Courtney B. Vance will narrate the audiobook edition of David Levering Lewis’ biography W.E.B. Du Bois, Simon & Schuster Audio announced in a news release.
Lewis’ biography of the sociologist and civil rights activist was published in two volumes, W.E.B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race 1868-1919, which came out in 1993, and W.E.B. Du Bois: The Fight for Equality and the American Century, 1919-1963, published in 2001. Both volumes won the Pulitzer Prize and were finalists for the National Book Award. A critic for Kirkus called the first book “a masterly appreciation of a great man’s intellectual development and singular service in a righteous crusade.”
This will be the first time the volumes have been recorded as an audiobook.
Vance is known for his roles in television series including Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Lovecraft Country and films such as The Hunt for Red October and The Preacher’s Wife. He said in a statement, “As a lover of history, I was drawn to W.E.B. Du Bois’ award-winning biography. Having the chance to reintroduce his legacy to audiophiles by narrating his life story has been an honor and true passion project for me.”
Lewis, whose latest book, The Stained Glass Window: A Family History as the American Story, 1790-1958, was published last month by Penguin Press, said, “I can hardly believe this has come to pass. Listen to Courtney B. Vance and you shall hear the spoken wisdom of an American colossus, a prophetic man of color in whose ninety-five years all intellectual, political, economic, and racial choices were profoundly explored.”
The audiobook edition of the first book is scheduled for release on June 17, with the second book coming on Sept. 23.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
