Nothing Personal: An Essay
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- Create Date：2021-05-07 00:19:21
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：James Baldwin
- ISBN：B08TTLV6LT
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Summary
James Baldwin's 1964 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 readers。
Available for the first time in a stand-alone edition， 'NOTHING PERSONAL' is Baldwin's deep probe into the American condition。 Considering the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020 - which were met with tear gas and rubber bullets the same year white supremacists entered the U。S。 Capitol with little resistance， openly toting flags of the Confederacy - Baldwin's documentation of his own troubled times cuts to the core of where we find ourselves today。
Baldwin's thoughts move through an interconnected range of questions， from America's fixation on eternal youth， to its refusal to recognize the past， its addiction to consumerism， and the lovelessness that fuels it in its cities and popular culture。 He recounts his own encounter with the police in a scene disturbingly similar to those we see today documented with ever increasing immediacy。
This edition also includes a new foreword from interdisciplinary scholar Imani Perry and an afterword from noted James Baldwin scholar Eddie S。 Glaude Jr。 Both explore and situate the essay within the broader context of Baldwin's work， the Movement for Black Lives， the COVID-19 pandemic， and the presidency of Donald Trump。
'NOTHING PERSONAL' is both a eulogy and a declaration of will。 In bringing this work into the 21st century， audiences new and old will take away fundamental and recurring truths about life in the US。 It is both a call to action and an appeal to love and to life。
Running Time => 5hrs。 and 50mins。
©2021 James Baldwin （P）2021 Random House Audio
Available for the first time in a stand-alone edition， 'NOTHING PERSONAL' is Baldwin's deep probe into the American condition。 Considering the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020 - which were met with tear gas and rubber bullets the same year white supremacists entered the U。S。 Capitol with little resistance， openly toting flags of the Confederacy - Baldwin's documentation of his own troubled times cuts to the core of where we find ourselves today。
Baldwin's thoughts move through an interconnected range of questions， from America's fixation on eternal youth， to its refusal to recognize the past， its addiction to consumerism， and the lovelessness that fuels it in its cities and popular culture。 He recounts his own encounter with the police in a scene disturbingly similar to those we see today documented with ever increasing immediacy。
This edition also includes a new foreword from interdisciplinary scholar Imani Perry and an afterword from noted James Baldwin scholar Eddie S。 Glaude Jr。 Both explore and situate the essay within the broader context of Baldwin's work， the Movement for Black Lives， the COVID-19 pandemic， and the presidency of Donald Trump。
'NOTHING PERSONAL' is both a eulogy and a declaration of will。 In bringing this work into the 21st century， audiences new and old will take away fundamental and recurring truths about life in the US。 It is both a call to action and an appeal to love and to life。
Running Time => 5hrs。 and 50mins。
©2021 James Baldwin （P）2021 Random House Audio
Reviews
Harte Reads
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I will think about this book for a long time。 Profound。 It gets to the heart of America's ills。 The foreword by by Imani Perry and the afterword by Eddie S。 Glaude Jr add even more insight。 I will think about this book for a long time。 Profound。 It gets to the heart of America's ills。 The foreword by by Imani Perry and the afterword by Eddie S。 Glaude Jr add even more insight。 。。。more
Avi Woontner
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Thanks to Edelweiss for the digital ARC！Absolutely adored the final section。 Great supplementary material to accompany this essay。
Cheri
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This essay written by James Baldwin was originally published in 1964， in collaboration with photographer Richard Avedon， using Avedon’s photographs， and Baldwin’s words。 It is scheduled to be reissued， using Baldwin’s words alone， which offer more than sufficient reason to read this。 This is the first time this will be published as Baldwin’s work on it’s own， along with a Foreword by Imani Perry and the Afterword by Eddie Glaude， Jr。， both of which are also well worth reading。 There isn’t much a This essay written by James Baldwin was originally published in 1964， in collaboration with photographer Richard Avedon， using Avedon’s photographs， and Baldwin’s words。 It is scheduled to be reissued， using Baldwin’s words alone， which offer more than sufficient reason to read this。 This is the first time this will be published as Baldwin’s work on it’s own， along with a Foreword by Imani Perry and the Afterword by Eddie Glaude， Jr。， both of which are also well worth reading。 There isn’t much about that has changed， there certainly hasn’t been enough that has changed in the years since he wrote these inspired words。 Too much seems eerily relevant to our current days， even though nearly sixty years have passed by。 Dangerously emboldened by recent events， encouraged by someone with their own agenda， and willing to throw his followers to the wolves， it certainly doesn’t appear to be better。 Despite all the pleas for change， the inches instead of miles of progress， too much remains the same， and many of the changes we’ve seen of late have gone in the opposite direction of what is needed。 'Judged by this standard， we are a loveless nation。 The best that can be said is that some of us are struggling。 And what we are struggling against is that death in the heart which leads not only to the shedding of blood， but which reduces human beings to corpses while they live。'Pub Date: 04 May 2021Many thanks for the ARC provided by Random House / Beacon Press 。。。more
Oliver
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Classic James Baldwin: that is to say， swooningly brilliant， transportive， clear-eyed， beautifully written， and rage-inducing。 His is one of my favourite minds， because everything he writes is so astoundingly real。 This is a short essay but contains so much that it reads like a distillation of his passions， and makes me want to go back and reread everything else he's written。 The fore- and afterwords are great too， though I admit to skimming the foreword because I was anxious to get to the essay Classic James Baldwin: that is to say， swooningly brilliant， transportive， clear-eyed， beautifully written， and rage-inducing。 His is one of my favourite minds， because everything he writes is so astoundingly real。 This is a short essay but contains so much that it reads like a distillation of his passions， and makes me want to go back and reread everything else he's written。 The fore- and afterwords are great too， though I admit to skimming the foreword because I was anxious to get to the essay， and taking more time over the afterword because I wanted to marinade a little longer in Baldwin's world。 My thanks to Edelweiss and Beacon Press for the ARC。 。。。more
Alexander Peterhans
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"To be locked in the past means， in effect， that one has no past， since one can never assess it， or use it: and if one cannot use the past， one cannot function in the present， and so one can never be free。"I had never heard of this work， also hadn't heard of Baldwin's collaboration with photographer Richard Avedon that led to a book combining this essay with Avedon's photography。This is the first time the essay is being published on its own， not part of an essay collection and without Avedon's p "To be locked in the past means， in effect， that one has no past， since one can never assess it， or use it: and if one cannot use the past， one cannot function in the present， and so one can never be free。"I had never heard of this work， also hadn't heard of Baldwin's collaboration with photographer Richard Avedon that led to a book combining this essay with Avedon's photography。This is the first time the essay is being published on its own， not part of an essay collection and without Avedon's photos。And it's fantastic。 I'm only a novice reader of James Baldwin， but he is an incredible writer， with perfect command of the craft。 That would be fantastic enough， but he also has so much to say， and it is still as relevant today as it was in the 60s。 In fact， it's almost unnervingly so。There is still a large part of the white US population who believe in the myth of white supremacy， in the myth of "heroes" just "looking for freedom" in the new world。 Baldwin expertly shows how these myths are rotten to their very core， ending on a hope that love for yourself and the "other" （whether they be a "stranger" or not） might be the answer。"It is necessary， while in darkness， to know that there is a light somewhere， to know that in oneself， waiting to be found ， there is a light。"Included in this edition are an introduction by professor Imani Perry， and a concluding essay by professor Eddie S。 Glaude Jr。Glaude's essay especially is a great addition， further pondering the points Baldwin addresses， coming to observations like:"If I am reading Nothing Personal correctly， the country needs its “strangers” to resolve the sense of alienation that threatens to suffocate this place。 The enemy and evil without， and the violence we exact upon the threat they present or directly upon them， keeps us whole while the rot within corrupts everything。"An essential read。（Picked up an ARC through Edelweiss） 。。。more
Andre
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Wow， Baldwin covered a lot of territory in this short essay。 It’s certainly a tribute to his writing mastery that he can seemingly say so much but use very few words in doing so。 An essay that is taking America to task for its hypocrisy while also dealing with his own personal challenges in staving off despair and trying to remain hopeful。 The addition of Imani Perry penning the foreword and Eddie Glaude Jr。， the afterword helps add to the understanding of not only the essay but Baldwin’s brilli Wow， Baldwin covered a lot of territory in this short essay。 It’s certainly a tribute to his writing mastery that he can seemingly say so much but use very few words in doing so。 An essay that is taking America to task for its hypocrisy while also dealing with his own personal challenges in staving off despair and trying to remain hopeful。 The addition of Imani Perry penning the foreword and Eddie Glaude Jr。， the afterword helps add to the understanding of not only the essay but Baldwin’s brilliance as a writer。 I hope everyone takes a moment to digest this。 And I’m thankful to Beacon Press and NetGalley for an ARC。 。。。more
Faith
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