Every evening my son walks out of his room with the book hidden behind his back and a big grin on his face. He holds it up in front of me and asks "ready?" We absolutely LOVE this book!

The central story revolves around the eccentric, yet kindly inventor Furlong, and the mischievous yet responsible Peter Graves, who must somehow find a way to _make money_ out of Furlong's amazing invention.

Suppose that all _you_ had to work with was six golf-ball sized lumps of an amazing antigravity alloy, with an upward pull of fifty pounds each... And no time to make more or interest a big company in the invention. How could _you_ use them somehow to earn $40,000 in one summer?

The incredible combination of whimsical fantasy and prosaic down-to-earth realism... the incredible story that sort of rambles in a picaresque way... wonderful for reading aloud because every chapter stands on its own, but a page-turner all the same... and an almost unique blending of illustration and story. It is NOT an illustrated story; it is NOT a series of captioned pictures; the two work together.

And I didn't even tell you about the game of follow-the-leader, with Peter trying to shake off his followers by taking them to various risky places (with dramatic point-of-view perspective illustrations from the top of a suspension bridge...) Or the mysterious, menacing, Llewellyn Pierpont Boopfaddle. Or the professional wrestler Lord Ivan Big Bulk and the lightweight luggage competition, with a prize to be awarded for the piece of luggage that can stand Lord Ivan jumping on it three times...

Encyclopedia of Struggle
These articles and speeches constitute an encyclopedia of the U.S. Black liberation struggle, and to a lesser degree, the freedom struggle in Africa, especially when combined with his first volume covering 1890 - 1919.
Dubois was a leader of the Black struggle from the late 1800s through much of the 1900s. A founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and editor of its magazine from 1910 until 1934, he also organized the Pan African Conference in the 1920s. He was a fighter against U.S. government imperialist wars and during the cold war he was outspoken against McCarthyite witch-hunts.
Born in 1868, he witnessed and experienced the results of the defeat of Radical Reconstruction following the U.S. Civil War. He witnessed the rise of the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 60s and, having renounced his U.S. Citizenship, he died in Ghana in 1963.

For much of the 20th century, W.E.B. DuBois was a leading figure in the fight against segregation, lynchings, race prejudice and oppression in the United States. He campaigned against the pervasive stereotypes of Afro-Americans, publicizing their accomplishments, abilities and stature as human beings. He challenged AFL unions and the Socialist party to reject the racist practices of the day and to united Black and white workers in a common struggle. He was outspoken opponent of colonial oppression and imperialist war and of the McCarthy witch hunt in the United States in the 1950s.

There 36 articles and speeches cover a fascinating range of topics: from the Marcus Garvey movement in the 1920s to the debates on education and the role of Afro-Americans in the post-Civil War period, from the fight against lynching to the anti-colonial freedom struggles of the 1950s and 1960s.

One of my favorites is his 1929 speech at the Chicago Forum where he debated a prominent racist, and white-supremecist, Lothrop Stoddard. DuBois fiercely attacks the myths of race supremacy, arguing that whether "Nordic, Mediterranean, Indian, Chinese or Negro... the proofs of essential human equality of gift are overwhelming." He exposes the economic interests behind race oppression and champions "the black and brown and yellow men [who] demand the right to be men." Don't miss this one!

The author creates a real sense of place - a term much bandied about & often not really true. This one 'puts you there'. I highly recommend it.

Du Bois's prescient and practical advice is, as usual, pretty much on target. It is also interesting to observe the evolution in his thinking in the fifty-four years covered in this slim (you can read this book in a couple of sittings) volume. He answers some eternally debated questions: To whom should college presidents and administrations be ultimately accountable? (Alumni) What is the point of a liberal education? (character) etc.

This book goes far beyond the "Booker T vs. W.E.B." educational debates that dominated 100 years ago (and that most people remember). It provides specific pedagogical advice and is written in the typical Du Boisian style; lucid, straightforward, inspirational. The man lived longer than most, and did a whole lot while he was alive. In its own way this little book is just as important, if not more so, than the other little book for which he is justifably famous, "The Souls of Black Folk."