The Michael Eric Dyson Reader

Acclaimed for his writing on Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., Tupac Shakur, and many more, Michael Eric Dyson has emerged as the leading African-American intellectual of his generation. This collection gathers the best of Dyson's vast and growing body of work from the last several years: his most incisive commentary, the most stirring passages, and the sharpest, most probing and broadminded critical analyses. From Michael Jordan to the role of religion in public life, from Toni Morrison to patriotism in the wake of 9/11, the mastery and ease with which Dyson tackles just about any subject of relevance to black America today is without parallel.

"Dyson is not only the most talented rhetorical acrobat in the academy-he also is one of the most courageous and engaged intellectuals in America."-Cornel West

Library Journal

"Meteoric" describes perfectly the career of this Baptist minister and University of Pennsylvania Avalon Foundation Professor of the Humanities. In the last decade, Dyson has published eight books (e.g., Holler If You Hear Me) and numerous articles to become a major force among the black intelligentsia. This best-of selection of 36 essays and interviews ranges widely, moving from the predicament of postmodernity through whiteness studies and hip-hop culture, with an essay on Kobe Bryant's "predicament" attesting to the timeliness of the author's concerns. Dyson takes his own stand on the issues directly affecting African Americans and is neither completely liberal nor conservative. His witty writing style and well-documented approach to the topics will engage most readers. An excellent complement to Dyson's other works, notably Race Rules, and to Cornel West's Race Matters and Ishmael Reed's Another Day at the Front, this collection is recommended for all general public and academic library collections.-Anthony J. Adam, Prairie View A&M Univ. Lib., TX Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Michael Eric Dyson, named by Ebony as one of the hundred most influential black Americans, is the author of sixteen books, including Holler if You Hear Me, Is Bill Cosby Right? and I May Not Get There With You: The True Martin Luther King Jr. He is currently University Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University. He lives in Washington, D.C.