At last, a new audio edition of the book many have
called James Baldwin’s most influential work!
Written during the 1940s and early 1950s, when
Baldwin was only in his twenties, the essays collected in Notes of a Native Son capture a view of black life and black
thought at the dawn of the civil rights movement and as the movement slowly
gained strength through the words of one of the most captivating essayists and
foremost intellectuals of that era. Writing as an artist, activist, and social
critic, Baldwin probes the complex condition of being black in America. With a
keen eye, he examines everything from the significance of the protest novel to
the motives and circumstances of the many black expatriates of the time, from
his home in “The Harlem Ghetto” to a sobering “Journey to Atlanta.”
Notes
of a Native Son inaugurated Baldwin as one of the
leading interpreters of the dramatic social changes erupting in the United
States in the twentieth century, and many of his observations have proven
almost prophetic. His criticism on topics such as the paternalism of white
progressives or on his own friend Richard Wright’s work is pointed and
unabashed. He was also one of the few writing on race at the time who addressed
the issue with a powerful mixture of outrage at the gross physical and
political violence against black citizens and measured understanding of their
oppressors, which helped awaken a white audience to the injustices under their
noses. Naturally, this combination of brazen criticism and unconventional
empathy for white readers won Baldwin as much condemnation as praise.
Notes
is the book that established Baldwin’s voice as a social critic, and it remains
one of his most admired works. The essays collected here create a cohesive
sketch of black America and reveal an intimate portrait of Baldwin’s own search
for identity as an artist, as a black man, and as an American.
Download and start listening now!