The Fire Next Time
-
-
4.4 • 576 Ratings
-
-
- $11.99
-
- $11.99
Publisher Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The book that galvanized the nation, gave voice to the emerging civil rights movementin the 1960s—and still lights the way to understanding race in America today. • "The finest essay I’ve ever read.” —Ta-Nehisi Coates
At once a powerful evocation of James Baldwin's early life in Harlem and a disturbing examination of the consequences of racial injustice, the book is an intensely personal and provocative document from the iconic author of If Beale Street Could Talk and Go Tell It on the Mountain. It consists of two "letters," written on the occasion of the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation, that exhort Americans, both black and white, to attack the terrible legacy of racism.
Described by The New York Times Book Review as "sermon, ultimatum, confession, deposition, testament, and chronicle … all presented in searing, brilliant prose," The Fire Next Time stands as a classic of literature.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Originally published in 1963, James Baldwin’s arresting look at the state of racism in America is so searingly on point, it could have been written yesterday. One of the most respected voices in 20th-century American literature, Baldwin offers his view through two groundbreaking essays. One is a moving autobiographical account of his childhood in Harlem. The other explores the inequalities he encountered as a Black man in 1960s America. Baldwin’s striking prose feels like a powerful sermon, and each thought resonates deep in our bones. With bold honesty and an eloquent sense of righteous frustration, he justifies every ounce of his anger through clear descriptions of injustices that still sound all too familiar today. While his ultimate message is one of love and unity, The Fire Next Time seethes with a sense of righteous, cleansing fury.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Speakers or headsets will have to be turned up to listen to Jesse L. Martin's low, slow reading of Baldwin's classic long essay on racism and African-American identity. Martin seeks to be respectful of Baldwin, but he ends up rendering the meaning and the force of his work relatively inert. Pausing in poorly selected places, placing emphasis where little should be placed, Martin does not convey the precision and anger of Baldwin's prose. Instead, Baldwin's book becomes Great Literature, to be intoned and honored, but not truly grasped. Readers with an interest in Baldwin's work will be far better served by reading his prose to themselves than having Martin read it to them. A Vintage paperback.
Customer Reviews
Sweet, Angry, Hope, and educational
The book was a great read. It spoke a lot of issues that are still relevant today. It was masterfully written. Mr. Baldwin left me with a hopeful feeling of change. Thank you
Wow
This book was exceptional. I believe that it should be part of the curriculum in some if not all high schools. This is the basis of who we are as a people.
Beautifully profound
A must read. The relevance and parallel of our lives today
A brilliant writer whose words & knowledge flow masterfully poetic.