"Pioneering historian, sociologist, editor, novelist, poet, and organizer W.E.B. Du Bois was one of the foremost African American intellectuals of the twentieth century. While DuBois is remembered for his monumental contributions to scholarship and civil rights activism, the spiritual aspects of his work have been misunderstood, even negated. W.E.B. Du Bois, American Prophet, the first religious biography of this leader, illuminates the spirituality that is essential to understanding his efforts and achievements in the political and intellectual world."--BOOK JACKET. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Blum (San Diego State Univ.) challenges conventional scholarly interpretations of W. E. B. Du Bois as a completely secular thinker who disdained anything smacking of religion or the spiritual. On the contrary, Blum argues, Du Bois was deeply influenced by religious and spiritual teachings, and in turn contributed profound insights regarding the spiritual dimensions of US and global struggles for peace, self-determination, and social justice. Eschewing straightforward biography, Blum devotes separate thematic chapters to limning the religious messages in Du Bois' autobiographies, novels, social-scientific writings, and his crowning achievement, The Souls of Black Folk. Du Bois consistently used biblical quotations, metaphors, and allusions; cherished ritual; and probed the souls and spiritual strivings of his people. Blum shows that, while he rejected the dogma of organized religions, Du Bois maintained a deep and abiding sense of spirituality and its importance for human progress. Blum is even convincing in arguing that, for Du Bois, communism in its purest form reflected the true spirit of Christ's teachings. This book is valuable for providing fresh insights into one of the greatest US intellectual activists of the 20th century. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. Upper-division Undergraduates; Graduate Students; Researchers/Faculty. Reviewed by M. Kachun. From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Edward J. Blum teaches history at San Diego State University. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Introduction: Rethinking W. E. B. Du Bois, Rethinking Religion and Race	3
Chapter 1 The Hero with a Black Face: Autobiography and the Mythology of Self	20
Chapter 2 Race as Cosmic Sight in The Souls of Black Folk	61
Chapter 3 A Dark Monk Who Wrote History and Sociology: The Spiritual Wage of Whiteness, the Black Church, and Mystical Africa	98
Chapter 4 Black Messiahs and Murderous Whites: Violence and Faith in Literary Expression	134
Chapter 5 Christ Was a Communist: Religion for an Aging Leftist	181
Epilogue: The Passing of the Prophet	211
Notes	223
Index	257
Acknowledgments	271

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