Review
Riveting . . . part of Baldwin's enduring power is that he was not a political thinker. He was interested in the soul's dark spaces much more than in the body politic. -- Colm Toibin ― Telegraph
The great poet-prophet of the civil rights movement ... his seminal work ― Guardian
Sermon, ultimatum, confession, deposition, testament, and chronicle . . . all presented in searing, brilliant prose ― The New York Times Book Review
Baldwin writes with great passion ... it reeks of truth, as the ghettoes of New York and London, Chicago and Manchester reek of our hypocrisy ― Sunday Times
A true prophet . . . his thought and its utterance are nothing less than majestical -- Mario Puzo ― The New York Times
About the Author
Born in Harlem in 1924, James Baldwin was a novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, social critic, and the author of more than twenty books. His first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain, appeared in 1953 to excellent reviews, and his essay collection The Fire Next Time was a bestseller that made him an influential figure in the civil rights movement. Baldwin spent many years in France, where he moved to escape the racism and homophobia of the United States. He died in 1987.