Reviews

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

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_aamy's review against another edition

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inspiring

3.0

lareinadehades's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

liloopie's review against another edition

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informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

This is a short but potent read. Written over 64 years ago, Baldwin tattoos race relations like a masterful painter yielding a paint brush. His insights and clarity make for gut wrenching and anguish but enlightening read. His mastery and prose is exquisite if not sorrowful at times. I encourage everyone to read this book if you want to know how the US can move forward and possibly beyond the shit show of a mess that plagues our country and divides us by our childish understanding of humanity and race relations that still has left un healing scars and promises left broken on of how we could a better country.

kdawn999's review against another edition

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5.0

Insightful, searing essay/sermon/letter that feels all too relevant to today’s politics and confirms Baldwin was one of the U.S.’ best, most eloquent minds. Along with his passionate political arguments, I was mesmerized by the memoiristic details of his upbringing and crisis of faith.

bahar's review against another edition

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informative reflective

4.0

jessicarosee's review against another edition

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4.0

”What it comes to is that if we, who can scarcely be considered a white nation, persist in thinking of ourselves as one, we condemn ourselves, with the truly white nations, to sterility and decay, whereas if we could accept ourselves as we are, we might bring new life to Western achievements, and transform them. The price of this transformation is the unconditional freedom of the Negro […] He is the key figure in his country, and the American future is precisely as bright or as dark as his.”