From "e;Superman"e; to Man

The first book from "e;a tireless champion of African history,"e; a novel that "e;challenged the theories that Blacks were inferior to whites"e; (New York Amsterdam News). Joel Augustus Roger's seminal work from the Harlem Renaissance, this novel first published in 1917 is a polemic against the ignorance that fuels racism. The central plot revolves around a train speeding to California, serviced by an African American porter named Dixon. On board is a United States senator from Oklahoma, a man obsessed by race who makes no attempts to hide his prejudice. Unable to sleep, the politician encounters Dixon in the smoking car, and thus ensues a debate about religion, science, and racial equality . . . "e;A bold discussion novel in which a cultured, well-travelled, black Pullman porter is drawn into a debate with a white passenger, a Southern senator, on the question of the superiority of the Anglo Saxon and the inferiority of the Negro."e; The Guardian"e;A genuine treasure. I still insist that From 'Superman' to Man is the greatest book ever written in English on the Negro by a Negro and I am glad to know that increasing thousands of black and white readers re-echo the high opinion of it which I had expressed some years ago."e; Hubert Henry Harrison"e;A stirring story, faithful to truth and helpful to a better understanding and feeling."e; Prof. George B. Foster, University of Chicago