Listen to a sample
The Wounded World
- Author
- Chad L. Williams
- Narrator
- Cary Hite
- Publisher
- Blackstone Publishing
- Publish Date
- 4 April 2023
- Run Time
- 17 hours 21 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
The dramatic story of W. E. B. Du Bois’s reckoning with the betrayal of Black soldiers during World War I―and a new understanding of one of the great twentieth-century writers
When W. E. B. Du Bois, believing in the possibility of full citizenship and democratic change, encouraged African Americans to “close ranks” and support the Allied cause in World War I, he made a decision that would haunt him for the rest of his life. Seeking both intellectual clarity and personal atonement, for more than two decades Du Bois attempted to write the definitive history of Black participation in World War I. His book, however, remained unfinished.
In this book, Chad Williams offers the dramatic account of Du Bois’s failed efforts to complete what would have been one of his most significant works. The surprising story of this unpublished book offers new insight into Du Bois’s struggles to reckon with both the history and the troubling memory of the war, along with the broader meanings of race and democracy for Black people in the twentieth century.
Drawing on a broad range of sources, most notably Du Bois’s unpublished manuscript and research materials, Williams tells a sweeping story of hope, betrayal, disillusionment, and transformation, setting into motion a fresh understanding of the life and mind of arguably the most significant scholar-activist in African American history.
In uncovering what happened to Du Bois’s largely forgotten book, Williams offers a captivating reminder of the importance of World War I, why it mattered to Du Bois, and why it continues to matter today.
Critics Review
-
“By rendering this story in such rich archival detail, Williams’s book is a fitting coda to Du Bois’s unfinished history of Black Americans and the First World War.”
New York Times
-
“Stirring intellectual history…A moving character study and a deeply researched look at a dispiriting era from the country’s past, this is history at its most vivid.”
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
-
“The Du Bois that emerges from this illuminating book is fully human. He fails, he dissembles, but he never stops fighting for justice and equality…A solid bulwark against efforts to simplify and sanitize history.”
Kirkus Reviews
-
“Until Chad L.Williams’s heroic accumulation of sources, his stunning mastery of them, and his uncanny reckoning with his subject’s ego, W. E. B. Du Bois’s unfinished history of the Great War remained a mystery. We can now write ‘QED’ to Professor Williams’s brilliant The Wounded World.”
David Levering Lewis, Pulitzer Prize–winning author
See more reviews See fewer reviews
-
“The magisterial W. E. B. Du Bois in flesh and blood…in this extraordinary book.”
Nell Irvin Painter, author of The History of White People
-
“A thoroughly gripping story of failure…A window onto how the tragedies of industrial scale killing, colonialism, and the color line changed the world and a man…A genuine masterpiece.”
Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Thelonious Monk
-
“Williams approaches the historical archives anew…to better understand how a crucial moment of international crisis impacted the greatest African American intellectual of the twentieth century.”
Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, New York Times bestselling author
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Chad L. Williams
- Narrator
- Cary Hite
- Duration
- 17 hours 21 minutes
- Release Date
- 4 April 2023
- ISBN
- 9798212239332
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Blackstone Publishing
- Genre
- Biography: general, Ethnic studies, Social and cultural history, History of the Americas
Synopsis
The dramatic story of W. E. B. Du Bois’s reckoning with the betrayal of Black soldiers during World War I―and a new understanding of one of the great twentieth-century writersWhen W. E. B. Du Bois, believing in the possibility of full citizenship and democratic change, encouraged African Americans to “close ranks” and support the Allied cause in World War I, he made a decision that would haunt him for the rest of his life. Seeking both intellectual clarity and personal atonement, for more than two decades Du Bois attempted to write the definitive history of Black participation in World War I. His book, however, remained unfinished.In this book, Chad Williams offers the dramatic account of Du Bois’s failed efforts to complete what would have been one of his most significant works. The surprising story of this unpublished book offers new insight into Du Bois’s struggles to reckon with both the history and the troubling memory of the war, along with the broader meanings of race and democracy for Black people in the twentieth century.Drawing on a broad range of sources, most notably Du Bois’s unpublished manuscript and research materials, Williams tells a sweeping story of hope, betrayal, disillusionment, and transformation, setting into motion a fresh understanding of the life and mind of arguably the most significant scholar-activist in African American history.In uncovering what happened to Du Bois’s largely forgotten book, Williams offers a captivating reminder of the importance of World War I, why it mattered to Du Bois, and why it continues to matter today.
About xigxag
xigxag is an independent, UK-based audiobook platform and the UK's only B Corp certified audiobook company. We offer nearly 150,000 audiobooks, all with professional human narration. No AI-generated voices. xigxag is rated an Ethical Consumer Best Buy for audiobooks and a top-rated ethical bookshop.
There is no subscription. You buy the audiobooks you want, you own them permanently, and prices start at $13.95. The more you listen over the year, the less you pay per book, and there is always a selection in Listen for Less from $7.95. You can also send audiobooks as gifts using our audiobook gift cards or in-app gifting.
Every audiobook on xigxag has honest reviews covering both the book and the narration, and our community features make it easy to share what you are listening to, discover what others recommend, and find your next listen.
Download or stream on iOS, Android, or in your browser. Browse the full catalogue at xigxag.co.uk.