A fabulous book !

I bought this book (my copy is a shabby and rather battered old ex-library copy) without particularly having high expectations for it. Just to prove me wrong, old S G Du B has produced a minor classic.

The writing style conveys her personality from the start - warm, sassy, compassionate, funny, clever. More than anyone else (including WEB himself) she brings WEB the man to life.

The high point for me is the description of his life as a travelling teacher in rural black communities in his youth - the hardships, the very real danger, his commitment to seeing a thing through once he started it.

Du Bois had acquired a few scars on his way through life, particularly with regard to the death of his first child, who had apparently been refused hospital treatment on the grounds of colour. Also, he had dealt with graphic descriptions of lynchings in his work for the NAACP - over 300 in the period 1914 - 1918 alone. Shirley seems to have been the ideal partner for a man who could be quite troubled.

The other side of the coin is that whenever WEB decided to throw a tantrum, Shirley was there with a pin to prick the bubble of pomposity.

I can understand that some have reservations about the influence the second Mrs Du B had on her husband, particularly with regard to her Communist sympathies. Still, taking this book on it`s merits, it`s definitely worth a read. ( )