Random House New Releases - Literary Criticism & Collections - American - African-American - Between May 23, 2012 and June 22, 2013.

Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin

2012-11-20T00:30:00-05:00

Notes of a Native Son
Written by James Baldwin
Foreword by Edward P. Jones

Hardcover | Beacon Press | Literary Criticism & Collections - African-American & Black; Social Science - Black Studies (Global); Literary Criticism & Collections - American - African-American | $27.95 | November 20, 2012 | 978-0-8070-0611-5 (0-8070-0611-4)

A new edition of the book many have called James Baldwin’s most influential work

Written during the 1940s and early 1950s, when Baldwin was only in his twenties, the essays collected in Notes of a Native Son capture a view of black life and black thought at the dawn of the civil rights movement and as the movement slowly gained strength through the words of one of the most captivating essayists and foremost intellectuals of that era. Writing as an artist, activist, and social critic, Baldwin probes the complex condition of being black in America. With a keen eye, he examines everything from the significance of the protest novel to the motives and circumstances of the many black expatriates of the time, from his home in “The Harlem Ghetto” to a sobering “Journey to Atlanta.”

Notes of a Native Son inaugurated Baldwin as one of the leading interpreters of the dramatic social changes erupting in the United States in the twentieth century, and many of his observations have proven almost prophetic. His criticism on topics such as the paternalism of white progressives or on his own friend Richard Wright’s work is pointed and unabashed. He was also one of the few writing on race at the time who addressed the issue with a powerful mixture of outrage at the gross physical and political violence against black citizens and measured understanding of their oppressors, which helped awaken a white audience to the injustices under their noses. Naturally, this combination of brazen criticism and unconventional empathy for white readers won Baldwin as much condemnation as praise.

Notes is the book that established Baldwin’s voice as a social critic, and it remains one of his most admired works. The essays collected here create a cohesive sketch of black America and reveal an intimate portrait of Baldwin’s own search for identity as an artist, as a black man, and as an American.

Notes of a Native Son by Edward P. Jones

2012-11-20T00:30:00-05:00

Notes of a Native Son
Written by James Baldwin
Foreword by Edward P. Jones

A new edition published on the twenty-fifth anniversary of Baldwin’s death, including a new introduction by an important contemporary writer

Since its original publication in 1955, this first nonfiction collection of essays by James Baldwin remains an American classic. His impassioned essays on life in Harlem, the protest novel, movies, and African Americans abroad are as powerful today as when they were first written.

“A straight-from-the-shoulder writer, writing about the troubled problems of this troubled earth with an illuminating intensity.” —Langston Hughes, The New York Times Book Review

“Written with bitter clarity and uncommon grace.” —Time

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Notes of a Native Son by Edward P. Jones

2012-11-20T00:30:00-05:00

Notes of a Native Son
Written by James Baldwin
Foreword by Edward P. Jones

Trade Paperback, 192 pages | Beacon Press | Literary Criticism & Collections - African-American & Black; Social Science - Black Studies (Global); Literary Criticism & Collections - American - African-American | $15.00 | November 20, 2012 | 978-0-8070-0623-8 (0-8070-0623-8)

The Long Walk to Freedom by Donald Weise

2012-08-21T00:30:00-05:00

The Long Walk to Freedom Runaway Slave Narratives
Edited by Devon W. Carbado and Donald Weise

In this groundbreaking compilation of first-person accounts of the runaway slave phenomenon, editors Devon W. Carbado and Donald Weise have recovered twelve narratives spanning eight decades—more than half of which have been long out of print. Told in the voices of the runaway slaves themselves, these narratives reveal the extraordinary and often innovative ways that these men and women sought freedom and demanded citizenship. Also included is an essay by UCLA history professor Brenda Stevenson that contextualizes these narratives, providing a brief yet comprehensive history of slavery, as well as a look into the daily life of a slave. Divided into four categories—running away for family, running inspired by religion, running by any means necessary, and running to be free—these stories are a testament to the indelible spirit of these remarkable survivors.

The Long Walk to Freedom presents excerpts from the narratives of well-known runaway slaves, like Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs, as well as from the narratives of lesser-known and virtually unknown people. Several of these excerpts have not been published for more than a hundred years. But they all portray the courageous and sometimes shocking ways that these men and women sought their freedom and asserted power, often challenging many of the common assumptions about slaves’ lack of agency.

Among the remarkable and inspiring stories is the tense but triumphant tale of Henry Box Brown, who, with a white abolitionist’s help, shipped himself in a box—over a twenty-seven-hour train ride, part of which he spent standing on his head—to freedom in Philadelphia. And there’s the story of William and Ellen Craft, who fled across thousands of miles, with Ellen, who was light-skinned, disguised as a white male slave-owner so she and her husband could achieve their dream of raising their children as free people.

Gripping, inspiring, and captivating, The Long Walk to Freedom is a remarkable collection that celebrates those who risked their lives in pursuit of basic human rights.

The Long Walk to Freedom by Donald Weise

2012-08-21T00:30:00-05:00

The Long Walk to Freedom Runaway Slave Narratives
Edited by Devon W. Carbado and Donald Weise

In this groundbreaking compilation of first-person accounts of the runaway slave phenomenon, editors Devon Carbado and Donald Weise have recovered twelve narratives spanning eight decades—more than half of which have been long out of print. Told in the voices of the runaway slaves themselves, these narratives reveal the extraordinary and often innovative ways that these men and women sought freedom and demanded citizenship.

Random House New Releases - Literary Criticism & Collections - American - African-American - Between May 23, 2012 and June 22, 2013.

Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin

Notes of a Native Son Written by James Baldwin Foreword by Edward P. Jones

Notes of a Native Son by Edward P. Jones

Notes of a Native Son Written by James Baldwin Foreword by Edward P. Jones

Notes of a Native Son by Edward P. Jones

Notes of a Native Son Written by James Baldwin Foreword by Edward P. Jones

The Long Walk to Freedom by Donald Weise

The Long Walk to Freedom Runaway Slave NarrativesEdited by Devon W. Carbado and Donald Weise

The Long Walk to Freedom by Donald Weise

The Long Walk to Freedom Runaway Slave NarrativesEdited by Devon W. Carbado and Donald Weise

Notes of a Native Son
Written by James Baldwin
Foreword by Edward P. Jones

Notes of a Native Son
Written by James Baldwin
Foreword by Edward P. Jones

Notes of a Native Son
Written by James Baldwin
Foreword by Edward P. Jones

The Long Walk to Freedom Runaway Slave Narratives
Edited by Devon W. Carbado and Donald Weise

The Long Walk to Freedom Runaway Slave Narratives
Edited by Devon W. Carbado and Donald Weise