Anna L. (annalovesbooks) reviewed The Sound of Freedom: Marian Anderson, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Concert That Awakened America on
ISBN 1596915787 - I picked this book up with one fixed thought in mind: clearly, this was going to be one of those books that was finding a new angle to use to take advantage of Obama's presidency, for the sake of making a buck. It would be poorly researched and poorly written. Wow, was I wrong!
Marian Anderson was born in Philadelphia in 1897. Slavery had been outlawed but prejudice, Jim Crow and segregation were alive, well and entirely legal as Anderson laid the foundation for her future singing career by singing in local churches. Soon, she was on the road, touring throughout the country - and learning, first hand, just how hard some whites were willing to work to maintain the status quo. Years spent touring and training in Europe made Anderson a household name and one of the most famous singers in the world, but in the United States, a remarkable irony (in retrospect more than in reality) was unfolding around her. In 1939, the Daughters of the American Revolution barred her, and all black performers, from appearing in thier Constitution Hall. With the support of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and others, a creative solution places Anderson in front of the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday 1939, performing the single most famous, not to mention most important, concert in the history of our country.
Arsenault, an award winning civil rights historian, isn't really much of a biographer. Anderson, in this book, is more a prop than a person. Her personal story ends just about the time she first hits the road to tour. From then on, she seems to be a pawn in the hands of other people, particularly those managing and promoting her in the fight with the DAR. Whether or not that's an accurate portrayal, I don't know, but it's what this book gives me, despite the effort to include her thoughts via quotes from her own writing. More passion is spent on listing the wrongs perpetrated against blacks than is given to breathing some life into this woman. The book has about 300 pages, but the text is only 214. The rest is taken up by a lot of notes, a superb bibliography and an index. This makes it a good reference book, a very quick read and a bit superficial regarding the main character.
This year marks 70 years since Anderson performed in front of the Lincoln Memorial, which is the reason that the book is coming out now - not to capitalize on Obama's presidency. I've never been sure that the fight with the DAR was ever Anderson's fight; she seemed to be informed of events, rather than actually influencing them. Still, her accomplishments haven't gotten much recent attention. If it wasn't for Obama's election, a lot of the country would still not know who she was. For that reason, this is a book worth reading. At the same time, if you're looking for Marian Anderson, you won't find her here. Try her book ISBN 0252070534 My Lord, What a Morning: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY (Music in American Life).
- AnnaLovesBooks
Marian Anderson was born in Philadelphia in 1897. Slavery had been outlawed but prejudice, Jim Crow and segregation were alive, well and entirely legal as Anderson laid the foundation for her future singing career by singing in local churches. Soon, she was on the road, touring throughout the country - and learning, first hand, just how hard some whites were willing to work to maintain the status quo. Years spent touring and training in Europe made Anderson a household name and one of the most famous singers in the world, but in the United States, a remarkable irony (in retrospect more than in reality) was unfolding around her. In 1939, the Daughters of the American Revolution barred her, and all black performers, from appearing in thier Constitution Hall. With the support of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and others, a creative solution places Anderson in front of the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday 1939, performing the single most famous, not to mention most important, concert in the history of our country.
Arsenault, an award winning civil rights historian, isn't really much of a biographer. Anderson, in this book, is more a prop than a person. Her personal story ends just about the time she first hits the road to tour. From then on, she seems to be a pawn in the hands of other people, particularly those managing and promoting her in the fight with the DAR. Whether or not that's an accurate portrayal, I don't know, but it's what this book gives me, despite the effort to include her thoughts via quotes from her own writing. More passion is spent on listing the wrongs perpetrated against blacks than is given to breathing some life into this woman. The book has about 300 pages, but the text is only 214. The rest is taken up by a lot of notes, a superb bibliography and an index. This makes it a good reference book, a very quick read and a bit superficial regarding the main character.
This year marks 70 years since Anderson performed in front of the Lincoln Memorial, which is the reason that the book is coming out now - not to capitalize on Obama's presidency. I've never been sure that the fight with the DAR was ever Anderson's fight; she seemed to be informed of events, rather than actually influencing them. Still, her accomplishments haven't gotten much recent attention. If it wasn't for Obama's election, a lot of the country would still not know who she was. For that reason, this is a book worth reading. At the same time, if you're looking for Marian Anderson, you won't find her here. Try her book ISBN 0252070534 My Lord, What a Morning: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY (Music in American Life).
- AnnaLovesBooks
