The Warmth of Other Suns

The Epic Story of America's Great Migration

By: Isabel Wilkerson

Narrated by: Robin Miles

Length: 22 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

In this epic, beautifully written masterwork, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson chronicles one of the great untold stories of American history: the decades-long migration of Black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities, in search of a better life.

NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER
LYNTON HISTORY PRIZE WINNER
HEARTLAND AWARD WINNER
DAYTON LITERARY PEACE PRIZE FINALIST

NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY

The New York Times • USA Today • O: The Oprah Magazine • Amazon • Publishers Weekly • Salon • Newsday • The Daily Beast

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY

The New Yorker • The Washington Post • The Economist • Boston Globe • San Francisco Chronicle • Chicago Tribune • Entertainment Weekly • Philadelphia Inquirer • The Guardian • The Seattle Times • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • The Christian Science Monitor

From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America. Wilkerson compares this epic migration to the migrations of other peoples in history. She interviewed more than a thousand people, and gained access to new data and official records, to write this definitive and vividly dramatic account of how these American journeys unfolded, altering our cities, our country, and ourselves.

With stunning historical detail, Wilkerson tells this story through the lives of three unique individuals: Ida Mae Gladney, who in 1937 left sharecropping and prejudice in Mississippi for Chicago, where she achieved quiet blue-collar success and, in old age, voted for Barack Obama when he ran for an Illinois Senate seat; sharp and quick-tempered George Starling, who in 1945 fled Florida for Harlem, where he endangered his job fighting for civil rights, saw his family fall, and finally found peace in God; and Robert Foster, who left Louisiana in 1953 to pursue a medical career, the personal physician to Ray Charles as part of a glitteringly successful medical career, which allowed him to purchase a grand home where he often threw exuberant parties.

Wilkerson brilliantly captures their first treacherous and exhausting cross-country trips by car and train and their new lives in colonies that grew into ghettos, as well as how they changed these cities with southern food, faith, and culture and improved them with discipline, drive, and hard work. Both a riveting microcosm and a major assessment, The Warmth of Other Suns is a bold, remarkable, and riveting work, a superb account of an “unrecognized immigration” within our own land. Through the breadth of its narrative, the beauty of the writing, the depth of its research, and the fullness of the people and lives portrayed herein, this book is destined to become a classic.

©2010 Isabel Wilkerson (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“A landmark piece of nonfiction . . . sure to hold many surprises for readers of any race or experience….A mesmerizing book that warrants comparison to The Promised Land, Nicholas Lemann’s study of the Great Migration’s early phase, and Common Ground, J. Anthony Lukas’s great, close-range look at racial strife in Boston….[Wilkerson’s] closeness with, and profound affection for, her subjects reflect her deep immersion in their stories and allow the reader to share that connection.” (Janet Maslin, The New York Times)

“ The Warmth of Other Suns is a brilliant and stirring epic, the first book to cover the full half-century of the Great Migration… Wilkerson combines impressive research…with great narrative and literary power. Ms. Wilkerson does for the Great Migration what John Steinbeck did for the Okies in his fiction masterpiece, The Grapes of Wrath; she humanizes history, giving it emotional and psychological depth.” (John Stauffer, Wall Street Journal)

" The Warmth of Other Suns is epic in its reach and in its structure. Told in a voice that echoes the magic cadences of Toni Morrison or the folk wisdom of Zora Neale Hurston’s collected oral histories, Wilkerson’s book pulls not just the expanse of the migration into focus but its overall impact on politics, literature, music, sports — in the nation and the world." (Lynell George, Los Angeles Times)

A captivating human story

The author's approach of following three interesting and unique individuals across a range of places and time periods really helped to humanize the broader lessons about 20th century America. The stories told themselves in little moments and were supplanted by just enough historical context that you didn't feel like the stories were cherry-picked to make a point. Interesting charachters and a well written story made it a captivating listen.

Excellent.

I loved this book. I was so attached to the three main people Wilkerson focuses on. Such detail. Such depth. Absolutely meticulous research. I learned, I laughed, I cried. It was just fabulous.

The Puzzle pieces are complete

This book helped me get a deeper understanding why ignorance continues. People have been conditioned to believe ignorance and pass it from one generation to another. Until the stereotypes are replaced with truth, this cycle will continue. Thank for filling in historical facts we did not learn in our Northern history books.

Breathtaking writing

This brilliant book is one of the most impactful I've read. As a researcher, I admire the author's ability to connect real stories and research to show the historical context of this demographic migration. I truly felt that I was seeing the world from the perspectives of these three individuals. I was drawn in by the author's use of language and tone which brought me to tears, nevermind that the content that was sometimes difficult to hear. I highly recommend it. I have ordered the book in print for reference.

A loooong listen but I'm so glad I stuck with it

I listened to this book (over other works by this author) because I want to cultivate a deeper understanding of the Black experience and gain knowledge about Black history. The stories were so fulfilling, heart-wrenching, authentic. I highly recommend.

A-maz-ing period.

I put this up on a pedestal in each category of performance, story, and overall, as I did The Four Winds, and American Dirt. The worst and best thing that came from these three books is the same, I learned, I am aware, and now I am knowledgeable of others from the depths of their plight through impeccable storytelling. These books should be mandatory HS reading.

Incredible history and story!

Didn’t know much about the Great Migration - the stories were interesting and informative. Very well done - should be mandatory reading in every school.

A great read.

Highly recommended to anyone interested in caste and class and the great migration. You will be enlightened.

Challenging & Enlightening

Three beautiful stories told and contextualized with thorough research. The personal lives and stories of those that participated in The Great Migration representing the hundreds of thousands of blacks escaping persecution in the pursuit of freedom. The narrative of the three main migrants and their extended families and sets of friends is beautifully told.

Fascinating story, excellent performance

I had to take a moment to recommend this audio book both for its story and performance. I had never thought of a black “migration” even though that’s quite obviously what it was. The history made me rethink what America is and was. I loved hearing real stories of real people—rather than the second or third hand opinions we so often hear. Also, the performance was so enjoyable. Robin Miles is so easy to listen to and I loved the character voices.