Reviews

The Souls of Black Folk: With the Talented Tenth and the Souls of White Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois

mrbear's review against another edition

3.0

A solid, though biased, history book. The writing was powerful and easy to read, I'm just not a fan of books that talk about how the world could have been so much better if something were to have happened. For example, when radical feminists say that the world would be better if women ruled it. It's just illogical: it would be the same, people's roles would just be jumbled. This books tries to present slavery in this same light, and is sort of frustrating for it.

katie_skean's review against another edition

Glad that I read this. The first few chapters I was like "This is surprisingly contemporary-sounding and accessible language," but then there were chapters with lots of "forsooth" and other old-timey words, and language reflecting the casual classism of his time like referring to "good breeding" or "the more intelligent classes of people." He had compassion for impoverished people and advocated for better educational and economic opportunities for them, so I would say he was anti-classist for his time, but these sorts of phrases can be jarring for the modern reader. (Even though there is still rampant classism and classist language today, obviously.) Similar jarring moments with some other issues as well. But it feels very good to have read such an important historical primary source document and to get a little more familiar with his writings firsthand. He was very insightful and courageous. 

coppolaklein's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful sad slow-paced

3.5

aaronnovik's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.5

meilanon's review against another edition

informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

edriessen's review against another edition

4.0

Before reading this, I only read some things about civil war and the abolishment of slavery in secondary school (in Europe). Where I think it was probably only a subsection of a chapter, or maybe a full chapter. Add some references in ‘the news’ and a movie or two, but no accurate ones I think, and you have my baseline. For me, this book helped me get a better view on the complexity of the times folowing the ‘end of slavery’.

nishat14's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

This book was extremely important. Everything doesn't still stand, but we cannot expect that of any over 100 year old text, but how true it rings to today is almost frightening. I can see myself studying this book for years to come.

dick_murph's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

smesnake's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

flowerbinsh's review against another edition

Read for a required class.

There isn't any reason for my DNFing this book, besides the fact that we did not finish it in class. It was an important read to understand the history of Black lives after Emancipation and what a "freeman" really entailed. Will I finish this, however? No. I think the amount that I read added to my knowledge greatly, and while I think that is important, I don't see the need to continue on outside of class time.