Any serious student of African American literature has read the fiction and/or journals of Charles Waddell Chesnutt, one of the most ambitious, intelligent, and under-rated writers of his time. "The Absent Man" is a must-read for Chesnutt scholars, because in it, Duncan explores some of the reasons for Chesnutt's enigmatic reputation: his elusive authorial stance; his introspective personality; his lifelong preoccupation with the ways in which society constructs a person's identity; and his persistent examinations of racial attitudes at a time when much of the reading public was unprepared both emotionally and intellectually for such honesty. Duncan painstakingly dissects the various narrative constructs--such as masking, and the first-person narrator-protagonist vs. the witness-narrator--with which Chesnutt experimented in his writing. Duncan demonstrates an astute understanding of Chesnutt's delicate role: a 19th-century black writer attempting to challenge the racial assumptions of his readers, most of whom were white, and gain fame and fortune in the process. Ambitious indeed, and, sadly, Chesnutt in the end suffered from critical backlash. After Chesnutt's death in 1932, his canon seemed neglected for a time; however, critical attention increased during the latter half of the 20th century, and, influenced by Chesnutt scholar Joseph R. McElrath, Jr., Duncan's voice is a competent addition. While some critics have focused mainly on Chesnutt's most well-known works, such as "The Conjure Woman" and "The Marrow of Tradition," Duncan gives special attention to Chesnutt's lesser known short fiction, such as the short stories "Baxter's Procrustes" and "The Shadow of My Past." Duncan's is a much-needed contribution to our understanding and appreciation of Chesnutt's rhetorical brilliance.

It's too bad these are "little-known" stories -- they just might change the way we understand race relations in this country. A living history from a insightful and compelling social analyst. Reads more like a novel than a history book.

This is a very interesting and informative book on this subject. It makes one appreciate the workmanship and artistic style of these fabrics. This book, first, describes the main materials and techniques of African cloth production and decoration and, then, explores in detail a few of the more popular of the African textiles. These include Raffia cloths of Zaire, Kente(Royal Cloth of the Ashanti), Bogolan (Mud-Dyed Cloth of Mali),Aso Oke (Ceremonial Cloth of the Yoruba), and African Wax -Printed Cloths. Detailed descriptions and full-color photographs not onlly glorifies the art but makes one understand the real African textiles from the African influenced copies.

Great photos, well researched, unstuffy, accessible, respectful and more or less contemporary. The notes on futhur reading could have been expanded and an index would have been helpful.