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stacialithub's review against another edition
5.0
This is basically a novella-length essay. I had seen it on a list of books to read & was interested because the topic was the Atlanta Child Murders (at least 26 children/teens & two adults, possibly more) & Wayne Williams. I remember this being in the news, though I didn't remember many details. I was intrigued because I had NO idea that Baldwin had traveled to Atlanta to report on this. (I also did not remember that Wayne Williams was tried for & convicted of the murders of the two adults killed, but was not charged with any of the child murders. Yet, he was tried in the press & popular opinion of all the murders, & Baldwin does address this in his book. The assumption was/is that Williams was a prolific serial killer & the cases were closed even though nobody was ever officially charged or tried. In 2019, Atlanta's mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms reopened the cases, hoping new technology will be able to help conclusively close the cases. I do not know the current status. Meanwhile, Wayne Williams is still serving his two life sentences.)
Baldwin's book was quite different than what I was expecting. While he does cover some about the murders & Wayne Williams, it's really a jumping off point on him dissecting race & race relations in America. If you're looking for an account of the murders, or the investigation, or the trial, this may not be the book you want. (In fact, I think you need to already have a passing knowledge of events prior to reading for some of it to make sense.) If you're looking for an analysis of all the things that have converged & led up to this type of moment, this is *definitely* the book you want. If this hadn't been a library book, I think I would have underlined or highlighted about 70% of this book (& I'm not even the type to write in my books). There's just so much truth here, so many blunt observations, so much that is accurate today, especially looking at what is happening in the US right now.
Even though the book is short (about 120 pages), Baldwin's paragraphs are dense & packed. I basically read it out loud to myself to make sure I was slowing down enough to take in & understand what he was saying. He has such a clarity of vision.
Crucial reading even today. As the summary says, the essay is timeless.
P.S. Re: the topic of the Atlanta Child Murders, I have had the podcast Atlanta Monster recommended to me. I haven't yet listened to it, but mention it here in case you're interested.
Baldwin's book was quite different than what I was expecting. While he does cover some about the murders & Wayne Williams, it's really a jumping off point on him dissecting race & race relations in America. If you're looking for an account of the murders, or the investigation, or the trial, this may not be the book you want. (In fact, I think you need to already have a passing knowledge of events prior to reading for some of it to make sense.) If you're looking for an analysis of all the things that have converged & led up to this type of moment, this is *definitely* the book you want. If this hadn't been a library book, I think I would have underlined or highlighted about 70% of this book (& I'm not even the type to write in my books). There's just so much truth here, so many blunt observations, so much that is accurate today, especially looking at what is happening in the US right now.
Even though the book is short (about 120 pages), Baldwin's paragraphs are dense & packed. I basically read it out loud to myself to make sure I was slowing down enough to take in & understand what he was saying. He has such a clarity of vision.
Crucial reading even today. As the summary says, the essay is timeless.
P.S. Re: the topic of the Atlanta Child Murders, I have had the podcast Atlanta Monster recommended to me. I haven't yet listened to it, but mention it here in case you're interested.
lilias's review against another edition
3.0
When I heard Baldwin had written something that could be called true crime, I thought it was too good to be true. And in a way it was because this was not as good as the other books of his I’ve read. I found his points lost a little of their sharpness when he related them to the Atlanta Child Murders and, more specifically, Wayne Williams. But I did enjoy this book; I think I’ll always enjoy reading books by James Baldwin.
eastside's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0
jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
When writing about James Baldwin, Ta-Nehisi Coates said that Baldwin had the ability to talk through you. What I took that to mean is that Baldwin’s words were such a focused fury, combining intellect and rhetoric that it connected with the reader in a deeper way than most. I felt that somewhat in The Fire Next Time, but I especially feel it in this one, which is almost more personal.
Baldwin doesn’t let his foot off the gas for this book-length essay. Drawing on American history, the reality of white supremacy, the belittling of children of African descent, and the messy state of affairs in US politics (after all, this was the Reagan era and the cowboy loomed over everything), Baldwin takes a long, panoramic view of the country as a microcosm through the murders of young people in Atlanta and the subsequent trial and conviction of Wayne Williams, a Black man, who was tried for only two murders based on forensic fiber evidence but was convicted in the court of public opinion for many more.
This isn’t a true crime book in a conventional sense, although it contains elements of it. This is Baldwin using his famous style to focus the reader on how easily disposable the Black body is, both in the deaths of children and the flimsy conviction of an adult. He posits that there is no justice or redemption to be found in a country that continually holds the existence of Black people as a crime.
Also, some who wonder how Baldwin would have handled the Obama administration need look no further than this book. He saves plenty of fire for Atlanta’s Black power structure, making the point of the limits of the power Black politicos and public officials can possibly have in a structure that prevents their collective vertical reach.
This is more unfocused than Fire Next Time and it has spots where it gets redundant. But it’s still an incredibly written jeremiad that’s worth the time to read it. Let Baldwin speak through you.
Baldwin doesn’t let his foot off the gas for this book-length essay. Drawing on American history, the reality of white supremacy, the belittling of children of African descent, and the messy state of affairs in US politics (after all, this was the Reagan era and the cowboy loomed over everything), Baldwin takes a long, panoramic view of the country as a microcosm through the murders of young people in Atlanta and the subsequent trial and conviction of Wayne Williams, a Black man, who was tried for only two murders based on forensic fiber evidence but was convicted in the court of public opinion for many more.
This isn’t a true crime book in a conventional sense, although it contains elements of it. This is Baldwin using his famous style to focus the reader on how easily disposable the Black body is, both in the deaths of children and the flimsy conviction of an adult. He posits that there is no justice or redemption to be found in a country that continually holds the existence of Black people as a crime.
Also, some who wonder how Baldwin would have handled the Obama administration need look no further than this book. He saves plenty of fire for Atlanta’s Black power structure, making the point of the limits of the power Black politicos and public officials can possibly have in a structure that prevents their collective vertical reach.
This is more unfocused than Fire Next Time and it has spots where it gets redundant. But it’s still an incredibly written jeremiad that’s worth the time to read it. Let Baldwin speak through you.
christina_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
5.0
dostojevskijs's review against another edition
4.0
I'll admit, I had expected more about the crime itself but... fuck. Just fuck. Baldwin truly has a way with words. This story was emotional enough before, but Baldwin's essay... just fuk.
ezraindited's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
4.75