William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (1868-1963) was a historian,
social scientist, journalist, and civil rights activist best known
for his landmark 1903 book The Souls of Black Folk. He was a
co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People in 1909 and served for many years as the editor of
its monthly magazine, The Crisis.
The first to win the International PEN/Faulkner Award twice,John
Edgar Widemanhas written a dozen novels, includingPhiladelphia
FireandSent for You Yesterday, and a NBCC-nominated memoir,Brothers
and Keepers. His second memoir,Fatheralong, was a finalist for the
National Book Award.
This release is in honor of the centennial of the publication of Du Bois's classic collection of writings on the experiences of the newly freed slaves after the Civil War. As in the print version, the audiobook includes a small portion of one of the Negro sorrow songs, songs that express the sadness and the hopes of the slaves. Du Bois looks at the history of African Americans to 1903, discussing how the government had not lived up to its promises. He brings forward his ideas of the "talented tenth" and the importance of educating this group so that they can help improve the world for other African Americans. Du Bois also attacks the beliefs of Booker T. Washington, who suggested that African Americans educate themselves to be better farmers and laborers and not aspire to professional careers. The audio ends with a short story, documenting the lives of two men named John, one black and one white, who leave the plantation where they grew up to attend college and return to deal with the changes in themselves and the expectations of their communities, with tragic results. Warren Hazlett does a masterful job of reading this wonderful work. It should find a home in all libraries, especially those with African American history collections.-Danna Bell-Russel, Library of Congress Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
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