"Should be required reading in music education—and no doubt it will become required reading in many academic disciplines that touch on voice studies." — Marit MacArthur, Yale Review
"An important read within sound studies and race studies." — Jeff Donison, Journal of Radio & Audio Media
"The Race of Sound is brimming with insight and originality. Not every chapter contributes new knowledge (e.g., Eidsheim is not the first to note that black classical singers were constrained by listener expectations), but in tandem they constitute a groundbreaking argument that should inform all listeners and be part of all music courses. If enough readers take Eidsheim’s work to heart, we can begin to counter the effect of institutions that create and perpetuate the racialized voice." — Sandra Jean Graham, ARSC Journal
“Eidsheim demonstrates an impressive ability to weave together different critical modes and diverse topics without faltering in her project…. New and established scholars interested in the study of race, gender, voice, and/or African American musics will find much to engage with in Eidsheim’s push toward nonessentializing listening.”
— Alex C. Valin, Women and Music
“In her own magisterial voice, Nina Sun Eidsheim speaks outward from musicology to scholars in a host of cultural studies-oriented fields, doing indispensable work to make nuanced and collaborative discussions possible across borders many have considered impermeable. This brilliant book will be the benchmark for discussions of voice, sound, and race for many years to come.” — Gustavus Stadler, author of Troubling Minds: The Cultural Politics of Genius in the United States, 1840–1890
“Voice is ‘a thick event’ in Nina Sun Eidsheim's pathbreaking study of race and vocality. Her visionary work challenges us to rethink and ultimately disassemble the long-standing, putative metrics for reading identity and the body in sonic cultures. The Race of Sound takes readers on an epistemological journey that boldly challenges us to question what we know about the wondrous vocal instrument. This is the book that scholars in feminist sound studies and black performance studies have been waiting for.” — Daphne A. Brooks, author of Bodies in Dissent: Spectacular Performances of Race and Freedom, 1850–1910