Book description
"Nothing but the darkness, and all around them destruction, and
before them nothing but the fire--a bastard people, far from God,
singing and crying in the wilderness!" First published in 1953,
Baldwin's first novel is a short but intense, semi-autobiographical
exploration of the troubled life of the Grimes family in Harlem during
the Depression. Born in Harlem in 1924, Baldwin had an early career as
a teenage preacher. He lived in Paris from 1948-1956 and his first
novels, the autobiographical GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN and GIOVANNI'S
ROOM established him as a promising novelist and anticipated some of the
themes of his later works, such as racism and sexuality. He became a
prominent spokesperson for racial equality, especially during the civil
rights movement. He lived in France during his last years. Baldwin died
in 1987.
