In this text the author demonstrates that the efforts to understand black people's history of resistance solely through the prism of Marxist theory are incomplete and inaccurate, because it presupposes European models of history. Black radicalism, he argues, must be linked to the African traditions

Originally published in 1985, By the Bomb's Early Light is the first book to explore the cultural "fallout" in America during the early years of the atomic age. The book is based on a wide range of sources, including cartoons, opinion polls, radio programs, movies, literature, song lyrics, slang, and interviews with leading opinion-makers of the time.