The Fire Next Time
Two letters from James Baldwin, one to his teenage nephew, that confront race, religion and the unfinished promise of American freedom.
James Baldwin’s 1963 book joins two essays. The first is a letter to his 14-year-old nephew on the hundredth anniversary of emancipation, about the central place of race in American history. The second, which fills most of the book, examines race and religion through Baldwin’s youth in the Christian church and his encounter with the Nation of Islam in Harlem. It is regarded as one of the most influential books on race relations of the 1960s.
Recommended by 1 Person
Naomi Klein
Published in 1963 amid the throes of the civil rights movement, Baldwin's classic is painfully relevant today. Written largely in the form of a letter from Baldwin to his nephew, the book is a call to channel righteous fury into a powerful resistance.
Article · August 2017
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