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Mules and Men  By  cover art

Mules and Men

By: Zora Neale Hurston
Narrated by: Ruby Dee
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Publisher's summary

In Mules and Men, some of the rich cultural heritage of black America is revealed and preserved. In the 1930s, Zora Neale Hurston returned to her home town of Eatonville, Florida, to collect and record the oral histories, songs, and sermons, many dating back to slavery times, that she remembered hearing as a child. These highly metaphorical folktales, "big old lies", and powerful songs helped her to recover her history, and preserve an important part of American culture.

The unique heritage of African-Americans, presented here with imagination, humor, and wisdom, has tremendous value for students of cultural history, as well as to anyone who loves a good story well told. This recording features Ruby Dee, a member of the Theatre Hall of Fame and actress in A Raisin in the Sun on Broadway and Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing.

(P) and ©1992 HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., All Rights Reserved, Caedmon, An Imprint of Harper Audio, A Division of HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"[Ruby Dee's] narration of this seminal collection of black American folklore is nothing short of extraordinary....The stories are a treasure." (AudioFile)

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What listeners say about Mules and Men

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Great book!

Well worth the listen Ruby Dee is amazing and the stories are an insightful and delightful look into African American culture. Read/hear more of Zora Hurston's writing. You'll learn something new every time.

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Incredible Stories

Great narration. The stories remind me of my uncles and aunts. Very entertaining. Excellent writing. Highly recommend! Big Ben Sixteen my favorite!

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Very entertaining ! I highly recommend this book.

Excellent narration!
The stories were very funny and reminded me of family get togethers in the old days.

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Loved It

Awesome book and Narration by Ruby Dee! So much information to digest. It is certainly educational in many ways. Historical and Spiritual. I'd definitely recommend it for a persons library

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Delightful and intriguing!!!!!!

A great read!!! Ruby Dee really puts you there, With her voice inflections.Wonderfully done!!!! Love it!!!

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Excellent

I absolutely loved this book. Hearing these stories made me very happy! Highly recommend this book!

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Black Folklore

Ruby Dee is awesome and brought great life to this already interesting story. This book brought a new understanding of the purpose and strength of Black folklore...it beautifully unveiled vodou and its practices.

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Breathtaking

I laughed and cried. I was fully absorbed in the narrative and in absolute admiration of the author.

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an excellent work by an amazing anthropologist!

this book was entertaining and offered a real glimpse into the past. Hurston set high standards for the next generations of anthropologists.

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Brilliant

Zora Neale Hurston’s love of the folklore of people from African descent from the Deep South resonates throughout this collection of stories..

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