Saturday, March 21, 2009

The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois

I've been listening to this book, courtesy of Librivox.org, for a while now. Not because it was boring or a bad book. Mainly because it's very in-depth and serious. To me, this is the kind of book that is almost impossible to read in one sitting.

As an aside, the reader for this particular book was extremely good. He provided music and was a great, steady reader. http://librivox.org/souls-of-black-folks-by-web-du-bois/

This is a book containing several essays on being an African American among a white society. Published in 1903, it contains 14 essays ranging from initial slavery and Booker T. Washington to the songs of sorrow that are popular among the African American population. Some of the especially poignant essays are about young black men trying to make more of themselves, only to be pushed aside and treated very poorly by white people. Of The Coming of John and Of Alexander Cummell were two of the best essays, in my opinion.

All in all, this was an excellent book that gives insight into how the African Americans dealt with the lives they were given.

Also available on Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/408/408-h/408-h.htm

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