Beacon Press: The Sounds of Slavery
Login Cart

The Sounds of Slavery

Discovering African American History through Songs, Sermons, and Speech

Authors: Shane White, Graham White

This exploration of African American slavery through sound is a groundbreaking way of understanding both slave culture and American history
Bookmark and Share
“A work of great originality and insight.” -Ira Berlin

“Shane White and Graham White’s book is a joy.” -Branford Marsalis

“A fascinating book . . . that brings to life the historical soundscape of 18th- and 19th-century African Americans at work, play, rest, and prayer . . . This remarkable achievement demands a place in every collection on African American and U.S. history and folklife. Highly recommended.” -Library Journal

“The authors have undertaken the difficult task of bringing to contemporary readers the sounds of American slave culture . . . [giving] vibrancy and texture to a complex history that has been long neglected.” -Booklist

“The book’s strongest point is its attention to detail . . . [it] will not only be valuable to young scholars, but . . . to young performers and composers, especially with the explosion of interest in ‘roots music,’ looking for new sources of original and searing music.” -Ran Blake, Christian Science Monitor

“A lyrical and original treatment of the musical and spoken culture of American slaves. This book is moving testimony to how scholarship can penetrate the transcendent spirit once considered exotic or unknowable, how historians can trace social survival to the human voice in slavery’s heart of darkness.” -David W. Blight, professor of history, Yale University, and author of Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory

“A seminal study of a neglected aspect of Southern and African-American culture . . . and the approach to the topic is both creative and resourceful. The book is highly recommended.” -Michael Russert, The Multicultural Review

Reviews

Review by: Michael Russert, Multicultural Review - July 1, 2005
"Highly recommended."
Review by: Ran Blake, Christian Science Monitor - April 15, 2005
"The Sounds of Slavery will not only be valuable to young scholars, but . . . to young performers and composers, especially with the explosion of interest in 'roots music,' looking for new sources of original and searing music."
Review by: Ira Berlin, Distinguished University Professor, Univ of Maryland - April 1, 2005
"A work of great originality and insight."
Review by: Branford Marsalis - April 1, 2005
"Shane White and Graham White's book is a joy."
Review: Library Journal - March 15, 2005
"A fascinating book . . . that brings to life the historical soundscape of 18th- and 19th-century African Americans at work, play, rest, and prayer . . . This remarkable achievement demands a place in every collection on African American and U.S. history and folklife. Highly recommended."


audio tracks for The Sounds of Slavery (mp3)

You might also be interested in:

The Sounds of Slavery

ISBN: 978-080705027-9
 Publication Date: 4/1/2006
 Pages: 264
 Size:6 x 9
Price:  $22.00
Format: Paperback
Availability: In stock.
Categories: