James Baldwin : Collected Essays : Notes of a Native Son / Nobody Knows My Name / The Fire Next Time / No Name in the Street / The Devil Finds Work / Other Essays (Library of America) PDF Book

James Baldwin : Collected Essays : Notes of a Native Son / Nobody Knows My Name / The Fire Next Time / No Name in the Street / The Devil Finds Work / Other Essays (Library of America) PDF, ePub eBook Kindle

Get the best Books, Magazines & Comics in every genre including Action, Adventure, Anime, Manga, Children & Family, Classics, Comedies, Reference, Manuals, Drama, Foreign, Horror, Music, Romance, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Sports and many more.

Author : James BaldwinToni Morrison
Screen Reader : Supported
Works with :
Source :
Status : Available | Last checked: 3 Hour ago!
Size : 29,539 KB

Bestseller Book

Rating: ★★★★★ 99 out of 100 based on 48208 user

Download Read Now

Register a free 1 month Trial Account. Download as many books as you like (Personal use) Cancel the membership at any time if not satisfied. Join Over 80000 Happy Readers

Book Information

James Baldwin was a uniquely prophetic voice in American letters. His brilliant and provocative essays made him the literary voice of the Civil Rights Era, and they continue to speak with powerful urgency to us today, whether in the swirling debate over the Black Lives Matter movement or in the words of Raoul Peck's documentary "I Am Not Your Negro." Edited by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, the Library of America's Collected Essays is the most comprehensive gathering of Baldwin's nonfiction ever published.With burning passion and jabbing, epigrammatic wit, Baldwin fearlessly articulated issues of race and democracy and American identity in such famous essays as "The Harlem Ghetto," "Everybody's Protest Novel," "Many Thousands Gone," and "Stranger in the Village." Here are the complete texts of his early landmark collections, Notes of a Native Son (1955) and Nobody Knows My Name (1961), which established him as an essential intellectual voice of his time, fusing in unique fashion the personal, the literary, and the political. "One writes," he stated, "out of one thing only—one's own experience. Everything depends on how relentlessly one forces from this experience the last drop, sweet or bitter, it can possibly give." With singular eloquence and unblinking sharpness of observation he lived up to his credo: "I want to be an honest man and a good writer."The classic The Fire Next Time (1963), perhaps the most influential of his writings, is his most penetrating analysis of America's racial divide and an impassioned call to "end the racial nightmare...and change the history of the world." The later volumes No Name in the Street (1972) and The Devil Finds Work (1976) chart his continuing response to the social and political turbulence of his era and include his remarkable works of film criticism. A further 36 essays—nine of them previously uncollected—include some of Baldwin's earliest published writings, as well as revealing later insights into the language of Shakespeare, the poetry of Langston Hughes, and the music of Earl Hines.LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation’s literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America’s best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.

Book ID Asin: 1883011523
Book Title: James Baldwin : Collected Essays : Notes of a Native Son / Nobody Knows My Name / The Fire Next Time / No Name in the Street / The Devil Finds Work / Other Essays (Library of America)
Book Author: James BaldwinToni Morrison
Book Format and Price:
Book Format Name: Hardcover
Book Format Price: $30.49
Book Price: $30.49
Book Category: Books, Literature & Fiction, History & Criticism and unknown
Book Rating: 1,255 ratings

Book Product Detail

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Library of America (February 1, 1998)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 869 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1883011523
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1883011529
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.29 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.1 x 1.1 x 8.1 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #31,999 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #16 in Black & African American Literary Criticism (Books)
- #121 in Literary Criticism & Theory
- #147 in Essays (Books)

Customer Reviews:
1,255 ratings

Amazon.com Review

Writer James Baldwin earnestly championed the civil rights movement in both his fiction and nonfiction, a fact which, coupled with his extraordinary writing talent, assured not only his historical importance, but also his place as one of the finest African American writers of his generation. Collected Essays is a comprehensive collection of his most memorable prose, including "Stranger in the Village," "The Harlem Ghetto," and "Many Thousands Gone." Clear in voice and vision, the essays communicate the emotions of an entire historical movement. Combining politics, prophecy, and passion, Baldwin's essays are truly as thought-provoking today as they were some 30 years ago.

From Publishers Weekly

Baldwin's impassioned essays have been at least as influential as his novels in exposing the racial polarization of American society. This massive compilation reproduces in their entirety his early essay collections?Notes of a Native Son (1955), Nobody Knows My Name (1961), The Fire Next Time (1963)?as well as his later, less successful book-length essays?the pessimistic, doom-laden No Name in the Street (1972) and The Devil Finds Work (1976), a semi-autobiographical gloss on American movies. The book charts his trajectory from eloquent voice of the civil rights movement to disillusioned expatriate increasingly prone to grandiloquence and angry rhetoric. Also included is a miscellany of 36 articles, polemics and reviews, 26 of which were previously collected in The Price of the Ticket (1985), published just two years before Baldwin's death from cancer in France at age 63. Novelist Morrison's editing of this omnibus, which includes a chronology and notes, should help rekindle interest in Baldwin, whose recurrent themes?the African American search for identity, the hypocrisy of white America, the urgent necessity for love?make his work timely and challenging. BOMC and Reader's Subscription selections. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Early Novels and Stories features the complete text of Baldwin's novels Go Tell It On the Mountain, Giovanni's Room, Another Country, and his short story collection Going To Meet the Man. Most of Baldwin's writing is autobiographical and deals with his coming of age as a black man in America and later as an expatriate in France, as well as coming to terms with his homosexuality. Written between 1953 and 1965, these stories broke down walls. Collected Essays offers an impressive array of Baldwin's nonfiction and includes nine essays never before collected. Presented here are the complete texts of the collections Notes of a Native Son, Nobody Knows My Name, The Fire Next Time, No Name in the Street, and The Devil Finds Work. Topics range from racism to literature to social issues. Along with corrected texts, these feature scholarly notes, a chronicle of the author's life, and more. Both volumes are essential for all collections.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Baldwin's impassioned essays have been at least as influential as his novels in exposing the racial polarization of American society. This massive compilation reproduces in their entirety his early essay collections Notes of a Native Son (1955), Nobody Knows My Name (1961), The Fire Next Time (1963) as well as his later, less successful book-length essays: the pessimistic, doom-laden No Name in the Street (1972) and The Devil Finds Work (1976), a semi-autobiographical gloss on American movies. The book charts his trajectory from eloquent voice of the civil rights movement to disillusioned expatriate increasingly prone to grandiloquence and angry rhetoric. Also included is a miscellany of 36 articles, polemics and reviews, 26 of which were previously collected in The Price of the Ticket (1985), published just two years before Baldwin's death from cancer in France at age 63. Novelist Morrison's editing of this omnibus, which includes a chronology and notes, should help rekindle interest in Baldwin, whose recurrent themes—the African American search for identity, the hypocrisy of white America, the urgent necessity for love—make his work timely and challenging. BOMC and Reader's Subscription selections." —Publishers Weekly

About the Author

With the novel Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953), a distillation of his own experiences as a preacher’s son in 1930s Harlem, and the essay collection Notes of a Native Son (1955), James Baldwin (1924-1987) established himself as a prophetic voice of his era. Some such voices may grow fainter with the passage of time, but Baldwin remains an inescapable presence, not only a chronicler of his epoch but a thinker who helped shape it.Toni Morrison, volume editor, is the author of a number of award-winning novels, including Love, Jazz, Beloved, Song of Solomon, Sula, and The Bluest Eye. She was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993.

Book Review

Name: sans woz
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Hewokemeup
Date: Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2020
Review: On the advice of a friend I bought this collection and started with The Fire Next Time. After reading the opening "My Dungeon Shook" I was stunned into absolute stillness. I knew what I had just read was truly the work of a genius, and I realized the concept of America as I understood it was missing a large piece of its reality, and Baldwin was the man who caused the scales to fall from my eyes.There really isn't a parallel I can draw that would describe the sensation of realizing that, having grown up in a nearly all-white town, and having almost exclusively white friends, I was living my life blithely unaware of the reality of millions of my fellow Americans. It's been more of Baldwin's writing that made me aware that the racism that was bred into me, by basically neglecting other races' realities, was kept hidden from my conscious mind by design; as well as the fact that it's harmful to all races (my own included) when we allow racism to run unchecked through our veins.To cut it down to a shoutable slogan, take his words: Black men don't have mid-life crises. It is immediately understandable what that means; they were never promised that the world was theirs' for the taking. They weren't told they could be anything they wanted when they were young the way I was. And therefore when they're in their mid-thirties they don't have an existential crisis because they aren't wealthy and famous. This is a white phenomenon. The same reason goes for why white men take the lead in suicides and deaths of despair. When a group of people are raised believing they deserve a larger piece of the pie than another group of people... it never ends well; for themselves, or for those who feel their wrath when they realize they're just another working stiff.And these revelations were just the beginning of what I have learned from Baldwin. I'd also add the book The Radical King to a reading list if someone asked me about these topics. These should be required reading in my opinion.

Name: Ernest G. Simmons
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: ANEXCELELNTBOOKFROMACLASSYMAN
Date: Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2019
Review: It is James Baldwin, that should tell the reader that he\she will get nothing but the highest quality of writing. Mr. Baldwin is nothing but class. Not only was he an excellent speaker, he is a top notch writer. Only purchase this book if you are a serious thinker.

Name: tea lover
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Outstanding
Date: Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2020
Review: I am a professional writer and I think James Baldwin is the finest 20th century writer -- better than everyone. His work is timeless and is especially relevant to what black Americans experience and have since the moment they arrived in American. Racism is rampant and equality will be achieved only with systemic changes. Baldwin vividly describes the horror, not only writing with a punch but writing it beautifully. I'm grateful to the grad school professor who made some stories in this book required reading.

Name: Elliot N
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Stuffweneedtolearn
Date: Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2021
Review: Baldwin was impressively insightful. He explained a great deal about racism that I (an old white man) had a good hunch about but did not fully understand -- especially not the "why" and the "how".The scary part is that Baldwin wrote this all down for us half a century ago, yet we did nothing to correct it. Hopefully, that is beginning to happen now.Highly recommended for all "us honkys".Just be aware that Baldwin wrote in long and complex sentences, so it may take you a chapter or two before you are up to speed on his style. Very much worth the effort, though, and as a bonus you will learn better English just from reading him.

Name: R. F.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Hesaiditlongago
Date: Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2017
Review: It is great that interest has been revived in one of America's most important writers. Decades ago he confronted us with what has happened, was happening then and continues to happen with race in this nation. It is too sad that he did not receive the honors he should have in life, and that we seem unwilling to hear what he is saying to us even now.

Name: Mary
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: BestofBaldwinEssaysinaBeautifulPackage
Date: Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2017
Review: This is a sensuous edition of some of Baldwin's essays. He is, as always, brilliant. The hardcover edition with acid-free paper gives it the heft and luxuriousness his words deserve.

Name: Kelly
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: ShouldbeaBaldwinfan
Date: Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2019
Review: Bought this as a birthday gift for my Sociology Professor brother (Race & Class), who is a serious reader. It’s a bit daunting, even for him, but he loves it. It’s not just his stories, but the history & narratives about the stories themselves. Baldwin is a wonderfully eloquent writer, but this is not light reading, or for beginner Baldwin fans. But for Baldwin lovers, it’s a must have.

Name: johnm
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Probablythebestessaysaround
Date: Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2022
Review: I'd heard about James Baldwin, and I read some of his fiction, but he is at his best as an essayist. Clear, concise, insightful, and just a great writer. If you want to read some really excellent writing, this is the guy and this is the book. The topics are once again timely even if 40-50 years have gone by. He nails it, and even on the other topics, his writing is spot on. You will learn not just about the topic, but about how well someone can write about it. Read and learn

Home | Contact | DMCA