Customer Reviews

Eyewitness: A Living Documentary of the African American Contribution to American History

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a dated book, but a good one. It was first composed in the 1960s. My edition is from 1968, so perhaps it has been brought up to the present. But I would think that it has been surpassed by other texts in many ways.

Very few readers will need to bother with a text such as this. African-American history has come a long way since the 1960s: there are superior textbooks available. The narrative has many holes--too numerable to list. (I.e. almost no mention of the flood of 1927, little coverage of Ida B. Wells, etc.) Why, then, would anyone bother with a book such as this? (A.) if you can buy a copy for a dollar or two. (B.) if you are looking for wonderfully rich historical documents.

The book is loaded with first person accounts from history. Newspaper clippings, letters, conversations, novels, advertisements, and the like. Obviously, this is not the first or the last book to give weight to original historical documents. However, what you'll likely find here is a unique collection of texts and illustrations. Moreover, they are often reprinted for a page or two: at some length. Page after page of this 550 page book is given over to Black voices from the past. Anyone wanting to hear a random sampling of Black voices from the past might do well with this text.