Reconsidering the Souls of Black Folk [Paperback]

Stanley Crouch (Author), Playthell Benjamin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 16, 2003

Stanley Crouch teams up with noted journalist Playthell Benjamin for this thought-provoking look back at The Souls of Black Folk, the epochal, prophetic work by the great African-American intellectual W. E. B. DuBois. Crouch--an internationally recognized jazz critic, syndicated columnist, and author--and Benjamin appraise the contributions of DuBois's work, noting its uncanny relevance to today's society and its profound impact on the field of African-American studies. Reconsidering the Souls of Black Folk is a fitting tribute to a literary and sociological triumph.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Pioneering black sociologist and public intellectual W.E.B. DuBois set the terms of debate about race in 20th-century America in The Souls of Black Folk. In this vigorous dialogue, two contemporary black intellectuals assess DuBois's ideas and legacy for the centenary of his most famous work: his evocation of the "double consciousness" of African-Americans in a racist society; his advocacy of the black "talented tenth"; and his challenge to Booker T. Washington's nonconfrontational program of downplaying black civil and political rights in favor of economic advancement. In his two long and generally appreciative essays, historian and journalist Benjamin fills in the educational and intellectual milieu that influenced DuBois (especially the Romantic German nationalism he absorbed during a stint in Berlin), celebrates his nuanced, pathbreaking explorations of black culture and psychology, and defends him against charges of elitism by present-day writers. The much shorter responses by playwright and critic Crouch (Notes of a Hanging Judge) are more critical: he castigates DuBois for his embrace of black separatism, Marxism and Pan-Africanism. (That the latter two "sins" take place entirely outside of Souls doesn't seem to bother Crouch.) Crouch spins DuBois as a betrayer of the Enlightenment principles of equality and democracy that he thinks should be the philosophical foundations of blacks' struggle for freedom. The authors' vigorously opinionated styles (Benjamin attacks Cornel West for his "pretentious mumbo-jumbo" and Adolph Reed for being a "pugnacious misanthrope," while Crouch launches blistering tirades against "greasy crackers" and Communists alike) can be wearying, and the result is that this dispatch, while often provocative, just as often has little to do with the seminal book that gives Crouch and Benjamin their title.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"In this vigorous dialogue, two contemporary black intellectuals assess DuBois's ideas and legacy for the centenary of his most famous work."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Running Press (December 16, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762416998
• ISBN-13: 978-0762416998
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,989,682 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poor centennial reconsideration, March 22, 2003

By 

Lester K. Spence (Baltimore, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Reconsidering The Souls Of Black Folk: Thoughts On The Groundbreaking Classic Work Of W.e.b. Dubois (Hardcover)

The Souls of Black Folk is an American classic. Written before he turned 30, Dubois deals deftly with the central issues of not only the beginning of the twentieth century (black leadership, the color line, southern politics, reconstruction, the talented tenth, etc.) but the end as well. When I heard that Benjamin and Crouch were going to put something together in honor of it I awaited my copy with anticipation.

After having read it, at least I can say the cover is really nice.

This book was not a chore to read...the way Benjamin skewers a number of "public intellectuals" is funny at times. And though I seldom agree with Crouch on anything, I find that he has serious skills as a wordsmith. But the central problem is that the work is poorly edited (particularly Benjamin's contribution), and there is no way that this does the original justice. It's better than THE FUTURE OF THE RACE (a similar attempt by Gates and West), but that's not really saying much. Skip it and reread the original.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smart, but not Stuffy, October 6, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Reconsidering The Souls Of Black Folk: Thoughts On The Groundbreaking Classic Work Of W.e.b. Dubois (Hardcover)

This is a very worthwhile read. As an introduction to the work of W.E.B. Du Bois or for someone like me who's read "The Souls of Black Folk" as well as David Levering Lewis's "Biography of a Race," this book is valuable because it personalizes some of Du Bois's scholarship and puts it in an interesting context. The scope is not limited to "The Souls of Black Folk" however, it's much broader than that. Benjamin provides a thorough overview of Du Bois's entire body of work while Crouch contributes some "speed and footwork as cold as a well-digger's posterior," to quote Ralph Ellison's prologue on invisibility. This is a smart book but not a dry academic work; it draws upon: current events, history, contemporary fiction, music, sports, everything. I've read it twice already and have referred back to it numerous times. I've also checked out a couple of additional books based on the authors' recommendations, like Roger Wilkins' "Jefferson's Pillow" and James Weldon Johnson's autobiography, "Along This Way." Benjamin especially, lays out the whole legacy of Du Bois's influence in sociology and political science, discussing important works by Harold Cruse and many others.

"The chords of unintended consequences were subjected to some extended blues choruses in which the tragic optimism of American democracy wafted through the atmosphere, setting loose enough building wind to blow the candles off of the table of slavery and burn down the house." Shelby Foote could not have put it any better than that! This is clearly some inspired writing by Crouch, and I've read a few of his books (plus all of his JazzTimes columns). He contributes only 70 of the book's 250 pages though, so instead of "trading twelves," the format is more like trading eighteens and sixes, but he says a lot in those six bars. Anyway, they might have acheived a more equal distribution by editing out some of Mr. Benjamin's attacks on other public intellectuals. He skewers public intellectuals the way Queequeg skewers sperm whales. The other suggestion I have is that Running Press might consider springing for an editor at more than minimum wage.

A couple of highlights for me are: Playthell Benjamin's extraordinary ten-page musicological analysis which traces strains of anti-Semitism in German culture to the music of Richard Wagner (terrible man, terrific music). Benjamin comes as close as he's going to get to chiding Du Bois for not making the connection, during his student days in Berlin, between the Teutonic "Strong Man" of his Harvard baccalaureate address and the Teutonic Strong Man of Wagner's pre-Christian operatic epic. I was also impressed by Stanley Crouch's presentation of what he sees as the African American legacy of intellectual opposition (of which Du Bois is a part) in the process of redefining (or "purifying," as he calls it) the Enlightenment ideals contained in the founding documents. Crouch provides excerpts from the writing of Enlightenment thinkers like Voltaire as well as the correspondence between Benjamin Banneker and Thomas Jefferson. My description doesn't do it justice, but it's a brilliant analysis.

This is an opinionated book. Unlike Mr. Benjamin, I appreciate Gerald Early's writing and I also like "The Future of the Race," a Gates/West collaboration which includes a brilliant Cornel West essay about Du Bois and the "twilight" of the Age of Europe (1492-1945). Although largely positive, it is somewhat critical of Du Bois, as is Stanley Crouch here. But there seems to be a lot of common ground between Benjamin and Crouch on: the conception of the talented tenth, the towering achievement of Du Bois in general, and the importance of "The Souls of Black Folk" in particular. Their differences seem to lie mostly in Crouch's criticism of Du Bois's sociological bent, his vulnerability to Marxist theory, Pan-Africanism, and his ultimate position as a somewhat tragic figure. I really don't know the answer but I learned a lot from reading this. Everyone I know who's read this has dug it. Great book.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Deal, December 29, 2009

By 

T. Carter "Book Buyer" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Reconsidering the Souls of Black Folk (Paperback)

The book was in great shape and was shipped on time. It was a gift and they really enjoyed the book.