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Soundies Book Is An Outstanding Academic Title of 2022

 

Trust a librarian to know good books! And the librarians of Choice, the American Library Association magazine, have named Soundies and the Changing Image of Black Americans on Screen: One Dime at a Time an Outstanding Academic Title of 2022.

Books on the list are chosen for their “excellence in scholarship and presentation, the significance of their contribution to the field, and their value as an important—often the first—treatment of their subject.” 

According to the ALA Choice website, “The list is quite selective: it contains approximately ten percent of some 5,000 works reviewed in Choice each year.” 

Librarians: If you’re adding the book to your collection,  I’d love to hear about it. And thank you.

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Sneak Preview: Soundies Book Reviewed in ALA “Choice” Magazine

 

One of the first reviews for Soundies and the Changing Image of Black Americans on Screen: One Dime at a Time will appear in the November 2022 issue of Choice, the American Library Association magazine.

The review is brief, pithy, and positive.  Hitting just about all the bases, it calls the book “a fascinating resource for those interested in film, jazz, performance, WW II, race, Black film history, and socio-cultural history.”

“In this comprehensive work, Delson locates Soundies within cinema history” while building the case that Soundies “impacted the social and cultural fabric of a racially divided America” and “played a role in advancing the country’s racial politics even when the country seemed reluctant to do so.”

Summing it up, the review had one final word on the book: “Essential.”

Can’t wait to see this in print.

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Soundies Book Shortlisted for Leading Award in African American History & Culture

 

I’m thrilled to report that Soundies and the Changing Image of Black Americans on Screen: One Dime at a Time has made the shortlist for the 2022 MAAH Stone Book Award.

Sponsored by the Museum of African American History Boston/Nantucket and the James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Foundation, the award “encourages scholarship and writing within the field of African American history and culture.” Now in its 5th year, it has quickly become the leading award in this subject area.

Chosen from 111 submissions, the shortlist includes 16 outstanding titles.  I’m honored that the Soundies book is among them.

The award winner and two finalists will be announced in October.

Soundies bookcover