The souls of Black folk : one hundred years later /

Although initially attracting scant attention when the accomplished researcher and author W.E.B. DuBois published his slim volume of essays in 1903, The Souls of Black Folk has remained in print and become one of the most challenging books on race relations ever published. It is clearly a must-read for anyone interested in American social development and can be understood by anyone with the vaguest background in US history and race relations. The controversial essays "Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others" and "Of the Training of Black Men," for example, were open for debate at the time DuBois wrote them, and the debate continues. The 100th anniversary of this book has resulted in a spate of titles about both the classic and its author. Crouch and Benjamin's Reconsidering contains interesting ideas and raises many good points, but overall it is a disappointment. The writing is convoluted and obtuse; Crouch and Benjamin do not interact well; and grammatical and typographical errors appear regularly enough to be distracting. Clearly supportive of DuBois and his goals, the authors fall far short of his brilliance in both thinking and writing. Hubbard's edited collection purports to be eclectic, with contributors representing a wide variety of academic disciplines. However, these essays, uneven in quality, add little to the DuBois canon. Part of the problem is that DuBois's essays are so clearly constructed that ponderous analysis adds little to their strength and beauty. Academics more interested in demonstrating their intellect do little to generate interest in Souls. While there is some value in this collection (Hubbard's introductory essay is insightful and worthwhile), readers would learn more by reading or rereading DuBois and drawing their own conclusions. Readers and librarians would be well advised to spend time and money on other works reviewing the place of DuBois in 20th-century US life. ^BSumming Up: Both titles--optional. Crouch--general readers and lower-division undergraduates; Hubbard--faculty. D. R. Jamieson Ashland University