Black Jack

Black Jack Herman<p> Eva turns 109 as seen on the Today Show 4/9/08.<p> Quote of the day: When you've been buried alive you're not looking forward to the real thing!<p> The premiere African-American magician of the twentieth century he was an ardent freedom fighter speaking out against the scourge of Jim Crow-ism and conducting Algonquin style roundtables in his Harlem abode circa 1920's. Intriguingly he warned people against banks and stocks before the advent of the Great Depression. He continued to entertain and enlighten throughout the crisis that followed. That is until his mysterious death on stage in April 1934.<p> Steeped in details of its early twentieth-century setting the manuscript offers a richly detailed look at the showmanship so popular during that era. In addition it effectively conveys the mentality of the time with prohibition big-name gangsters and the threat of national economic collapse looming always in the background. Ultimately Black Jack: A Drama of Magic Mystery and Legerdermain also serves as a testament to the power of the human spirit as readers may be struck not only by what Eva endures but by how she endures it.