Manchild in the Promised Land

By: Claude Brown

Narrated by: Cary Hite

With more than two million copies in print, Manchild in the Promised Land is one of the most remarkable autobiographies of our time - the definitive account of African-American youth in Harlem of the 1940s and 1950s, and a seminal work of modern literature.

Published during a literary era marked by the ascendance of Black writers such as Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin, and Alex Haley, this thinly fictionalized account of Claude Brown’s childhood as a hardened, streetwise criminal trying to survive the toughest streets of Harlem has been heralded as the definitive account of everyday life for the first generation of African Americans raised in the Northern ghettos of the 1940s and 1950s.

When the book was first published in 1965, it was praised for its realistic portrayal of Harlem - the children, young people, hardworking parents; the hustlers, drug dealers, prostitutes, and numbers runners; the police; the violence, sex, and humor.

The book continues to resonate generations later, not only because of its fierce and dignified anger, not only because the struggles of urban youth are as deeply felt today as they were in Brown’s time, but also because of its inspiring message. Now with an introduction by Nathan McCall, here is the story about the one who “made it” - the boy who kept landing on his feet and grew up to become a man.

©1965, 2005 Urban Audiobooks (P)2019 Claude Brown

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Amazing read Claude Brown's novel makes you feel like you are right there with them on streets of Harlem.

Fantastic

One of the best books I’ve ever read/listened to. Also, the narrators voice is really good.

LIFE

Real Life in Plain English. There are parts, I'm sure many will identify with.

The History of Harlem

Claud Brown bring Harlem streets to life,especially the early drug culture. The struggle Black people faced in the segregated north. How limited opportunities forced young boys to take risks in an attempt to break out of poverty.

l read this book as a teenager . Never forgot it.

I read this book as a teenager. It still has the power to hold my attitude .

Claude Brown ,
Thanks for the experience alongside the change.

Never loses its power

This coming of age memoir was transformative when I read it as a teen, and it was even more so when I read it as an adult recently. The storytelling of mischief and redemption is a lesson to us all and renews and restores my hope in today’s youth.

Manchiod in the Promised Land is a classic book.

I read this book when I was in school. It is a wonderful coming of age story about a black child growing up in the segregated, Jim Crow North. I related to the story and the characters. Must read or listen.

A Slice Of American History!

I was so delighted to see this title here. Brings back memories of my friends and I. Highly recommended, I would love to see titles like this as required reading in schools. Thanks!

Excellent!

This is one of the best audio books I have listened to. Claude Brown recounts the changes in Harlem after the Harlem Renaissance. His experiences and how he survived "The Plague" are very informative. I enjoyed it very much.

Must Read!

Even tho I’m born in the 90’s this book opened my eyes alot more about the epidemic of drugs that plagued our communities across the US. This book made me realize my childhood teenager years could have gone a lot worse if I was born in the older eras.