Review by Choice Review
W.E.B. Du Bois's published writings fill 40 volumes and his correspondence adds another three volumes. Aptheker, editor and compiler of this important and prodigious output, was given the task by Du Bois himself who, two years before his death in 1961 at the age of 95, turned over all of his papers to Aptheker. In this new collection, he has assembled the most significant of Du Bois's unpublished writings, and done so with great care and respect. Aptheker has provided a brief but useful chronology of Du Bois's career, introducing each entry with a simple explanation of its social context, and adding helpful footnotes in elaboration of events that have faded in history. The documents themselves are also organized chronologically, allowing the reader to easily observe the political and philosophical developments in Du Bois's life. Always antiracist in orientation, and increasingly concerned with the economic aspects of oppression, Du Bois's shift from conservatism to liberalism to socialism is readily observed in these writings. There are no surprises in this collection, although the coherence of the volume itself is a most pleasant surprise. It is a good read, and it surely belongs in most public and academic libraries.-H.J. Ehrlich, formerly University of Iowa
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
