From Timbuktu to Katrina—Readings in African America History

Taylor (American history, U. of Washington) provides an anthology of 108 primary and secondary source readings relating to African-American history, which in this volume spans from the medieval period in Africa up to the twentieth century in the US. (The second volume goes up to the events of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.) Topics include politics, culture, gender, social life, religion, racial identity, education, social class, sports, music, the environment, medicine, immigration, the slave trade, the Civil War and Reconstruction, and crime. In addition to these topics, they are written by or about individuals such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Lucy Parsons, Phyllis Wheatley, Nat Turner, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, and others. Most are printed in their entirety. Each chapter has an introductory section on the period and each document is preceded by a short description on its historical context. There is no index. Annotation c2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)