sheprupp 's review for:

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
5.0
challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

I bet if James Baldwin could see the US today, he’d be both a little disappointed and yet not at all surprised. 

This book reminds me of the desert. Dry, relentless, straightforward, unapologetic, and beautiful to those willing to understand what they are looking at. 

I want to be friends with the white people who can read this book and not feel even a misting of defensiveness. I imagine if I had read this when I was younger and more naive, I would have felt the need to defend here and there. But I am no longer delusional enough to think I have greater insight on what it means to be white in America, let alone black. And I have been disillusioned with the US long enough to appreciate the facts, warnings, lessons,  and hopes Baldwin outlined for his nephew. 

I would recommend this to anyone anywhere in there delusion/disillusionment journey. It’ll be good for you.