A review by booktalkwithkarla
Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own by Eddie S. Glaude Jr.

challenging informative reflective sad medium-paced

3.25

This non-fiction work by Eddie S. Claude Jr blends memoir, biography, history, and literary criticism to “bear witness” to America’s racism. Using the work and life of James Baldwin, Glaude Jr invites people to “call forth a new America”. Yes! That is what is needed because how all of us treat other humans with hate, using power, privilege, and systems to dehumanize, is disgusting and sin. The call to love people and begin again rings loudly and I pray we answer. 

Glaude Jr is clearly an expert on Baldwin and history and approaches the topic from many angles. He says important truths, hard and painful as they represent human lives suffering. His writing and conclusion are solid and often beautiful. 

This is a great book but one I struggled to find my bearings in while I read, due to its chaotic organization. The blend the author sought just isn’t for me. Still, I recommend reading this book for the content and conversations you will have in your community. 

“Our stories can make some people the center of the plot and make others latecomers and objects of charity and goodwill or of scorn and derision.” Eddie S Glaude Jr

“The only normalcy that we will settle for is the normalcy that recognizes the dignity and worth of all of God’s children.” Dr Martin Luther King Jr