Book description
#26 on The Guardian's list of 100 best nonfiction books of all time, the essays explore what it means to be Black in America
In an age of Black Lives Matter, James Baldwin's essays on life in Harlem, the protest novel, movies, and African Americans abroad are as powerful today…
Why read it?
2 authors picked Notes of a Native Son as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Baldwin writes both fiction and non-fiction beautifully and intimately and if you don’t know his non-fiction work then this is a very good place to start. Across a number of essays, he elegantly sets out the deep struggle faced by Black Americans and articulates how a different humanity, in America and beyond, and a different future can be realized.
From Duncan's list on The best books about protest.
In his striking essay “Equal in Paris,” James Baldwin relates his experience of being arrested and spending eight days in a Paris jail. His crime? Possession of a stolen bed sheet given to him by an acquaintance. His essay Notes of a Native Son is brilliant and I wish everyone would read it.
From Janet's list on The best books about ups and downs in Paris: C'est La Vie.
If you love Notes of a Native Son...
Malcolm Before X
Malcolm Before X is about finding a way to continue moving forward after everything has been taken from you. While in prison, Malcolm Little discovered the power of reading and found a way to transform his character and become a better man. This half-biography focuses on that transformation, especially his…
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