From the Bookshelf of Constant Reader…

The Fire Next Time

James Baldwin

Start date: October 1, 2021

Finish date: October 15, 2021

Discussion: Classics Corner

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What Members Thought

Feb 09, 2018 Loretta rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction

I read it in one evening, too quickly. It warrants second, and third, and fourth reading. It is clear-eyed and forceful and hard to read, for a white person, but necessary to read, to absorb, to not get defensive and "not all white people." The system of power is white, and we participate and are therefore complicit. Resisting that must be, must be, active and vocal. ...more

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Sep 16, 2021 spoko rated it it was amazing

Shelves: race, canon-classic, book-club, non-fiction, essays

In some ways, it focuses pretty tightly on its own time (with the in-depth examination of the NoI, for instance). But Baldwin is never narrow minded; his analysis, even of such a specific subject, is both broad and deep. Well worth reading, for its insights into why the American racial landscape is the way it is, and just for the bravery & originality of his thinking.

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Nov 30, 2014 Clifford rated it it was amazing

Shelves: nonfiction-memoir, nonfiction-politics

James Baldwin was a brilliant writer, and in this slim book we get a good look at him. One wonders what he would think of America electing President Obama, but I'm certain he would recognize that we are by no means a post-racial country. Voices on both sides of the divide have gotten louder and nastier, and racism is still the biggest problem our country faces. ...more

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