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.

Series Introduction: The Black Letters on the Sign ; Introduction ; Preface for the New Edition ; Preface ; Chronology ; I. Africa and America ; II. The Making of the Man ; III. The Wanderjahre ; IV. The Shepherd of the Sheep ; V. The Vision of the Damned ; VI. The Call of Kansas ; VII. The Swamp of the Swan ; VIII. The Great Plan ; IX. The Black Phalanx ; X. The Great Black Way ; XI. The Blow ; XII. The Riddle of the Sphinx ; XIII. The Legacy of John Brown ; Bibliography ; Index ; William Edward Burghardt Du Bois: A Chronology ; Selected Bibliography

"This set represents an invaluable assembly of the works of the pioneering African American scholar, activist, and creative genius...The introductions to the individual volumes are written by such distinguished scholars as to make those writings indispensable treasures in their own right. Recommended for all public libraries and essential for every academic institution."--Library Journal (starred review) "This set is a valuable contribution to African-American scholarship. It has the potential to introduce a new readership to the scope and breadth of a unique and seminal thinker. The works included can provide a more comprehensive understanding of the issues now facing contemporary Americans...[A] breathtaking collection."--School Library Journal "The general introduction and the introductions to each of Du Bois's works form a valuable opus in their own right, as they convey the author's political and social theories and indicate the richness and development of his ideas...The realities of slavery, racism, and segregation in the United States are always at the forefront, making these works (many of them out-of-print) continually pertinent and forceful reading...This set will be an essential addition to public and college libraries."--Reference and Research Book News "This set will be vital to all large university libraries with collections in African American history and American literature."--American Reference Books Annual "Examining Du Bois's oeuvre in its totality reveals an arc to his career, swinging from the formal scholarly writing of his early years to a trenchant and trademark blend of history, memoir, and polemic...Bringing together all of DuBois's work as a whole, observes [Lawrence D. Bobo of Stanford University's Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity], 'reveals the enormity of his intellect, and how it was ignored in his day."--The Chronicle of Philanthropy "W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) published 22 works during his long career, all of them contained within this impressive and painstaking collected set...[T]he general introduction and the introductions to each of Du Bois's works form a valuable opus in their own right, as they convey the author's political and social theories and indicate the richness and development of his ideas. Du Bois's conception of race and color in America is a central theme throughout his oeuvre, beginning with his seminal Souls of Black Folk of 1903. The realities of slavery, racism, and segregation in the United States are always at the forefront, making these works (many of them out-of-print) continually pertinent and forceful reading...This set will be an essential addition to public and college libraries."--Reference and Research Book News

"This set represents an invaluable assembly of the works of the pioneering African American scholar, activist, and creative genius...The introductions to the individual volumes are written by such distinguished scholars as to make those writings indispensable treasures in their own right. Recommended for all public libraries and essential for every academic institution."--Library Journal (starred review) "This set is a valuable contribution to African-American scholarship. It has the potential to introduce a new readership to the scope and breadth of a unique and seminal thinker. The works included can provide a more comprehensive understanding of the issues now facing contemporary Americans...[A] breathtaking collection."--School Library Journal "The general introduction and the introductions to each of Du Bois's works form a valuable opus in their own right, as they convey the author's political and social theories and indicate the richness and development of his ideas...The realities of slavery, racism, and segregation in the United States are always at the forefront, making these works (many of them out-of-print) continually pertinent and forceful reading...This set will be an essential addition to public and college libraries."--Reference and Research Book News "This set will be vital to all large university libraries with collections in African American history and American literature."--American Reference Books Annual "Examining Du Bois's oeuvre in its totality reveals an arc to his career, swinging from the formal scholarly writing of his early years to a trenchant and trademark blend of history, memoir, and polemic...Bringing together all of DuBois's work as a whole, observes [Lawrence D. Bobo of Stanford University's Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity], 'reveals the enormity of his intellect, and how it was ignored in his day."--The Chronicle of Philanthropy "W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) published 22 works during his long career, all of them contained within this impressive and painstaking collected set...[T]he general introduction and the introductions to each of Du Bois's works form a valuable opus in their own right, as they convey the author's political and social theories and indicate the richness and development of his ideas. Du Bois's conception of race and color in America is a central theme throughout his oeuvre, beginning with his seminal Souls of Black Folk of 1903. The realities of slavery, racism, and segregation in the United States are always at the forefront, making these works (many of them out-of-print) continually pertinent and forceful reading...This set will be an essential addition to public and college libraries."--Reference and Research Book News

Selling point: A specially commissioned introductory essay by Paul Finkelman, a top scholar at Albany Law School Selling point: A series introduction by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Selling point: An extensive chronology of W. E. B. Du Bois's life, compiled by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Terri Hume Oliver Selling point: A selected bibliography of W. E. B. Du Bois texts, including his own works, collections, bibliographies, biographies, and critical works Selling point: A chronology of John Brown's life

Henry Louis Gates, Jr., is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard University. He has edited several major reference works, including Dictionary of African Biography, African American Lives, Africana, and African American National Biography. In addition, he is Editor in Chief of the Oxford African American Studies Center (www.oxfordaasc.com).

Selling point: A specially commissioned introductory essay by Paul Finkelman, a top scholar at Albany Law School Selling point: A series introduction by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Selling point: An extensive chronology of W. E. B. Du Bois's life, compiled by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Terri Hume Oliver Selling point: A selected bibliography of W. E. B. Du Bois texts, including his own works, collections, bibliographies, biographies, and critical works Selling point: A chronology of John Brown's life