Prophetic Fragments

"This volume collects over 50 articles, book reviews, and addresses by a Union Seminary theologian . . . . The most eloquent pieces are those in which West explains and interprets his more personally felt tradition of Afro-American Protestantism." -- Library Journal

'This collection of writings, drawn from a wide variety of sources, reveals the intellectual depth and breadth of the author. The articles include political commentary, cultural critique, literary analysis, extended book reviews, and even a short story by West. All of these are held together by a prophetic Afro-American Christian perspective. The value of this book is that it provides easy access to a significant selection of the author's corpus.' Religious Studies Review (October 1989)

Library Journal

This volume collects over 50 articles, book reviews, and addresses by a Union Seminary theologian, almost all previously published. The disparate brief pieces are partially connected by West's continual effort to link black and Protestant theological traditions to ``progressive'' social thought. But this project remains too fragmentary and vague to be convincing, while the political rhetoric often falls into a repetitive style of lament, exhortation, and ideological abstraction. In his book reviews, however, West proves to be an incisive critic of other religious and social thinkers. The most eloquent pieces are those in which West explains and interprets his more personally felt tradition of Afro-American Protestantism. Mel Piehl, Valparaiso Univ. )

Educator and philosopher Cornel West is the Class of 1943 University Professor at Princeton University. Known as one of America’s most gifted, provocative, and important public intellectuals, he is the author of the contemporary classic Race Matters, which changed the course of America’s dialogue on race and justice, and the New York Times bestseller Democracy Matters. He is the recipient of the American Book Award and more than 20 honorary degrees.