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This book, a milestone in American music scholarship, is the first to take a close look at an important and little-studied component of African American music, one that has roots in Europe, but was adapted by African American congregations and went on to have a profound influence on music of all kinds—from gospel to soul to jazz. "Lining out," also called Dr. Watts hymn singing, refers to hymns sung to a limited selection of familiar tunes, intoned a line at a time by a leader and taken up in turn by the congregation. From its origins in seventeenth-century England to the current practice of lining out among some Baptist congregations in the American South today, William Dargan’s study illuminates a unique American music genre in a richly textured narrative that stretches from Isaac Watts to Aretha Franklin and Ornette Coleman. Lining Out the Word traces the history of lining out from the time of slavery, when African American slaves adapted the practice for their own uses, blending it with other music, such as work songs. Dargan explores the role of lining out in worship and pursues the cultural implications of this practice far beyond the limits of the church, showing how African Americans wove African and European elements together to produce a powerful and unique cultural idiom. Drawing from an extraordinary range of sources—including his own fieldwork and oral sources—Dargan offers a compelling new perspective on the emergence of African American music in the United States. Copub: Center for Black Music Research

During the Great Migration, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, became a mecca for African Americans seeking better job opportunities, wages, and living conditions. The city's thriving economy and vibrant social and cultural scenes inspired dreams of prosperity and a new start, but this urban haven was not free of discrimination and despair. In the face of injustice, activists formed the Urban League of Pittsburgh (ULP) in 1918 to combat prejudice and support the city's growing African American population. In this broad-ranging history, Joe William Trotter Jr. uses this noteworthy branch of the National Urban League to provide new insights into an organization that has often faced criticism for its social programs' deep class and gender limitations. Surveying issues including housing, healthcare, and occupational mobility, Trotter underscores how the ULP—often in concert with the Urban League's national headquarters—bridged social divisions to improve the lives of black citizens of every class. He also sheds new light on the branch's nonviolent direct-action campaigns and places these powerful grassroots operations within the context of the modern Black Freedom Movement. The impact of the National Urban League is a hotly debated topic in African American social and political history. Trotter's study provides valuable new insights that demonstrate how the organization has relieved massive suffering and racial inequality in US cities for more than a century.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1881.

In Western Himalaya, local gods are seen to rule as kings, communicating with their subjects through their human oracles. They remain central in modern society, and In the Valley of the Kauravas explores how the power of the local gods and oracles remains by examining the myths, legends, rituals, and folklore of the region.

The denizens of a crumbling Dublin hotel are the subject of a meddling photographer in this Booker Prize–shortlisted “masterpiece” (Irish Times). Once a flourishing establishment, O’Neill’s Hotel has fallen on hard times. The same could be said for the people who live there. Among them are Mrs. Sinnott, the elderly, deaf, and mute proprietor; her drunkard son, Eugene; Morrissey, a small-time pimp; and the grim, lone porter O’Shea. But what might sound bleak to some holds irresistible allure for globetrotting photographer Ivy Eckdorf. Hearing stories of O’Neill’s Hotel from an ocean liner barman, Eckdorf catches the unmistakable whiff of human interest. Surely some tragic story hides within this crumbling corner of Ireland. Now she intends to uncover that story, frame it just so, and turn it into her next coffee table book. Though she has no connection to these hard-luck souls, she has arrived. And no one’s life will be the same—not even hers. “An astounding richness of pathos, humour and tragedy.” —Francis King “A small work of art [that] reaches antic heights.” —The New York Times