Edward J. Blum's W. E. B. Du Bois, American Prophet was chosen to be the latest Books & Culture Book of the Week. Reviewer Kathryn Lofton writes:
Students of U.S. religious history will be well-served by reading
Blum's book, returning to their classrooms with his infectious,
admiring passion as a touchstone for their lessons on The Souls of Black Folk,
a book long anthologized and used in undergraduate religious studies
classrooms to convey a certain profile of African American religiosity.
Moreover, Blum's portrait of Du Bois usefully maps onto other pictures
of religious critics, like William James and Felix Adler, who share Du
Bois' mesh of social science and visionary epistemology. Yet perhaps
Blum's most important contribution is not a religious remapping for Du
Bois but rather an academic reimagining of religious biography.
For the complete review, visit the Books & Culture: A Christian Review website at www.christianitytoday.com.
