Notes of a Native Son
Audio only

Notes of a Native Son

By James BaldwinNarrated by Ron Butler
Length5h 3m

About this audiobook

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 twenties, 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 twentieth 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. Notes is 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.

Audiobook details

GenreLiterary Classics, Psychology, Politics and Government
Length5 hrs 3 mins
Narrated byRon Butler
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateFeb 3, 2015
LanguageEnglish

More from James Baldwin

C. S. Lewis
C. S. LewisC. S. Lewis38h 55m$30
The Jeeves and Wooster Stories: The Complete Collection (33 Books)
The Jeeves and Wooster Stories: The Complete Collection (33 Books)P. G. Wodehouse21h 57m$15 · $0.00
The Gulag Archipelago Volume 3
The Gulag Archipelago Volume 3Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn21h 56m$46 · $0.00
Sherlock Holmes: The Ultimate Collection
Sherlock Holmes: The Ultimate CollectionArthur Conan Doyle59h 49m$5 · $0.00
The Complete Works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky: Novels, Short Stories and Autobiographical Writings
The Complete Works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky: Novels, Short Stories and Autobiographical WritingsFyodor Dostoyevsky270h 59m$2 · $0.00
The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America (Annotated)
The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America (Annotated)Howard Irving Chapelle, Tappan Adney13h 10m$2 · $0.00
Charles Dickens: Complete Works (Annotated)
Charles Dickens: Complete Works (Annotated)Charles Dickens819h 4m$2 · $0.00
The Complete Novels of Jane Austen & Brontë Sisters (Annotated)
The Complete Novels of Jane Austen & Brontë Sisters (Annotated)Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Anne Brontë203h 52m$2 · $0.00
The Complete Works: Charlotte, Emily, Anne, Patrick & Branwell Brontë
The Complete Works: Charlotte, Emily, Anne, Patrick & Branwell BrontëCharlotte Brontë, Anne Brontë, Emily Brontë138h 12m$1 · $0.00
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare
The Complete Works of William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare108h 44m$1.80 · $0.00
The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde (Annotated)
The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde (Annotated)Oscar Wilde126h 19m$2 · $0.00
L. M. Montgomery – Premium Collection: Novels, Short Stories, Poetry & Memoirs
L. M. Montgomery – Premium Collection: Novels, Short Stories, Poetry & MemoirsLucy Maud Montgomery155h 1m$2 · $0.00
The Complete Works of the Brontë Family
The Complete Works of the Brontë Family Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Anne Brontë140h 13m$2 · $0.00
MARK TWAIN: 12 Novels, 195 Short Stories, Autobiography, 10 Travel Books, 160+ Essays & Speeches (Illustrated)
MARK TWAIN: 12 Novels, 195 Short Stories, Autobiography, 10 Travel Books, 160+ Essays & Speeches (Illustrated)Mark Twain415h 9m5.0 (2)$2 · $0.00
This Side of Paradise - The Original 1920 Edition (Annotated)
This Side of Paradise - The Original 1920 Edition (Annotated)F. Scott Fitzgerald11h 30m$2 · $0.00
The Great Gatsby: Original 1925 Edition (An F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic Novel
The Great Gatsby: Original 1925 Edition (An F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic NovelFrancis Scott Fitzgerald4h 45m$18 · $0.00
All Novels
All NovelsGeorge Orwell53h 48m$10 · $0.00
The Complete Works of Tolstoy
The Complete Works of TolstoyLeo Tolstoy412h 44m$1 · $0.00
The Complete Works of Louisa May Alcott (Annotated)
The Complete Works of Louisa May Alcott (Annotated)Louisa May Alcott226h 24m$2 · $0.00
Sherlock Holmes series - complete
Sherlock Holmes series - completeArthur Conan54h 8m$3.50 · $0.00

You may also like

The Life and Times of John Keats: Complete Personal letters & Two Extensive Biographies
The Life and Times of John Keats: Complete Personal letters & Two Extensive BiographiesJohn Keats44h 2m$2 · $0.00
Unfinished Business
Unfinished BusinessVivian Gornick4h 28m$15 · $0.00
As We Exist
As We ExistKaoutar Harchi3h 16m$15
Virginia Woolf: The Complete Works
Virginia Woolf: The Complete WorksVirginia Woolf314h 29m$1 · $0.00
Ulysses
UlyssesJames Joyce30h 36m$2.30
THE COMPLETE ESSAYS OF MONTAIGNE (Annotated Edition)
THE COMPLETE ESSAYS OF MONTAIGNE (Annotated Edition)Michel de Montaigne46h 38m$1 · $0.00
Ulysses
UlyssesJames Joyce30h 40m$1.80 · $0.00
JAMES JOYCE Premium Collection: Ulysses, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Dubliners, Chamber Music & Exiles
JAMES JOYCE Premium Collection: Ulysses, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Dubliners, Chamber Music & ExilesJames Joyce53h 5m$1 · $0.00
The London Scene: Six Essays on London (Annotated)
The London Scene: Six Essays on London (Annotated)Virginia Woolf2h 40m$3 · $0.00
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young ManJames Joyce10h 48m$2 · $0.00
Jan Morris
Jan MorrisSara Wheeler14h 36m$29 · $0.00
Borges in 90 Minutes
Borges in 90 MinutesPaul Strathern1h 50m$10
The Writer's Library
The Writer's LibraryNancy Pearl, Jeff Schwager11h 22m$29 · $0.00
Undiscovered
UndiscoveredGabriela Wiener4h 11m$20 · $0.00
The Odd Woman and the City
The Odd Woman and the CityVivian Gornick4h 29m$20 · $0.00
Virginia Woolf: Jacob's Room, Night and Day, The Voyage Out & Monday or Tuesday
Virginia Woolf: Jacob's Room, Night and Day, The Voyage Out & Monday or TuesdayVirginia Woolf42h 56m$1 · $0.00
Return
ReturnKamal Al-Solaylee8h 33m$26 · $0.00
India: A Million Mutinies Now
India: A Million Mutinies NowV. S. Naipaul24h 46m$30
Dressed
DressedShahidha Bari10h 33m$20 · $0.00
This Is One Way to Dance
This Is One Way to DanceSejal Shah4h 53m$15