Most Popular Books by W. E. B. Du Bois

The landmark book about being black in America, now in an expanded edition commemorating the 150th anniversary of W. E. B. Du Bois’s birth and featuring a new introduction by Ibram X. Kendi, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist, and cover art by Kadir Nelson “The problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line.” When The Souls of Black Folk was first published in 1903, it had a galvanizing effect on the conversation about race in America—and it remains both a touchstone in the literature of African America and a beacon in the fight for civil rights. Believing that one can know the “soul” of a race by knowing the souls of individuals, W. E. B. Du Bois combines history and stirring autobiography to reflect on the magnitude of American racism and to chart a path forward against oppression, and introduces the now-famous concepts of the color line, the veil, and double-consciousness. This edition of Du Bois’s visionary masterpiece includes two additional essays that have become essential reading: “The Souls of White Folk,” from his 1920 book Darkwater, and “The Talented Tenth.” For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,800 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

In Black Folk Then and Now, W. E. B. Du Bois embarks on a mission to correct the omissions, misinterpretations, and deliberate lies he detected in previous depictions of black history. An exemplary revisionist exploration of history and sociology, this essay reflects Du Bois''s lifelong mission to bring to light the truths of Black history and expose the African peoples'' noble heritage. With a series introduction by editor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and an introduction by Wilson Moses, this edition is essential for anyone interested in African American history.

W. E. B. Du Bois was a public intellectual, sociologist, and activist on behalf of the African American community. He profoundly shaped black political culture in the United States through his founding role in the NAACP, as well as internationally through the Pan-African movement. Du Bois''s sociological and historical research on African-American communities and culture broke ground in many areas, including the history of the post-Civil War Reconstruction period. Du Bois was also a prolific author of novels, autobiographical accounts, innumerable editorials and journalistic pieces, and several works of history. John Brown is W. E. B. Du Bois''s groundbreaking political biography that paved the way for his transition from academia to a lifelong career in social activism. This biography is unlike Du Bois''s earlier work; it is intended as a work of consciousness-raising on the politics of race. Less important are the historical events of John Brown''s life than the political revelations found within the pages of this biography. At the time that he wrote it in 1909, Du Bois had begun his transformation into the most influential civil rights leader of his time. With a series introduction by editor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and an introduction by Paul Finkelman, this edition is essential for anyone interested in African American history.

The Suppression of the African Slave Trade to the United States of America, 1638-1870, W. E. B. Du Bois''s groundbreaking monograph, recounts the moral failures and missed opportunities of the American Revolution and the consequences of compromising with slavery. This monograph is integral to understanding Du Bois''s early theories and his evolution into a leading scholar and activist. With a series introduction by editor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and an introduction by Saidiya Hartman, this edition is essential for anyone interested in African American history.

Set in Alabama and Washington, D.C., in the early part of the twentieth century, W. E. B. Du Bois''s first novel weaves the themes of racial equality and understanding through the stark reality of prejudice and bias. Originally published in 1911 and conceived immediately after The Souls of Black Folk, Du Bois turned to fiction to carry his message to a popular audience who were unfamiliar with his nonfiction works. Du Bois addresses the fact that, despite the legal emancipation of African Americans, the instruments of oppression, in both the economy and government, remained in good working order. At the time he was writing, powerful white industrialists controlled the cotton industry, the "silver fleece" that depended, as it did during slavery, on the physical labor of African Americans. White Americans also controlled local and national government. In the novel, Blessed "Bles" Alwyn, a young man seeking formal education to improve himself, is captivated by Zora, a vivacious, independent woman who lives outside society in a mysterious swamp. Faced with shocking events in Zora''s past and ambivalence about how a black man should integrate into American society, Bles pursues his goals and ends up in Washington to assist on a senator''s campaign. While in the city, he meets successful African Americans—and falls in love—but he ultimately recoils from the hypocrisies they must endure in order to be accepted in society. Instead, he is compelled to return to Alabama and Zora, where he must face his greatest challenges and fears. With its frank and clear language, The Quest of the Silver Fleece is a remarkable portrait of racial prejudice at the turn of the twentieth century. Through the characters, Du Bois demonstrates the efficacy of self-sufficiency for those who face discrimination while championing the benefits of strength in diversity to American society as a whole.

2017 Reprint of 1899 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition software. The Philadelphia Negro is a sociological study of African Americans in Philadelphia written by W. E. B. Du Bois. Commissioned by the University of Pennsylvania and published in 1899 with the intent of identifying social problems present in the African American community, it was the first sociological case study of a black community in the United States and one of the earliest examples of sociology as a statistically based social science. Du Bois began to gather information for the study in August 1896. He deduced that, "the Negro problem looked at in one way is but the old-world questions of ignorance, poverty, crime, and the dislike of the stranger." He supports these claims with a statistical breakdown of the lives of African-Americans, their neighborhoods, incomes, etc. More than one hundred years after its original publication, The Philadelphia Negro remains a classic work. It is the first, and perhaps still the finest, example of engaged sociological scholarship--the kind of work that, in contemplating social reality, helps to change it.

The Soul of Black Folk by W.E.B Du Bois

In Battle for Peace frankly documents Du Bois''s experiences following his attempts to mobilize Americans against the emerging conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. A victim of McCarthyism, Du Bois endured a humiliating trial-he was later acquitted-and faced political persecution for over a decade. Part autobiography and part political statement, In Battle for Peace remains today a powerful analysis of race in America. With a series introduction by editor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and an introduction by Manning Marable, this edition is essential for anyone interested in African American history.