Brice Karickhoff's Reviews > The Fire Next Time

Read this mainly because it was the artistic inspiration for Between the World and Me, and because it is an important piece of black history in general.

I liked the writing style, and I think Baldwin did a great job to stir up a healthy sympathy in the reader. Definitely historically informative as well, especially about racism in Harlem specifically.

My favorite part was his letter to his nephew. Unfortunately, that only comprised like 5% of the book. The remainder of the book switched between narrative and commentary. I got a bit lost in the commentary at times. He switched between hatred towards Whites and a desire for the country to be unified a little too quickly for me to really grasp what he was trying to get across.

A good read for those who are interested in the history of thought about racial justice. However, in relation to that history, it is important to note the differences in approaches. At the risk of oversimplifying, you kinda have tour WEB/Malcolm camp, and your Booker T/MLK camp. I’m a bigger fan of the latter, and this book probably belongs to the former. Still great tho. Mostly just trying to stay educated and understanding!