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Notes of a Native Son
- Narrated by: Ron Butler
- Length: 5 hrs and 3 mins
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Publisher's summary
At last, a new audio 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 20s, 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 20th 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.
Notesis 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.
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Paris, 1933: Three contemporaries meet over apricot cocktails at the Bec-de-Gaz bar on the rue Montparnasse. They are the young Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and longtime friend Raymond Aron, a fellow philosopher who raves to them about a new conceptual framework from Berlin called phenomenology. "You see," he says, "if you are a phenomenologist, you can talk about this cocktail and make philosophy out of it!"
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Consistent look at incoherent philosophy
- By Gary on 06-19-16
By: Sarah Bakewell
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For Your Own Good
- Hidden Cruelty in Child-Rearing and the Roots of Violence
- By: Alice Miller
- Narrated by: Jo Anna Perrin
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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For Your Own Good, the contemporary classic exploring the serious if not gravely dangerous consequences parental cruelty can bring to bear on children everywhere, is one of the central works by Alice Miller, the celebrated Swiss psychoanalyst. With her typically lucid, strong, and poetic language, Miller investigates the personal stories and case histories of various self-destructive and/or violent individuals to expand on her theories about the long-term effects of abusive child-rearing.
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Should be required reading for everyone
- By Timothy on 05-15-18
By: Alice Miller
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Becoming Faulkner
- The Art and Life of William Faulker
- By: Philip Weinstein
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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William Faulkner was the greatest American novelist of the 20th century, yet he lived a life marked by a pervasive sense of failure. Throughout his career, he remained haunted by his inability to master a series of personal and professional challenges: his less-than-heroic military career; the loss of his brother in an airplane crash; a disappointing stint as a Hollywood screenwriter; and a destructive bout with alcoholism.
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Miss.'s BCS-Bundren.Compson.Snopes/Sutpen/Sartoris
- By W Perry Hall on 05-01-14
By: Philip Weinstein
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Known and Strange Things
- Essays
- By: Teju Cole
- Narrated by: Peter Jay Fernandez
- Length: 12 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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With this collection of more than 50 pieces on politics, photography, travel, history, and literature, Teju Cole solidifies his place as one of today's most powerful and original voices. Minute after minute, deploying prose dense with beauty and ideas, he finds fresh and potent ways to interpret art, people, and historical moments, taking in subjects from Virginia Woolf, Shakespeare, and W. G. Sebald to Instagram, Barack Obama, and Boko Haram.
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A Book that Teaches and Shares
- By Carolyn J. on 10-08-17
By: Teju Cole
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The Fall
- By: Albert Camus
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 3 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Elegantly styled, Camus' profoundly disturbing novel of a Parisian lawyer's confessions is a searing study of modern amorality.
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Wow Wow Wow
- By Lauren C on 07-14-21
By: Albert Camus
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The Crucible
- By: Arthur Miller
- Narrated by: Stacy Keach, Richard Dreyfuss, Ed Begley Jr., and others
- Length: 1 hr and 58 mins
- Original Recording
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In the rigid theocracy of Salem, Massachusetts, rumors that women are practicing witchcraft galvanize the town. In a searing portrait of a community engulfed by panic—with ruthless prosecutors, and neighbors eager to testify against neighbor—The Crucible famously mirrors the anti-Communist hysteria that held the United States in its grip in the 1950’s.
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Abridged Version
- By Michael G. Stoffel on 05-07-12
By: Arthur Miller
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The Sunflower
- On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness
- By: Simon Wiesenthal
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean, Laural Merlington
- Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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While imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp, Simon Wiesenthal was taken one day from his work detail to the bedside of a dying member of the SS. Haunted by the crimes in which he had participated, the soldier wanted to confess to - and obtain absolution from - a Jew. Faced with the choice between compassion and justice, silence and truth, Wiesenthal said nothing.
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What Would You Do?
- By Simone on 08-31-16
By: Simon Wiesenthal
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Conundrum
- By: Jan Morris
- Narrated by: Roy McMillan
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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This remarkable memoir is the classic account of the transgender journey. It is all the more extraordinary because it is the life story of a figure who, it seemed, seamlessly and publicly charted a course through the English establishment - James Morris, outstanding journalist, historian and travel writer, famed for a peerless writing style. But all the while he was concealing a very different inner world: from the age of four he felt that, despite his body, he was really a girl.
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Great insight
- By Kelly Houske on 02-02-19
By: Jan Morris
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The Wounded Healer
- Ministry in Contemporary Society
- By: Henri J. M. Nouwen
- Narrated by: Dan Anderson O.F.M.
- Length: 3 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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In this hope-filled book, Nouwen offers a fresh interpretation of modern ministry. Here he offers inspiration to men and women who want to be of service in their Church or community but who have found the traditional ways of ministry alienating and ineffective. According to Nouwen, "the minister is called to recognize the sufferings of his time in his own heart and make that recognition the starting point of his service."
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I had to focus but am so glad I did!
- By Alicia on 04-11-16
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The Radical King
- By: Cornel West - editor, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
- Narrated by: LeVar Burton, Gabourey Sidibe, Cornel West, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Wanda Sykes, LeVar Burton, Leslie Odom, Jr., and Gabourey Sidibe head a cast of beloved actors performing 23 selections from the speeches, sermons, and essays of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.—many never recorded during his lifetime. For the first time, teachers, students, and thoughtful listeners can hear dramatic interpretations of Dr. King’s words, chosen and introduced by Cornel West.
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Not the best MLK audiobook
- By Nathan White on 02-07-19
By: Cornel West - editor, and others
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The Fire Next Time
- By: James Baldwin
- Narrated by: Jesse L. Martin
- Length: 2 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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At once a powerful evocation of his early life in Harlem and a disturbing examination of the consequences of racial injustice to both the individual and the body politic, James Baldwin galvanized the nation in the early days of the civil rights movement with this eloquent manifesto. The Fire Next Time stands as one of the essential works of our literature.
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Sad and moving and powerful and beautiful
- By Darwin8u on 09-17-15
By: James Baldwin
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Go Tell It On the Mountain
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- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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James Baldwin’s stunning first novel is now an American classic. With startling realism that brings Harlem and the black experience vividly to life, this is a work that touches the heart with emotion while it stimulates the mind with its narrative style, symbolism, and excoriating vision of racism in America. Moving through time from the rural South to the northern ghetto, Baldwin chronicles a 14-year-old boy’s discovery of the terms of his identity as the stepson of the minister of a storefront Pentecostal church in Harlem one Saturday in March of 1935.
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Knotted Around Some Raw Edge of My Soul
- By Darwin8u on 04-06-15
By: James Baldwin
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Another Country
- By: James Baldwin
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 16 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Set in Greenwich Village, Harlem, and France, Another Country tells the story of the suicide of jazz-musician Rufus Scott and the friends who search for an understanding of his life and death, discovering uncomfortable truths about themselves along the way. Another Country is a work that is as powerful today as it was 40 years ago - and expertly narrated by Dion Graham.
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Powerful and sad
- By Kenneth on 04-10-09
By: James Baldwin
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Nobody Knows My Name
- More Notes of a Native Son
- By: James Baldwin
- Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly
- Length: 5 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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James Baldwin's Nobody Knows My Name records the last months of this famed American writer's 10-year self-exile in Europe, his return to America and to Harlem, and his first trip south at the time of the school integration battles. It contains Baldwin's controversial and intimate profiles of Norman Mailer, Richard Wright, and Ingmar Bergman. And it explores such varied themes as the relations between blacks and whites, the role of blacks in America and in Europe, and the question of sexual identity.
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Excellent on all counts!
- By Stephen York on 12-03-17
By: James Baldwin
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Going to Meet the Man
- By: James Baldwin
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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"There's no way not to suffer. But you try all kinds of ways to keep from drowning in it." The men and women in these eight short fictions grasp this truth on an elemental level, and their stories, as told by James Baldwin, detail the ingenious and often desperate ways in which they try to keep their heads above water.
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Punch in the gut
- By Rebecca on 05-08-17
By: James Baldwin
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The Price of the Ticket
- Collected Nonfiction: 1948-1985
- By: James Baldwin
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 34 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Personal and prophetic, these essays uncover what it means to live in a racist American society with insights that feel as fresh today as they did over the four decades in which he composed them. Longtime Baldwin fans and especially those just discovering his genius will appreciate this essential collection of his great nonfiction writing. Along with 46 additional pieces, it includes the full text of dozens of famous essays from such books as:
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insightful
- By Jose L. Massas on 01-07-23
By: James Baldwin
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The Fire Next Time
- By: James Baldwin
- Narrated by: Jesse L. Martin
- Length: 2 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
At once a powerful evocation of his early life in Harlem and a disturbing examination of the consequences of racial injustice to both the individual and the body politic, James Baldwin galvanized the nation in the early days of the civil rights movement with this eloquent manifesto. The Fire Next Time stands as one of the essential works of our literature.
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Sad and moving and powerful and beautiful
- By Darwin8u on 09-17-15
By: James Baldwin
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Go Tell It On the Mountain
- By: James Baldwin
- Narrated by: Adam Lazarre-White
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
James Baldwin’s stunning first novel is now an American classic. With startling realism that brings Harlem and the black experience vividly to life, this is a work that touches the heart with emotion while it stimulates the mind with its narrative style, symbolism, and excoriating vision of racism in America. Moving through time from the rural South to the northern ghetto, Baldwin chronicles a 14-year-old boy’s discovery of the terms of his identity as the stepson of the minister of a storefront Pentecostal church in Harlem one Saturday in March of 1935.
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Knotted Around Some Raw Edge of My Soul
- By Darwin8u on 04-06-15
By: James Baldwin
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Another Country
- By: James Baldwin
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 16 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Set in Greenwich Village, Harlem, and France, Another Country tells the story of the suicide of jazz-musician Rufus Scott and the friends who search for an understanding of his life and death, discovering uncomfortable truths about themselves along the way. Another Country is a work that is as powerful today as it was 40 years ago - and expertly narrated by Dion Graham.
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Powerful and sad
- By Kenneth on 04-10-09
By: James Baldwin
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Nobody Knows My Name
- More Notes of a Native Son
- By: James Baldwin
- Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly
- Length: 5 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
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Performance
-
Story
James Baldwin's Nobody Knows My Name records the last months of this famed American writer's 10-year self-exile in Europe, his return to America and to Harlem, and his first trip south at the time of the school integration battles. It contains Baldwin's controversial and intimate profiles of Norman Mailer, Richard Wright, and Ingmar Bergman. And it explores such varied themes as the relations between blacks and whites, the role of blacks in America and in Europe, and the question of sexual identity.
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Excellent on all counts!
- By Stephen York on 12-03-17
By: James Baldwin
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Going to Meet the Man
- By: James Baldwin
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
"There's no way not to suffer. But you try all kinds of ways to keep from drowning in it." The men and women in these eight short fictions grasp this truth on an elemental level, and their stories, as told by James Baldwin, detail the ingenious and often desperate ways in which they try to keep their heads above water.
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-
Punch in the gut
- By Rebecca on 05-08-17
By: James Baldwin
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The Price of the Ticket
- Collected Nonfiction: 1948-1985
- By: James Baldwin
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 34 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Personal and prophetic, these essays uncover what it means to live in a racist American society with insights that feel as fresh today as they did over the four decades in which he composed them. Longtime Baldwin fans and especially those just discovering his genius will appreciate this essential collection of his great nonfiction writing. Along with 46 additional pieces, it includes the full text of dozens of famous essays from such books as:
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insightful
- By Jose L. Massas on 01-07-23
By: James Baldwin
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Giovanni's Room
- By: James Baldwin
- Narrated by: Dan Butler
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Set in the 1950’s Paris of American expatriates, liaisons, and violence, a young man finds himself caught between desire and conventional morality. With a sharp, probing imagination, James Baldwin’s now-classic narrative delves into the mystery of loving and creates a moving, highly controversial story of death and passion that reveals the unspoken complexities of the human heart.
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Baldwin: sensational. Butler: great. One caveat.
- By Music Man on 06-28-14
By: James Baldwin
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Nothing Personal
- By: James Baldwin, Imani Perry, Eddie S. Glaude Jr.
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 1 hr and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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James Baldwin’s critique of American society at the height of the civil rights movement brings his prescient thoughts on social isolation, race, and police brutality to a new generation of listeners.
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I wish there was more analysis…
- By lawrence fauntleroy on 08-26-23
By: James Baldwin, and others
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If Beale Street Could Talk
- A Novel
- By: James Baldwin
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Told through the eyes of Tish, a 19-year-old girl in love with Fonny, a young sculptor who is the father of her child, Baldwin's story mixes the sweet and the sad. Tish and Fonny have pledged to get married, but Fonny is falsely accused of a terrible crime and is imprisoned. Their families set out to clear his name, and as they face an uncertain future, the young lovers experience a kaleidoscope of emotions - affection, despair, and hope.
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The narrator did her thing, I love it!!!
- By Vicky on 03-22-16
By: James Baldwin
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No Name in the Street
- By: James Baldwin
- Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly
- Length: 5 hrs
- Unabridged
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This stunningly personal document and extraordinary history of the turbulent '60s and early '70s displays James Baldwin's fury and despair more deeply than any of his other works. In vivid detail he remembers the Harlem childhood that shaped his early consciousness, the later events that scored his heart with pain - the murders of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, his sojourns in Europe and in Hollywood, and his return to the American South to confront a violent America face-to-face.
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A strange and terrible vehicle
- By Darwin8u on 02-07-20
By: James Baldwin
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Tell Me How Long the Train’s Been Gone
- A Novel
- By: James Baldwin
- Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly
- Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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At the height of his theatrical career, the actor Leo Proudhammer is nearly felled by a heart attack. As he hovers between life and death, Baldwin shows the choices that have made him enviably famous and terrifyingly vulnerable. For between Leo's childhood on the streets of Harlem and his arrival into the intoxicating world of the theater lies a wilderness of desire and loss, shame and rage.
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A masterpiece!!! A naked truth.
- By Eric Coker on 01-05-16
By: James Baldwin
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The Devil Finds Work
- An Essay
- By: James Baldwin
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 3 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Baldwin's personal reflections on movies gathered here in a book-length essay are also a probing appraisal of American racial politics. Offering an incisive look at racism in American movies and a vision of America's self-delusions and deceptions, Baldwin challenges the underlying assumptions in such films as In the Heat of the Night, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, and The Exorcist.
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A Critical Masterpiece.
- By Ramon McGee on 05-10-18
By: James Baldwin
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Just Above My Head
- By: James Baldwin
- Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly
- Length: 20 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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The stark grief of a brother mourning a brother opens this novel with a stunning, unforgettable experience. Here, in a monumental saga of love and rage, Baldwin goes back to Harlem, to the church of his groundbreaking novel Go Tell It on the Mountain, to the homosexual passion of Giovanni's Room, and to the political fire that inflames his nonfiction work.
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Wonderful poignant story
- By Africa on 12-02-18
By: James Baldwin
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James Baldwin
- A Biography
- By: David Leeming
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 17 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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This is a biography of James Baldwin, author, one-time preacher, and civil rights activist. He chose David Leeming, a close friend and colleague, to write his biography and granted him access to his correspondence. Leeming traces his life from his birth in Harlem in 1924 to his self-imposed exile in Europe, his later years as political activist, and his public funeral in 1987.
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A great biography of a great man
- By Diogenes of Sinope on 10-16-16
By: David Leeming
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Selected Works of Audre Lorde
- By: Audre Lorde, Roxane Gay - editor
- Narrated by: Mia Ellis
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Self-described "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet" Audre Lorde is an unforgettable voice in 20th-century literature, and one of the first to center the experiences of black, queer women. This essential collection showcases her indelible contributions to intersectional feminism, queer theory, and critical race studies in 12 landmark essays and more than 60 poems-selected and introduced by one of our most powerful contemporary voices on race and gender, Roxane Gay.
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So amazing to have these essays in one place
- By Jessalyn Maguire on 11-04-23
By: Audre Lorde, and others
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Native Son
- By: Richard Wright
- Narrated by: Peter Francis James
- Length: 17 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Right from the start, Bigger Thomas had been headed for jail. It could have been for assault or petty larceny; by chance, it was for murder and rape. Native Son tells the story of this young black man caught in a downward spiral after he kills a young white woman in a brief moment of panic. Set in Chicago in the 1930s, Richard Wright's powerful novel is an unsparing reflection on the poverty and feelings of hopelessness experienced by people in inner cities across the country and of what it means to be black in America.
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Simply a classic
- By Noah Smith on 11-11-10
By: Richard Wright
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Begin Again
- James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own
- By: Eddie S. Glaude Jr.
- Narrated by: Eddie S. Glaude
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Begin Again is one of the great books on James Baldwin and a powerful reckoning with America’s ongoing failure to confront the lies it tells itself about race. Just as in Baldwin’s “after times,” argues Eddie S. Glaude Jr., when white Americans met the civil rights movement’s call for truth and justice with blind rage and the murders of movement leaders, so in our moment were the Obama presidency and the birth of Black Lives Matter answered with the ascendance of Trump and the violent resurgence of white nationalism.
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I Understand.
- By Carrie Johnson on 07-01-20
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The Souls of Black Folk
- By: W. E. B. Du Bois
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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“The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line,” writes Du Bois, in one of the most prophetic works in all of American literature. First published in 1903, this collection of 15 essays dared to describe the racism that prevailed at that time in America—and to demand an end to it. Du Bois’ writing draws on his early experiences, from teaching in the hills of Tennessee, to the death of his infant son, to his historic break with the conciliatory position of Booker T. Washington.
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Essays of 'life and love and strife and failure'
- By ESK on 02-08-13
By: W. E. B. Du Bois
What listeners say about Notes of a Native Son
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Andre
- 09-30-16
Masterful Essayist
Would you listen to Notes of a Native Son again? Why?
I would listen to Notes of a Native Son again for the quality and depth of Baldwin's thoughts and writing. He set a high bar as an essayist on race.
What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?
I found Baldwin's account of his father's funeral and his account of his trip to Switzerland compelling because they showed me different perspectives of race in America and abroad.
Which character – as performed by Ron Butler – was your favorite?
Baldwin himself was my favorite character as performed by Ron Butler. Butler did not mimic the distinctive way Baldwin talked, but told the story straight with depth and nuance.
Any additional comments?
I had read several of the essays before, but it was good to revisit them again in the different form of an audiobook. I highly recommend it.
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33 people found this helpful
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- Adam Shields
- 03-23-17
Some incredible essays
I recently went to see the documentary I am Not Your Negro. After watching that very good documentary I finally picked up Notes of a Native Son, which I purchased a while ago but I have not read.
The first section are literally and film criticism essays (Uncle Tom’s Cabin, A Native Son and Carmen Jones.) I have not read or watched any of these, although I knew the basic outline of the story of the first two. This section would likely have been much better if I was familiar with the works being talked about.
Section two and three were some of the best essays I have ever read and I want to go back and read them again.
The three essays in section two are about growing up and living in Harlem, his brother’s musical group’s ill fated trip to the South as entertainment for a political campaign and a eulogy for his father. The eulogy essay is the best essay of the book I think. Eulogies often gloss over the negatives of a person and highlight what will be missed. Baldwin’s father was not going to be missed much, although once he was gone, Baldwin was able to deal with his love for him. Baldwin’s father died on Baldwin’s 19th birthday and Baldwin left soon after to move to Paris.
The last section is what it meant to be Black in Europe and what he understood about Blackness because of the change of setting.
The idea of a ‘color-blind’ ideal society destroyed by Baldwin’s writing. Many White essayists assume their culture as normative and don’t particularly think about race in regard to their normal everyday life. But as an African American man in the 1950s, Baldwin could not think of life without thinking about race. Race impacted every part of his life, whether he was in the US or Europe.
I highly recommend this Notes of a Native Son (and I am Not Your Negro) and look forward to picking up some of Baldwin’s fiction as well. After reading this, I can see why Ta-Nehisi Coates is so often compared to James Baldwin.
I read this right after I finished the group biography of The Inklings (The Fellowship by Philip and Carol Zaleski). While, Baldwin was younger than all of the Inklings, they were all alive and writing at the same time. With the exception of Charles Williams, the rest of the Inklings were highly educated authors that were well educated from a young age in the classics and other languages and literature. Baldwin had a mediocre education that ended with high school. He commented at one point that he had not even been on a college campus until one of his plays was put on at a college and he was invited to the show. That comment says much about the how the long term history of writing and thinking about minority issues is impacted by history and culture.
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26 people found this helpful
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- Lis
- 02-16-17
The Letdown
What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?
Nothing about this narrative is compelling save the subject matter. James Baldwin is a master
How did the narrator detract from the book?
Listening to this is what I imagine plugging my headphone jack into a loaf of WonderBread must sound like. There is no expression, the narrator is completely monotone.
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23 people found this helpful
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- Andrew
- 07-29-16
Inconsistent
Who am I to judge a master writer like Baldwin? That said, here are my personal views. Some of these essays are superb. When Baldwin talks about his own life and experience the richness of thought is mesmerizing. On the other hand, some of the essay (e.g. Analysis of black media) lack a clear purpose other than to tear down everything in sight. The narration is good although slightly robotic. I'm not sure if that's necessary for narrating essays like these. The reading and recording is clear, which is crucial.
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18 people found this helpful
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- Dani Lacey
- 07-05-17
Great text ruined by awful narration
What did you like best about Notes of a Native Son? What did you like least?
James Baldwin is known for his insightful comments on race in America that are as relevant today as they were when he wrote them. I really loved the section on "Native Son." It was hard to really feel what he was saying, however, because the reading was so terrible.
How could the performance have been better?
Put some emotion into the reading. This recording sounds like a high schooler being forced to read aloud a selection of some text that he doesn't fully understand.
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15 people found this helpful
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- M. J. Leake
- 12-15-16
Notes for a native son.
Would you listen to Notes of a Native Son again? Why?
Yes, I would listen to the Novel again, because of it relevancy and meaning in todays world.
What did you like best about this story?
I love the self-reflective written discovery of a writer who awareness is revealed in his writings so vividly.
Have you listened to any of Ron Butler’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
Not that I can recall.
What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?
The relevance of what he wrote many years ago are a part of the social and racial society we as Americans live with to this day.
Any additional comments?
James Baldwin reveals his perspective as a black writer in the form of essays cover racial, social, and religious, issues of his time that inevitably translate and mirrors today;s society.
Notes of a Native Son is a significant historical novel revealing the conditions of African Americans before the Civil Rights Movement.
This book should be made mandatory for all American politicians, school children in middle and high school.
James Baldwin's experiences during his time mirror so much of today's 2016 America with the only exception of the actions being more subtle. The last chapter of the novel provides insight into what we have become as a Nationa and World when it comes to race relations.
A must read for all Americans.
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13 people found this helpful
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- Aaron Singer
- 05-08-18
Important book
This book so matched my ingrained disposition as a black man. It is necessary reading/listening for adults when they are ready to hear difficult and real reasoning.
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8 people found this helpful
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- Nicholas
- 05-27-19
one of new favorite books
the narrator was perfect and the book was great!!! essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the black experience written by the best American author to ever live
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7 people found this helpful
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- Fred
- 09-23-17
Perspective shifting
Few books books provide perspectives compelling enough or persuasive enough to alter your own. Multiple portions of this book possess such power
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6 people found this helpful
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- Tami Dean
- 01-19-18
Relevant Circa 2018
As I listened to this book it felt faintly familiar to the times we live in Now. Life and legacy for the Black person in some ways has still yet to progress. This book sheds perspectives on America and how non Americans view our race. Well done and transformational.
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4 people found this helpful