A national bestseller when it first appeared in 1963, The Fire Next Time galvanized the nation, gave passionate voice to the emerging civil rights movement—and still lights the way to understanding race in America today.

At once a powerful evocation of James Baldwin's early life in Harlem and a disturbing examination of the consequences of racial injustice, the book is an intensely personal and provocative document from the iconic author of If Beale Street Could Talk and Go Tell It on the Mountain. It consists of two "letters," written on the occasion of the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation, that exhort Americans, both black and white, to attack the terrible legacy of racism. Described by The New York Times Book Review as "sermon, ultimatum, confession, deposition, testament, and chronicle...all presented in searing, brilliant prose," The Fire Next Time stands as a classic of literature.

Product details

Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: Vintage; Reissue edition (December 1, 1992)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780679744726
ISBN-13: 978-0679744726
ASIN: 067974472X
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.3 x 8 inches

The Fire Next Time Paperback – December 1, 1992