Compelling.–Eleanor J. Bader, In These Times
In this incredibly powerful, vital work, Ransby has rescued Eslanda Robeson from the shadows of her famous husband and establishes her as one of the most important activists, scholars, critics and theorists to connect anticolonialism with the black freedom movement in the U.S.– Robin D.G. Kelley
Fascinating. . . A poignant portrait of a peripatetic, human rights activist willing to challenge oppression of any form wherever she could find it.–Kam Williams, Insight
This long overdue biography of a bold scholar-activist emerging from the shadow of her famous husband is a gift, and such are Ransby's narrative skills that I wept when, in her final pages, the vibrant Essie died, two days shy of 70. Ransby has a history of rescuing historically overlooked black female leaders; a prior biography was of the venerable civil rights activist Ella Baker. This new work is a major contribution to her glorious reclamation project.–Joan Steinau Lester, Ms. Magazine
What Barbara Ransby achieved in her biography of Ella Baker is repeated with verve and astonishing insight in Eslanda.– Herb Boyd, New York Amsterdam News
From a master biographer and historian of African American women, this mesmerizing story of an extraordinary woman's life and struggles offers a global view of black radical history. After this book no one will be able to think of Eslanda merely as Mrs. Paul Robeson.–Linda Gordon, author, Dorothea Lange: A Life Beyond Limits
Barbara Ransby has produced an insightful, fascinating, and significant biography. Eslanda Robeson has too long stood in the shadow of her remarkable husband, but as Ransby shows she was an important writer and political activist in her own right, whose life illuminates the international dimensions of the 20th-century black freedom movement.– Eric Foner, Columbia University
This is an enormously rich book by a masterful biographer, full of novel insights and surprises.– Penny Von Eschen, University of Michigan
