Exodus!: Religion, Race, and Nation in Early Nineteenth-Century Black America

Eddie Glaude's book is a lucid examination of the connection between the Exodus myth and Afro-American politics. Its subject and critical approach are unique, and its insights into the relationship between religion and politics in 19th century black America are priceless. In limpid, concise prose--unadorned with the jargon that bogs down so many academic books--Mr. Glaude provides us with a new lens through which to view the origins of black political life and, by extension, to understand the full-fledged nationalist movements that were to take hold in the 20th century. I thoroughly enjoyed this book; it is a ground-breaking work written with the confidence of a Baldwin, with the trenchant vision of an Isaiah Berlin, and with a spirited energy that evokes the eponymous Bob Marley song.