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Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own by Eddie S. Glaude Jr.
mcbibliotecaria's review against another edition
3.0
It was just so hard to read the descent and rationale that led to his later life depression.
bookish_calirican's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
itsmeamethyst's review against another edition
5.0
“The United States has faced moments of crisis in which the country might emerge otherwise. Moments when the idea of White America itself can finally be put aside. In each instance, the country chose to remain exactly what it was: A racist nation that claimed to be democratic. These were and are moments of national betrayal in which the commitments of democracy are shunted off to the side to make way for and to safely secure a more fundamental commitment to race.”
This is a powerful and poignant call for reckoning, personally and nationally. Appreciated learning about how these two great American writers and intellectuals’ politics evolved, including confronting when they were wrong (in underestimating White supremacy). I started, stopped, re-read, and mediated on these pages and emerged hopeful. All of the praise for this book is warranted.
This is a powerful and poignant call for reckoning, personally and nationally. Appreciated learning about how these two great American writers and intellectuals’ politics evolved, including confronting when they were wrong (in underestimating White supremacy). I started, stopped, re-read, and mediated on these pages and emerged hopeful. All of the praise for this book is warranted.
buddy524's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the style of the book. Weaving biography, history, political study, works well. My issue is that many topics begged to be discussed. This isn't a necessarily a fault of the book, but reading a book alone like this can only take on so far. At times, I felt like I needed a crash course on certain topics prior to reading.
clarabooksit's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Police brutality, and Grief
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Minor: Cancer and Sexual assault
buttercupita's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't carefully read the subtitle -- I was looking for more biography on James Baldwin, and shaking my head as I approached the end of the book that I still didn't feel like I had truly gotten to know the writer, but instead just had a review of civil rights history and its betrayal (both in the figure of Reagan and Trump. Then, I noticed that Glaude advertises that this is a book about James Baldwin's America, so his focus on the larger history made more sense. I wish I had gotten a fuller feel for Baldwin, whom I'm just beginning to get to know (shame on me) as a splendid writer, but I did "begin again" with Begin Again after I had come to terms with my disappointment (literally, went back to page one and started re-reading), and can appreciate more what Glaude has put together.