Product Description

With burning passion, the authority of experience, and a sharp, epigrammatic wit, these essays articulate issues of race, democracy, and American identity. This edition--the most comprehensive gathering of Baldwin's nonfiction ever published--presents the complete texts of the landmark collections "Notes of a Native Son" (1955) and "Nobody Knows My Name" (1961); "The Fire Next Time" (1963), a classic analysis of America's racial divide; "No Name in the Street" (1972); and "The Devil Finds Work" (1976); and 36 more essays, including nine never before collected.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #47228 in Books
• Published on: 1998-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 992 pages

Amazon.com Review
A novelist, essayist, playwright, and public intellectual, James Baldwin's writings on the subject of race in America undeniably made him one of the greatest African American writers of the 20th century. As the civil rights movement gained momentum in the two decades following World War II, Baldwin landed squarely in the public eye, and his prose communicated the hope and frustration of the fight for racial equality. In James Baldwin: Early Novels and Stories, editor Toni Morrison draws heavily on Baldwin's early work, including his first novel Go Tell It on the Mountain, as well as Giovanni's Room, which was praised by the New York Times for its "unusual candor ... and intensity." As pertinent today as it was some 30 years ago, the fiction found in this collection is powerful, eloquent, and a fitting tribute to a consummate writer.

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.

From Scientific American
Baldwin wrote as an American who shared in the dehumanization of blacks even as he suffered that dehumanization. There is no "us" and "them," according to Baldwin. There is only we, us and our. His voice is unique in American literature because he articulated black anger in a way that allowed blacks and whites to affirm the justness of that anger. He accomplished this through the sheer eloquence of his language…. The publication of these two volumes makes it clear that Baldwin's place in American letters is now secure. The uniqueness of his voice and the rightness of his vision come through clearly in his novels, stories and essays. It is a voice and vision that is needed now more than it was 30 years ago.

Customer Reviews

A valuable edition of some of the best writings on race.
The Library of America is engaged in publishing definitive texts of the best-known writing in the U.S. Including James Baldwin in this series - and having Toni Morrison edit these volumes - has generated considerable critical review. It is remarkable that James Baldwin can still exercise so much hold over us. Both the fiction and the essays have a kind of raw power: it makes us realize how sensitive the nerve of "race relations" still is. "Go Tell It on the Mountain" - one of the early autobiographical stories - has already become an American classic. Baldwin's homosexuality and his ambiguous feelings towards the white establishment makes this a painful coming-of-age novel. There is no easy access to some one so at-odds with himself and his society - and no greater rewards for anyone interested in the literature of self-discovery. These are fine volumes. They are well worth owning and belong on the shelves of anyone interested in American literature. Not all collections are worth having. The Library of America - and these Baldwin volumes - are worth owning, and they are certainly worth reading.

The quality of Baldwin's writing is superb
aside from any considerations of his significance (great) in discussions of race or homosexuality. Baldwin was a great writer and one comes away from this collection with many gifts.

Poor customer service
I ordered a collection of James Baldwin's early novels and stories, however, I was sent another collections of novels and have contacted Amazon about the problem and 3 weeks later they have not responded to my complaint. After ordering from Amazon for more than a decade, I do not plan to order anything from them again. Poor customer service.