lisbon to Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici. It
describes a voyage to South America in 1501-1502. Mundus Novus was
published in late 1502 or early 1503 and soon reprinted and distributed
in numerous European countries.
Lettera di Amerigo Vespucci delle isole
nuovamente trovate in quattro suoi viaggi (“Letter of Amerigo Vespucci
concerning the isles newly discovered on his four voyages”), known as
Lettera al Soderini or just Lettera, was a letter in Italian addressed
to Piero Soderini. Printed in 1504 or 1505, it claimed to be an account
of four voyages to the Americas made by Vespucci between 1497 and 1504.
It was the publication and widespread circulation of the letters that
led Martin Waldseemüller to name the new continent America on his world
map of 1507 in Lorraine. Along with placing the name on the map
Waldseemüller also published Vespucci’s accounts of his travels in a
book. A Latin translation was published by Waldseemüller in
Cosmographiae Introductio, a book on cosmography and geography, as
Quattuor Americi Vespucci navigationes (“Four Voyages of Amerigo
Vespucci”). Vespucci used a Latinized form of his name, Americus
Vespucius, in his Latin writings, which Waldseemüller used as a base for
the new name, taking the feminine form America.
This public revelation caused many people to believe Vespucci was trying to steal the credit of
the discovery from Christopher Columbus. And just who was this Amerigo
Vespucci?
Amerigo Vespucci born March 9, 1451 was born in Florence, Italy and
was an Italian merchant, explorer and cartographer. He played a senior
role in two voyages which explored the east coast of South America
between 1499 and 1502. On the second of these voyages he discovered that
South America extended much further south than previously known by
Europeans.
This convinced him that this land was part of a new
continent, a bold contention at a time when other European explorers
crossing the Atlantic Ocean thought they were reaching Asia .
Vespucci’s real historical importance may well be more in his
letters, whether he wrote them all or not, than in his discoveries. From
these letters, the European public learned about the newly discovered
continent of the Americas for the first time; its existence became known
throughout Europe within a few years of the letters’ publication.
If Vespucci’s claims are accurate he reached the mainland of the Americas
shortly before Cabot, and at least 14 months before Columbus.
In 1508 Spain gave Vespucci the responsibility for training pilots for ocean voyages. He died in Seville in 1512 from Malaria.
Copyright© Ey Wade
Purchase Ey Wade’s other books at all major online bookstores and available in print or download and ready for (whatever model) your eReader to eat them up.
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"Carefully researched and touchingly portrayed, this is a book that belongs in every library and classroom in America. I highly recommend it. It is an important contribution to the history of our nation, and is a good resource for historians of all types." - Elle Zeidon
