Description
Author: Melville J. Herskovits
Publisher: Beacon Press
Publication Date: 1969
Edition: Beacon Paperback No. 69; Seventh Printing (April 1969)
Place of Publication: Boston
Format: Softcover (paperback)
Pages: 351
Condition: Very Good. Edge wear and age toning consistent with use; archival document tape reinforcement to the inside of the front cover for stabilization. Binding sound, text clean. This copy comes from the Doane Perry collection.
Description:
First published in 1941, The Myth of the Negro Past is a landmark work in anthropology and African American studies, challenging long-held assumptions about the erasure of African cultural heritage among enslaved peoples in the Americas. Drawing on comparative research, linguistics, folklore, religion, and social customs, Melville J. Herskovits demonstrated the persistence and influence of African traditions in Black American life, reshaping both academic scholarship and public understanding.
Highly controversial upon release and enormously influential in the decades that followed, the book helped lay the foundation for modern African and African-American studies programs in the United States. This later Beacon paperback printing remains an important and widely cited text, valued by scholars, students, and serious readers of social history.
This copy is from the Doane Perry collection, adding intellectual and contextual interest to an already significant work.