The Fire Next Time
Ratings116
Average rating4.6
15
Ratings116
Average rating4.6
A national bestseller when it first appeared in 1963, The Fire Next Time galvanized the nation, gave passionate voice to the emerging civil rights movement—and still lights the way to understanding race in America today. "Basically the finest essay I’ve ever read. . . . Baldwin refused to hold anyone’s hand. He was both direct and beautiful all at once. He did not seem to write to convince you. He wrote beyond you.” —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.
Reviews with the most likes.
Essential. Not simply the voice of a black man in America but a man at odds with himself, his family, and the world presented to him; an artist who never wanted to be. I may never understand how it felt to write this, but I'll never forget how it felt to read it.
Un livre dont j'ai entendu parler à deux ou trois reprises ces derniers mois et que j'ai enfin pris la peine de lire. Je ne le regrette absolument pas, tant cette lecture a eu un effet coup de poing pour moi.
Dans une première courte lettre adressée à son neveu adolescent, puis une seconde lettre plus longue, l'écrivain noir américain James Baldwin évoque, au début des années 1960, la question raciale aux Etats-Unis. C'est passionnant, instructif, incisif, choquant, et cela fait forcément réfléchir l'homme blanc que je suis. C'est certainement l'une de mes lectures marquantes de l'année 2020.
The audio by Jesse Martin was a treat for the ears. I have meant to read this for years, and now having read it, really wish that I had read it first in high school and then could be re-reading it for relevancy over the years. Definitely will try to correct that error of letting high school me down by talking about it with high school students now. I took so many notes as there are so many passages that (rather horrifyingly) apply exactly to today's cultural and political climate without any change in 50 years. I will need to get a physical copy to return to.
Featured Prompt
81 booksWhether it's a course textbook or a fictional romance, we remember books that impact us deeply. Which books do you remember being forever changed by due to learning something new – either about you...
