Adolph L. Reed, Jr. is a member of the Graduate Faculty of Political Science at the New School of Social Research . He is also a regular columnist for The Village Voice and a frequent contributor to The Progressive and The Nation.
"W. E. B. Du Bois is a towering figure of central importance in
American political thought, and so he has been annexed to many
positions alien to his own. Reed provides the most informed,
insightful, and balanced account of Du Bois's thinking yet written,
one that is profoundly illuminating for progressive thought and
action on issues of racial, political, and economic equality
today."--Rogers M. Smith, Yale University
"Adolph Reed's book is quite simply brilliant. It liberates Du Bois
scholarship from a host of disfiguring anachronisms. By
persuasively establishing the specific intellectual context within
which Du Bois worked, Reed systematically reinterprets the meaning
and significance of Du Bois's most influential writings. The logic
is searing, the scholarship is impeccable, and, as always with
Reed, there's a bristling polemical punchline as well. Anyone who
takes Du
Bois seriously must come to terms with this book."--James Oakes,
Northwestern University
"An extremely important contribution. Not only does Reed critically
reclaim Du Bois as part of the traditions of both African American
and American political thought, but he also locates Du Bois's
thought and work in the dynamic changes in the political economy
and racial politics of late 19th and 20th century America. Reed's
book will be discussed and argued about for years, both for its
provocative account of Du Bois's lifework and for its capacity to
inform
not only contemporary political debate, but also contemporary
political action."--Michael C. Dawson, University of Chicago
"Reed has never been a man to go with the cultural flow. At a time
when too many intellectuals, both black and white, are trimming
their views to the rightward and depoliticizing winds of current
fashion, Reed offers a bracing defense of a radical alternative.
Tough-minded and wide-ranging, this book is not merely a rigorous
contextualization of Du Bois that, in challenging conventional
contemporary appropriations of him, will have to be taken account
of by
all serious future Du Bois interpretation. It is also a stirring
call for a renewed Afro-American politics and scholarship that does
not pass off covert quietism as activism and racial vindicationism
as
analysis."--Charles W. Mills, University of Illinois, Chicago
"This controversial book offers more than a challenging and well-
researched interpretation of the legacy of Du Bois. In its most
explosive pages Reed measures present-day "public intellectuals"
against the standard set by Du Bois, and it is clear that he finds
the current generation wanting. This book is certain to stimulate
much probing discussion and considerable soul-searching."--Wilson
J. Moses, Pennsylvania State University
"Adolph Reed Jr., a deft critical theorist, does for Du Bois's
intellectual career what only Reed can do, offering a rigorous
critical archaeology of Du Bois's political thought."--Martin
Kilson, Harvard University
"Readers familiar with Adolph Reed Jr.'s work ...expect fiery
polemics defending one interpretation of American race relations
against any and all rivals. They will not be disappointed.
Reed...not only aims to inform us of what Du Bois really meant, he
also hurls a broadside against 'vindicationism'."--The New York
Times Book Review
"[Reed's] stubborn belief in class politics, his fury at the
self-satisfaction of intellectuals, and his repudiation of
postmodern fashion...make him a rare tonic."--The Nation
"Required reading for progressive theorists and activists engaged
in breaking the thralldom of racial compromise and
accommodation."--Village Voice
"...the book shows the author has done intense research and there
is much merit in its contents."--Quill & Scroll
"W. E. B. Du Bois is a towering figure of central importance in
American political thought, and so he has been annexed to many
positions alien to his own. Reed provides the most informed,
insightful, and balanced account of Du Bois's thinking yet written,
one that is profoundly illuminating for progressive thought and
action on issues of racial, political, and economic equality
today."--Rogers M. Smith, Yale University
"Adolph Reed's book is quite simply brilliant. It liberates Du Bois
scholarship from a host of disfiguring anachronisms. By
persuasively establishing the specific intellectual context within
which Du Bois worked, Reed systematically reinterprets the meaning
and significance of Du Bois's most influential writings. The logic
is searing, the scholarship is impeccable, and, as always with
Reed, there's a bristling polemical punchline as well. Anyone who
takes Du
Bois seriously must come to terms with this book."--James Oakes,
Northwestern University
"An extremely important contribution. Not only does Reed critically
reclaim Du Bois as part of the traditions of both African American
and American political thought, but he also locates Du Bois's
thought and work in the dynamic changes in the political economy
and racial politics of late 19th and 20th century America. Reed's
book will be discussed and argued about for years, both for its
provocative account of Du Bois's lifework and for its capacity to
inform
not only contemporary political debate, but also contemporary
political action."--Michael C. Dawson, University of Chicago
"Reed has never been a man to go with the cultural flow. At a time
when too many intellectuals, both black and white, are trimming
their views to the rightward and depoliticizing winds of current
fashion, Reed offers a bracing defense of a radical alternative.
Tough-minded and wide-ranging, this book is not merely a rigorous
contextualization of Du Bois that, in challenging conventional
contemporary appropriations of him, will have to be taken account
of by
all serious future Du Bois interpretation. It is also a stirring
call for a renewed Afro-American politics and scholarship that does
not pass off covert quietism as activism and racial vindicationism
as
analysis."--Charles W. Mills, University of Illinois, Chicago
"This controversial book offers more than a challenging and well-
researched interpretation of the legacy of Du Bois. In its most
explosive pages Reed measures present-day "public intellectuals"
against the standard set by Du Bois, and it is clear that he finds
the current generation wanting. This book is certain to stimulate
much probing discussion and considerable soul-searching."--Wilson
J. Moses, Pennsylvania State University
"Adolph Reed Jr., a deft critical theorist, does for Du Bois's
intellectual career what only Reed can do, offering a rigorous
critical archaeology of Du Bois's political thought."--Martin
Kilson, Harvard University
"Readers familiar with Adolph Reed Jr.'s work ...expect fiery
polemics defending one interpretation of American race relations
against any and all rivals. They will not be disappointed.
Reed...not only aims to inform us of what Du Bois really meant, he
also hurls a broadside against 'vindicationism'."--The New York
Times Book Review
"[Reed's] stubborn belief in class politics, his fury at the
self-satisfaction of intellectuals, and his repudiation of
postmodern fashion...make him a rare tonic."--The Nation
"Required reading for progressive theorists and activists engaged
in breaking the thralldom of racial compromise and
accommodation."--Village Voice
"...the book shows the author has done intense research and there
is much merit in its contents."--Quill & Scroll
"Reed offers an insightful and engaging reevaluation of DuBois's
political thinking, and the approach he takes to broaden our
understanding of this particular thinker circles back, and helps
expand our understanding of Afro-Americanist--and indeed, broader
Americanist--intellectual trends of present."--New Politics
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