James Baldwin : Collected Essays : Notes of a Native Son / Nobody Knows My Name / The Fire Next Time / No Name in the Street / The Devil Finds Work / Other Essays (Library of America) Summary and Reviews

James Baldwin : Collected Essays : Notes of a Native Son / Nobody Knows My Name / The Fire Next Time / No Name in the Street / The Devil Finds Work / Other Essays (Library of America)
by James Baldwin

James Baldwin : Collected Essays : Notes of a Native Son / Nobody Knows My Name / The Fire Next Time / No Name in the Street / The Devil Finds Work / Other Essays (Library of America)
List Price: $35.00
Our Price: $21.04
You Save: $13.96 (40%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $15.77 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


or

Book Summary Information

Author: James Baldwin
Editor: Toni Morrison
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1998-02-01
ISBN: 1883011523
Number of pages: 869
Publisher: Library of America

Book Reviews of James Baldwin : Collected Essays : Notes of a Native Son / Nobody Knows My Name / The Fire Next Time / No Name in the Street / The Devil Finds Work / Other Essays (Library of America)

Book Review: A great book -- A worthy part of a great series
Summary: 4 Stars

I love James Baldwin--I think he's a tremendous writer, so Toni Morrison could hardly go wrong in selecting essays for this volume. All of the selections are excellent. Notes of a Native Son contains a touching eulogy for Richard Wright ("Alas, Poor Richard"), explaining the lonliness and problems Mr. Wright had at the end of his life. Baldwin displays his tremendous range as both a political commentator and a literary critic. The Devil Finds Work, in particular, is very insightful--and several parts humourous.

What I don't understand--and why I struck a star off this collection--is why Ms. Morrison did not include "Evidence of Things Unseen," Baldwin's analysis of the Atlanta child murders from the early eighties. Perhaps Library of America is planning later volumes of Baldwin's works--The companion volume to these essays is his "Early Novels," most notably "Go Tell It on the Mountain" and "Giovani's Room." I can't imagine that Library of America would not produce a volume including Mr. Baldwin's later works--especially "Just Above my Head."

This particular edition is well worth having--despite the price. First, this is a good collection of Baldwin's essays, many of which are difficult to find. Second, the Library of America really does a commendable job in paper quality and binding. This is not a leather bound edition on 50 pound paper, so stiff you can't open it and printed so the back binding looks impressive on your bookshelf--this is tightly bound, cardboard cover that lies flat, and is easy to read. The paper is not heavy--but acid free, and tear resistant. The Library of America series are good collections that are meant to be read many times, by many people--these books hold up very well.

I am afraid that Mr. Baldwin's works and opinions may fall by the wayside as time passes. The fact that Ms. Morrison--one of our best and most respected authors--put these collections together will certainly help keep Mr. Baldwin's works alive. But if you have any interest in what it means to be African American--in the twenties, to contemporary america--through even tomorrow--You need to read and appreciate Mr. Baldwin's insights. And you will also enjoy his clear, careful, and pointed writing.

Essays Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Essays Books
Shaking a Leg: Collected Journalism and Writings ImageShaking a Leg: Collected Journalism and Writings
by Angela Carter
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1998-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $20.66
Price in other shops: $39.00
Minerva Louise (Picture Lions) ImageMinerva Louise (Picture Lions)
by Janet Morgan Stoeke
Picture Lions; Published: 1989-09-21; Paperback; Book
White Dynamite and Curly Kidd ImageWhite Dynamite and Curly Kidd
by Bill Martin, John Archambault
Collins; Published: 1988-08; Hardcover; Book
max's christmas Imagemax's christmas
by rosemary wells
Dial; Published: 1986; Hardcover; Book
Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book ImageLost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book
by Walker Percy
Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Published: 1983-06-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $66.99
Shadow Lines: Educational Edition, with Critical Essays by A N Kaul, Suvir Kaul, Meenakshi Mukherjee & Rajesewari Sunder rajan ImageShadow Lines: Educational Edition, with Critical Essays by A N Kaul, Suvir Kaul, Meenakshi Mukherjee & Rajesewari Sunder rajan
by Amitav Ghosh
South Asia Books/Oxford Univ Press, India; Published: 1998-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $29.30
The Book of Other People ImageThe Book of Other People
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2008-01-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.91
Price in other shops: $15.00
Walden and Civil Disobedience (Penguin American Library) ImageWalden and Civil Disobedience (Penguin American Library)
by Henry David Thoreau
Penguin Classics; Published: 1983-08-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.62
Price in other shops: $12.00
The Portable Machiavelli ImageThe Portable Machiavelli
by Niccolo Machiavelli
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1979-01-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.35
Price in other shops: $20.00
Essays of E.B. White ImageEssays of E.B. White
by E. B. White
Joanna Cotler Books; Published: 1978-10-19; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $298.47
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America ImageNickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
by Barbara Ehrenreich
Picador; Published: 2011-08-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.79
Price in other shops: $15.00
Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing ImageRereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing
by Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, Bonnie Lisle
Bedford/St. Martin's; Published: 2010-04-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $42.80
If Beale Street Could Talk ImageIf Beale Street Could Talk
by James Baldwin
Vintage; Published: 2006-10-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.79
Price in other shops: $14.00
Aristotle's Poetics ImageAristotle's Poetics
by Aristotle
W. W. Norton & Company; Published: 1982-05-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.33
The Cross of Redemption: Uncollected Writings (Vintage International Original) ImageThe Cross of Redemption: Uncollected Writings (Vintage International Original)
by James Baldwin
Vintage; Published: 2011-09-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.80
Price in other shops: $16.00
American Short Story Masterpieces ImageAmerican Short Story Masterpieces
Dell; Published: 1989-04-02; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.24
Price in other shops: $7.99
One Writer's Beginnings (William E. Massey Sr. Lectures in the History of American Civilization) ImageOne Writer's Beginnings (William E. Massey Sr. Lectures in the History of American Civilization)
by Eudora Welty
Harvard University Press; Published: 1998-07-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.25
Price in other shops: $16.50
Eudora Welty : Complete Novels: The Robber Bridegroom, Delta Wedding, The Ponder Heart, Losing Battles, The Optimist's Daughter (Library of America) ImageEudora Welty : Complete Novels: The Robber Bridegroom, Delta Wedding, The Ponder Heart, Losing Battles, The Optimist's Daughter (Library of America)
by Eudora Welty
Library of America; Published: 1998-08-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $18.72
Price in other shops: $35.00
James Baldwin: Early Novels and Stories: Go Tell It on a Mountain / Giovanni's Room / Another Country / Going to Meet the Man (Library of America) ImageJames Baldwin: Early Novels and Stories: Go Tell It on a Mountain / Giovanni's Room / Another Country / Going to Meet the Man (Library of America)
by James Baldwin
Library of America; Published: 1998-02-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $18.72
Price in other shops: $35.00
Giovanni's Room ImageGiovanni's Room
by James Baldwin
Delta; Published: 2000-06-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.73
Price in other shops: $14.00