Paul Robeson Speaks: Writings, Speeches, and Interviews, a Centennial Celebration

Book Description

Many remember Paul Robeson for his magnificent singing voice and acting ability. But how many are aware that Robeson wrote and spoke about African culture? Thirty years before "black is beautiful", he described his pride in being Negro. Paul Robeson Speaks is a stirring, illustrated collection of speeches, writings, interviews, and press reports by a man whose thoughts and writings contributed greatly to African culture and Black pride.

Customer Reviews:

Robeson is one of my favorite proponents of communism!.......2004-03-20

If you can't believe the websites of Rutgers and Princeton Univiersities, and just have to read it for yourself, this is the book for you. Just being able to read Mr. Robeson's beautiful ode to one of last century's most influential world leaders, Joe Stalin, is worth the price of the book! I'm tickled pink (or should I say "red") that the United States Postal Service has done their homework and honored Mr. Robeson with his own postage stamp!!

Give this man some due.......2003-02-01

What can I say? Paul Robeson put his money where his mouth is. He gave up millions for what he believed in and stood his ground. He fought for Black freedom and also took up the cause for poor whites and workers. Whether you agree with him or not, this man is one of America's greatest heroes! It is amazing how his life and contributions are overlooked. Buy this book and read about a great American hero.

Average customer rating:

A genius who's promise was limited by racism
Here I Stand: A Review
A Profile In Courage In A Sea Of Ignorance
Insightful
Stand Up!

Here I Stand
Paul Robeson
Manufacturer: Beacon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0807064459

Amazon.com

No one had more to lose in following his political convictions than Paul Robeson. Here I Stand, originally published in 1958, was Robeson's response to the questions about why his mission--to win the freedom of black people everywhere--incited so much hatred and fear in his country.

Following Sterling Stuckey's 1988 introduction and Lloyd L. Brown's 1971 preface, both providing invaluable commentary, Robeson begins with his recollection of a Princeton boyhood. The roots of his world-view that would ultimately be his undoing were set down there. "Throughout his youth, Robeson's father [a pastor in the A.M.E. Zion Church] insisted on 'personal integrity,' which included the idea of 'maximum human fulfillment.'" Indeed, to list Robeson's achievements while attending university is to be in awe of a fabulously endowed man, bent on living out his father's edicts, and achieving his magnificent potential.

As his fascination with the Soviet Union grew, he began to attract the notice of McCarthy's watchdogs. He had begun to draw parallels between the Soviet social "experiment," which brought a whole underclass into the 20th century, and the emerging nations of Africa. In the early '40s, he reached the height of his performing career ("Robeson's Othello was more authentic than that of any other actor of his time"), but soon thereafter, he would set aside his brilliant career and commit fiercely to the struggle for black liberation. In 1949, it would all come crashing down, and for a decade, an ugly, active campaign against Robeson reigned, stemming not from the growing radicalization of his beliefs, but from the turning tide of cold war politics. W.E.B. DuBois, also a victim of the Communist witch-hunts noted, "He is without doubt today, as a person, the best known American on earth, to the largest number of human beings. His voice is known in Europe, Asia and Africa, in the West Indies and South America and in the islands of the seas. Children on the streets of Peking and Moscow, Calcutta and Jakarta greet him and send him their love. Only in his native land is he without honor and rights."

Lloyd L. Brown helped Robeson write Here I Stand, and he crafted the tone, which is at once accessible and impassioned, originally aimed at the black religious community. Highly idealistic, passionately exhorting, deeply committed to the "common people," this Paul Robeson gem remains a vital challenge to the racism that still dogs American society. -- Hollis Giammatteo

Book Description

Robeson's international achievements as a singer and actor in starring roles on stage and screen made him the most celebrated black American of his day, but his outspoken criticism of racism in the United States, his strong support of African independence, and his fascination with the Soviet Union placed him under the debilitating scrutiny of McCarthyism. Blacklisted, his famed voice silenced, Here I Stand offered a bold answer to his accusers. It remains today a defiant challenge to the prevailing fear and racism that continues to characterize American society.

Customer Reviews:

A genius who's promise was limited by racism.......2007-04-03

Paul Robson was the son of an escaped slave. He earned 15 Varsity letters in sports at Rutgers in Baseball, Basketball, Football and Track and Field, and graduated from Rutgers in 1919 as valedictorian. He then attended and graduated form Columbia Law School in 1923 and after a brief time practicing law he pursued a career in the arts as a singer and actor. If there ever was an American Renaissance man it was Paul B. Robeson. How does a man with all these talents become a communist?

Here I stand sheds light on the complexity of Paul Robeson and reveals a lot about who he was especially his strong sense of social justice. He was one of the first artists who became a political activist. Yes before Bono there was Robeson. He not only gave millions of his own money he also raised funds to help the poor and causes he believed in; he supported factions against Franco in the Spanish Civil war, raised money for refugees from Hitler's regime and he lobbied President Truman to support anti-lynching Legislation. He was known for supporting socialist causes; at the time socialist causes included the eight hour work day, abolishing child labor, programs to feed and care for the poor and elderly before our country had unemployment and social security.

Here I Stand his personal examination of his own philosophy and reading it makes you wonder what Black men of his generation could have achieved if they had been born after the civil rights movement. My grandfather was a communist organizer and lived in St. Louis, Missouri. My father met Robeson as a boy. Some Black people, like Robeson and my grandfather, embraced communism because it offered hope.

Personally, I believe that if our country fully embraced the principles of equality written in our Constitution and accepted Black people as full citizen's communism would have held no appeal at all to men like Robeson and my grandfather. Had Robeson had the same opportunities as white men who had the same talents in his generation then I doubt communism would have held the same appeal for him. My grandfather was a WWI veteran and because of segregation he had to travel 300 miles just to enlist in the Army; if he had been treated fairly like all men who sacrificed to serve this country communism would not have appealed to him either. Paul Robeson's struggle was the struggle of the Black people of his generation who, like him, looked for hope in a philosophy that we now know with historic hindsight was not the panacea they sought; nevertheless in Here I Stand he gives them a voice.

This is a fascinating look into Robeson's life and it is worth reading; we read it in college in Afro-American History and I was able to discuss this with my dad(who was patriotic and served in the Marines) and learn even more about this fascinating person who would today be labeled a multitalented genius; in the post civil rights era Robeson would also have the full rights of citizenship and have more opportunity to benefit from his hard work and talents.

Here I Stand: A Review.......2006-04-26

I was expecting to read an autobiography of Paul Robeson but in the first few pages, he clearly informs the reader that the book being read is not an autobiography. And it's not, although it deals with facets of his life. The book focuses more on exploring how Paul Robeson came to hold his strong political beliefs.

As a student of African history (of the diaspora and Africa itself), the most valuable thing about this book, at this writing, is how ahead of his time Robeson was. Before learning about Africa, or learning African languages became the cultural phenonemon it is in some circles, Robeson was doing it. He wasn't doing it simply to expand his repetoire of songs or for any other self-serving reason. He was doing it because he understood that being able to communicate with people in their own language works wonders in being able to develop a genuine rapport. He also did as an extension of his understanding that the centuries long condition of slavery had deprived him of a correct perception of Africa and African people.

I finished this book with an increased respect for his personality, his character, his devotion to African people and last but not least, his intelligence. Paul Robeson's life is an example to progressive artists who aim to have their art serve their people's struggle, not just be a vehicle for personal expression.

A Profile In Courage In A Sea Of Ignorance.......2005-03-14

The life of Paul Robeson is a story worth telling and hearing by all. Whether of not one agrees with all of the places in which he journeyed in search of truth, we should and must recognize his strength in traveling against the mindless tides of the time and his unwillingness to merely be blown along by the strongest winds -- as so many are today.
Speaking of which, I must cite the slanderous "review" of 8 January 2001 by an, of course, "anonymous" naysayer who seems forever mired in the days of McCarthy's cold war rhetoric, hatred, and mindless babbling. Please note that the cold war is over, and even when it was on, we were ill-served by the kind of dimwitted buffoonery which branded anyone who dared have an opinion of his own as an enemy of the state.
Sadly, that kind of blatant fascist lunacy has come to rule America again.
This is the perfect time for this story to be told.

Insightful.......2003-02-12

Good book for anyone who wants to learn about this unsung american hero. When will history books teach the youth of our country about this man?

Stand Up!.......2002-01-16

Paul Robeson was a proud man. A man of bravery, intelligence and integrity. He was a man who had to walk alone, as men must do sometimes. He formed his own opinions, defined his own ideology, and stood up for that ideology when confronted. Faced with hatred the way he was, many men would give in and surrender, Mr. Robeson refused to do this. He walked the road that Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela, and Michael Jordan walked and he lived to tell it like he saw it. All the kids who live in poverty should know that education is the key to being your own person, if you need a guide, read Here I Stand.

Average customer rating:

A BLACK VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS
Strong work, hidden subject, reveals a man of strength and principle
A Beautiful Tribute-a Fascinating Read
Probably the best book on Paul we'll ever get...
The Epic Story of a Talented, Wronged Man

Paul Robeson
Martin Bauml Duberman
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0394527801
Release Date: 1989-02-11

Book Description

Passionate, enormously talented, and, at times, seemingly larger than life, Paul Robeson lived one of the great lives of the twentieth century. Martin Duberman's classic biography, reissued by The New Press, offers a monumental and powerfully affecting portrait of one of this century's most notable performers, political radicals, and champions of racial equality.

Customer Reviews:

A BLACK VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS.......2007-04-23

The great black singer, actor and political figure Paul Robeson as presented in Mr. Duberman's comprehensive biography is a prime example of what the black scholar W.E.B. Dubois called the `talented tenth', that is, those who would lead the black race out of bondage. That essentially elitist concept has since Dubois' time, thankfully, fallen out of favor. Despite my severe political disagreements with Robeson's later Stalinist politics, detailed below, his boigraphy nevertheless deserves careful study. Robeson's life can and should be viewed as a struggle against that earlier personalist concept outlined by Dubois in favor a later more communal class-based effort to use his great authority for social change. Under either standard he has earned his proper place as an important figure in the black liberation struggle.

Without seeming to do Robeson an injustice it is fair to roughly compartmentalize his life into the two categories described above. Although one can find traces of both throughout his career, I would argue that one cannot understand his life without this compartmentalization for that approximates his own conception of how he changed from the view that his personal success would act as a catalyst for black advancement and his latter view that he needed to use the authority of his career as a wedge to fight for his political positions in the black liberation struggle. This internal struggle both informs the book and divides it into it proper components. Obviously this reviewer seeks to highlight the lessons of latter Robeson's political career as a spokesperson for many causes associated with the Communist Party and with the black liberation struggle. However, it is also necessary to acknowledge that other cultural component that made Paul Robeson undoubtedly the most well known American black figure of the first half of the 20th century.

Apparently Mr. Duberman in his research attempted to compile every bit of known data about Robeson and to interview every source that had the slightest acquaintance with him (cited and footnoted at the back of the book). This is one of the most comprehensive biographies I have read lately that, at the same time, does not suffer excessively from the author's heavy-handed take on the quirks of his subject's life. In a sense it is also a general social history of the American and English theater in that period, for its seems Robeson acted or sang with most of the important ones from Eugene O'Neil at the beginning to Tony Richardson at the end of his career. There is more than enough material, including the usual gossip, to fill the many pages of this book.

What of the personal Robeson that emerged with a splash in the early 1920's? That he was an outstanding athlete and student only begins to tell the story. After that there are the attempts at law school, the struggle to become a stage actor under O'Neil's tutelage and the development of his talents as a singer. But not just any kind of singer. His was an attempt to sing the songs of his people, black people, as they came out of slavery and out of the black church in America. Interestingly, latter when he tried to move beyond that to other forms of folk music he was in trouble.

Of course no biography of a man as a charismatic and physically attractive as Robeson is complete without a little romance. The life-long, if trying (on both sides), up and down romance with his wife Essie- the proverbial `brains' of the operation gets more than its fair share of space here. As does the more ambivalent one of Robeson's `womanizing'- seemingly every important female actress or hanger-on in the cultural field who crossed his path, white or black, was at his call. That in the end, his own intensely private personality pushed them away symbolized the lesser place these conquests held in his life's scheme.

Nagging at Robeson, a very proud man, were the petty (and some not so petty) discriminations he faced both professionally and socially despite his acclaim. Understanding that he could not run away from his blackness and that personal self-fulfillment had its limits he turned, I would say, naturally to politics. Characteristically, he charged full speed ahead and began in the 1930's a life-long association with the American Communist Party and Soviet-style socialism.

By far the more interesting aspect of Paul Robeson's career is the part where he, beginning in the mid-1930's, became a left-wing political advocate very closely associated with the American Communist Party. Mr. Duberman makes an extremely well-formed analysis of the events in Mr. Robeson's entertainmentc career that made him eager to break out of the cultural straight jacket of the entertainment industry and use his authority there as a `bully' pulpit in order to express his political beliefs. Robeson faced the same kind of questioning then, as do politicized entertainers today when the combination of politics and cultural expression attack the main stream. Bruce Springsteen today could have been speaking for Robeson when asked why he mixed politics and music. Springsteen replied -Do you want to leave politics to the likes of Anne Coulter? Enough said

Although Mr. Robeson was never a disciplined member of the American Communist Party (as much as the FBI and others doggedly tried to portray him as one) he nevertheless toed the party line, through thick and thin, from Spain to the Hitler-Stalin Pact through the World War II Western Alliance and the post-war Cold War, at least publicly, which is where most people, including this reviewer look for political trends. Let me make this clear Mr. Robeson was a stalwart in defense of Soviet Stalinism, socialism as he saw, and thus an opponent of my political forbears, the Trotskyists.

Yes, anyone who defended Republican Spain in the 1930's is a kindred spirit. No question. However, Mr. Robeson, an intelligent man by any measure and no simple toady, has a lot to explain for in his general defense of the Soviet Union as it was under Stalin and his epigones. Apparently Khrushchev's revelations about Stalin's murderous policies were not the cause for a serious reevaluation of his political position. Robeson's 1956 defense of the Soviet actions in Hungary says volumes about his politics, as does his attitude during the `red scare' of period in denying political defense help to the American Trotskyists.

That said, it is nevertheless true that, despite great personal harm to his professional career, epitomized by his passport troubles making him literally a prisoner in his own country, he stood by the Communist Party as it was taking a beating from the American government. That at a time when many were slinking away from the party or turning government informer. This dual quality I believe catches the central contradiction in Robeson's life. The manic desire for black liberation in American and worldwide and his desire to commit his powerful personality to it along with a rather slavish lack of attention to political theory. And political program. Nevertheless, read this book for more insights into one of the most important men of the first half of the 20th century.

Strong work, hidden subject, reveals a man of strength and principle.......2005-08-15

Robeson is a difficult subject for a book. He was a person whose image was a symbol for both people who idolized him as a plaster saint and for people who pilloried him as a communist, a decadent fraud, and an enemy of Black people. Everyone around Robeson seemed to have an ax to grind about him, or over him, or define their lives and livelihood based on their association or opposition to him.

To top that off, Robeson was a reserved person who tried to keep his emotions and opinions to himself. He was not a writer or a diarist. He led a public life that hid his real personal life and sometimes did nothing to disavow false public perceptions of him that benefited his wife, his political comrades, his artistic career, and his financial needs.

With all that, Duberman has a tough task to carry out. He does it well here with an enormous amount of documentation, particularly on issues that protectors of this or that image of Robeson would like not to appear in public. At the same time Duberman is honest enough to indicate the gaps in his knowledge, things that will never be known because Robeson's mind was often very much his own.

For those expecting a plaster saint who rises out of the toil of the slaving black masses and seeks only to advance the struggle, this book is a disappointment. The real Robeson came out of the middle class, was an outstanding student and an all American athlete at Rutgers (then a private university), who went on to Columbia law school. His milieu was arts, actors, writers, socialities. He prefered to live in England, not the USA, and did so from his first opportunity until WWII brought him home. As soon as the witch-hunt travel ban on him was broken, he spent the rest of his life living in England, the USSR, and the GDR returning to the US only after his mental and physical health was broken.

While Robeson remained legally married to the same woman all his life (although they both contemplated divorce several times), his marriage featured semi-open infidelity chiefly on Robeson's side. In fact, particularly in the years he lived in the US, he frequently did not even reside in the same house or flat as his wife, but with his lovers, or in several cases with a lover and her husband. They were only firmly reunited in the same place when disability forced Robeson to seek his wife's support and protection and that briefly for she died shortly after their return to the US in the early 1960s. The loves that lasted and he longed for, the women he was close with, and the people he really lived with, were usually white women he met
on the stage or as a singer, not his African American wife, who used her position as Robeson's wife as a means to become a public figure and to launch her various attempts at careers.

It is of course unfortunate that Robeson came up in a generation where the Stalinized Commuist parties and the USSR were misidentified as embodying a struggle against oppression, discrimination, and racism. Yet, the picture that Duberman paints if of a man whose genuine attraction was to fighting against racism and oppression everywhere. Robeson's fire came out of the stories he learned of his own family from slavery, and his identification with the suffering of victims of fascism in Spain, Germany, and Italy. The US government explained its persecution of Robeson in part due to his advocacy of independence for the colonies in Africa and Asia.

Indeed, Duberman shows that both in WWII and afterwards, the Commuist Party which he looked to for leadership, but never belonged to, tried to get Robeson to muffle his criticism of American racism and imperialism. At times, they too added to the pressure on Robeson to give up talking about politics to advance himself as an artist. This is not surprising to anyone familiar with the CP's real history as reformists who sought to subordinate the struggle to the needs of a makeup between US imperialism and the Kremlin bureaucracy.

Even his refusal to support fighting witch hunt persecution of enemies of the CP like the SWP or his continued condemnation of the Hungarian Uprising of 1956, a real workers rebellion as close to the 1917 revolution led by Lenin and Trotsky as anything until Castro Cuban revolution, are not as important as the resolution with which Robeson devoted himself to attacking the racism, the war drive, and the imperialism of the US government and its big business institutions.

Robeson always had the choice to live a very comfortable life as an actor and a singer, by simply doing what everyone around him, including leaders of the CP wanted, just stick to music and the theater. Yet, his devotion to the struggle showed he realized what was important and what was not. And with all his warts and pecadillios, all the legacy of his mislearning from Stalinism, he is an outstanding and inspiring example of what life and greatness is really about.

This book is fair, not partisan, and exquisitely documented. It tells so many truths that I have not addressed here, says things about Robeson I have heard people who knew Robeson say for decades, but am finally glad to see in print.

This book paints not only a picture of Paul Robeson, but of the degree of evil, racism, and crime that holds up American capitalism. What emerges, even though Paul Robeson's desires to keep his feelings within himself, is the story of a heroic man whose strength was not his voice, not his acting skills, but his devotion to principle, even if sometimes those principles were wrong.

Read this book!

A Beautiful Tribute-a Fascinating Read.......2005-04-20

This is one of the best-written biographies I've ever read. Don't be intimidated by the length of the book-it goes so quickly that I was sad when it was over-I missed Paul! I picked up this book only vaguely knowing who Paul was but having heard from my mother that my grandfather who died before I was born loved his music. (We're white but my family was always in sympathy with the civil rights movement). I learned so much about American history and about this brilliant, talented, complex man through this sensitive rendering of Paul's life. Paul's courage and talent, (he was valedictorian of Rutgers University and had to fight all kinds of prejudice there, such as not being able to attend parties for college students because everything was segregated) as well as his unwavering support for progressive causes such as civil rights in America and an end to European colonial rule in Africa, were inspirational. He supported these causes at great expense to himself, since he was highly popular and if he had played a "non-controversial" role his career would never have faltered.

Yes, he expressed "communist sympathies" but unfortuantely and regrettably (this is admitted by even conservative historians nowadays) this was the superpower willing to take unequivocal stands on such issues. He wasn't actually a member of the communist party, but his refusal to declare whether or not he was a communist-his constitutional right-had the FBI, the press and the public following him and harassing him until the rest of his life. As he said, America was his nation and he wasn't leaving for the USSR-his father was a slave and he intended to enjoy the fruits of his father's labor. And his voice-get one of his CD's-was so beautiful and the slave songs he sang so sad! Reading his story as told by Duberman showed what it was like to live from 1898-1976: son of a slave, talented, fighting segregation and prejudice every step of the way, and then to become a victim of Cold War hysteria. It was tragic the way this finally destroyed him. However, Duberman shows us what a philanthropic, big-hearted loveable man Paul was, but doesn't gloss over his flaws. He shows the dimensions of his character which a true biographer isn't afraid to do, and no one's story is all pretty. Among other things, Paul didn't care much about fidelity to his formidable wife Essie (who I loved as well, this was also a kind of biography of her), he didn't openly condemn Stalin when he should have, and he could be self-absorbed. But, overall, he was an amazing and wonderful man who I wish I could have known-and an amazing American every American, black or white, should know about.

PS-on a superficial note, Paul was gorgeous when he was young! Some of the photos of him don't do him justice but in this book you'll find out what I mean!

Probably the best book on Paul we'll ever get..........2002-01-19

Martin Duberman presents an exhaustive, objective examination of the awesomely talented, psychologically complex, and perhaps politically naive Robeson. I am white, and grew up in a racist family, but from the moment I heard Paul Robeson's recording of "Get On Board, Little Children" I was hooked. I was only 14, but that song, less than 90 seconds long, launched me on a journey away from bigotry that is still proceding, 43 years later. I fell in thrall to the voice, ended up owning 11 vinyl albums and reading everything by and about him I could. His defense of Stalin-era Communism is stubborn and troubling, but there is no disputing his importance as a fighter for civil rights before it was fashionable. I am not sure how those of us who were not yet adults in the '40's and '50's can fairly judge the politics of the man...especially those of us who are not Afro-American. I prefer to let his controversial politics take a backseat to his pioneer acting and singing. This was a real MAN, who could hold a stage with only his voice and his charisma and his talent, making white, affluent audiences listen to negro spirituals, union songs, Chinese and Russian and German songs, and like it. Robeson was glorious and tragic, brilliant and flawed, courageous but sometimes selfish, furious often and yet capable of the most tender lullabies. One of the most fascinating American lives of the 20th Century. Professor Duberman has done great work with this book. If Robeson interests you, buy it and read it. I'm glad I did.

The Epic Story of a Talented, Wronged Man.......2001-08-13

Duberman's biography of one of the pioneers of the civil rights movement and one of the great Americans of the last century is both accessible and academically thorough. Almost one third of the massive book's pages are comprised of endnotes, detailing and commenting on every source. However, the book is easily read straight through by a layperson, due to Duberman's writing style, which maintains objectivity while not merely relegating itself to a listing of historical events (he, at times, intersperses his own interpretations of Robeson's actions and beliefs, while defending those interpretations and not allowing them to cloud his reporting). It is also the powerful, moving story of Robeson that keeps the reader engaged. There ought to be no doubt now, a quarter-century after his death, that Robeson was a true hero, a noble man worthy of his historical vindication. Duberman's book doesn't merely hero worship, it examines the life, points out the flaws (his estranged marriage and infidelities, his steadfast support of Stalin), and gives the reader a chance to examine a life much worth examining.

The Undiscovered Paul Robeson , An Artist's Journey, 1898-1939

Average customer rating:

"Rediscovering Paul Robeson..."
A Radiant Man Of Courage, Talent And Spirit!
Who Was The Real Paul Robeson?
Rick's Review
Very highly recommended for Robeson fans

The Undiscovered Paul Robeson , An Artist's Journey, 1898-1939

Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Entertainers | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Political | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Arts & Photography | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Biographies & Memoirs | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Entertainment | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

History | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Nonfiction | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0471242659

Book Description

The long-awaited, untold, inside story of the rise of the legendary actor, singer, scholar, and activist. The first volume of this major biography breaks new ground.

The greatest scholar-athlete-performing artist in U.S. history, Paul Robeson was one of the most compelling figures of the twentieth century.

Now his son, Paul Robeson Jr., traces the dramatic arc of his rise to fame, painting a definitive picture of Paul Robeson's formative years. His father was an escaped slave; his mother, a descendent of freedmen; and his wife, the brilliant and ambitious Eslanda Cardozo Goode. With a law degree from Columbia University; a professional football career; title roles in Eugene O'Neill's plays and in Shakespeare's Othello; and a concert career in America and Europe, Robeson dominated his era.

This unprecedented biography reveals the depth of Robeson's cultural scholarship, explores the contradictions he bridged in his personal and political life, and describes his emergence as a symbol of the anticolonial and antifascist struggles. Filled with previously unpublished photographs and source materials from the private diaries and letters of Paul and Eslanda Robeson, this is the epic story of a forerunner who now stands as one of America's greatest heroes.

Customer Reviews:

"Rediscovering Paul Robeson...".......2001-09-27

For those of us who knew only that this great and gifted Renaissance man had fallen out of political favor of a paranoid United States, this is a great opportunity to see who he really was. Written by his son, this first volume study of Paul Robeson's life is replete with photographs, diary entries, and correspondence of the type only a family member might have. Paul Robeson Jr. spent a good part of his formative years away from his famous parents, and his view of their sometimes strained marriage, held together primarily by their preoccupation with Robeson's career, is remarkably detatched. This is an excellent snapshot of an era when the life of a black artist was complicated by American racism, and the tremendous intellect of a thoughtful genius who had his own views of the world could be stifled by an America unwilling to open its mind.
A must read for anyone wishing to understand this aspect of African America in the 20th century. I look forward eagerly to the second volume.

A Radiant Man Of Courage, Talent And Spirit!.......2001-06-17

What an outstanding book about a dazzling man that can only bring pride to every American, joy to anyone hearing him sing, and praise knowing his full life story.

The book finally shows that Paul Robeson is an icon far beyond his time. He could have lived just the good life based on his talents in academics, entertainment and sports. Robeson earning a comfortable life of opulence with his talents his first 40 years only to give it away to stand up to the injustices he saw in America and the world. He practice when you are given much in life you must give back even more and he did losing much for his show of valance.

If you ever heard the English words of the Soviet Anthem sung by Robeson, you understand the meaning of justice in life. It must be remembered that this was when Russia along with Ghandi in India were opposing Nazi Germany in Spain, Fascist Italy in Ethiopia and Colonialism in Africa and Asia.

Robeson was for equality, fairness and civility. They opposed Fascism, Colonialism and Racism just like many came to do in the West, but at a much later date. Robeson never accepted the atrocities of Stalin and indeed never met him. In fact, many of Robeson's friends in Russia were actually purged and murdered by Stalin.

Consequently, by becoming the most popular singer in Russia in 1930's and supporter of Russia against Hitler in the 1940's actually branded you an archenemy of America in the 1950's. A terrible sad situation but very true. In the end, this yeoman of ability and audacity was wrongly put on many blacklists that forced his legend into the entertainment and political dump heap of oblivion.

Later there is no doubt that the courageous deeds of Paul Robeson only spawn the acts of Dr. Martin Luther King. These same people led the changes in America that were required so opportiunbities for all replaced the discrimination of the many. The same thing can be said to have happen in Russia when Stalinist's policies were finally exposed for the treachery and exploitation to enslave minds instead of freeing them. The book proclaims the costs of calling real heroes traitors for seeking to oppose the power of such tyranny.

Paul Robeson is to be admire as much as any person in America. He is my favorite singer and after reading this book you will see few men could equal his talent and even fewer his grit. I highly recommend this book and hope it in made into a movie.

Who Was The Real Paul Robeson?.......2001-06-10

I highly recommend "The Undiscovered Paul Robeson" because it provides insightful information for both those readers who know a lot about Paul Robeson and those who do not. One of the most significant figures of the 20th century, this book paints a definitive picture of the key influences of his formative years. Born in 1898, he was raised by his minister father (who was an escaped slave)in the African-American church culture. The book shows how he became a football star,and an internationally famous concert singer and actor who dedicated his art to the struggles of his people for full equality. The book is particularly interesting because it uses Paul Robeson's own words as culled from his diaries, correspondence, and personal conversations with his son and other intimates, and from his wife's diaries. Paul Robeson legacy is important for us to know about. He helped to change the racial stereotype prevalent in the first half of the 20th century by presenting a dignified male image on stage and off; he was the first artist to legitimize spirituals as significant concert material; and he always reflected the dual image of an African-American rooted in his own culture who simultaneously believed in the oneness of the human spirit worldwide. More Americans need to know more about Paul Robeson!

Rick's Review.......2001-06-07

I found The Undiscovered Paul Robeson is educational to those who don't understand the way the world use to be. The information provided by his son Paul Robeson Jr was right on point looking back into history. I've learned alot about how the entertainment business can work for you and then against you in a matter of speaking. Reading this book taught me how to forget what people say about you and to acheive to your highest goal ever. I found it enlightening, somewhat humorous at times and a must read book for our African-Americans worldwide. I highly recommend this book to learn about our African-American Heritage.

Very highly recommended for Robeson fans.......2001-06-05

Undiscovered Paul Robeson provides a biography of artist Robeson from 1898-1939, providing a fuller view of not just the man's contributions, but his psyche and family life. Other titles have focused on his role as actor, singer, activist: this probes his youth, his initial resistance to politics, his associates. A revealing biography, Undiscovered Paul Robeson is very highly recommended for Robeson fans.

The Whole World in His Hands: A Pictorial Biography of Paul Robeson

Average customer rating:

The Whole World in His Hands: A Pictorial Biography of Paul Robeson
Susan Robeson
Manufacturer: Citadel Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Paul Robeson - Here I Stand

ASIN: 0806507543

Average customer rating:

Paul Robeson,: The American Othello
Edwin Palmer Hoyt
Manufacturer: World Pub. Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: B0006BRHCC

The Whole World in His Hands: Paul Robeson, a Family Memoir in Words and Pictures

Average customer rating:

Robeson: scholar, athlete, actor, singer, activist, father

The Whole World in His Hands: Paul Robeson, a Family Memoir in Words and Pictures
Susan Roberson , and Susan Robeson
Manufacturer: Citadel Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Portraits | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Actors & Actresses | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

Robeson: scholar, athlete, actor, singer, activist, father.......1998-02-06

Susan Robeson presents a unique collection of photographs of her father. The pictures span Robeson's life; his childhod in New Jersey, Rutgers, New York City, stage, screen, concerts, Europe, political activism,and persecution. Robeson is a dramatic figure and he is best captured in pictures and words. This collection is a must for all fans of Robeson. A great addition to your library during this centenial celebration of Paul Robeson.

Peekskill USA: Inside the Infamous 1949 Riots

Average customer rating:

Finally!

Peekskill USA: Inside the Infamous 1949 Riots
Howard Fast
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Civil Rights & Liberties | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0486452964

Book Description

In the late summer of 1949, a racist mob protesting a concert by African-American singer Paul Robeson assaulted working class blacks and whites with rocks and bottles in upstate New York. Fast's compelling and detailed you-are-there account of the violence records a landmark in the civil rights movement. 10 illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

Finally!.......2007-01-11

I've been searching for this book for years. It's a gruesome account of the Peekskill race riots. Having come from Peekskill, I found it especially interesting in that I could trace the events from place to place and better comprehend the events that took place. Thrilled to have this book back in print!

Average customer rating:

A Major Contribution to Robeson Scholarship

Paul Robeson: Artist and Citizen

Manufacturer: Rutgers University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Political | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 081352511X

Amazon.com

Paul Robeson, the towering six-foot six athlete, orator, actor, singer, intellectual, and activist, was arguably one of the most simultaneously loved and loathed American personalities of the 20th century. This collection, edited by George Mason University professor Jeffrey Stewart to serve as a companion to a traveling exhibition marking the centennial anniversary of his birth on April 9, 1898, brings together 18 scholars and historians to the most detailed and balanced look at Robeson to date.

Francis C. Harris details Robeson's career as an multilettered athlete at Rutgers University, where he endured gang tackles, a dislocated shoulder, and a broken nose. In "Paul Robeson, Musician," Doris Evans McGinty and Wayne D. Shirley highlight the centrality of Negro spirituals and folk songs in Robeson's repertoire. Robeson biographer Martin Duberman chronicles the social and sexual implications of Robeson's portrayals of Shakespeare's Othello, while Charles Musser reveals the complexities of Robeson's friendship with playwright Eugene O'Neill as well as his difficulties with African American filmmaker Oscar Micheaux.

The entries dealing with Robeson's political activities show his courage to speak out against injustice and the price he paid for it. Lawyer-writer Derrick Bell examines Robeson's "small service" to the cause of African American justice. David Levering Lewis looks at Robeson's deep, albeit naive views on the Soviet Union, which dovetailed into his support of American workers, the subject of Mark D. Naison's contribution.

Augmented by several rare, invaluable photographs and portraits, Paul Robeson: Artist and Citizen is as grand and magnificent as its subject. --Eugene Holley, Jr.

Customer Reviews:

A Major Contribution to Robeson Scholarship.......2000-09-22

Provocative essays, never-before-published photographs, Robeson-inspired artwork, and a comprehensive chronology are the pleasures of this first-rate text. Developed as a companion to a multimedia exhibition celebrating Robeson's centennial birthday, _Artist and Citizen_ is a must-read. Curator and editor Jeffrey Stewart has succeeded in providing a careful, comprehensive, sophisticated, yet accessible view of one of the major figures of the 20th century. Essayists include those whom we readily associate with Robeson and his era: Lloyd L. Brown, Martin Duberman, David Levering Lewis, and John Hope Franklin. The reader also learns from those who bring the unique perspectives of their fields such as economist Julianne Malveaux, film scholars Ed Guerrero and Mark A. Reid, legal scholar and social critic Derrick Bell, and photography historian Deborah Willis among others. The essayists explore Robeson's upbringing, athletic exploits, political philosophies and alliances, artistic career, and commitment to social justice with an eye on understanding Robeson's challenges and legacies, his life as a "work of art and politics," and the meaning of this hero and icon. In the introduction, Stewart stakes out his claims for the book. "We see ourselves as heirs to Robeson not in following any particular ideology that he espoused, but in practicing the intellectual integrity he lived...Hence, in this volume is a chorus of diverse voices, not all of whom sing Robeson's praises, but which rather raise the kinds of concerns that he himself voiced during his long and fruitful life." _Paul Robeson: Artist and Citizen_ lives up to Stewart's claims. It is an essential text for anyone interested in Robeson, race and class matters, art and politics, or the remarkable life lived.

Paul Robeson: The Years of Promise And Achievement

Average customer rating:

Paul Robeson: The Years of Promise And Achievement
Sheila Tully Boyle , and Andrew Buni
Manufacturer: University of Massachusetts Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1558495053

Book Description

The son of a former slave, Paul Robeson (1898-1976) rose to become an All-American athlete, Phi Beta Kappa student, internationally celebrated singer and actor, and champion of racial equality. Yet despite his courage and many accomplishments, he could not overcome the combined effects of racism and McCarthyism. He was forced to live his last years in internal exile under FBI surveillance, a broken man.

Over twenty years in preparation, this massively researched biography takes Robeson from his humble beginnings in rural New Jersey to international fame on the eve of World War II. Drawing on a variety of new sources, the book presents a fully rounded picture-a portrait that corrects, supplements, and revises previous work on Robeson and his circle.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books