The Essential Harold Cruse: A Reader [Paperback]

William Jelani Cobb (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 23, 2002

In 1967, as the movement for civil rights was turning into a bitter, often violent battle for black power, Harold Cruse’s The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual burst onto the scene. It was a lacerating attack on integration, and set the agenda for black cultural, social, and political autonomy. A classic of African American social thought, the book and its author went on to influence generations of activists, artists, and scholars. Cruse’s intelligence, independence, and breadth of vision virtually defined what it meant to be a black intellectual in modern America. In this first anthology of Cruse’s writing, William Jelani Cobb provides a powerful introduction to Cruse’s wide body of work, including published material such as excerpts from Crisis, as well as unpublished essays, speeches, and correspondence. The Essential Harold Cruse is certain to become standard reading for anyone interested in race in American society.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Harold Cruse is best known for 1967's The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual, an influential call for black autonomy, warning against integration as a strategy. Edited by regular Washington Post contributor William Jelani Cobb, The Essential Harold Cruse: A Reader includes essays from the early 1960s on race, bohemianism, James Baldwin and Cuba; three chapters of Crisis, three from Rebellion or Revolution (1968) and further essays and speeches from the Black Power era; one chapter from Plural but Equal (1987) and a selection of other post-Black Power writings that address theater and music. The introduction by cultural critic Stanley Crouch is useful, but a more complete and analytical intellectual biography is still wanted.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Editor Cobb (visiting assistant professor, history, Spelman Coll.) here offers essential reading for anyone interested in black politics and culture. Cruse is known mostly for his classic text, The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual, and his anti-integrationist and black nationalist views. His writings are respectful of some of America's greatest thinkers and cultural workers, e.g., James Baldwin, Lorraine Hansberry, and W.E.B. DuBois, but he doesn't hold back when eloquently disputing their ideas and actions. Cruse brings his critical analysis to bear on issues like black leadership and aesthetics, the interrelationship of politics and culture, civil disobedience, capitalism, the establishment of a black independent political party, and the realities of American culture topics still worthy of debate today. The reader is arranged thematically and chronologically, from Cruse's years in the Communist Party and as a playwright in Greenwich Village (1951-63) to the publication of Plural but Equal. A 1997 interview with Cruse closes the collection. Cruse's legacy is awe-inspiring, and this new work is highly recommended for public and academic libraries. Sherri Barnes, Univ. of California Lib., Santa Barbara
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; 1 edition (February 23, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312293968
• ISBN-13: 978-0312293963
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,917,284 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Essays for the Cause, June 4, 2002

By 

The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Essential Harold Cruse: A Reader (Paperback)

Harold Cruse was one of the most intellectual and insightful men of his time. The Essential Harold Cruse:A Reader is a collection of essays that provides into how he was thinking and what he thought as a black man during times, past and present, of racial strife and struggle.

Mr.Cruse critiques some of the most well known people of his time. Chapter four of the book sticks out in mind, for example. James Baldwin, one of the most well known and respected author's ever, wrote a play called Blues for Mr. Charlie. Mr. Baldwin was emphatic when discussing Mr. Charlie that it was not a Negro play, but just a a play that had some resonant social themes. Cruse criticizes Baldwin for not being true to himself or to the cause. Mr. Cruse was very outspoken and always wrote or said what he thought.

The Essential Harold Cruse:A Reader edited by William Jelani Webb was a very difficult book to read at times because some of the essays were very indepth and I felt as though the author was talking over my head and overanalyzing. On the other hand the collection of essays was insightful and informative and I feel that in reading this book that I learned a lot.

Reviewed by Simone A. Hawks

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect!, June 29, 2006

By 

Third World (Bronx, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Essential Harold Cruse: A Reader (Paperback)

After all of these years this compilation of studies by Mr. Cruse is still relevant. His analysis aren't simply incisive or alarmist. They are underpinned by a logic that cannot be negated. 'Rebellion or Revolution', 'Plural but Equal' and 'Crisis' should be be read in their entirety as well. When one peruses the bookshelves, its ostensible that this kind of scholarship is absent from contemporary Black thought. This is a great collection.