The Warmth of Other Suns

The Epic Story of America's Great Migration

By: Isabel Wilkerson

Narrated by: Robin Miles

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER • TIME’S TEN BEST NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE DECADE • ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES’S FIVE BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY • A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST NONFICTION BOOK OF THE CENTURY • LOS ANGELES TIMES’S #1 NONFICTION BOOK OF THE LAST 30 YEARS • AN OPRAH DAILY BEST NONFICTION BOOK OF THE PAST TWO DECADES

“A brilliant and stirring epic . . . 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, The Wall Street Journal

“What she’s done with these oral histories is stow memory in amber.”—Lynell George, Los Angeles Times

WINNER: The Mark Lynton History Prize • The Anisfield-Wolf Award for Nonfiction • The Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize • The Hurston-Wright Award for Nonfiction • The Hillman Prize for Book Journalism • NAACP Image Award for Best Literary Debut • Stephen Ambrose Oral History Prize

FINALIST: The PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction • Dayton Literary Peace Prize

ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times • USA Today • Publishers Weekly • O: The Oprah Magazine • Salon • Newsday • The Daily Beast

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: 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

In this beautifully written masterwork, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Isabel Wilkerson presents a definitive and dramatic account of one of the great untold stories of American history: the Great Migration of six million Black citizens who fled the South for the North and West in search of a better life, from World War I to 1970.

Wilkerson tells this interwoven story through the lives of three unforgettable protagonists: Ida Mae Gladney, a sharecropper’s wife, who in 1937 fled Mississippi for Chicago; sharp and quick-tempered George Starling, who in 1945 fled Florida for Harlem, and Robert Foster, a surgeon who left Louisiana in 1953 in hopes of making it in California.

Wilkerson brilliantly captures their first treacherous cross-country journeys by car and train and their new lives in colonies in the New World. 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 a modern 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)

everyone should read this

As a progressive liberal, raised in the post WWII housing projects of NYC and a teenager during the high crime era of "West Side Story" days.... who was shocked by the revelations of the civil rights movement (the idea of "white only" or "black only" ANYTHING down south was unimaginable) the first chapter was kind of an annoying rehash of US history as I lived it.

BUT, hang in there, don't get discouraged, this book is worth all 22 hours and 42 minutes of your time. I usually listen to books while doing something else. This is the first book that made me sit still and just listen..

Enthralling

A seamless blend of history and real life drama. Excellent narration too. One of the best books I've listened to.

Moving

As someone who left another country and migrated to the United States, I am thankful for my parents who gave me the opportunity to do so and instilled in me a value to respect all people. After reading this book I am reinvigorated to tell as many people about
It as possible as we are living in a time when those who have immigrated or attempting to immigrate are having trials and tribulations brought on them as they strive for freedom in another sun. Let’s make sure that we do not let history repeat itself with the negativity, however we should replace that with love for our fellow man. Thank you Ms. Wilkerson for your amazing book and how it will help people understand that even though there is struggle we must continue to stand straight and complete what we have started.
“Scripture tells us that we shall not oppress a stranger, for we know the heart of a stranger -- we were strangers once, too. My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too."

-- President Obama, November 20, 2014

A Must-Read

The research and care Wilkerson puts into creating the three protagonists is remarkable. You really appreciate the diversity and similarities shared by the various migrants, and begin to see how the story of the Great Migration is really the American story... a people trying to reconcile the roots of their past while living within the new modern America. Their struggles are at once unique (and gave me a much deeper appreciation for the awful conditions faced in the Jim Crow south in particular) and familiar as people trying to make a good life for themselves as they understand the “good”. Not ironically, it was the protagonist who was able to remain rooted in her Southern ways and lives among a Northern culture, guided by her faith in Christ, that flourished whole the others failed. A must-read.

YAY!!

So glad this book came in audio form....Excellectly describes the stories of their plight for better lives....actually felt as if I too was part of their journey within each of their lives....in a sense, we all are a part of the process.....Thank you to the author ... fantastic job!

Important Read

This is American History that I never learned. The book is well written. I like how Ms. Wilkerson blends historical context and statistics with personal stories. Robin Miles provides an excellent performance as narrator. That said, the story can be excruciatingly painful. (I had to turn it off a few times and process what I was hearing.) I am a well-educated white woman who grew up in the 1960s and 70s in the northeastern US and now live in the deep south. There is so much I didn't know that I didn't know. I have a lot to learn. This was an excellent introduction.

fabulous and I informative

Very engaging. and informative.. An easy rbook to listen to and I would recommend It!

Stunning story and excellent narrator

This was a wonderful and enlightening story. Very engaging! This was an excellent account of the Great Migration. I had no idea of its truth. Narrator is amazing and really brings these stories to life.

Riveting story, well-read

Although it is non-fiction, the author captures individual stories and weaves them into and through historic events in a way that emphasizes the personal tales while illuminating the era. The narration is easy on the ears, with well-defined voices for the different characters. The thesis of a "great migration" is well put together and supported. I recommend this book highly to anyone interested in American history, as it tells a story that is often omitted from classes and lessons.

A must read for our times

Although it is lengthy, it is a must read and an important to remember how far we have come and how far we have to go.