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jkbartlett's review against another edition
5.0
I thought the book was phenomenal. I see that many disagree.
But bravo to the editor that suggested that Baldwin take a trip down to Atlanta to write about the child killings and suspect (later convicted) Wayne Williams.
The details of the trial are, again and again, a launching point for Baldwin's jeremiads about race in America. If one is looking solely for a detailed analysis of the case- there is likely a better book. However, Baldwin's wide lens captures for those hoping to see complexities, a well-defended point. Perhaps Williams is guilty. Perhaps, in many ways, so are so many others of us.
He hits in a very short book on very many points. Why it is important that people say- "We aren't from Georgia, we are from Atlanta"? Why is it that no one takes the case seriously until a child visiting the south from the north is killed? What is the role of the media and the police? And, of course, what is the role of blackness created by white people in opposition to their own whiteness?
It turns out that Baldwin might be wrong in his instinct toward the case itself- now thirty-plus years later Williams seems certainly guilty (though he may not have acted alone). However, Baldwin might not be wrong about what brought America to the place where such a case needed not just to be tried but why such a crime could have occurred in the first place. We might not agree with all conclusions- but we should all read them.
But bravo to the editor that suggested that Baldwin take a trip down to Atlanta to write about the child killings and suspect (later convicted) Wayne Williams.
The details of the trial are, again and again, a launching point for Baldwin's jeremiads about race in America. If one is looking solely for a detailed analysis of the case- there is likely a better book. However, Baldwin's wide lens captures for those hoping to see complexities, a well-defended point. Perhaps Williams is guilty. Perhaps, in many ways, so are so many others of us.
He hits in a very short book on very many points. Why it is important that people say- "We aren't from Georgia, we are from Atlanta"? Why is it that no one takes the case seriously until a child visiting the south from the north is killed? What is the role of the media and the police? And, of course, what is the role of blackness created by white people in opposition to their own whiteness?
It turns out that Baldwin might be wrong in his instinct toward the case itself- now thirty-plus years later Williams seems certainly guilty (though he may not have acted alone). However, Baldwin might not be wrong about what brought America to the place where such a case needed not just to be tried but why such a crime could have occurred in the first place. We might not agree with all conclusions- but we should all read them.
chicagobob's review against another edition
3.0
Brilliantly but densely written--it's James Baldwin. Only 125 pages, basically a (very) extended essay, but a slow read.
He's telling us the story of the trial of a many for the Atlanta murders of the early 1980s. I found it hard because writing in 1985 I think he's assuming that anybody reading the book will have a basic background on the murders, and I sure don't.
He's telling us the story of the trial of a many for the Atlanta murders of the early 1980s. I found it hard because writing in 1985 I think he's assuming that anybody reading the book will have a basic background on the murders, and I sure don't.
hilaryreadsbooks's review against another edition
“History,” Baldwin writes in the preface, “…is the present—we, with every breath we take, every move we make, are History—and what goes around, comes around.” It is both shocking and unsurprising how the issues Baldwin interrogates in this long-form essay, published nearly forty years ago, still ring true today. Framed around his observations on the Atlanta murders in the late 70s and early 80s, the subsequent conviction of a Black man, and a system that has unjustly treated Black people, EVIDENCE reads as one long piece, just over a little more than a hundred pages; at times, it may be a bit hard to follow, but the structure, I think, increases the gravity and larger repercussions. Baldwin ties the situation of Black people in Atlanta to that across the United States and even globally, framing his ultimate opinions about the conviction within a historical and cultural context. Throughout all of this, though, he is careful that the victims and community grief are not pushed to the wayside. He begins one part of the essay with “Bring out your dead,” and the dead come back, all the names and ages of the African American children that were kidnapped and murdered.
Thanks Henry Holt Books for the gifted copy.
Thanks Henry Holt Books for the gifted copy.
onceandfuturereads's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
readingtheend's review against another edition
3.0
not my favorite James Baldwin nonfiction, but even non-favorite James Baldwin essay is going to be incredibly beautiful, thoughtful, smart writing. it made me want to learn more about the Atlanta Child Murders, and it made me want to read more James Baldwin